Projects

Porcien epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDV) is a highly contagious enteric corona virus that gives rise to watery diarrhea and vomiting in pigs of all ages with death in newborn piglets. As there is no effective vaccine on the market yet, the aim of this study is to develop a vaccine that can protect against PED by inducing both active and passive (= maternal) immunity.

Salmonella enterica subspecies enterica serovar Enteritidis is a pandemic pathogen, present in
countries with industrial poultry production since the 1990s. Ingestion of this foodborne
pathogen by humans results in gastroenteritis and is linked to contaminated eggs and egg
products. Salmonellosis caused by Salmonella Enteritidis in chickens however does not lead to
clinical symptoms but causes enormous economic losses. ...

Messenger RNA-based cancer vaccines have recentrly gained much scientific and clinical attention due to their promising performance and distinguished safety profile. An important advantage of mRNA vaccines over peptide- or cell-based therapy is their faster production, cheaper cost, and precisely defined composition. The main goal of this doctoral thesis was to improve mRNA by 1) optimizing mRNA delivery to target cells and 2) constructing ...

Vaccines have been produced but most of the current vaccines are undefined mutants produced by chemical mutagenesis or by isolating ‘atural’mutants of wild-type strains. The current project aims to A) produce a combined Salmonella Enteritidis/Typhimurium vaccine that protects against shedding and colonization by strains of both serotypes in broilers, and B) a Salmonella Gallinarum vaccine that protects against fowl typhoid in layers. ...

The world is facing a variety of viral infections of high pathogenic potential. These are either novel or formely only endemic in specific areas of the world. It is intrinsic to such emerging diseases that actions to prevent and fight them must be taken while the number of Infections is still relatively low and geographically restricted. Therefore, research efforts are required well before large outbeaks occur. In addition, effective ...

About 9 out of 10 adult dogs have some form of Periodontal Disease (PD), an infection-induced inflammatory disease of the tooth-supporting tissues. PD is typically associated with halitosis, oral pain, and tooth loss; however, severe PD can lead to oronasal fistulation, oral osteomyelitis, and exacerbation of systemic disorders, like cardiovascular disease. Despite PD’s vast disease burden, control options remain limited and ineffective, ...

In this project we will introduce our self-amplifying mRNA vaccine platform in chicken. To that end we will design and in vitro validate two mRNA vaccines encoding selected antigens of one of the most important pathogens in poultry production. Subsequently, we will formulate the sa-mRNA vaccines with UGent owned lipid nanoparticles and investigate their immunogencity and protection efficacy in a challenge study in chicken.

Porcine Respiratory and Reproductive Syndrome Virus (PRRSV) is a major concern for porcine sector vin Europe. Despite a rapid availability of commercial vaccines and their intensive use by farmers, the PRRSV still circulates in a large proportion of herds. This can be partially explained by suboptimal management and vaccination practices and by the incomplete protection of the available vaccines, but also other unknown factors are probably ...

The aim of this project is to enhance the efficacy of tumor cell vaccines by increasing their immunogenicity and by combining the tumor cell vaccines with a depletion of regulatory T-cells. We will optimize this new vaccination strategy in tumor bearing mice. Subsequently, the most effective cancer vaccination protocol will be evaluated in dogs with cancer.