Synopsis:

Vascular anomalies is one of the longest running, truly multidisciplinary services at The Royal Children’s Hospital. In over thirty years that the clinic has been active there has been an explosion in our knowledge of the genetic causes of vascular lesions, which has led directly to new drug treatments. The discovery that propranolol is an effective treatment for infantile haemangioma has proved to be a successful model for the repurposing of other existing drugs which are transforming the landscape of vascular anomalies treatment.

Speakers:

Professor Tony Penington is the Jigsaw Professor of Paediatric Plastic and Maxillofacial Surgery, Group Leader of the Plastic and Oral Surgery group at MCRI, and a former President of the International Society for the Study of Vascular Anomalies.

Dr Natasha Brown is a Clinical Geneticist at RCH, VCGS and Bayside Health. Natasha is the genetics lead for the RCH Vascular Anomalies Clinic and for the Genetics of Vascular Anomalies Research Program, a diagnostic research program established at RCH in 2019. Natasha’s clinical and research interests include equitable access to genomic testing, improving molecular diagnoses through multi-omic strategies, targeted therapies and somatic mosaic disorders.

Dr Lydia Pathmanathan is a consultant paediatrician specialising in Vascular Anomalies and Paediatric Dermatology at the Royal Children’s Hospital, Melbourne. She is the principal investigator on the TARGET-VM trial, which delivers targeted genetic therapies to children with vascular anomalies, and is committed to advancing research into novel treatments in this field.