Projects
Structural, molecular, and cellular biology of PKD2 allosteric modulators as novel therapeutics for cancer KU Leuven
Recently, we applied computer aided drug design to develop
allosteric, isoenzyme specific inhibitors of Protein Kinase D2 (PKD2).
We have now validated our compounds as truly PKD2 isoenzyme
specific, with promising properties against pancreatic cancer,
glioblastoma and multiple myeloma (cancers of high unmet medical
need). While we have designed the compounds to bind a specific
location in PKD2, the crystal ...
Structural biology of Interleukin-34, a novel cytokine ligand for colony stimulating factor 1 receptor (CSF-1R) Ghent University
We propose an interdisciplinary research project at the frontline of molecular structural biology to dissect the interaction of a novel cytokine, interleukin 34, with its hematopoietic RTKIII receptor, Colony Stimulating Factor1 Receptor. The proposed research project aims to elucidate the structural, kinetic and thermodynamic determinants that dictate this unusual cytokinereceptor specificity, using both experimental and computational ...
Bacterial amyloid secretion: structural biology of curli biogenesis pathway. Vrije Universiteit Brussel
Structural biology of Helicobacter pylori virulence factors Vrije Universiteit Brussel
Structural and functional biology of bacterial S-layers Vrije Universiteit Brussel
Single-molecule fluorescence-based realtime structural biology of the adenosine A2A G-protein coupled receptor in microfabricated cells Hasselt University
Single-molecule fluorescence-based realtime structural biology of the adenosine A2A G-protein coupled receptor in microfabricated cells Hasselt University
Convergent evolution of functional surfaces in biology: surface structure complexity of lizard skin Ghent University
Because they constitute the interface between the organism and its environment, biological surfaces play a vital role in many processes. Recently, new imaging techniques have uncovered that bio-surfaces sport a vast variety of microscale and nanoscale structures that are thought to tailor their interfacing functions. However, exactly how they do that, and why surface ornamentation can differ so dramatically among species, remains heavily ...
DeoxyBioCat: Unlocking Synthetic Biology of Deoxy Sugars via Redesigned Biocatalytic Cascades Ghent University
Deoxysugars are special carbohydrates lacking at least one hydroxy
group. They are important building blocks and recognition sites in
functional oligosaccharides, glycoconjugates and natural glycosides
(e.g. antibiotics), in which they often critically affect bioactivity.
Deoxygenation of common sugars typically happens at nucleotide
sugar level and is catalyzed by 4,6-dehydratases that belong to the ...