Title Promoter Affiliations Abstract "A comparative clinical study of a stool-based versus a blood based screening test for early detection of CRC - Monomark - ERC POC" "Mazzone Max" "Mazzone Lab" "Bridging the current gap between cancer cell biology - autonomous traits of malignant cells - and tumor biology - non-autonomous traits where, the unique features of the TME along with its cellular cross-talks are the main drivers of malignancy, understanding of the environmental cues and molecular pathways that participate in the interaction between cancer cells and stromal cells within the harsh TME." "Modeling and experimental validation of a gliding arc discharge: Comparison of a classical and a plasmatron gliding arc." "Annemie Bogaerts" "Plasma Lab for Applications in Sustainability and Medicine - Antwerp (PLASMANT)" "The conversion of greenhouse gases (mainly CO2 and CH4) into value-added chemicals or renewablefuels is gaining increasing interest, to reduce the greenhouse gas concentrations and thus to solvethe problem of global warming. A gliding arc plasma is very promising in this respect, as it canactivate inert gas molecules at atmospheric pressure and moderate temperature with limitedenergy cost. However, the underlying mechanisms of a gliding arc are far from understood.In this project, we will try to obtain a better insight in the basic mechanisms of two types of glidingarc plasmas, i.e., a classical gliding arc, and a new type of reverse vortex flow gliding arc(plasmatron), which might be even more promising for greenhouse gas conversion.We will do this by means of extensive modeling, validated by experiments. First, we will study theplasma chemistry of a CH4/CO2 mixture. This plasma chemistry will be inserted in a coupledmagnetohydrodynamics (MHD) - kinetics model to study the spatial and temporal plasmaproperties. The model will be validated by experiments, performed in Antwerp and in Liverpool. Wewill investigate the effects of CH4/CO2 ratio, discharge power and gas flow rates in both types ofgliding arcs, on the gas conversion, the yields and selectivities of the formed products and on theenergy efficiency, both theoretically and experimentally. This will allow us to predict which are theoptimum conditions and plasma setup for the greenhouse gas conversion." "A comparative clinical study of a stool-based versus a blood-based screening test for earlydetection of CRC" "Max Mazzone" "Laboratory of Tumor Inflammation and Angiogenesis (VIB-KU Leuven)" "Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the third most common cancer worldwide and the second leading cause of cancer deaths in Europe and USA. Its incidence and difficult early-diagnosis make CRC a primary focus in the oncology community. Although colonoscopy is currently the most reliable clinical tool for precise detection of CRC, the invasive nature and the incurred cost have hampered the wide application of this procedure. On the other hand, the fecal occult blood test (FOBT) and the fecal immunoistochemical test (FIT) are non-invasive screening tests that can be used prior to colonoscopy. However, they both lack the sensitivity or specificity required for an effective screening tool and they require meticulous dietary restriction, overall not reaching the full compliance of the general population. Thus, there is a pressing need to identify specific non-invasive biomarkers for early diagnosis of CRC. Within the frame of the ERC starting grant OxyMO, we investigated the diagnostic potential of blood derived circulating monocytes for colorectal cancer (CRC). Our transcriptome characterization revealed a CRC-specific gene signature that was further developed as the ‘Monomark‘ diagnostic test (patent WO2013/110817), which showed a strong diagnostic power for CRC detection. This signature was triggered by signals specifically released by CRC cells regardless of their stromal niche (primary tumor vs. metastatic site) or oxygen tension. In this prospective study, we will compare the strength of the Monomark signature towards the FIT test in patients with a positive stool test. Therefore, in parallel to the routine FIT screening, blood samples will be harvested and the monocyte genetic profile will be determined. This fundamental study, will disclose the diagnostic power of our biomarker panel head to head with the well-established FIT diagnostic test, a core prerequisite for the commercialization of the Monomark test as an alternative and more reliable CRC screening tool." "MIMICRY - Modulating Immunity and the Microbiome for effective CRC." "Ecosphere, Systemic Physiological and Ecotoxicological Research (SPHERE), Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Ghent University, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, ADReM Data Lab (ADReM)" "A fundamentally important biological question is how our bodies maintain a critical balance between inflammation and immune tolerance, and how this may be modified or evaded by cancers. The human colon, a tissue where many inflammatory diseases and cancers arise, performs this balancing act basally in the presence of dietary antigens and the normal microbiome. Within this homeostatic state, colorectal polyps and colorectal cancer (CRC) arise and can evade clearance by the immune system despite treatment by immune checkpoint inhibitors. We hypothesize that these pre-malignant lesions subvert the default tolerogenic state of the colon and induce additional immunosuppressive mechanisms. Deciphering the complex interaction between the epithelium, immune system and microbiome requires a talented group of researchers with complementary expertise. The unique composition of this 'MIMICRY' iBOF consortium aims to combine human samples, state-of-the-art immunology, novel tools, and in vivo mouse models to study the multi-factorial aspects of colorectal cancers. These will help develop novel immunotherapeutic strategies." "Modeling how pre-existing TCR clones affect vaccine-induced T-cell responses (CELLULO-EPI-BASE)." "Benson Ogunjimi" "Centre for Health Economics Research and Modelling of Infectious Diseases (CHERMID)" "T-cells are increasingly recognized to be pivotal actors in the development of vaccine-induced immune responses. Through their T-cell receptor (TCR) on their cell surface, T-cells can recognize antigens derived from pathogens or vaccines. The strength of the interaction between the TCRs and the vaccine antigens will direct the T-cell dynamics after vaccination. In this project, we will analyse the TCR repertoires from participants from three distinct vaccination cohorts prior to vaccination and after vaccination. We will develop a computational tool (later to be transformed into a software package) that will allow us to accurately predict, by using the baseline TCR data alone, which vaccinees will develop a robust immune response after vaccination. This tool holds the potential to have an important impact on different aspects and actors of vaccinology ranging from the vaccine industry to public health researchers." "Oncoproteomics and 3D culture as tools to understand and prevent CRC metastasis" "Susana Neves Rocha" "Molecular Imaging and Photonics" "Cancer metastasis is the main cause of cancer associated death, the dissemination and spreading of tumoral cells from its original niche makes treatment and eradication of the malignancy almost impossible. We want to gain further insights into colorectal cancer (CRC) metastasis and this way find new diagnostic tools that allow for the early detection of CRC tumours before they have the chance to colonize other tissues. We will evaluate the diagnostic potential of proteins identified as upregulated in CRC metastatic cell lines during my PhD. We will evaluate their diagnostic and screening capacity using sera of control and CRC patients as well as patient tissue microarrays. In parallel, to understand the role of these markers in the progression and onset of CRC we will edit and label them to follow their activity real-time in living cells.Additionally, we will study the role of the mechanical environment around CRC tumour cells in the progression of the disease and try to understand how cells sense and are affected by mechanical cues. Furthermore, we will also characterize at the proteomic level CRC cells differentiated in 3D to discover new possible markers that might have been overlooked so far because of the usage of 2D culture conditions. Taking advantage of the tuneable and biomimetic properties of synthetic hydrogels, we will investigate how the mechanical and chemical cues of the matrix can influence metastasis." "Optimizing a high throughput TCR-epitope recognition tool to characterize microbiome specific TCR interactions in colorectal cancer" "Sabine Tejpar" "Digestive Oncology, Molecular Digestive Oncology" "Emerging studies have highlighted the interactions of the microbiome and the immune system in affecting cancer development and responses to immunotherapies. Multiple studies have put effort on identifying specific microbiota antigens interacting with T cell subsets, while very limited number of microbiome antigens have been identified to date. It still remains a major challenge mainly due to microbial complexity and low throughput of current TCR-epitope recognition tools. Hence in this project, we aim to set up a high throughput TCR-epitope recognition tool to identify the interactions of microbial epitopes with T cells in colorectal cancer. To achieve this, we will first set up a TCR-epitope recognition tool and assess the detection limits and accuracy. Then, we will establish a high throughput screening pipeline for identification of microbial associated peptides (MAPs) recognizing TCRs, building on expertise and tools at UCL. We will select candidate TCRs and MAPs and validate their interactions via the optimized pipeline, using expertise at KUL. Combining with the expertise and effort from both sides, we could characterize the interactions of microbiome specific TCR interactions in colorectal cancer." "Neuro-immune crosstalk favouring CRC progression and dissemination" "Gianluca Matteoli" "Translational Research in GastroIntestinal Disorders" "Colorectal cancer (CRC) accounts for approximately 10% of all annually diagnosed cancers and cancer-related deaths worldwide. Nowadays, with continuing diagnostic progress also in developing countries, the incidence of CRC worldwide is predicted to increase to 2·5 million new cases in 2035. Furthermore, although innovative technologies have had a significant impact on the diagnosis and therapy of CRC, patients with advanced disease still have a very poor prognosis. This is in part due to the fact that CRC consists of rapidly evolving neoplasms acquiring several mutations and increasing complexity of the tumour microenvironment (TME). Apart from malignant epithelial cells, the CRC microenvironment is populated by resident stromal cells together with recruited immune cells such as tumour-associated macrophages (TAMs) favouring cancer growth and dissemination. However, nowadays, it is not entirely clear which environmental cues might favour the differentiation of inflammatory monocytes towards TAMs, M2-like macrophages with the typical upregulation of ARG1, and the scavenger receptors like CD204 and CD206. Recently, the enteric nervous system (ENS) has associated with TME. However, even though neuronal infiltration has been associated with worsened prognosis in several tumours, not much is known in the context of CRC so far. Interestingly, we have observed an intense crosstalk between enteric glia, the largest component of the ENS and macrophages in colonic murine tumours, leading us to hypothesize that ENS may be responsible for the accumulation and differentiation of TAMs, resulting into tumour progression." "Towards a fundamental understanding of a gliding arc discharge for the purpose of greenhouse gas conversion into value-added chemicals (GlidArc)." "Annemie Bogaerts" "Plasma Lab for Applications in Sustainability and Medicine - Antwerp (PLASMANT)" "Global climate change due to anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions is a growing concern. The conversion of greenhouse gases (mainly CO2, CH4) to value-added chemicals or renewable fuels is an effective strategy to reduce these emissions and an interesting process both from economic and ecological point of view. A gliding arc (GlidArc) plasma offers unique perspectives for activating inert molecules at mild conditions and allows the greenhouse gas conversion with limited energy cost. A GlidArc is, however, very complex and poorly understood. Therefore, this project intends to obtain more fundamental insight in the plasma-mechanisms of the GlidArc for greenhouse gas conversion, by means of extensive modeling, validated by experimental diagnostics." "Strengthen research and education capacities in the partner institutes (INRB, CRSK, ESP) in DRC (Outcome 1) - Support to interruption of transmission of Human African Trypanosomiasis (HAT) by 2030 (Outcome 2)" "Veerle Vanlerberghe" "Entomology, Virology, Department of Biomedical Sciences, Medical Helminthology, Trypanosoma, Mycobacteriology, Malariology, Department of Public Health, Management, ITM DRC Unit, Mycobacterial Diseases and Neglected Tropical Diseases, Emerging Infectious Diseases" "OC1: De gezondheid van een bevolking verbeteren is een visionair doel. Vooral in de DRC, die onevenredig veel gezondheidsproblemen en armoede kent. Het langdurige partnerschap tussen ITM en zijn Congolese partners, Institut Nationalde Recherche Biomédicale (INRB), Centre de Recherche en Santé de Kimpese (CRSK) en Ecole de Santé Publique(ESP) en hun unieke expertise heeft ons geleerd dat de veerkracht van een gezondheidssysteem ertoe bijdraagt dat het meer reactief, toegankelijk en efficiënt wordt. Wij werken via een participatief en gelijkwaardig partnerschap om de individuele en institutionele capaciteiten te versterken. Een van de basisvoorwaarden van dit partnerschap is de noodzaak van co-creatie, de gedeelde verantwoordelijkheid van onze drie partners en hun inbedding in de relevante netwerken. Synergieën zijn dus van vitaal belang om dit doel zowel op nationaal als op internationaal niveau te bereiken. Door van deze mogelijkheid gebruik te maken, kan de vroegtijdige identificatie van belanghebbenden in dit proces de basis vormen voor een gezamenlijke en participatieve actiestrategie.In de kern van onze activiteiten zal de ontwikkeling van verschillende platforms (administratieve, technische, klinische, epidemiologische, interdisciplinaire One-Health...) bijdragen tot het vergroten van de individuele competenties in onderzoeksmethodologieën op verschillende gebieden (biomedisch, klinisch, epidemiologisch, volksgezondheid en sociale wetenschappen). Hierdoor zullen onze partners kunnen uitgroeien tot centra van excellentie; zij zullen hun specifieke deskundigheid kunnen inbrengen om geldige onderzoeksresultaten te produceren en deze te vertalen in empirisch onderbouwd beleid waarmee specifieke gezondheidsproblemen worden aangepakt via de ontwikkeling van diensten voor de samenleving en waardoor de kwaliteit van de diensten kan worden verbeterd en de beschikbaarheid van diensten zoals diagnostische instrumenten kan worden vergroot. Er wordt gestreefd naar een situatie waarin de beginselen van billijkheid in acht worden genomen.OC2: Deze interventie ondersteunt de bestrijding van humane Afrikaanse Trypanosomiasis (HAT of slaapziekte) in de DRC, die vooral de armen op het platteland treft. De tussenkomst draagt bij tot het internationale engagement van België, dat in 2017 samen met BMGF het voortouw nam om de slaapziekte uit te roeien. In combinatie met andere interventies ter ondersteuning van de bestrijding van HAT, zou deze steun moeten leiden tot de stopzetting van de overdracht van HAT tegen 2030. In tegenstelling tot andere interventies in het meerjarenprogramma van ITM en DGD zal het onderzoek beperkt zijn. De verwachte impact op de bevolking is echter groot en de lessen die daaruit worden getrokken, kunnen ook nuttig zijn voor het Congolese gezondheidsstelsel. Nu de prevalentie van de ziekte de afgelopen jaren is afgenomen, moeten de strategieën worden aangepast om verdere vooruitgang mogelijk te maken. De invoering van meer gerichte en diverse benaderingen die via deze interventie worden toegepast, zal de kans vergroten om de resterende besmettingshaarden op te sporen en meer inzicht te krijgen in de resterende ziekteoverdracht. Innovatieve strategieën die aan specifieke contexten zijn aangepast, zullen het mogelijk maken een betere dekking te bereiken, hetgeen een sleutelelement is om ervoor te zorgen dat de overdracht kan worden geëlimineerd. Tegelijkertijd zal de kwaliteitsborging worden versterkt."