Projects
Breaking cancer drug resistance: exploring drug resistance mechanisms to exploit associated vulnerabilities KU Leuven
Resisting resistance: WWII resistance movements as milieux de mémoire in post-war Belgium (1945-present) Ghent University
The Second World War in Belgium is remembered personally and locally, in different and often
contrasting ways. Internationally, the Belgian memory landscape has therefore been pointed out
as a unique case study, not only because of the plurality of war memories, but especially for the
lack of national attention for the victors of the war: resistance fighters. Notwithstanding the
political usage of resistance legacy by ...
Disecting bacterial persistence through experimental evolution: memory, persister physiology and the link with genetic resistance KU Leuven
A rapidly growing number of patients succumb to bacterial infections for which effective treatment is lacking. The major culprit of this lurking worldwide health crisis is the growing ability of bacteria to cope with antibiotic stress. Due to their high reproduction rates and vast population sizes, bacteria exhibit an enormous potential for evolutionary adaptation. As a consequence, antibiotic survival strategies emerge and spread at ...
The role of bacterial persistence in the evolvability of antibiotic resistance KU Leuven
Antibiotic resistance is one of the main challenges facing humanity today. Recent work has shown that the evolution of resistance is significantly enhanced by persistence, a phenomenon where bacterial populations produce a small number of dormant cells that can survive transient antibiotic exposure. However, the evolutionary mechanisms responsible for this link are still unclear. In this project, I will develop evolutionary models to ...
Genetic variants associated with honey bee resistance against Deformed wing virus and their use in CRISPR-based marker assisted selection to improve resilience of bees Ghent University
Honey bees are under pressure due to abnormal high death rates, especially during the winter. The infestation by the Varroa destructor mite and the viruses that this ectoparasite transmits are generally seen as the most important biotic causes. The control of these mite-transmitted viruses is almost exclusively done in an indirect way, by limiting the severity of the mite infestation. We recently succeeded in the selection towards virus ...
Investigating the mechanisms of drug persistence in Nontuberculous Mycobacteria and its impact on the emergence of resistance KU Leuven
Nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) can cause severe pulmonary diseases (NTM-PD) in humans. As NTM are opportunistic, environmental bacteria present in soil, waterbodies but also showerheads, exposure to NTM is high. While the risk of infection is low, the infection rate is high in immunocompromised patients and patients with pre-existing lung conditions Prevalence of NTM infections is increasing worldwide. Current treatment of NTM-PD ...
Strategic ILVO PhD grant: Insight into soil microbiology for soil resistance and resilience Research Institute for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food
The aim here was to find an accurate way to measure biological soil quality in terms of resistance (degree of sensitivity to stress) and resilience (resilience of a soil after stress). The focus was on soil microbiology. Biological indicators are tested to assess the soil quality. The goal: to test indicators that relate well to soil quality that can also be measured efficiently.
Research ...
Do polyploid phenotypes facilitate their establishment: temporary existence or consistent persistence Ghent University
Polyploidy, resulting from whole genome duplication (WGD), is ubiquitous in nature and reportedly associated with extreme environments and biological invasions. Polyploidy comes with steep costs, raising questions about polyploid establishment, but acquire many other trait changes. Are the surprisingly high number of polyploid species a consequence of deterministic trait changes? And, under what circumstances is polyploid establishment and ...
Experimental evolution in Candida biofilms: does drug tolerance facilitate drug resistance development in fungi?Experimental evolution in Candida biofilms: does drug tolerance facilitate drug resistance development in fungi? KU Leuven
Invasive fungal infections pose a profound and growing public health threat with treatment failure and mortality estimates often surpassing 50%. Only three major antifungal drug classes are available to treat lethal fungemia and the incidence of resistance to these drugs has risen significantly in recent years. Moreover, multidrug resistant (MDR) ‘superbugs’ like Candida auris have emerged. Despite these alarming concerns, fungal infections ...