Cellular and molecular mechanisms driving aberrant vascular development in a novel model of Venous Malformation
As part of our LMP Seminar Series, we are delighted to welcome our speaker:
Elisa Boscolo, PhD
Experimental Hematology and Cancer Biology
Cancer and Blood Disease Institute
Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center
Talk title: "Cellular and molecular mechanisms driving aberrant vascular development in a novel model of Venous Malformation"
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How to join
The event will be in person, no need to register. Students and trainees must attend in person.
For faculty members who need to attend remotely, please register to receive the zoom link. Registration must be received by noon on Tuesday.
If you have any questions, please contact lmp.chairadmin@utoronto.ca for more details.
Wednesday, December 3, 2025
11 am - 12 pm
MSB 2170
Medical Sciences Building
University of Toronto
1 King’s College Circle
Toronto, ON M5S 1A8
Details are sent to the LMP community in the Friday events bulletin.
Speaker bio: Elisa Boscolo, PhD
Dr. Boscolo’s research focuses on vascular biology. Specifically, she works to deepen the understanding of the cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying vascular anomalies which are pathologies affecting the development of the vascular system. Her research helps develop and expand the use of faithful murine models, which provide a solid base for translational research aimed at identifying targeted therapeutic approaches for affected patients.
Dr. Boscolo joined the Cincinnati Children’s team in 2014, and in 2015 her research team devised a murine model of venous malformation based on the TIE2 mutation identified in patients. Their work showed that the mTOR inhibitor rapamycin (Sirolimus) effectively prevented lesion growth within the murine model. In collaboration with Drs. Miikka Vikkula and Laurence Boon, they then determined its efficacy in a subset of patients enrolled in a pilot clinical trial.
The strength of Dr. Boscolo’s research program at Cincinnati Children’s is the use of patient-derived biopsies from which we isolate and characterize vascular cells. The patient-derived material is crucial to identify activated signaling pathways, establish murine models of vascular anomalies and test targeted treatments in our pre-clinical studies. Our goal is to determine the pathological mechanisms involved in abnormal blood vessel formation and expansion and to devise strategies to target them in patients.
Dr. Boscolo has been honored by the International Society for the Study of Vascular Anomalies (ISSVA) with the John Mulliken Award and Best Scientific Paper in 2014. She also received the 2020 Werner Risau Early Career Investigator Award in Vascular Biology from the American Heart Association.
