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Characterizing the virus diversity in Belgian and European bats KU Leuven

Piet Maes
Laboratory of Clinical and Epidemiological Virology (Rega Institute), Virology, Antiviral Drug & Vaccine Research Group
Bats were already known to play an important role in the origin of viral epidemics, but they have regained international attention as important reservoirs of zoonotic viruses in the wake of the 2020 SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. Recent research has shown that bats harbor a much larger virus diversity than hitherto assumed, but comparably to other parts of Europe, almost nothing is known about bat-borne viruses in the Belgian bat population. By employing ...

T-cell receptor diversity and AT-rich DNA sensing by glial cells as key features in controlling neurological varicella-zoster virus infections. University of Antwerp

Pierre Van Damme
Centre for the Evaluation of Vaccination (CEV), Vaccine & Infectious Disease Institute (VAXINFECTIO)
Varicella-zoster virus (VZV) causes chickenpox in children and remains latent in neural ganglia afterwards. VZV reactivation causes shingles (herpes zoster, HZ). In WP1, we will prospectively recruit 150 HZ patients and 150 controls. We aim to show that the affinity of Major Histocompatibility Complex class I (MHC-I) molecules to bind VZV peptides, as needed for the development of VZV-specific Tcells, is reduced in HZ patients. Next, we will ...

Assessment of hepatitis B virus intra-host population and host-specific immune marker diversity with nextgeneration sequencing: from chronic infection to endstage liver disease and liver cancer. KU Leuven

MahmoudReza Pourkarim
Laboratory of Clinical and Epidemiological Virology (Rega Institute)

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) targets the liver and infection with HBV gradually leads to end stage liver diseases like liver cancer (Hepatocellular carcinoma) with annually almost 500,000 deaths. Actually, chronically infected HBV patients, have a high risk to develop above-mentioned liver complications. Viruses like other biological organisms change over time (evolution). These alterations at the viral genome are named mutations. Mutations have ...

Genetic Diversity of Bovine Viral Diarrhea Virus in Ethiopia for Vaccine Strain Selection and Opportunities to Advance Vaccine Development by Employing Immunoinformatic and Phage Display Approach KU Leuven

Jan Paeshuyse
Animal and Human Health Engineering (A2H)

Summary: Bovine viral diarrhea is a disease caused by the Bovine viral diarrhea virus (BVDV) in the genus Pestivirus, family Flaviviridae. The disease has a significant economic impact on cattle-producing industries (dairy and beef) and is highly prevalent worldwide, becoming an emerging disease in Africa, especially in Ethiopia. In Ethiopia, the dairy industry is expanding; however, diseases such as BVDV are becoming a barrier to ...

Integrating within-host genetic diversity and spatiotemporal data in phylogenetic reconstructions of RNA virus transmission KU Leuven

Philippe Lemey
Laboratory of Clinical and Epidemiological Virology (Rega Institute)

Viral diseases represent important threats, not only to public health but also to global and regional socio-economic networks. Their effective prevention and mitigation can only be achieved by understanding viral transmission dynamics. A critical tool in the hand of researchers and public health workers to achieve this goal is phylogenetic reconstruction, which is based on viral genetic information and allows the probabilistic reconstruction ...

Third generation sequencing and herpesvirus diversity: Towards complete double-stranded DNA virus genomes KU Leuven

Piet Maes, Marc Van Ranst
Laboratory of Clinical and Epidemiological Virology (Rega Institute)

Viral variability can be understood as genetic differences between nucleotide sequences. It can be used to define viral taxonomic units (species, genera, class, or family), viral subgroups, strains or life-cycle stages (lytic and latent phases). Viral diversity has been extensively studied, mostly through second-generation sequencing techniques, such as IonTorrent or Illumina sequencing. In the last years, third-generation ...

Characterization of fungal diversity associated with citrus crops in Cuba and development of accurate molecular diagnostic assays for Phyllosticta citricarpa. (R-8100) Hasselt University

Jaco VANGRONSVELD
Environmental Biology
On 15/06/2017 the Research Council has approved the short stay of dr. Ana Margarita Manzano Léon (Research Institute in Tropical Fruit Crops (IIFT), Cuba) at UHasselt, chargeable to the BOF-program 'Short Stays'. During his stay, dr. Ana Margarita Manzano Léon will perform research in collaboration with prof. Jaco Vangronsveld (research group DMKMB). The stay will take place in 2018.

Basic Research Collaboration between Firms and University (Star) Scientists KU Leuven

Stijn Kelchtermans
Department of Management, Strategy and Innovation (main work address Brussels), Department of Management, Strategy and Innovation (main work address Leuven)
Prior empirical studies (e.g. Gambardella, 1992; Cockburn and Henderson, 1998; Fabrizio, 2009; Leten et al., 2011, with the exception of Lim, 2004) have found positive performance consequences of conducting in-house basic research for firms in the pharmaceutical industry. The primary arguments relate to the deeper insights that basic research can provide to guide the firm in its innovative efforts, and the role of an active involvement in basic ...

Firms’ Research Collaboration with University Star Scientist: Antecedents and Conditions for Success KU Leuven

Rene Belderbos
Department of Management, Strategy and Innovation (main work address Leuven)

The research of her PhD explores the role of university star scientists, i.e. leading contributors to scientific research in their domain , as firms’ key partners in basic research. Her aim is to provide insights into the antecedents of these star-firm collaborations and the conditions under which they can enhance the innovative performance of firms. First,she seeks to explain why certain firms collaborate with university stars, while ...

How does the mosquito microbiota (virome and bacteriome) influence the ability of Culex mosquitoes to transmit West Nile Virus and Usutu Virus, two important emerging flaviviruses in Europe? KU Leuven

Jelle Matthijnssens
Laboratory of Clinical and Epidemiological Virology (Rega Institute), Laboratory of Virology and Chemotherapy (Rega Institute)

West Nile Virus (WNV) and Usutu Virus (USUV) are two important emerging threats to human and animal health in Europe. Both viruses are primarily transmitted by mosquitoes of the Culex genus, including Culex pipiens, the most widespread mosquito in our continent. Little is known about the microbiome (virome and bacteriome) of these mosquitoes, and even less is known about how they might affect the vector ...