research Projects
meet our esrs
Within the V.A. Cure project, 14 Early Stage Researchers (ESRs) perform research on various types of vascular anomalies. Located at nine state-or-the-art labs across Europe, they collaborate with each other by sharing resources, infrastructure, knowledge and results. Together, they advance our understanding of the mechanisms behind these diseases, with the goal to find leads for new therapies.
Get to know them here!
ESR 1
Martina de bortoli
Martina investigates the genetics behind various vascular anomalies. She is based in the Human Genetics laboratory at de Duve Institute, Brussels, Belgium.
ESR 2
Murat alpaslan
Murat investigates the genetics behind lymphedema. He is based in the Human Genetics laboratory at de Duve Institute, Brussels, Belgium.
Murat has obtained his PhD degree in October 2023.
ESR 3
franziska kohl
Franziska aims to identify peptides for specific targeting of vascular lesions in various vascular anomalies. She is based at AstraZeneca R&D, Götenborg, Sweden.
ESR 4
hans schoofs
Hans investigates the cellular changes during different stages of lesion formation in various vascular malformations. He is based at the Makinen laboratory at Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden.
ESR 5
bojana lazovic
Bojana develops iPS cells for vascular anomaly research. She is based at AstraZeneca R&D, Götenborg, Sweden.
ESR 6
Antonio queiro palou
Antonio studies the abnormal vascular morphogenesis in Hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia (HHT). He is based at Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden.
ESR 7
Marle Kraft
Marle investigates mechanisms of lymphatic endothelial PIK3CA signaling during normal development and formation of lymphatic malformations. She is based at Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden.
ESR 8
Mohammad Hassan Ansarizadeh
Hassan studies pathways regulating remodeling of the perivascular Endothial cell matrix (ECM) in vascular anomalies. He is based at Oulu University, Oulu, Finland.
ESR 9
Nastasja Grdseloff
Nastasja’s research aims elucidate molecular pathways misregulated in cerebral cavernous malformation (CCM). She is based at the University of Potsdam in Germany.
ESR 10
Cường Phạm Văn
Cường studies how certain genetic mutations can lead to cerebral cavernous malformations (CCM), focussing on the role of an epigenetic factor. He is based at the University of Potsdam in Germany.
ESR 11
Joseph Lim Jing Heng
Joseph aims to uncover cellular mechanisms driving venous and lymphatic malformations, with a focus on the role of FOXO transcription factors. He is based at the Max Planck Institute for Heart and Lung Research in Bad Nauheim (Germany).
ESR 12
Martina Rossi
Martina’s research aims to elucidate the roles of BMP9 and BMP10 in blood and lymphatic vascular homeostasis. She is based at INSERM in Grenoble, France.
Martina obtained her PhD degree in November 2022.
ESR 13
Tala Al Tabosh
Tala tries to get a better understanding of the molecular mechanisms involved in the development of hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia (HHT). She is based at INSERM in Grenoble, France.
Tala obtained her PhD degree in May 2023.
ESR 14
Hoang-Tuan Nguyen
The goal of Tuan’s work is to design and make “Vascular anomalies-On-A-Chip”, tailor made chips, based on modern microfluidic technologies. These can be used in research and for preclinical testing of drugs. He is based at FinnAdvance in Oulu (Finland).
