VAC 2027 PROGRAMME
The VAC2027 International Conference on Vascular Anomalies: From Mechanisms to Medicines (Barcelona, 9-12 March 2027) will convene 180-200 international participants at CosmoCaixa, including basic researchers, clinicians from multiple specialties, industry representatives, and Patient Advocacy Organisations (PAOs). The programme integrates keynote lectures, thematic sessions, discussion panels, oral and poster presentations, and networking activities. A defining feature is the high and active participation of PAOs and the integration of patient testimonies, ensuring that scientific priorities remain aligned with unmet clinical needs.
Session Topics
- Session 1: Venous Malformations
- Session 2: Lymphatic Malformations & Lymphedema
- Session 3: Arteriovenous Malformations & HHT
- Session 4: Clinical Trials
- Session 5: Capillary malformations
- Session 6: Cerebral Cavernous Malformations (CCM) & Brain Lesions
Session Types and Formats
- Keynote Lectures: three renowned speakers will deliver a lecture on a topic of very high interest, emerging concepts or extremely relevant to attendees.
- Talks: Presentations delivered by invited leading international experts in vascular anomalies.
- Short Talks: Selected from submitted abstracts, these presentations will provide early Stage Career Researchers with the opportunity to present their work to the scientific community.
- Flash Talks: Twelve 5min presentations selected from submitted abstracts, organized in two sessions. Each session will conclude with a 10min moderated discussion
- Poster sessions: Two dedicated 90-minute poster sessions will be held in a room adjacent to the auditorium and catering area, encouraging discussion and networking
- Patient Testimonies: Sessions where patients will share their experiences to provide valuable perspectives on living with vascular anomalies.
- Round table: An interactive discussion involving patients, clinicians, and researchers to address current challenges and future directions in the field.
- Networking Activities: welcome drink, meet the speaker’s breakfast, VAC2027 dinner and cultural activity
DAY 1 – TUESDAY 9 MARCH
12:00-13:00 REGISTRATION
13:00-13:10 Welcome. Mariona Graupera, Chair of the Scientific Committee
13:10-13:20 Patient representatives’ message (videos)
13:20-13:30 Patient testimonies
13:30-14:15 Keynote Lecture I: Precision Care for Vascular Anomalies: A Layered Framework for Diagnosis and Treatment. Beth Drolet (University of Wisconsin School of Medicine & Public Health/UW Health, USA)
Session 1 – Venous Malformations
14:15-14:40 TALK: Cellular and molecular mechanisms driving aberrant vascular development in a novel model of Venous Malformation. Elisa Boscolo (Experimental Hematology and Cancer Biology , Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, USA)
14:40-14:55 SHORT TALK 1
14:55-15:10 SHORT TALK 2
15:10- 15:40 Coffee break
15:40-16:05 TALK: Endothelial cell type and differentiation state dictate context-dependent responses to oncogenic PIK3CA. Ana Angulo-Urarte (Josep Carreras Research Institute (IJC), Spain)
16:05-16:20 SHORT TALK 3
16:20-16:35 SHORT TALK 4
16:35-17:00 TALK: Genomics informs precision medicine for individual affected by lymphatic anomalies. Sarah E. Sheppard (Eunice Kennedy Shriver Institute of Child Health and Human Development, USA)
17:00-17:15 SHORT TALK 5
17:15-17:30 SHORT TALK 6
17:30-18:10 Flash Talks 1: 6 short talks, 5 min each + 10min discussion
18:10-18:30 Museum visit
18:30-20:00 Welcome Drink: Networking & welcome drink
DAY 2 – WEDNESDAY 10 MARCH
08:45-09:30 Keynote Lecture II: HHT and pulmonary AVMs: Defining new paradigms and therapeutic opportunities from the interplay between coding DNA variants and stress exposures. Claire Shovlin (National Heart & Lung Institute, Imperial College, UK)
Session 2 – Lymphatic Malformations & Lymphedema
09:30-09:40 Patient Testimonies
09:40-10:05 TALK: Multiscale mechanisms of PIK3CA-driven lymphatic malformations. Taija Mäkinen (Wihuri Research Institute, University of Helsinki, Finland)
10:05-10:20 SHORT TALK 7
10:20-10:35 SHORT TALK 8
10:35-11:00 TALK: Mechanisms underlying the pathogenesis of complex lymphatic anomalies. Michael Dellinger (Departments of Surgery and Molecular Biology, UT Southwestern Medical Center, USA)
11:00-11:30 Coffee break
11:30-11:55 TALK: Complex lymphatic anomalies- from pathogenesis to targeted therapy. Shoshana Greenberger (Edmond and Lily Safra Children’s Hospital, Sheba Medical Center, Tel Aviv University, Israel)
11:55-12:10 SHORT TALK 9
12:10-12:25 SHORT TALK 10
12:25-13:25 Lunch
13:15-14:45 POSTER SESSION I
14:45-15:00 Patient Testimonies
15:00-15:25 TALK: From lymphoedema to Complex lymphatic anomalies. Isabelle Quere (Service Médecine Vasculaire, CHU de Montpellier, France)
15:25-15:40 SHORT TALK 11
15:40-15:55 SHORT TALK 12
15:55-16:35 Flash Talks 2: 6 short talks, 5 min each + 10min discussion
16:35-17:05 Coffee break
17:05-17:30 TALK: From Genes to Clinic: The Translational Genetics of Primary Lymphoedema. Pia Ostergaard (Cardiovascular & Genomics Research Institute, University of London, UK)
17:30-17:45 SHORT TALK 13
17:45-18:00 SHORT TALK 14
18:00-18:30 ROUND TABLE: Round table with patients, clinician and researcher
18:30-20:30 Cultural activity: Guided Walking Tour
DAY 3 – THURSDAY 11 MARCH
08:00-08:45 Meet the Speakers: Breakfast with the speakers
08:45-09:30 Keynote Lecture III: Chen Christopher (TBC) (College of Engineering, Boston University, USA)
Session 3 – Arteriovenous Malformations & HHT
09:30-09:55 TALK: Pericyte contractility in health and disease. Claudio Franco (Vascular Morphogenesis Lab, Católica Biomedical Research Center, Portugal)
09:55-10:10 SHORT TALK 15
10:10-10:35 TALK: From BMP9/BMP10/ALK1 signaling to HHT therapeutic advances. Sabine Bailly (University Grenoble Alpes, INSERM, France)
10:35-11:05 Coffee break
11:05-11:30 TALK: Julien Coulie (Saint-Luc UCLouvain, Belgium)
11:30-11:45 SHORT TALK 16
11:45-12:00 SHORT TALK 17
12:00-12:15 Patient Testimonies
12:15-13:15 Lunch
13:15-14:45 POSTER SESSION II
Session 4 – Clinical Trials
14:45-15:10 TALK: Clinical Trials in Vascular Anomalies: From Bench to Bedside. Paloma Triana (Hospital Infantil de la Paz, Spain)
15:10-15:25 SHORT TALK 18
15:25-15:40 SHORT TALK 19
15:40-16:10 Coffee break
16:10-16:35 TALK: Antoni Riera-Mestre (Hospital Universitari de Bellvitge, Spain)
16:35-17:00 TALK: Clinical trial and conventional management of vascular malformations. Laurence Boon (Center for Vascular Anomalies, Cliniques universitaires Saint-Luc (UCLouvain), Belgium)
17:00-17:15 SHORT TALK 20
20:00 VAC Dinner: Dinner & Networking
DAY 4 – FRIDAY 12 MARCH
Session 5 – Capillary malformations
09:00-9:25 TALK: Redefining Capillary Malformations Through Genotype–Phenotype Correlations. Eulalia Baselga (Hospital Sant Joan de Déu, Universitat de Barcelona and Institut de Recerca Sant Joan de Déu, Spain)
09:25-09:40 SHORT TALK 21
09:40-09:55 SHORT TALK 22
09:55-10:10 SHORT TALK 23
10:10-10:35 TALK: Developmental course and BBB features of brain vasculature and the possible relation to vascular anomalies. Ayal Ben-Zvi (Department of Developmental Biology and Cancer Research, The Institute for Medical Research-Israel-Canada, Israel)
10:35-10:50 Patient Testimonies
10:50-11:20 Coffee break
Session 6 – Cerebral Cavernous Malformations (CCM) & Brain Lesions
11:20-11:45 TALK: Targeting the vasculature with small molecule degraders. Michael Potente (Berlin Institute of Health at Charité (BIH) & Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine (MDC), Germany)
11:45-12:10 TALK: Dissecting the molecular pathways that lead to cavernous malformation. Mark Khan (Center for Vascular Biology, Cardiovascular Institute, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, USA)
12:10-12:25 SHORT TALK 24 Selected from Abstracts
12:25-12:40 SHORT TALK 25 Selected from Abstracts
12:40-13:05 TALK: Molecular specialization of mural cells defines vascular microdomains in the brain. Anne Joutel (Institute of Psychiatry and Neuroscience of Paris, INSERM, France)
13:05-13:15 AWARDS & CLOSING