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.

Vangheluwe's team has advanced understanding of lysosomal transport systems, particularly in neurodegeneration and cancer. Notable publications include 'Loss of the lysosomal lipid flippase ATP10B leads to progressive dopaminergic neurodegeneration and parkinsonian motor deficits' (Acta Neuropathologica, 2025), 'Astrocytic polyamine transport by ATP13A4 tunes excitatory synaptic transmission' (medRxiv, 2025), 'Opposing Roles for ATP13A2 and ATP13A3 in Breast Cancer Subtype-Specific Polyamine Homeostasis' (Biomolecules, 2026), 'BDH2-driven lysosome-to-mitochondria iron transfer shapes ferroptosis vulnerability of the melanoma cell states' (Nature Metabolism, 2025), and 'The polyamine transporter ATP13A3 mediates difluoromethylornithine-induced polyamine uptake in neuroblastoma' (Molecular Oncology, 2025). His work has fostered collaborations with the Michael J. Fox Foundation, SandboxAQ for AI-driven Parkinson's drug discovery, and EndLyz Therapeutics. Located at ON1bis Herestraat 49, box 901, 3000 Leuven, the laboratory supports international PhD students and postdocs.