Projects
Promoting central nervous system regeneration. Genes that make a difference. KU Leuven
The effect of aging on the regenerative capacity of the killifish Nothobranchius furzeri after traumatic brain injury KU Leuven
The brain deteriorates with advancing age, halting our cognitive abilities and our intellectual growth. Because of the advancements made in medical care, the human population has gained an increased life expectancy, that is unfortunately mirrored by an elevated number of elderly that suffer from age-related neuropathology. The energy-demanding brain is specifically prone to aging stressors, what eventually causes a loss of neurons and hence, ...
Study of the involvement of the choroid plexus during SIRS Ghent University
This thesis explored multiple aspects that are related to systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS), a prevalent disease with a high mortality and a treatment that is mainly supportive. During SIRS, several cytokines, danger associated molecular patterns (DAMPs), matrix metalloproteinases (MMP), and other inflammatory mediators are induced that lead to the breakdown of brain barriers. Interestingly, our group previously showed that mice ...
The role of microcirculatory dysfunction, the innate immune system and intestinal permeability in the early onset of acute-on-chronic liver failure. KU Leuven
Amongst digestive diseases, cirrhosis is the most common non-neoplastic cause of mortality in the Western world. Furthermore, its prevalence is likely to increase in the coming decades because of the increasing incidence of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. In this project, we focused on the pathophysiology of acute-on-chronic liver failure (ACLF, chapter IA) to gain a further understanding of several of the lethal complications in cirrhosis: ...
Cold Atmospheric Plasma (CAP) for inactivation of pathogenic biofilms - Case study on foodborne Listeria monocytogenes and Salmonella Typhimurium KU Leuven
The last decades, it has become clear that most (pathogenic) bacteria, such as the target microorganisms of this PhD research (i.e., Listeria monocytogenes and Salmonella Typhimurium), grow predominantly as biofilms on abiotic (food) contact surfaces. Biofilms are functional consortia of cells protected by a self-produced matrix of extracellular polymeric substances (EPS). The EPS matrix mainly contains polysaccharides, ...
Functional characterization of cortical plasticity in the visual cortex of adult mice KU Leuven
Neuroplasticity is the mammalian brain’s capability to adapt structurally and functionally to changing inputs from the environment. It allows the brain to develop, learn and remember or to recover from injury to the central or peripheral nervous system. Partial or complete sensory loss can as such be compensated by the spared part of the affected modality (unimodal plasticity) or by other non-injured senses (cross-modal plasticity). In young ...
Modeling Renal Fibrosis in Zebrafish Using Aristolochic Acid I KU Leuven
Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a major global health problem that is characterized by a slow and progressive loss of kidney function. The endpoint of virtually all progressive renal diseases is fibrosis, characterized histologically by an excessive accumulation and deposition of extracellular matrix (ECM) disrupting the normal histo-architecture of the organ.
The number of renal fibrosis patients doubled from 1990 to 2016 making it ...
Morphological handicaps and gait adaptation Royal Zoological Society of Antwerp
Modelling of the degenerative adaptation of the micro circulation and perfusion of the liver cirrhotic Ghent University
Cirrhosis is a detrimental condition of the liver, o.en attributed to an unhealthy lifestyle (e.g. alcohol abuse and fatty diet). It is characterized by severe distortion of the hepatic architecture, impairing the hepatic perfusion and function. Once cirrhosis reaches the decompensated stage, i.e. when complications become clinically present, it may culminate into liver insu.ciency or cancer. Cirrhosis is ranked the twel.h leading cause of ...