Vascular anomalies are congenital defects affecting blood and lymphatic vessel development. These malformations and tumors are disfiguring and life-threatening resulting in severe impairment of the quality of life in young children.

Our research focuses on modeling vascular anomalies in mouse with the use of patient-derived endothelial cells (EC) or with transgenic animal systems that mimic genetic defects found in patients. Our goal is to identify genes and signaling pathways crucial for the formation of vascular anomalies as these discoveries can have the greatest impact on the understanding of processes regulating normal and pathological blood vessel formation. Furthermore, we have a tight collaboration with clinicians to translate our molecular discoveries into targeted therapies for patients affected by vascular anomalies.