Congratulations to Kari Alitalo from #WRIHelsinki on receiving the EVBO @evborg.bsky.social Lifetime Achievement Award in recognition of his outstanding contributions to vascular biology and giving his award lecture at #IVBM2026 in Adelaide!

We organized another successful Wihuri Research Institute #WRISymposium at Hanasaari. Thank you to everyone who joined and contributed to a day of exciting #VascularBiology research, inspiring talks and great discussions. See you next year!

New study from Pipsa Saharinen’s lab @pipsasaharinen.bsky.social at #WRIHelsinki, featured on the cover of @jci.org: Integrin conformational switching regulates ANGPT2/TIE2/FOXO1 signaling at endothelial cell junctions.👇

Journal of Clinical Investigation@jci.org · 3mo ago

What integrins in the cell junction are doing without classical extracellular matrix ligands: doi.org/10.1172/JCI1... Sipilä et al. present ANGPT2 in complex with TIE2 and α5β1-integrin via integrative structural biology techniques.

New study from Taija Mäkinen's lab @taijamakinenlab.bsky.social at the #WRIHelsinki discovering an essential role for the major angiogenic receptor VEGFR2 in lymphangiogenesis 👇 tinyurl.com/47bns9pp

VEGFR2 is required for VEGF-C–VEGFR3–PI3Kα-mediated sprouting lymphangiogenesis - Nature Communications

How VEGF-C drives functional lymphangiogenesis was unclear. Schoofs et al. show VEGFR2 is required for VEGF-C-VEGFR3-dependent sprouting while VEGFR3 alone drives growth, revealing coordinated receptor signalling in lymphatic network formation.

tinyurl.com

Registration is open for the annual Wihuri Research Institute Symposium at Hanasaari Conference Centre in Helsinki on 18 August 2026. Join us for a day of cutting-edge science, engaging discussions and networking. Deadline for registration and abstract submission: 19 June.

Congratulations to Dr. Lauri Äikäs on successfully defending his PhD thesis "Improving the Lipidome of Low-Density Lipoproteins via Dietary Intervention to Reduce Their Proatherogenic Properties" on 24 April 2026!

Congratulations to Dr. Ibrahim Sultan on successfully defending his PhD thesis "Translational insights into VEGF-B gene therapy" today! The work was carried out under the supervision of Prof. Kari Alitalo, with Prof. Holger Gerhardt as an inspiring opponent and Prof. Karl Lemström serving as custos.

New study from Kati Öörni’s lab @katioorni.bsky.social at #WRIHelsinki on the effect of icosapent ethyl (IPE) on circulating lipoproteins and their pro-atherogenic properties.👇

katioorni.bsky.social@katioorni.bsky.social · 11mo ago

Our latest study, published in @insight.jci.org , shows how high-dose icosapent ethyl (IPE), an ethyl ester of eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) remodels circulating lipoproteins and reduces cardiovascular risk markers in healthy individuals. insight.jci.org/articles/vie...

New study from Taija Mäkinen's lab @taijamakinenlab.bsky.social at the #WRIHelsinki featured on the cover of @natcardiovascres.nature.com: A ‘feedforward’ circuit amplifying upstream TIE2 receptor signalling drives PIK3CA-driven venous malformation - and can be therapeutically targeted in mice.👇

Nature Cardiovascular Research@natcardiovascres.nature.com · last yr.

❤️Our July issue is out❤️Discover an Angiopoietin-TIE2-dependent circuit promoting venous malformations, complex disease modelling in cardiac organoids, regulation of cardiac homeostasis by methyonil tRNA synthetase, and more! www.nature.com/natcardiovas...

New study from Riikka Kivelä's lab @riikka-k.bsky.social at the #WRIHelsinki: Combined gene therapy with Pro-MSTN and VEGF-B boosts muscle growth and improves body composition.👇 journals.physiology.org/doi/abs/10.1...

Combined angiogenic and hypertrophic gene therapy enhances skeletal muscle growth | American Journal of Physiology-Cell Physiology | American Physiological Society

Skeletal muscle atrophy in response to pathophysiological stimuli or disuse includes loss of muscle mass and strength. Targeting signaling pathways regulating muscle growth can counteract muscle loss,...

journals.physiology.org

Taija Mäkinen @taijamakinenlab.bsky.social from the Wihuri Research Institute and University of Helsinki @helsinki.fi has been elected as a new #EMBO member

EMBO@embo.org · last yr.

Welcome and congratulations to the 60 new members and 9 associate members who have been elected to the EMBO Membership! This honour celebrates #research excellence and outstanding achievements in the #LifeSciences. 🧪 Learn more here: www.embo.org/press-releas... #EMBOMembers2025

New study from Riikka Kivelä’s lab @riikka-k.bsky.social ky.social at the #WRIHelsinki: Mechanical loading triggers cell type-specific responses in endothelial and muscle cells.👇

Riikka Kivelä@riikka-k.bsky.social · last yr.

www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1... Check how differently muscle cells and endothelial cells respond to mechanical loading from our latest study. Great work by @erikniemi.bsky.social @smantyselka.bsky.social and collaboration with @juhahulmi.bsky.social. Supported by @wrihelsinki.bsky.social

Thank you to everyone who joined the #WRISymposium for a day of exciting #VascularBiology research and great discussions—see you next year!

We are the Wihuri Research Institute, a non-profit biomedical organization based in Helsinki, Finland. Our mission is to advance fundamental research in vascular biology to better understand human health and disease. Learn more about our work: wri.fi #WihuriResearch #VascularBiology