Projects

Neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs) result from impaired development and functioning of the brain. We have recently identified loss-of-function variation in ZFHX3 as a novel cause for syndromic intellectual disability (ID). In this follow-up study, we plan to study the role of ZFHX4 - a transcription factor from the Zinc Finger homeobox gene family, sharing 52% homology with ZFHX3 U+2013 in neurodevelopment. In collaboration with Dr. ...

Somatic mutations are small DNA errors that accumulate in the genome of ageing cells. These mutations sporadically result in a cellular growth advantage, especially when they occur in cancer genes. The sequential accumulation of these so-called driver mutations eventually leads to the formation of malignant tumors. Recent evidence suggests that they also underlie micro-clone formation in multiple histologically normal epithelial tissues, ...

The main goal of this project is to comprehensively delineate novel, unanticipated, quantitative and qualitative features of colorectal cancer (CRC) patients’ CD8+T-cells, responding to both tumoral antigens or gut microbiome depending on CRC tumor-subtypes, and differentially modulating immunotherapy-response. With this project I will 1) Characterize the functional signaling drivers of CD8+T-cells activation and potential impact on CRC ...

The aim of this project is to present a clinically useful research protocol at the end of the 4 years that will use scientifically validated biomarkers to identify the most appropriate (combinations of) immunotherapies in a personalized way for every brain tumor patient, pediatric and adult. to select a clinical trial. To achieve this biomarker-based selection, combinations of the most advanced molecular cell biological research methods and ...

In recent years, there have been major developments in ’omics technologies. Long read sequencing now produces highly accurate reads from single molecules with theoretically unlimited length. Long reads enable us to assemble whole human genomes de novo, study complex genomic regions and large structural variants, all of which are particularly difficult through conventional short read technologies. It also allows us to directly study DNA ...

Cancer is a chiefly genetic disease, originating from the acquisition of somatic mutations in cells throughout our life. While most of these mutations are innocuous passengers, a handful unlock the typical hallmarks of cancer. The latter endow a cell with a fitness advantage relative to neighbouring cells, leading to a clonal outgrowth. Clonal expansions can be shaped by the evolutionary processes of selection and drift, which act on the ...