In Memoriam Pieter Van Vlierberghe
We are deeply saddened to announce that Pieter Van Vlierberghe (42) has passed away.
Pieter was highly active within EHA: as Scientific Program Committee Advisory Board member he provided input for our first Virtual Congress in 2020; he repeatedly reviewed Congress abstracts, co-organized the YoungEHA Research Meeting, participated in the EHA-ASH Translational Research Training in Hematology (TRTH) program, was a committed Fellowships and Grants Committee member and an editorial board member of HemaSphere.
Pieter Van Vlierberghe was trained as a bioscience engineer in Belgium. Interested in cancer genetics, he joined the research group of Jules Meijerink and Rob Pieters in the Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam, where he obtained his PhD in 2008, with a study of the genetics of T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL). During this period he already discovered the first cases with PHF6 inactivation, a topic that he continued to study during his postdoc with Frank Speleman (Belgium) and Adolfo Ferrando (New York). This work led to the identification of PHF6 as one of the most frequently mutated genes in T-ALL.
In 2015, Pieter started his own research group at the Ghent University (Belgium), funded by an ERC starting grant. He continued basic research on ALL but shifted his focus more to the translational aspects. His work led to the identification of new targets for therapy in ALL and repurposing of existing drugs for the treatment of ALL, with validation in patient-derived xenograft models.
Above all, Pieter was a wonderful and engaged collaborator, enthusiastically involved in so many projects, from basic to clinical leukemia research, with partners all around the world. He was passionate about his own work, but also obtained a lot of energy and joy from contributing to projects of colleagues.
Despite receiving a cancer diagnosis a few years ago, Pieter maintained his positive outlook on life, continued his research and collaborations, and carried on making plans for the future. We will miss his scientific input, his enthusiastic contributions to a diverse set of projects, and most of all his smile and warm friendship.
Share a message
Feel free to share your sympathies, click the button below to share your message.
Add messageCharles De Bock
Pieter could light up every room he entered in. His enthusiasm, passion and generosity in science will be missed. You left us too early Pieter. I will be forever grateful that I crossed paths with you.
Cedric Tremblay
Pieter was an incredibly talented scientist, a great mentor, but above all, a kind and generous friend. We will miss you
Dionysia Dimitrakopoulou
Rest in peace Professor!!It was my honor to meet you. My sincere condolences to the family.
domenico girelli
What a sad news. Rest in peace Pieter. My sincere condolences to the family.
frank speleman
Pieter was a great colleague and most of all a loyal friend with whom I could share everything. We had countless train rides from Antwerp to Ghent and back which were the perfect moment to share thoughts, problems and excitement on our projects as well as personal life. I learned so much from Pieter that I would call it reversed mentorship. He was always excited about new findings, shared all the latest new insights, techniques and contacts and lifted our work up to a higher level. He united and stimulated us to become better versions of ourselves. I will miss him every day of my further life.
David Kent
Incredibly sad news - Pieter and I did TRTH together and bonded over many of the issues facing early career experimental researchers. He was a friendly and critical scientific friend and a delightful human, an incredible loss for our community.
My thoughts are with your family Pieter - we will remember your contributions and your character and your legacy will live on through all those you interacted with.
Jan Cools
Thank you, Pieter, for your important contribution to basic and translational research on T-ALL and ALL in general. Your solid research approach and at the same time your care for everyone involved in these projects was remarkable. Always willing to contribute to new projects and to make it happen, full of energy and ideas. Forever in my heart as a wonderful colleague and friend.
Back