Name Responsible Activity "Department of Geology" "Marc De Batist" "The Department Geology and Soil Science is responsible for research in Geology. Our department consists of 6 research units (Soil Science, Hydrogeology and Applied Geology, Marine Geology, Mineralogy and Petrology, Paleontology, Pore-scale Processes in Geomaterials), with a total of approximately 100 co-operators, all in charge for scientific research in 3 major thematic research domains: 'Global Change Geology', 'Geomaterials and Natural Resources' and Earth and Environmental Sciences' ..." "Particle Physics Group" "Pierre Van Mechelen" "The Elementary Particle Physics group (EDF) has a long tradition in experimental and phenomenological research of high-energy collisions produced at the highest-energy particle accelerators and colliders in the world. The emphasis lies on multi-particle production processes, the experimental study of quantumchromodynamics, the mechanism of diffractive collisions, Higgs search and supersymmetry. The group presently participates in - the H1 experiment at the HERA electron/positron-proton collider in DESY, Hamburg. Recent activities involved the installation of a novel proton spectrometer in the HERA proton beamline for the study of virtual photon diffraction. -the CMS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider, now under construction in CERN, Geneva, and due to start up in 2007. The group is actively involved in the large international team responsible for the construction of the (forward) central tracking detector, built from silicon sensors. The central tracker contains about 250 square metres of such Si detectors. The group played a leading role in the design and construction of automatic long-term-teststations for the sensors, and in read-out electronics for the CMS-tracket data-acquisition system. Other activities include physics and detector design studies for the CMS 'Forward Physics' programme." "Astrophysics research group" "The main area of interest of the Astrophysics Research Group (ARG) concerns the structure and the dynamical state of star forming regions during the last phase of their evolution, i.e. systems of recently formed stars embedded in the remains of their parental interstellar cloud. The research group aims to contribute to the following more specific areas within this framework : - the collection of observational information required to establish more realistic theoretical models for the distribution in phase space of the stars and the interstellar mass in a star forming region; - improvement of existing software for the reduction of observational data (in particular for echelle spectra and for the derivation of radial velocities by cross-correlation); - the gravitational dynamics of open clusters, in particular those phenomena which are characteristic for systems with a relatively small number (100 to 1000) of mass-points; the creation of software for numerical simulation of the evolution and for the interpretation of the results thereof; - application of advanced statistical techniques for parametric and non-parametric estimation of probability densities in the interpretation of observational data. During the past decade the group has devoted most of its efforts to the improvement of precision (minimizing random errors) and accuracy (minimizing systematic errors) in the measurement of radial velocities of early-type stars, in collaboration with several foreign research groups under the auspices of Commission 30 of the I.A.U. Presently we are studying the multiplicity of members of the Sco-Cen association using astrometric and photometric data from the HIPPARCOS mission the photometric database ASAS and supplemented by information from dedicated spectroscopic observations. Finally, we are involved in the preparation of the next astrometric ESA-mission (GAIA) which will probably be launched in the period 2010-2012." Cardiology "Stefan Janssens" "- Coronary restenosis: clinical and experimental studies on restenosis of coronary arteries. - Myocardial infarction: clinical and experimental studies on coronary trombosis, limitation of infarct size, trombolytic agents, regulation of coronary blood flow and myocardial metabolism during ischemia and infarction. - Echocardiography: clinical and experimental studies on backscatter of ultrasound in diverse disease states; computerstudies on quantitative echocardiography. - Electrophysiology: studies on sudden death and its prevention. - Cardiac transplantation: studies on the metabolic consequences of immuno-suppressive therapy. - Heart rate variability: studies on mathematical models of heart rate variability in the experimental animal and man.-endothelial progenitor cell function – inflammation and oxidative stress in ischemic heart  disease – microvascular disease in the myocardium" "Centre for Sociological Research" "Karin Hannes" "The main research topics at the Centre for Sociological Research are: work, organization, family, historic demography, population, health care, social policy, sociological theory, cultural studies, art, education, survey methodology and political opinion research.For more information about the research topics of the different research teams belonging to this department see : - Theoretical Sociology, Sociology of culture and Sociology of Education - Sociology of Labour and Organisational Sociology - Centre for Sociology of Family, Population and Health Care - Reserach Centre for Data Collection and Analysis - Sociology of Social Policy - Family Sciences Information, Documentation and Service Centre - Flemish Self-help Support Centre" "Department of Applied Geology" "Topic A : Extensive geological research with regard to the climate changes (global change) Topic B : Prospection of loose deposits Topic C : New building materials Topic D : Risk zones in tetonic areas Topic E : Natural hazards and the subsoil investigation for building projects Topic F : Research on geological apparatuses and advanced computer programmes (for geology)" "Physical Geography" "Philippe Huybrechts" "The Research Unit of Physical Geography develops activities along two main fields:1. Ice and Climate (contact P. Huybrechts)2. Volcanology, geomorphology, and natural hazards (contact M. Kervyn)  Ice and Climate The Ice and Climate research group focuses on the dynamics of glaciers and ice sheets and their interaction with the climatic system. Emphasis is laid on the development and application of three-dimensional thermomechanical ice flow models of the continental cryosphere (Greenland, Antarctica, Quaternary ice sheets of the northern hemisphere), complemented with field-based activities on alpine glaciers.Current projects aim at a better understanding of the response of the large polar ice sheets to a warming climate, the dynamics of mountain glaciers and small ice caps, and the evolution of global sea level on centennial to millennial time scales. Key periods during the past such as the Last Interglacial are studied with  Earth System Models focusing on ice sheet-ocean and ice sheet-atmosphere interactions.  Nested flow models applied to ice-core locations on both the Antarctic and Greenland ice sheet are used to assist with the dating and interpretation of ice-core records.New research efforts being developed include the assimilation of satellite-based remote sensing data to better initialise ice sheet models and the interactive coupling of ice sheet models with regional climate and ocean models at high resolution.  Volcanology, geomorphology and natural hazards The Volcanology, Geomorphology and Natural hazards research group focuses on the study of hazardous geomorphological and volcanological processes in developing countries, with a specific attention to volcano geomorphology, volcano-tectonic processes and landslides. Current projects are dedicated to the study of hazardous morpho-structural processes in active volcanic regions, including the modelling of volcano growth through eruptive and intrusive processes, lava flow emplacement, flank collapse, interactions with tectonic structures and erosion processes. The applications concentrate in volcanic regions of Africa including North Tanzania, the Virunga Volcanic Province in D.R. Congo, Mt Cameroon, and Mt Karthala in the Comores.A new research effort is currently being developed to study slope instabilities in developing countries, modelling the spatial distribution of hazards, and studying the impact and remediation strategies for local populations. A growing attention is also paid to the perception and adaptation of population to geohazards.Research approaches involve combining remote sensing and field observations with scaled quantitative analogue models and application of existing numerical models." "VIB CMN - Microglia and Inflammation in Neurological Disorders (MIND) lab" "Renzo Mancuso" "Microglia and neuroinflammation play a central role in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease and other neurodegenerative disorders. Our primary focus is to examine the underlying molecular mechanisms that drive Alzheimer's disease (AD) and Frontotemporal dementia (FTD), with special focus on inflammatory networks and particularly the contribution of microglia. We use mouse models, iPSC and cutting-edge humanised mouse systems to determine the immune component of these disorders and determine how genetics alter microglial function and contribute to the initiation and perpetuation of brain disease." "Cardiac Surgery" "Bart Meyns" "Protection of the heart against ischemic damage - Myocardial protection in isolated hearts with NMR during cardiac surgery: global myocardial ischemia. (joint study). - 24 hours preservation of the heart 'ex vivo' for cardiac transplantation. - Postischemic myocardial dysfunction and influence of inotropic drugs. - Isolated heart ischemia and influence of volatile anaesthesia. - Cardiopulmonary bypass techniques. - Isolated heart-perfusion techniques. - General hemodynamic measurements: pressure, flux, thermodilution, electrocardiogram. - Regional flow measurements with radioactive tracer microspheres (gamma counter). - Staining techniques based on extracorporeal perfusion of viabel and infarcted areas of the heart." "Centre for Molecular Separation Science & Technology" "Centre for Molecular Separation Science & Technology"