speakers wednesday 10 march
Taija Mäkinen
Director at Wihuri Research Institute and Professor at University of Helsinki, Finland
Taija Mäkinen is a Professor at the University of Helsinki and serves as Director of the Wihuri Research Institute in Biomedicum Helsinki. She completed her doctoral studies at the University of Helsinki, Finland. Following postdoctoral training at the Max-Planck-Institute of Neurobiology in Germany, she established her research group at the Cancer Research UK London Research Institute (now The Francis Crick Institute), before relocating to Uppsala University where she served as a professor prior to returning to Helsinki. Her research focuses on the mechanisms that govern the growth and function of the lymphatic vasculature and its interplay with the surrounding tissues. Her laboratory has pioneered key aspects of lymphatic vascular biology and developed technologies for modelling lymphatic diseases, leading to the identification of major regulators with implications for human genetic diseases and potential therapeutic targets.
Michael Dellinger
Dr. Michael Dellinger is an Associate Professor in the Departments of Surgery and Molecular Biology at UT Southwestern Medical Center. His laboratory is focused on identifying effective treatments for complex lymphatic anomalies, which are rare diseases of the lymphatic system. He is also the Director of Research for the Lymphatic Malformation Institute, a non-profit organization that funds research on complex lymphatic anomalies. Additionally, he works closely with the LGDA, an organization for complex lymphatic anomaly patients. Dr. Dellinger co-led the LGDA’s Rare as One Project sponsored by the Chan-Zuckerberg Initiative. As part of that project, he created a network of clinicians, researchers, and patients and organized two international scientific conferences. Dr. Dellinger completed his Ph.D. work at the University of Arizona and his postdoctoral studies at UT Southwestern Medical Center.
Lab website: https://www.utsouthwestern.edu/labs/dellinger/
Shoshana Greenberger
Director of the Pediatric Dermatology Unit at the Edmond and Lily Safra Children’s Hospital, Sheba Medical Center,
Professor at the Faculty of Medicine at Tel Aviv University, Israe.
Prof. Shoshana Greenberger, MD, PhD, is a Full Professor at the Faculty of Medicine at Tel Aviv University and serves as the Director of the Pediatric Dermatology Unit at the Edmond and Lily Safra Children’s Hospital, Sheba Medical Center. She earned her medical degree from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and her PhD from Tel Aviv University, where she also completed her residency training in dermatology at Sheba Medical Center. Prof. Greenberger subsequently completed a postdoctoral research fellowship in the laboratory of Dr. Joyce Bischoff within the Vascular Biology Program at Boston Children’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School. Her clinical and academic expertise centers on pediatric dermatology and vascular anomalies. At Sheba, her research laboratory investigates pathological vasculogenesis, angiogenesis, and lymphangiogenesis, driving innovative targeted therapeutics for complex vascular lesions.
Isabelle Quere
Service Médecine Vasculaire, CHU de Montpellier, France
Bio
Pia Ostergaard
Professor of Human Genetics, School of Health and Medical Sciences, Department of Molecular & Biomedical Sciences, City St George’s, University of London, UK
Pia Ostergaard is Professor of Human Genetics at City St George’s, University of London. Her research focuses on lymphovascular medicine, particularly the genetic causes of lymphoedema. Working closely with the Lymphovascular Clinical Service at St George’s Hospital, the team undertakes translational research that integrates research and patient care. Prof Ostergaard and colleagues have identified several genes underlying primary lymphoedema using deep phenotyping and next-generation sequencing, advancing diagnosis and understanding of lymphatic disorders.