Projects
Occupational exposure to endocrine disrupting chemicals and their impact on the epigenetic profile of professionals KU Leuven
This research aims to assess the exposure of Moroccan professionals to endocrine disrupting chemicals, such as pesticides in farmers. Human Biomonitoring, clinical and epigenetic analysis, will allow to reveal molecules to which people in occupational settings are exposed and how they impact hormonal levels and the epigenetic profile of specific genes involved in the hormonal homeostasis. This research will shed light on how chemicals impact ...
Unraveling the epigenetic mechanisms behind epithelial cell plasticity in metaplastic colorectal cancer KU Leuven
Tejpar Lab and others have identified a group of human colorectal cancers (iCMS3) which constitutes up to 50% of human lesions which is characterized by transcriptional signatures of metaplasia, foetal development and damage response. The development of this group of cancer opposes to the classical “Vogelgram” model, which established that colorectal cancer (CRC) evolves from a polyp following a sequential mutational model – starting with ...
Tracking epigenetic plasticity in circulating tumor-derived DNA to monitor drug resistance and guide personalized treatment in cancer patients Ghent University
Tracking epigenetic plasticity in circulating tumor-derived DNA to monitor drug resistance and guide personalized treatment in cancer patients Flanders Institute for Biotechnology
Metabolic and epigenetic interplay in neural progenitor cells: investigating neurodevelopmental disorders associated with impaired neural progenitor cell expansion (MEPIcephaly). KU Leuven
Neurodevelopmental disorders (NDD) result in variable neurological and psychological impairments. Here, we focus on microcephaly-associated NDDs that are characterized by a critical decrease in brain size, primarily caused by impaired neural stem and progenitor cell (NPC) expansion in the fetal neocortex. Previously, gene mutations associated with abnormal cell cycle progression, centrosome formation and DNA repair have been identified, yet a ...
Patient-centered Targeting of Epigenetic Vulnerabilities in Neurodevelopmental Disorders: A Cross-disciplinary Platform for Druggable Disease Models KU Leuven
Intellectual disability disorders (IDDs) represent a spectrum of neurodevelopmental disorders characterized by early childhood onset of learning impairment behavior defects. IDDs are linked to detrimental factors that affect cortical development. Many mutations that cause IDDs have been identified. They represent pathways linked to synaptic function and epigenetic gene-expression control Since epigenetic gene-expression is a key process ...
Whats your age? Developing an epigenetic clock to age wild rodents. University of Antwerp
Remote allograft rejection diagnosis by epigenetic changes in circulating cell-free DNA in kidney transplanted patients. KU Leuven
Kidney transplantation (KT) is the preferred treatment for patients with end-stage kidney disease, but long-term graft survival is still compromised by a rate of alloimmune rejection of about 15%. At present, there are no available non-invasive biomarkers that can accurately predict or detect graft rejection. In this PhD project we will explore cell-free DNA (cfDNA) as a novel, non-invasive, and accurate biomarker for monitoring KT ...