Projects
Carbon nanotube (CNT) induced epigenetic alterations -establishing potential predictive biomarkers for occupational health risks KU Leuven
Nanotechnology deals with the engineering of materials at the nanometer scale. At this size materials begin to exhibit unique properties that affect physical, chemical, and biological behavior and pose health/environmental hazard. Among other nanomaterials, carbon nanotubes (CNT) are of major concern owing to their similarity with asbestos and limited evidence of toxicity. The present study has therefore been designed to understand the ...
Improving treatment outcomes for patients with chronic inflammatory diseases through identification of predictive biomarkers and therapeutic drug monitoring of new biologicals KU Leuven
Psoriasis and inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD), with Crohn’s disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC) being the two main subtypes, are chronic inflammatory diseases of the skin and gastrointestinal tract, respectively. Together, these lifelong debilitating diseases affect up to 4% of the Western population and typically have a relapsing-remitting disease course that significantly impacts the patient’s quality of life. With the introduction ...
Molecular analysis of cell free circulating DNA (cfDNA) and/or circulating tumour cells (CTC) as 'liquid biopsy' for predictive biomarker assessment in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC). University of Antwerp
Towards individualized treatment prediction and real-time follow-up of metastatic colorectal cancer patients using methylation biomarkers. University of Antwerp
Validation of biomarkers that can improve prediction of the outcome of immune checkpoint inhibitors. KU Leuven
Immune checkpoint immunotherapy (ICI) is a promising treatment for cancer patients suffering from e.g. non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). However, this therapy is only successful in 25-30% of treated patients and is associated with severe immune-related events. Therefore, biomarkers predicting ICI success are needed. The host laboratory discovered three protein markers as potential prospective biomarkers for anti-PD-(L)1 ICI response in ...
Role of capillaroscopy as candidate biomarker in systemic sclerosis: prediction of new severe future organ involvement. Ghent University
Systemic sclerosis (SSc) is a rare multisystemic connective tissue disease characterised by microvascular damage, fibrosis of the skin and internal organs and specific immunologic abnormalities. The pathogenesis of SSc is multifactorial. The clinical expression and course of the disease are very heterogeneous and may be coupled with serious morbidity and mortality. As yet no treatment exists for the disease once severe morbidity occurs. At ...
Fecal microbiota transplant in ulcerative colitis patients: what is the role of the human gut virome and can it be used as a biomarker for predicting treatment succes KU Leuven
Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) are a group of chronic remitting diseases involving inflammation of the gut. It is commonly categorized into two major phenotypes: Crohn’s disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC). UC is characterized by a continuous inflammation confined to the colonic mucosa, while CD presents a patchy transmural inflammation that has the potential to affect any layer of the gastrointestinal tract. Although the exact cause ...
Development and strategic basic research towards an innovative biomarker for productive longevity in high-yielding dairy cattle. Ghent University
The steep increase in individual milk yield of modern dairy cows has unfortunately been accompanied by a decrease in cows’ lifespan. Nonetheless, greater productive longevity can improve the profitability of a dairy herd by lower culling rates and a lower need for replacement heifers, a higher overall milk production, an improved public opinion about dairy cow welfare and a decrease of the environmental footprint of dairy herds. The major gap ...