Projects
Molecular mechanism of the honeybee nicotinic acetylcholine receptor, the target for neonic insecticides KU Leuven
Bees are vital for pollination on our planet. In modern agriculture, crops globally produced for human consumption critically depend on pollinators such as bees. Human impact on climate change is well recognized and bee health is under pressure. One of the likely factors contributing to the worldwide decline of bee populations is the widespread use of a group of insecticides containing neonicotinoids, which affect bee memory, behavior and ...
High-throughput electrophysiological phenotyping of synthetic Parkinson patient-specific nigrostriatal microcircuits KU Leuven
Most cases of Parkinson’s Disease (PD) are due to unknown causes, preventing the development of curative treatments. Rare heritable PD caused by mutations in single genes has been studied as a model of the general sporadic form. Previous studies support this approach as heritable and sporadic PD share common molecular defects. This project aims to link the causal factors of sporadic cases with the ones present in genetically-driven cases.
...Pharmacological targeting of the heat-activated TRP channel triad for pain relief KU Leuven
About 1 in 5 adults worldwide suffer from moderate-to-severe chronic pain. Existing pain therapies are often insufficient to obtain sufficient relief. Moreover, widely used analgesic drugs have serious side-effects and, as is the case with opioids, cause tolerance and potentially fatal addiction. Therefore, there is a large unmet need for new and safer pain therapies.
In this project, we focus on a triad of ion channels, TRPV1, TRPM3 and ...
A zebrafish model system to assess pathogenicity of genetic variants in patients with cardiac arrhythmias. University of Antwerp
The neural signature of human (sub)conscious visual processing KU Leuven
The concept of subconscious information processing has intrigued
investigators from different research disciplines for a long time. Visual
input can be dissociated from perceptual awareness through different
stimulus presentation paradigms to study subconscious visual
processing. Until now, these paradigms were mainly a research topic
in human cognitive psychology and non-human primate
...Neurophysiological mechanisms of hypoperfusion in stroke KU Leuven
Perception, action and cognition are achieved through complex functional interactions between highly interconnected regions in the brain. Blood supply plays a key role in supporting the reorganization of brain functional architecture. Thus, an abnormal blood supply in a brain area can disrupt this coordinated activity, and yields behavioural deficits, which can strongly affect people’s quality of life.
In this project, I will shed light ...
In vitro and in vivo characterization of a gain-of-function mutation of TRPM3 associated with peripheral disability and epilepsy KU Leuven
Chronic pain is a major health problem with an estimated 100 million people suffering from it in Europe. Despite the tremendous amount of analgesics, the majority of patients cannot be helped with the drugs currently on the market, reducing the quality of life significantly. New approaches are of high need and could be the start for new therapeutics. TRPM3 is a non-selective cation channel that can be activated by a plethora of stimuli. ...
Patient-derived cell models and genome engineering for precision therapy of cystic fibrosis KU Leuven
Cystic fibrosis (CF) is the most common life-shortening monogenic disorder causing multi-organ disease. CF is caused by mutations in the CFTR gene, which encodes a Cl-/HCO3- channel expressed in the apical membrane of epithelial cells. Current small molecule treatment is available to ~60% of CF patients and with new modulators in the pipeline, potentially 90% of CF patients can be treated. The last 10%, i.e. the minimal function mutations, ...