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Professor Miikka Vikkula serves as Codirector of the de Duve Institute and Professor of Human Genetics at UCLouvain in Brussels, where he leads transformative research into the molecular basis of vascular malformations and lymphedema. A pioneer in the field, he and his collaborators discovered the TIE2 gene mutation driving familial venous malformation in 1996 establishing the dual “two-hit” model of both hereditary and somatic mutations in vascular anomaly pathogenesis. His laboratory integrates patient-derived biobanks with next-generation sequencing, cell culture, and animal models to pinpoint causative genes most recently identifying novel variants in pathways like PIK3CA, EPHB4, ADAMTS3 and translating these findings into therapeutic testing, including the first proof-of-concept rapamycin trials for TIE2 and PIK3CA driven malformations. With over three decades of leadership in vascular anomaly genetics and international recognition including serving on the ISSVA board and receiving the InBev Baillet Latour Clinical Research Award Professor Vikkula's work continues to shape precision medicine approaches to previously untreatable rare diseases. |
