Projects
Mechanisms of brain wiring in normal and pathological conditions (WIBRAIN). University of Antwerp
Study on transmission and virulence of honeybee viruses in bumblebees, and use ofbiotechnology for improving bumblebee health Ghent University
Recent data demonstrate that bumblebees are declining in numbers and in species diversity.
Bumblebees as Bombus terrestris are important worldwide pollinators of wildflowers and
cultivated crops in modern agriculture. Indeed, as in honeybees, it is expected that viral
infections can also cause the collapsing of colonies of bumblebees, however, there is no
information to date. In order to fill this gap, this project ...
Control of leaf growth by sugar and energy signaling Ghent University
Leaf growth is tightly controlled by an intrinsic genetic network, but also needs to respond to the continuously changing environment. Sugars integrate developmental and environmental signals and changes in sugar status trigger conserved signal mechanisms, involving the hexokinase glucose sensor and the Snf1-related kinase 1. In this project, we will investigate how sugar signaling controls leaf growth and final size in Arabidopsis ...
Decision to participate in cohort studies with biobanks:An empirical – ethical investigation KU Leuven
Introduction: Cohort studies with associated biobanks require participants’ sustained participation. To develop ethical and effective strategies for recruitment and retention, it is crucial to understand the factors involved in the decision to participate. Therefore, we aim to investigate participants’ decision to enrol in a cohort study with an associated biobank.
Methods: The present investigation includes: a systematic literature ...
Microbial metacommunity ecology: lineage sorting, dispersion and evolution in the water columnbiofilm ecotone of shallow lakes. KU Leuven
Scientific understanding in medicine Ghent University
I will analyze how medical science tries to achieve scientific understanding of health problems by investigating (1) the characteristics, necessity and peculiarities of scientific understanding in medicine, and (2) how medical scientists try to make sense of disease states for which (part of) the causal information is missing.
Scientific Integrity in Biomedical Research: a European Perspective KU Leuven
The issues of research integrity and misconduct feature regularly in academic journals and the press. Misconduct within biomedical research is harmful because it threatens the excellence and progression of biomedical research. It can lead for example to wrong medication and damages trust, both the public’s trust in biomedical research and the mutual trust of biomedical researchers. Biomedical research is increasingly interdisciplinary and ...
Cryopreservation van genotypes bij Daphnia magna. KU Leuven
The water flea Daphnia magna is an important model organism in many research areas, such as ecology, ecotoxicology, evolutionary biology and eco-genomics and most of these applications use clonal lines produced via asexual reproduction. To date, maintenance of the clonal lines can only be achieved through continuous culturing. This is a labor-intensive process and entails the risk of losing important lines because of contamination, ...
The exceptionally preserved Fezouata Biota from the Lower Ordovician of Morocco: a unique window into the Cambro-Ordovician faunal transition Ghent University
The Great Ordovician Biodiversification Event witnessed an exponential increase in the diversity within animal phyla. Exceptional fossil depositis have an important role to play in understanding the Ordovician radiation, but their scarcity has resulted in this event being studied almost exclusively using "shelly" faunas. This project will investigate a rich and geographically widespread Lower Ordovician exceptionally preserved biota from ...