Projects
On epigenetics and how 'environmental' factors contribute to the long-term legacy of pediatric critical illness KU Leuven
Critically ill patients are patients who, due to a variety of triggering medical conditions, require vital organ support to avoid imminent death. Despite major progress in intensive care the patients still face a high mortality risk. Moreover, critical illness is hallmarked by features of accelerated aging where many patients experience an adverse legacy of the illness long after hospital discharge. This is mostly described for adults and ...
Exploring the contribution of “phenotype switching” in melanoma progression, invasion and metastatic dissemination in a refined mouse model of melanoma. KU Leuven
Identification of the cancer cell of origin is a critical step towards earlier detection of malignancies, better prediction of tumor behavior and development of preventive therapies. It is unresolved as to whether cutaneous melanoma, the deadliest form of all skin cancers, originates from a resident adult melanocyte stem cell (MSC) or from a more differentiated melanocyte. Here, we used lineage-tracing approaches and mouse genetics to ...
The intimate link between hepatitis C virus and the host lipid metabolism as a potential target for inhibition of viral replication. KU Leuven
Molecular Imaging Center Antwerp - Bio-Imaging Lab (MICA-BIL). University of Antwerp
High-resolution slide scanner for digital histopathological phenotyping in health and disease. University of Antwerp
The functional role of frontal and parietal cortex in top-down and bottom-up driven processes: a combined optogenetic, electrophysiology and fMRI study. KU Leuven
To accomplish virtually any task, we rely on top-down processing in our brain, that is not directly driven by sensory stimulation. To improve our understanding of the neuronal mechanisms underlying such processes, we aim to investigate the behavioral and functional impact of very short interruptions of activity in key nodes of the brain’s network involved in top-down and bottom-up processes. First, we will use high resolution functional ...
Metabolic characterisation of renal endothelial cells in health and diseases KU Leuven
Chronic kidney disease is a growing public health concern already affecting close to 10% of the European population. The only viable option for end-stage renal disease patients is kidney transplantation, yet the number of good quality donor kidneys does not meet up to the actual demand at all. Contributing to this is the ischemia/reperfusion injury (IRI) to which kidneys are unavoidably exposed during graft preservation and transplantation. ...
Innovative imaging techniques to predict treatment outcome in pediatric obstructive sleep apnea. University of Antwerp
A novel method to identify BYD virus susceptibility genes and improve sustainable cultivation of wheat KU Leuven
There has been a growing interest to determine and investigate the functional properties of RNA-binding proteins (RBP) in a wide variety of organisms. For this purpose, several new RNA-centric approaches have been developed. Most of these novel methodologies focused on translucent and/or single cell or monolayer type organisms and are often not optimal for multilayer and more structured sample types such as plant material. Although the ...