Name "Intellectual Property" "Digestive Oncology" "Sabine Tejpar" "Digestive Oncology" "Center for Oncological Research (CORE)" "Evelien Smits" "The Center for Oncological Research (CORE) is a joint oncology research platform of the University of Antwerp, where basic, translational and (pre)clinical cancer research is being performed. Our research focuses on: 1) developing and testing novel cancer therapies; 2) improving methods for diagnosis and follow-up; and 3) characterizing tumors and their micro-environment. CORE is operational on three sites: 1) the University of Antwerp Campus Drie Eiken (Wilrijk); 2) the Antwerp University Hospital (Edegem); and 3) the GZA Hospitals Campus Sint-Augustinus (Wilrijk). The large number of collaborating cancer researchers at CORE, the availability of high-tech lab facilities and of patient material via Tumorbank@UZA and the strong nexus between clinical and biomedical researchers are our assets that contribute to our internationally recognized expertise in cancer research." "Laboratory of Cell Stress & Immunity" "Abhishek Garg" "The Laboratory for Cell Stress & Immunity (CSI) focusses on following research themes: cancer immunology & immunotherapy (e.g. DC vaccines, immune-checkpoint blockers, chemo-immunotherapy), immunology of cancer cell death (e.g. programmed cell death like apoptosis, necrosis & necroptosis; stress responses, inflammation, immunity), stress or therapy-elicited immune-signalling pathways (e.g. type I interferons, NFkB signalling, phagocytosis, cytokines/chemokines, danger signals), immune cell biology (DCs, macrophages & T cells) and biomarkers for clinical immuno-oncology (e.g. computational immunology-driven analyses of CD8 T cell exhaustion/tumour immune-landscape & functional immunology of cancer patient's serum). Ultimately, our laboratory aims to specialize in reverse translational approaches to hasten basic and translational progress in the field of immuno-oncology." "Social Epidemiology & Health Policy (SEHPO)" "Guido Van Hal" "Regarding Social Epidemiology, an important line of research within our Research Group is the licit and illicit substance use in students. Our group has (1) a large European project on substance use and social norms, (2) collaborations with colleagues from two South-African Universities (University of Limpopo and University of Kwazulu Natal) to replicate the studies on substance use in Flemish students by using similar questionnaires and (3) two active PhDs : one about the misuse of prescription stimulants as cognitive enhancers among Flemish university and college students: the process of prescribing, supplying and acquiring, and one about better health in university and college students: pin-pointing the interplay between social support, study stress, substance use and mental health across different study programs. The Research Group is involved in the European Community Respiratory Health Survey (ECRHS) and the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood (ISAAC) and an own birth cohort (PIPO study) is still ongoing. An important component of these studies is the association between social-epidemiological determinants and the occurrence of atopic diseases. In 2018 results of a four-yearly survey on substance use in over 36,000 Flemish university and college students, the so-called 'Head in the Clouds' study, will be disseminated. Regarding Health Policy, evaluation research is performed on the Flemish screening programmes for cervical, breast and colorectal cancer. Within the Research Group, there is one active PhD on the screening programme for colorectal cancer. The Research Group playes an important role in advising the Flemish Government concerning the organization of the cancer screening programmes. The Research Group is also executing research to advice the Flemish Government on how parents can best be informed to make a choice with regards to infant screening for congenital disorders, including cystic fibrosis." Gastroenterology "Mazzone Lab" "Mazzone Max" "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." "Movement and Nutrition for Health and Performance" "Eva D'Hondt" "The merged research group MOVE (= former BEGE+BEPR+MODI groups) was founded in 2020, with Prof. Dr. Eva D’Hondt as current chair, and is part of the Department of Movement and Sport Sciences (BESW) of the Faculty of Physical Education and Physiotherapy (LK). The ‘Movement and Nutrition for Health and Performance’ research group unites the enthusiasm and expertise of young and more experienced researchers, focusing on 3 prominent lines of research.1. Health Research into:- Health-related behavior, including the measurement and analysis of physical activity, sedentary behavior, physical fitness, exercise/movement patterns, diet and sleep.- Determinants to promote physical activity and to reduce sedentary behavior, both at the individual and environmental level.- Determinants of nutritional habits and specific dietary patterns, both at the individual and environmental level.- Energy-balance related behavior linked to well-being in different populations, with specific attention to critical transition periods during the life course.- The economic evaluation of clinical protocols and health interventions.- Body composition, growth and development. 2. PerformanceResearch into:- Factors influencing sports performance from different perspectives:Biomechanical analysis (2D/3D) of sport specific movements.Technical and tactical aspects of different sports and disciplines.Nutritional aspects linked to sport specific body and performance characteristics.Physical and psychological aspects linked to different sports and disciplines.Growth and morphologic development in relation to sport specific performance.- The development and assessment of effective training programs.- Facilitating and supporting progress and achievements in elite sport as well as in sport participation at every level for different target and age groups. 3. Motoriek en didactiek Research into:- The promotion of ‘physical literacy’, linked to aspects of motor skills, pedagogy and didactics, both at the level of the individual, (educational) practice and (health) policy.- Motor competence as building block for a physically active lifestyle, including the development and validation of new tools to assess actual and/or perceived competence in different movement contexts.- The role of motor coordination (in combination with growth, development, maturity, body composition, etc.) in the context of health in the general population, and more specifically injury prevention within (elite) youth sports.- Fundamental and applied biomechanics as well as motor control in various target populations.- Pedagogical and didactic methods in the interest of creating more effective, efficient, motivating and activating learning environments promoting movement and health.- The assessment of  (independent vs. supervised) self-study and integrated forms of evaluation within health-related educational programs." "Translational Radiation Oncology and Physics" "Mark De Ridder" "The research group TROP works around ""patient-tailored image-guided radiotherapy"", DitSubject is cross-disciplinary and translational. It integrates new imaging techniques (before, during and after radiotherapy), innovative radiation modalities, biology and clinical studies. There is close cooperation with the image groups within our BEFY department and on the one hand the oncological oriented basic and clinical research groups." "Translational Research in GastroIntestinal Disorders" "Kristin Verbeke" "Neuromodulation of the intestinal immune systemImmunomodulation of afferent nerve function and visceral hypersensitivityIntestinal macrophage phenotypingPathophysiology and treatment of irritable bowel syndromePathophysiology of postoperative ileusPathophysiology of gastroesophageal reflux diseasePathophysiology and treatment of achalasiaNeuron-glial interactions in the ENSDevelopmental aspects of ENS functionalityENS in neurodegenerative and GI disordersSecond harmonic imaging in neuroscienceAdvanced microscopyNutrient sensing in the gutRole of peripheral clock genes in the circadian regulation of gut peptide releaseRole of gastrointestinal peptides and their receptors in the regulation of food intake and gastrointestinal motilityGhrelin as a therapeutic targetDevelopment of analytical tools to analyse the bacterial colonic metabolismEvaluation of strategies to modulate bacterial colonic fermentationImpact of bacterial colonic fermentation on gut health and systemic healthContribution of bacterial colonic fermentation to the pathophysiology of disordersImpact of bariatric surgery on bacterial colonic fermentationPsychobiological mechanisms of gastrointestinal sensitivity and symptom perception in health and functional GI disordersGut-Brain signaling mechanisms in the control of appetite and food intake in health and food intake disordersInfluence of subliminal nutrient- and microbiota-induced gut-brain signals on psychological processes and disordersIntestinal immune toleranceImmunomodulatory role of enteric glia and neuronsPathophysiology of food allergyEnteric nervous system and inflammationTherapeutic drug monitoring in Inflammatory Bowel DiseasesPharmacogenetic analysis of factors involved in long-term response to biologicals in Inflammatory Bowel DiseasesRole of the microbiome, intestinal barrier and immune system in the pathogenesis of Inflammatory Bowel Diseasesintestinal organoid models in Inflammatory Bowel DiseasesNormal and abnormal motor activity of oesophagus, stomach, small intestine, colon and anorectumEndocrine, paracrine and neurocrine peptide-untreated control mechanisms of gastrointestinal functionClinical pharmacology of gastro-intestinal diseasesComputer analysis of manometric and electromyographic recordings and of long-term pH and pressure measurements in oesophagus In vivo and in vitro studies of smooth muscle activityIntestinal perfusion studies"