Projects
Transcriptome profile of the human placenta: in search of maternal and fetal genetic factors associated with preterm birth. Ghent University
Preterm birth is defined as childbirth before 37 completed weeks of pregnancy. It is the
leading cause of perinatal morbidity and mortality, leading to high costs in care and long-term disability. It accounts for 5-12 % of all live births worldwide. Multiple factors, both endogenous and exogenous to the mother seem to play a role. Genetic factors appear to be involved, as apparent from disparities between racial groups and on familial ...
A genetic approach for the study of Notch signaling in normal and malignant hematopoiesis in human Ghent University
The immune system is our body’s major defense mechanism against invading pathogens,
as well as against tumor cells. One of the critical white blood cells that plays a central role in the immune system are T lymphocytes, cells that are generated from blood forming
stem cells through a process that is driven by the Notch signaling pathway. In a number of
clinical cases, for example after radio- and/or chemotherapy prior to stem ...
Unravelling the genetic control over immune-cell levels. KU Leuven
The immune system is a complex interactive system of different types of leukocytes, whose primary purpose is to defend the body against infectious diseases and pathogens. However, imbalances in leukocyte levels can drive autoimmunity and allergy, and thus the levels of each cell type are critical. To date, systematic assessment of the role of genetic variation on the immune system has been limited. Recently developed technologies enable the ...
In vivo multidrug-tolerant persister cells and their evolution in the face of antibiotic treatment: genetic and physiological adaptation mechanisms KU Leuven
Antibiotics have revolutionized medical practice against life-threatening infectious diseases. However, the evolution of antibiotic resistance currently poses a major threat to health-care, leading to worldwide increased morbidity and mortality. In addition to resistance, it is becoming clear that antibiotic therapy failure in many bacteria also results from a subset of cells that have switched to an antibiotic-tolerant “persister” state. ...
Exploration of the genetic basis of thoracic aortic aneurysm with focus on bicuspid aortic valve related aortopathy. University of Antwerp
Dissecting the genetic interactions controlling α-Synuclein accumulation in Parkinson’s Disease KU Leuven
Genetic risk constitutes complex interactions among numerous genomic loci to affect disease susceptibility. Given the simultaneous involvement of numerous genetic factors, and the difficulty to identify the relevant affected genes by genome-wide association studies (GWAS), it has been notoriously difficult to define the most critical pathways for further functional testing. In this proposal I will use a novel technology to define, in a high ...
A multi-modal and longitudinal approach to study the neurobiological underpinnings of disease onset and progression in genetic ALS variants: from presymptomatic to symptomatic disease stages. KU Leuven
The main goal of this project is to better understand how neurodegeneration and neuroinflammation fit in a sequential model of disease progression in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS). ALS is a complex neurodegenerative disorder with a myriad of disease presentations at the clinical, genetic and pathogenic level. Neuroinflammation and neurodegeneration play a key role in ALS pathophysiology, but there is no consensus on the regional and ...
Natural and experimental evolution as a novel tool to identify genetic mechanisms underlying the complex phenotype of multidrug tolerance KU Leuven
During the golden age of antibiotic discovery, the fight against bacterial infections was believed to be won. Indeed, the introduction of antibiotics has changed health-care by curing previously untreatable infectious diseases and allowing for more efficient prophylaxis. Yet, recently, the evolution of antibiotic resistance has become a serious danger. The problem is even worse as antibiotic tolerance in many bacteria not only relies on the ...
Integrating within-host genetic diversity and spatiotemporal data in phylogenetic reconstructions of RNA virus transmission KU Leuven
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 ...