Tom VAN AGTMAEL, Visiting professor at IGFL

Professor of matrix and disease biology, coordinator of the undergraduate degree in genetics at the University of Glasgow.
Visiting Professor 2024-2025 from June 16 to July 25, 2025
Visiting professor : Florence Ruggiero

Biography

Professor Tom Van Agtmael has been Professor of Matrix and Disease Biology at the University of Glasgow since 2022. He coordinates the genetics degree program and is responsible for internationalization within the School of Cardiovascular and Metabolic Health. He holds a PhD in Molecular Genetics from the University of Melbourne (2001) and a BSc in Biochemistry from the University of Antwerp (1996), and has been a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA) since 2014. His research focuses on the role of the extracellular matrix, in particular collagens, in vascular disease.

Collaboration with LRDP

Professor Tom Van Agtmael’s visit to the ENS de Lyon is part of a long-standing scientific collaboration with Professor Florence Ruggiero, focusing on the study of the extracellular matrix (ECM), a key but still insufficiently understood player in vascular disease. Together, they are particularly interested in the role of collagen XXI, recently associated with hypertension, through innovative approaches using the zebrafish model.
This collaboration will enable:

• the transfer of zebrafish research skills to the Glasgow laboratory,
• the development and transfer of unique tools developed in Lyon,
• enrich local training through conferences, courses and scientific outreach activities,
• the development of lasting links between Lyon and Glasgow, with prospects for collaborative research, training and student exchanges.

In this way, the visit will help to advance our understanding of the mechanisms of vascular disease and lay the foundations for future therapeutic approaches targeting the extracellular matrix.

Major publications

o McNeilly S, Sin YY, Thomson CR, Granata A, McClure J, Hamilton G, Lee M, Boland E, Lumbreras Perales C, Aman A, Kumar AA, Cantini M, Gök C, Graham D, Tomono Y, Anderson CD, Lu Y, Smit C, Markus HS, Abramowicz M, Vilain C, Al-Shahi Salman R, Salmeron-Sanchez M, Hainsworth AH, Fuller W, Kadler KE, Bulleid NJ, and Van Agtmael T. Collagen IV deficiency causes hypertrophic remodeling and endothelium-dependent hyperpolarization in small vessel disease with intracerebral hemorrhage. o Al-Thani M, ..., Van Agtmael T, Sinha S, Markus HS, Granata A. A novel human iPSC model of COL4A1/A2 small vessel disease unveils a key pathogenic role of matrix metalloproteinases in extracellular matrix abnormalities. o Randles MJ, Lausecker F, 7 authors, Tom Van Agtmael, Norman JT, Long DA, Humphries MJ, Miner JH, Lennon R. A signature of altered kidney matrix in ageing and disease. o Kumar A, Yeo N, 12 authors, Rosene DL, Shtaya AB, Van Agtmael T, Zamboni G, Hainsworth AH. Vascular collagen-IV in hypertension and cerebral small vessel disease. o Chung J, Hamilton G, 21 authors, Van Agtmael T*, Anderson CD* Rare Missense Variants at COL4A1 and COL4A2 in Intracerebral Hemorrhage and Control Populations. Neurology 2021 May 24;97(3):e236-47