Vascular biology

The cardiovascular system comprises the heart, the blood and lymphatic vessels, and the circulation of blood and lymph. It performs essential functions that are vital to tissue growth and function, maintenance of the body’s fluid balance, and immune surveillance. Accordingly, vascular dysfunction is linked to numerous pathologies, including cancer.

In the research programme Vascular Biology we study the mechanisms that regulate blood and lymphatic vessel growth and function during embryo development, in adults and in diseases. A particular focus is on understanding the molecular basis of the specialisation of vessels required for different organs to fulfil their particular functions. We also study mechanisms underlying vascular diseases, including vascular malformations, and how vascular and immune systems co-ordinately contribute to diseases such as cancer, autoimmune disease and thromboinflammation.

Research groups

Pontus Aspenström – Rho GTPases in cancer cell migration

Christer Betsholtz – Developmental Genetics

Lena Claesson-Welsh – Vascular biology

Anna Dimberg – Tumor vascular biology

Konstantin Gängel – Vascular malformations and anomalies

Kaska Koltowska – Cellular and molecular dynamics of lymphangiogenesis

Peetra Magnusson – Inflammation, thrombosis and ischemia in vascular biology

Taija Mäkinen – Regulation of lymphatic vasculature

Bo Nilsson – Thromboinflammation in therapeutic medicine

Johan Rönnelid – Immune complexes and associated autoantibodies in rheumatic diseases