Bernd Nilius worked on many types of ion channels, discovered in 1985 the T-type Ca2+ channels in cardiac cells and focused later on ion channels in vascular endothelium, especially Cl- channels (first functional description of the volume regulated anion channel, VRAC). In Leuven, he initiated a very successful research on TRP channels reaching from their molecular characterization, their function in native cells and their impact on human diseases.