Projects
Development of a laboratory toolbox to study human circular RNAs Ghent University
Circular RNAs (circRNAs) are a novel class of mainly non-coding RNA molecules and have been proposed as promising biomarkers based on their substantially longer half-live compared to other RNA types and their cell-type specific expression patterns. Unfortunately, current circRNA detection pipelines (using RNA-sequencing data) are prone to false positives. As these results propagate to circRNA databases, we are far from a gold standard ...
Investigating the biomarker potential and pathological role of neuronal- and bacterial- derived extracellular vesicles in Parkinson’s disease. Ghent University
Accumulating evidence indicates that extracellular vesicles (EVs) represent a highly interesting biomarker source. Indeed, neuronal-derived EVs (nEVs) separated from peripheral sources provide a snapshot of ongoing pathological changes in the brain whereas bacterial EVs (bEVs) have shown to reflect microbial dysbiosis. Interestingly, both neuronal changes and microbial dysbiosis are evident in Parkinson’s disease (PD) patients. Additionally, ...
Understanding the structure-function relationship of cereal carbohydrates with regard to beer mouthfeel quality. KU Leuven
Implantable Dural Venous Sinus Access Device (DVSAD), a preclinical assessment of human prototypes. Ghent University
Our objective is to bring the DVSAD to the point that it can be licensed to a third party for commercialisation. The 3 main phases in this trajectory would be prototyping/Intellectual Property (IP), preclinical and clinical testing. The prototyping and IP phases have been covered in the initial StarTT-project. Evaluation and refinement of the prototypes have been the subject of the Advanced-project. This first evaluation led to several new ...
Metabolomics 2.0: novel unique branches with promising valorisation tracks Ghent University
This project will focus on three new branches within metabolomics, i.e. the analysis of all metabolites (small molecules) in a cell, tissue or biofluid. These are: 1) DNA adductomics, which allows to characterize the whole of potentially harmful chemical alterations to DNA (i.e. the formation of DNA adducts) that are e.g. the first step in carcinogenesis and contribute to numerous diseases, 2) steroidomics, i.e. the analysis of all steroids ...
An integrated translational platform to improve the management and outcome of rare heritable connective tissue disease Ghent University
This interdisciplinary project aims to improve the outcome of heritable connective tissue disease. Using deep phenotyping techniques in combination with advanced genetic analysis, both in the clinic and in animal models, we expect to uncover molecular mechanisms which will inform better disease management strategies. In parallel, we aim to identify novel therapeutic targets using unbiased phenotypic screening in zebrafish models.
PRINT-4-POCT: Rapid prototyping of millifluidic devices for Point-of-Care testing applications. University of Antwerp
Computational biomechanics as a tool for personalised medicine Ghent University
Throughout history, medicine has been largely built on statistical grounds, treating individual patients as members of (potentially heterogeneous) groups, which may result in suboptimal treatment outcomes. Ideally, the general focus should be shifted from the general approach towards a more personalised medicine. This research project’s ambition is to take part in this revolution by using computational biomechanics as a tool for personalised ...
Soft tissue biomechanics: In vitro, in vivo and silico trials for trauma prevention and repair KU Leuven
The soft tissues in our body are continuously engaged in mechanical interaction, with themselves but also with external devices. These devices may serve to protect (e.g. a helmet), repair (e.g. surgical instruments) or replace (e.g. prostheses) our native tissues. Profound knowledge about the mechanical behavior of these tissues and their interactions is essential to optimize the design of these external devices and treatments, and to ...