Rate My Professor Peter Vangheluwe

Peter Vangheluwe is a full professor in the Faculty of Medicine at KU Leuven, within the Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine. He heads the Laboratory of Cellular Transport Systems, which he established in 2012, and is a member of the KU Leuven Brain Institute and the KU Leuven Institute for Rare Diseases. His research focuses on P-type ATPases, a family of molecular pumps that utilize ATP to transport essential substrates such as ions, heavy metals, lipids, and polyamines across biological membranes. These transporters maintain crucial ion gradients, control lipid asymmetry, and facilitate vesicle formation, thereby regulating cellular homeostasis and intercellular communication. Dysfunctions or mutations in P-type ATPases are implicated in various diseases, including heart failure (SERCA2a/b), breast cancer and Hailey-Hailey disease (SPCA1/2), early-onset Parkinson's disease and Kufor-Rakeb syndrome (ATP13A2), pulmonary arterial hypertension (ATP13A3), autism and developmental disorders (ATP13A4), neuroblastoma, and neurological disorders (ATP10A-D). The laboratory conducts both basic and translational research to elucidate disease mechanisms and identify therapeutic targets.