Projects
Viruses as tool and target: A Synthetic Biology approach towards exceptionally potent prophylactic and therapeutic vaccines KU Leuven
Response to emerging infectious disease threats requires the development of potent vaccines. By using the yellow fever 17D (YF17D) vaccine as exceptionally powerful viral vector, a series of novel recombinant vaccines has been engineered against several (highly) pathogenic agents such as the Zika, Ebola, and SARS-CoV-2 viruses, by integrating insight from the molecular virology (replications strategy, antigen structure and pathogenesis) of ...
Research on the containment of antibiotic resistance and the immune response of prophylactic and therapeutic vaccines. University of Antwerp
Adjuvanting aminopeptidase N-targeted oral vaccines to protect against gut pathogens Ghent University
Aminopeptidase N-mediated delivery of vaccine antigens to the gut immune system holds great promise to develop efficacious oral vaccines to combat gut pathogens in pigs. This project builds further on previous data showing protective immunity against infection with pathogenic E. coli induced by oral vaccination of piglets with aminopeptidase N-targeted vaccine antigens. In this project, we aim to optimize the design of our aminopeptidase ...
Improved respiratory syncytial virus (rsv) vaccines based on glycan modification of the viral fusion (f) protein. University of Antwerp
LNP-DECODE: Deciphering the adjuvants activity of lipid nanoparticle-based mRNA vaccines in primary dendritic cells Ghent University
This project aims to put UGent at the forefront of mRNA-vaccine research by providing in-depth insights in the adjuvant properties of LNP-based mRNA-vaccines. To this end, we will join the expertise of 3 teams working on dendritic cell biology, nucleic acid sensors and lipid nanoparticles respectively.This consortium will form the basis for the development of vaccines against autoimmune diseases.
Evaluation of highly immunogenic tumor cell vaccines in combination with regulatory T-cell depletion Ghent University
The aim of this project is to enhance the efficacy of tumor cell vaccines by increasing their immunogenicity and by combining the tumor cell vaccines with a depletion of regulatory T-cells. We will optimize this new vaccination strategy in tumor bearing mice. Subsequently, the most effective cancer vaccination protocol will be evaluated in dogs with cancer.
Characterisation of a novel Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) immune evasion mechanism and evaluation of the impact for development of novel vaccines and prophylactic and/or therapeutic antibodies University of Antwerp
Efficacy and immunological aspects of self-amplifying (sa) RNA vaccines encoding avian influenza antigens Ghent University
Chromatography for the purification of in vitro transcribed RNA as part of the production process of lipid nanoparticle vaccines and cancer immunotherapeutics for use in clinical trials (C-puRNA) Ghent University
The Cell and Gene therapy unit UZ Gent produces drugs based on cells and/or DNA/RNA for clinical trials. Recently, we focused on the development of the production process of RNA vaccines and RNA-based immunotherapeutics for cancer. We have an academic project in collaboration with the department of Pharmacy and Medical Genetics of the UGent, and VIB, as well as commercial collaborations. For the robust production of RNA-based medicinal ...