The Gagna & Van Heck International Prize for incurable diseases, a worldwide award presented every three years by the FNRS, has been presented for the first time to a Belgian team. Laurence Boon (Cliniques universitaires Saint-Luc de Bruxelles, UCLouvain) and Miikka Vikkula (Institut de Duve, UCLouvain) were rewarded for their contribution to the complex spectrum of orphan vascular diseases, leading to significant therapeutic advancements and practical solutions.  

They have been united in work and life for 30 years, represent an example of biomedical vocation and work tirelessly to improve the daily lives of patients suffering from poorly understood diseases.

Miikka Vikkula is Professor of Genetics at UCLouvain's Institut de Duve and Investigator at the WEL Research Institute; Laurence Boon is Professor, Clinical Physician and Coordinator of the Vascular Malformations Center at Cliniques Universitaires Saint-Luc in Brussels (UCLouvain). 

Together, they have been rewarded for their contribution to a better understanding of orphan vascular diseases, and for the significant therapeutic advances they have made.

• See the press release...
• See the article in l’Echo...
• See the report in RTLinfo 19h...