Projects
Exposure to surrounding green space during early life and the development of the respiratory system up to early adulthood. A prospective epidemiological study University of Antwerp
IMPLEMENTATION OF GENOME-WIDE CELL-FREE DNA SEQUENCING FOR THE EARLY IDENTIFICATION AND EFFICIENT MANAGEMENT OF HIGH-RISK PREGNANCIES KU Leuven
IMPLEMENTATION OF GENOME-WIDE CELL-FREE DNA SEQUENCING FOR THE EARLY IDENTIFICATION AND EFFICIENT MANAGEMENT OF HIGH-RISK PREGNANCIES
In prenatal diagnosis, NIPT (non-invasive prenatal testing) has been introduced as a safe and reliable screening test for common fetal chromosomal aneuploidies (trisomy 21, 18 and 13). The test is based on sequencing fetal cell-free DNA (cffDNA) in the maternal circulation of pregnant women. In 2013, ...
Chromosomal instability during early embryonic development: elucidating key mechanisms in a bovine model Ghent University
Humans are surprisingly infertile with young fertile women getting pregnant in only 30 % of the cycles after natural intercourse. Chromosomal abnormalities are a major cause of early pregnancy loss in humans. Recently, we developed a genome wide single blastomere screening method and revealed a remarkably high level of chromosomal instability in embryos following in vitro fertilization (IVF). In addition to whole chromosome anomalies also ...
Translocation of black carbon from the mother to the fetus. Development of a new internal label-free biomarker of black carbon exposures and its link with the early life origin of health and disease concept. KU Leuven
Current ambient outdoor air pollution concentrations are responsible for 3.7 million premature deaths worldwide. The combustion-related particulate matter (PM) air pollution, indicated as black carbon (BC), increases cardiovascular morbidity and mortality, but also chronic respiratory diseases and lung cancer. Two hypotheses are used to explain these findings both from experimental as well as epidemiological studies. First, particles produce ...
Prediction models and peptide profiling in the assessment of the implant ation potential of early embryos KU Leuven
Summary
In IVF/ICSI treatments, two or more embryos are often transferred to maximize the chance of success, which brings results in a high incidence of multiple pregnancy. Multiple pregnancies are associated with an increased incidence of mortality, a higher percentage of birth defects, increased incidence of low birth weight and premature deliveries. Performing single embryo transfers is the only way to avoid multiples pregnancies. ...
ATHLETE : Advancing Tools for Human Early Lifecourse Exposome research and Translation Hasselt University
Delivered with care. Perspectives on maternal health and reproduction in Belgium and Italy (17th to early 20th centuries). Ghent University
I examine whether socially stratified medicalization was a factor in the European fertility transition. The transition refers to a general decline in birth rates due to effective use of birth control within marriage. The project is based on the hypothesis that between the 17th and 20th century health was increasingly perceived as manageable. In this project I focus on maternal health. This refers to the physical wellbeing of mothers in ...
Documenting stillbirths and early neonatal deaths to improve maternal and newborn health in Cambodia Institute of Tropical Medicine
Uncovering factors of early human embryo development KU Leuven
Pluripotency is a key property of the early human embryo that endows cells with the ability to give rise to all cell types in the body. Insights into pluripotency are instrumental for better understanding the causes of congenital diseases and designing improved infertility treatments. Pluripotency is controlled by a collection of molecular regulators that interact with each other, forming gene networks. However, the gene networks of ...