The prophylactic and therapeutic effects of butyrate in a preclinical maternal immune activation model for neurodevelopmental disorders Vrije Universiteit Brussel
Promotor: Dimitri De Bundel
Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is the most common malignant tumour of the pancreas. It is highly aggressive and rapidly fatal with a five-year survival rate of <5%. Effective screening is not available for PDAC, and most patients present with locally advanced (30%-35%) or metastatic
(50-55%) disease at diagnosis. Current chemotherapies are ineffective as the pancreatic tumours present a complex and highly obstructive tumour ...
The success of Pd-catalyzed cross-coupling reactions in drug discovery has led to a large share of one- and two-dimensional drug scaffolds among pharmaceutical compounds. This leaves the three-dimensional medicinal compounds underexplored. In this project, we will tackle this issue by enabling the Pd-catalyzed cross-coupling of pharmaceutically relevant (hetero)aryl halides with amino acid-derived C(sp3) fragments. An innovative approach will ...
Protection against most gut pathogens requires intestinal secretory IgA responses. Key in this response is the proper uptake of antigens by the intestinal epithelium, which has evolved to restrict the uptake of macromolecules as well as regulate gut immunity. Here, we aim to explore whether signalling through aminopeptidase N (APN) present on small intestinal enterocytes activates these cells to release mediators which can promote secretory ...
Fiber reinforced polymers (or composites) have excellent specific stiffness/strength as well as corrosion resistance, which makes them very attractive for high-tech applications in aerospace, renewable energy … Though, composites are also known for their susceptibility to internal defects which might compromise their structural performance. The goal of this project is to develop a low-cost and time-efficient non-destructive inspection ...
The ability of proton therapy to better conform the radiation dose to the tumor is currently hindered by uncertainties on the proton range, forcing clinicians to adopt substantial safety margins and suboptimal planning strategies. To allow proton therapy to reach its full potential, in vivo range verification methods are actively sought. Recently, we showed that injectable nanodroplets can vaporize into microbubbles when exposed to proton ...