lab_members

Group leader

Jan Tavernier
Jan Tavernier

Jan Tavernier founded the CRL in 1996. He obtained his PhD in 1984 in the early days of recombinant DNA on the cloning of several interferon and interleukin genes. In the same year he moved to industry, first Biogen, later Roche, where he continued research on cytokines and cytokine receptors. He became full professor at Ghent University in 1996 and currently heads the CRL as part of the VIB Department of Medical Protein Research.

 

Postdoctoral researchers

Jennyfer Bultinck
Jennyfer Bultinck

After graduating as a biotechnologist at the University of Ghent in 2001, Jennyfer Bultinck obtained a PhD in 2006 in the lab of Prof. Brouckaert (DMBR-VIB/UGent) where she studied the role of iNOS and several inflammatory cytokines in animal models of systemic inflammatory response syndromes. She then moved to Switzerland to join a research project for the in vivo validation of potential targets for (colon) cancer treatment at the Swiss Institute of Experimental Cancer Research (ISREC). In October 2010 she joined the CRL to support ongoing industrial collaborations and MAPPIT-based oncology research.

Karolien De Bosscher
Karolien De Bosscher

Karolien De Bosscher is a postdoctoral researcher at FWO-Vlaanderen. She obtained her PhD at UGent on the molecular mechanisms of glucocorticoids in 2000, after which she went to Cancer Research UK in London to study TGFβ-signaling pathways, with an EMBO long-term fellowship. From 2003 to 2010 she guided the Nuclear Receptor Signaling Unit at the UGent LEGEST lab and in 2007, she won the prestigious Pfizer prize. In her new environment, the lab of Prof. Jan Tavernier (VIB9), she will continue to guide a small team studying the mechanisms how nuclear receptor signaling pathways can interfere with inflammation, and include also a study on the interplay of NF-B- and STAT3-dependent transcriptional pathways.

Sarah Gerlo
Sarah Gerlo

Sarah Gerlo obtained her PhD in 2005 at the Lab of Neuroendocrine Immune Interactions of the Free University of Brussels (VUB), with a study on the regulation of prolactin expression in leukocytes. After her PhD, she moved to Gent, where she obtained an FWO postdoctoral fellowhip at the UGent LEGEST lab to study molecular crosstalk between GPCR signals and the NF-κB cascade. Since the 1st of February 2011, Sarah has been appointed in a tenure track position at the CRL, where she will start a new research line on the connection between endoplasmic reticulum stress, inflammation and metabolic disease. This project is embedded within the framework of the UGent GROUP-ID (Ghent Researchers on Unfolded Proteins in Inflammatory Disease) consortium.

Joris Wauman
Joris Wauman

After doing his undergraduate thesis at the CRL in the last year of his biomedical sciences studies, Joris Wauman stayed attached to the CRL to start an FWO-funded PhD in 2004 on leptin signalling and leptin resistance. He obtained his PhD in 2011.

 

Mieke Delvaeye
Mieke Delvaeye

Mieke Delvaeye studied Biotechnology at the University of Ghent (1997-2001) after which she started a PhD at the DMBR, VIB, UGent. She worked as a postdoctoral fellow at the VRC, VIB, KULeuven, studying the links between inflammation and coagulation. For the moment she is working as a postdoctoral fellow at the CRL and DMBR, VIB, UGent, looking for novel interactions negatively regulating inflammation.

Lennart Zabeau
Lennart Zabeau

After finishing his biotechnology studies at Ghent University in 1998, Lennart Zabeau joined the CRL to study the mechanisms underlying cytokine receptor clustering and activation. He started to work on the interleukin-5 receptor, but later on the leptin receptor became his main research interest. He obtained a PhD in 2004. With an FWO fellowship he is currently involved in the design and evaluation of leptin and leptin receptor antagonists in vitro and in mouse models for certain autoimmune diseases.

 

Frank Peelman
Frank Peelman

After graduating as a biologist in 1993, Frank Peelman obtained his PhD in 1999 on the structure-function relationships of lecithin:cholesterolacyltransferase at the Biochemistry department of Ghent University. In 2002, he joined the CRL on a project investigating the properties of leptin binding to its receptor. In 2006 he became a full professor at Ghent University, and his current research focuses on the molecular dissection of protein-protein interactions by combining MAPPIT and molecular modeling.

 

Delphine Lavens
Delphine Lavens

After graduating in biotechnology at Ghent University in 2000, Delphine Lavens obtained a master in cellular biotechnology at the Catholic University of Leuven. In 2006, she completed her PhD thesis at the CRL, titled: "On the role of SOCS proteins in leptin signalling". Currently she is using the MAPPIT technology for the analysis of viral restriction factors. She is funded by an FWO postdoctoral grant.

 

Sam Lievens
Sam Lievens

After graduating as a bio-engineer in biotechnology in 1995, Sam Lievens obtained a PhD in 2001 on the molecular biology of plant-rhizobia symbiosis at the UGent/VIB department of Plant Systems Biology. For slightly less than a year he worked at the Belgian Federal Institute of Public Health as a scientific expert involved in the biosafety evaluation of transgenic plants. In 2002 he joined the CRL on an IWT funded program to develop the MAPPIT technology platform. As an IOF-funded Technology Developer he is currently involved in the development and valorization of the MAPPIT technology platform.

 

Irma Lemmens
Irma Lemmens

Irma Lemmens graduated as a chemist with specialisms biochemistry and human genetics at the University of Nijmegen in 1995. In 2000 she obtained a PhD in Medical Science on the identification of the MEN1 gene by positional cloning and the characterization of its protein product menin by identifying binding partners using the yeast two-hybrid method, at the Center of Human Genetics of the University of Leuven. In 2000 she joined the CRL to participate in the development of the MAPPIT technology platform and the study of cytokine receptor signalisation. As an FWO funded post-doc she is currently involved in the validation of interactome maps (in close collaboration with the CCSB, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston) and the study of cytokine receptor signalling.

 

Viola Gesellchen
Viola Gesellchen

Viola Gesellchen graduated in biology in 2002 at the University of Bonn, investigating Drosophila JAK/STAT signaling by molecular developmental biology techniques. In 2003 she worked at the Genetics Department of the University of Hohenheim on Drosophila Notch signaling. She obtained her PhD in 2007 at the Department of Functional Genomics of the German Cancer Research Center in Heidelberg, where she followed a genome-wide RNAi screening approach to dissect Drosophila immune signaling pathways. Joining the CRL, Viola is now exploring vertebrate signaling networks using the MAPPIT toolbox.

  • tel: +32 (0) 9 264 9308
Sven Eyckerman
Sven Eyckerman

Sven Eyckerman started his career in the group working on leptin receptor signaling and on the MAPPIT platform. After his PhD he went for a postdoc at ISREC in Lausanne where he worked on components of the Wnt pathway and their role in colon cancer. He then joined Pronota, a spin-off company of the department, to support and manage different biomarker discovery programs. He returned to the department to work on the interface between CRL and the proteomics group headed by Kris Gevaert (www.proteomics.be). He is now focusing on novel technologies for signal transduction research.

Predoctoral researchers

Krzysztof Kolmus
Krzysztof Kolmus

Krzysztof Kolmus graduated the Interfaculty Study of Biotechnology at the Warsaw University of Life Science in 2008. His thesis was focused on the characterization of the molecular interaction between secondary structures of polymerase DNA β mRNA and Hax-1, an RNA-binding protein. In 2008, he was awarded a BOF scholarship and joined group of Sarah Gerlo in LEGEST at the University of Gent to study nuclear crosstalk events between GPCR-mediated signals and the classical NF-kappaB cascade. In 2010, he obtained an FWO-scholarship and in 2011 moved together with Sarah Gerlo to CRL to study the connection between endoplasmic reticulum stress and inflammation.

Julie Deckers
Julie Deckers

Julie Deckers graduated in 2011 at KULeuven where she studied Biomedical Sciences. In August 2011, she joined the group of Prof. Dr. Karolien De Bosscher to start a PhD. During her project she will investigate the immune regulating role of PPAR- and GR-agonists in the house dust mite model of asthma through collaboration with the Department of Respiratory Diseases, under supervision of Prof. Dr. Hamida Hammad.

Delphine Masschaele
Delphine Masschaele

Delphine graduated in biomedical sciences at Ghent University in 2010. Her PhD project focuses on the function of the ring finger RNF41 on receptor signalling, degradation and shedding.

Eleonora Billi
Eleonora Billi

Eleonora Billi graduated in 2008 in Medical Biotechnology at the University of Perugia (Italy), with a thesis focused on the role of GILZ (glucocorticoid induced leucine-zipper) in the Raf/MEK/ERK signaling pathway. After a short period in the Department of Genetics of the Queen's Medical Centre in Nottingham (UK), she moved to Belgium in 2009 to join the VIB international PhD program. Her project aims at finding and characterizing interaction partners of the family of delta- protocadherins in a collaboration between the CRL and the group of Prof. Frans Van Roy at the VIB/UGent Department for Molecular Biomedical Research.

Raffaele Mori
Raffaele Mori

After graduating in Pharmaceutical Biotechnology in 2008 at the University of Perugia (Italy), Raffaele Mori was enrolled at the Research Preparatory Course in Cell and Molecular Biology at the Department of Cell and Molecular Biology at the Karolinska Institute, Stockholm (Sweden) from September 2009 till July 2010. In that period he has been working on how nuclear actin and myosin mediate the crosstalk between RNA polymerase and chromatin structure modifications during gene transcription. From November 2010 on he joined the CRL as PhD student. He is involved in a project studying the JAK/STAT signaling pathway, particularly focusing on the mechanisms controlling the regulation of STAT3 transcription and the modulation of the protein's activity.

Ioanna Petta
Ioanna Petta

Ioanna Petta is a VIB International PhD student from Greece. She obtained a master degree in Biotechnology from the University of Patras in 2010. During her PhD she will be studying the identification and the functional analysis of molecular interaction partners of the Glucocorticoid Receptor in inflammation and cancer, through a collaboration between the Department for Molecular Biomedical Research (DMBR) and the CRL, under the supervision of Prof. C. Libert and Prof. J. Tavernier.

Dariusz Ratman
Dariusz Ratman

Dariusz Ratman did a master thesis on the interplay between estrogen receptor α and β at Wageningen University (The Netherlands) and graduated in Biotechnology at Warsaw University of Life Sciences in 2008. After a short internship in the R&D department of Procter&Gamble in Italy, he joinded the group of Karolien De Bosscher and obtained an IWT scholarship in 2009. His PhD project is focused on unraveling the molecular mechanism and cofactor proteins involved in the cross-talk between glucocorticoid- and PPAR-receptors in inflammation.

Kevin Titeca
Kevin Titeca

Kevin Titeca completed his master thesis at the UGent LEGEST lab. With an IWT scholarship he currently is developing new protein interaction technologies based on virus biology.

Leentje De Ceuninck
Leentje De Ceuninck

Leentje De Ceuninck graduated in biomedical sciences at Ghent University in 2005 and started an FWO funded PhD at the CRL the same year. She is involved in the analysis of leptin receptor interacting proteins.

 

Isabel Uyttendaele
Isabel Uyttendaele

Isabel Uyttendaele obtained a masters degree in biomedical sciences at Ghent University in 2005 and started an FWO funded PhD at the CRL the same year. She investigates various aspects of JAK/STAT signaling and is involved in an industrial collaboration project applying MAPPIT to dissect viral interactions.

 

Laura Icardi
Laura Icardi

Laura Icardi graduated in molecular biotechnology at the University of Torino (Italy) in 2006, with a thesis on the IFN-gamma/STAT1 signaling pathway in human T lymphocytes, at the Center for Experimental Research and Medical Studies (CeRMS). In January 2007 she joined the CRL as an early stage researcher in a Marie Curie Research Training Network (RTN) project focused on cytokine receptor traffic, signaling and human disease. She is involved in the identification of novel interactor partners of JAK2, implicated in the control of trafficking and signaling from the leptin receptor. In addition, she investigates the signaling cross-talk between STAT1-STAT3 on the interferon alpha receptor.

 

Celia Bovijn
Celia Bovijn

After getting a degree as a lab technician, Celia Bovijn additionally obtained an industrial engineering degree, both in biotechnology. For 3 years, she worked as a protein purification researcher at Innogenetics (Ghent). In 2007, she started a PhD at the CRL focusing on Toll-like Receptor signaling.

 

Tim Van Acker
Tim Van Acker

After graduating as Master in Biomedical Sciences (UGent, 2007), Tim Van Acker obtained an additional degree as Master in Molecular Biotechnology (UGent, 2008). In 2008, he started an IWT-funded PhD at the CRL investigating Toll-like Receptor and integrin signaling.

  • tel: +32 (0) 9 264 93 22

Technical staff

Steffi De Rouck
Steffi De Rouck

Steffi De Rouck joined the CRL after obtaining a degree of Bachelor in Pharmaceutical Biotechnology in 2011. She is involved in supporting the MAPPIT-based large-scale interactomics projects.

Thomas Van Speybroeck
Thomas Van Speybroeck

Thomas Van Speybroeck graduated as a Bachelor in Biochemistry in 2011 and started his first job at the CRL. He is mainly involved in the drug discovery projects set up in the lab.

Lode De Cauwer
Lode De Cauwer

Lode De Cauwer started at CRL in September 2010. Before he has worked at the Department of Molecular Biomedical Research in the lab of Molecular Pathophysiology and Experimental Therapy led by Prof. Peter Brouckaert.

 

Anne-Sophie De Smet
Anne-Sophie De Smet

Anne-Sophie De Smet joined the CRL in 2005, after graduating as a lab technician. She is mainly supporting the various MAPPIT-based interactomics projects ongoing in the lab.

 

Annick Verhee
Annick Verhee

After getting a degree as a lab technician in 1989, Annick Verhee worked at Roche Research Ghent for 7 years. She joined the CRL at its startup in 1996. She is involved in many different projects ongoing at the CRL, currently focusing on the application of MAPPIT in a collaboration project on virology.

 

José Van der Heyden
José Van der Heyden

José Van der Heyden's carreer started in 1972 as a technician in the laboratory of Molecular Biology headed by Walter Fiers at Ghent University. He moved to Biogen (later Roche) in 1981. In 1998, he joined the CRL. From 2003 until 2006 he stayed in Montpellier (France) at the Département Défenses Antivirales et Antitumorales of the CNRS.

 

Dominiek Catteeuw
Dominiek Catteeuw

Dominiek Catteeuw obtained his degree as a lab technician in 2001 and started working at the CRL the same year. Currently, he mainly supports the research programs on leptin and leptin receptor antagonism.

 

Nele Vanderroost
Nele Vanderroost

Nele Vanderroost obtained a technical bachelor in biotechnology in 2005 and joined the CRL the same year. She supports the development of the MAPPIT technology platform.

 

Elien Ruyssinck
Elien Ruyssinck

Elien Ruyssinck joined the CRL after graduating as a technical bachelor in biomedical sciences in 2008. She is mainly involved in supporting the development of the MAPPIT platform.

  • tel: +32 (0) 9 264 93 19
Dieter Defever
Dieter Defever

Dieter Defever graduated in 2001. He gained experience in several labs at Ghent University both at the Faculty of Medicine (Prof. Anne De Paepe), the Veterinary Faculty (Prof. Hans Nauwynck) and the Faculty of Sciences (the VIB team of Dr. Chris Marine). He joined the CRL in 2009 where he is mainly involved in expanding the MAPPIT platform.

Previous members of CRL

Dany Broekaert - professor at the Department of Medical Protein Research of Ghent University/VIB
Delphine Defeau - left the science field
Gertie De Neve - left the science field
Hannes Iserentant - invention analyst at VIB (Ghent)
Margarida Maia -
Tony Montoye - application developer at Trinean (Ghent)
Els Pattyn - scientist at Ablynx (Ghent)
Julie Piessevaux - regulatory affairs officer at Gilead Sciences (Diegem)
Sylvie Seeuws -
Liesbeth Schauvliege - hematologist at the City Hospital of Roeselare
Peter Ulrichts - scientist at arGEN-X (Ghent)
Veronique Vandevoorde - administrative support at the Department for Molecular Biomedical Research of Ghent University/VIB
Xaveer Van Ostade - professor at the department of Biomedical Sciences of the University of Antwerp
Els Vertenten - lab technician at Ablynx (Ghent)
Wim Waelput - pathologist at the University Hospital of Antwerp