Projects
Development of isogenic human embryonic stem cell-derived 3D neuro-immune cell culture models: pre-clinical evaluation of microglia and macrophage immunomodulation for stroke treatment. University of Antwerp
New development in human reproduction: from embryonic stem cell to gametes Ghent University
We want to isolate, recognize and differentiate human embryonic stem cells into gametes as a part of therapeutic cloning for sterile patients. Rest embryos after infertility treatment will be used for this purpose.
Human embryonic stem cell based platform for neuroblastoma modeling Ghent University
Neuroblastoma (NB) is a clinical and genetic heterogeneous malignancy and it accounts for the most common type of cancer in the first year of life. Although current treatment protocols have improved substantially over the last decade, the prognosis for aggressive metastatic NB is still disappointingly low. Childhood tumors are considered to arise through the inappropriate reactivation of theembryonic program, which endows them with the ...
Comparative transcriptome and epigenome analysis of different human embryonic stem cell derivation stages Ghent University
Paracrine and transcriptional regulation of renewal and differentiation of embryonic and adult multi-potent progenitor cells in vertebrates KU Leuven
Ceation of patient specific stem cells through somatic cell nuclear transfer of induced pluripotent stem cells Ghent University
Somatic cell nuclear transfer and parthenogenesis involve two major strategies to produce patient specific pluripotent stem cells. The key steps in this technology (enucleation artificial activation) need further optimisation in human. In parallel, we will ivestigate whether induced pluripotent stem cells have similar characteristics and capacities as human embryonic stem cells by intensive molecular comparsion.
Characterization of signaling pathways involved in differenttiation of pluripotent stem cells towards liver cells KU Leuven
Stepwise differentiation of naive pluripotent stem cells towards haploid sperm cells for infertile patients Ghent University
The production of stem cell derived (SCD) gametes would be of major interest for infertile patients who lack functional gametes. In mice, the production of both SCD oocytes and sperm was successful after an in vivo transplantation step; and more recently the process of spermatogenesis was completely established in vitro starting from pluripotent embryonic stem cells. In human, research regarding the differentiation of stem cells into germ ...