Ghent University Campus

Inflammation protects the body agains insults

VIB-UGent Center for Inflammation Research unravels the mechanisms of immunity and inflammation for better prevention and therapy of human chronic disease.

Inflammation is the first response of the immune system to infection or tissue injury, leading to protection of the body against these insults. However, chronic inflammation forms the basis of several diseases such as asthma, rheumatoid arthritis, colitis, multiple sclerosis and even certain forms of cancer. These scientists study the molecular mechanisms of inflammation. 

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Curiosity-driven plant research on basic cellular mechanisms

VIB-UGent Center for Plant Systems Biology has five science focus areas:

Plant mebabolism, growth and development, interaction of plants with the environment, bioinformatics and integrative biology, translation from models to crops and from lab to field and breakthrough technologies.

Much of this research is performed on Arabidopsis as well as other plants including maize, poplar, tomato, wheat, Marchantia, duckweed, canola, soybean and plants producing high value specialized metabolites. 

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molecular tools & technologies challenging human diseases

VIB-UGent Center for Medical Biotechnology has a longstanding reputation in different fields of protein biology with expertise in protein engineering and expression, interactomics, proteomics and bioinformatics enables a multi-disciplinary approach.

Main focus is to develop new, innovative molecular tools and technologies to challenge human health problems. Emerging and fascinating is the development and production of new biopharmaceuticals and vaccines. The scientists are currently working on new applications in tuberculosis research, cancer treatment, antiviral immunity and others. 

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KU Leuven Campus

Understanding the brain, curing disease

VIB-KU Leuven Center for Brain & Disease Research unravels the mechanisms of major neuronal diseases such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, frontotemporal dementia, dystonia and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

Their fundamental research questions focus on proteopathic stress, protein-lipid interactions and neuronal trafficking systems in the context of synapse biology, brain wiring and inflammation, and in light of specific cell types and cellular heterogeneity.

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Unravelling mechanisms that drive cancer cells

VIB-KU Leuven Center for Cancer Biology its mission is to contribute to a better understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying cancer initiation, progression and metastatic dissemination with the ultimate goal to develop more effective and specific anticancer therapies and identify novel biomarkers for the early detection, monitoring of cancer progression and prediction of therapy response.

The need to understand the mechanisms that drive cancer cell phenotypic diversity is increasingly recognized.

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Microorganisms, model systems for cells of higher organisms

VIB-KU Leuven Center for Microbiology provides novel insights into prokaryotic and eukaryotic biology, ecology, genetics, genomics, metabolism, and pathology. In addition, we are creating superior industrial microbes and microbial products, and are developing novel antibiotics and treatment schemes to fight resistant pathogenic microbes.

Microorganisms are important models systems for cells of higher organisms (like humans), and many of lifeʻs basic mechanisms were first discovered in unicellular life forms.

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University of Antwerp Campus

Vrije Universiteit Brussel Campus

Treating neurodegenerative diseases of the nervous system

VIB-UAntwerp Center for Molecular Neurology has two main aims to succeed in the enhancement of the current molecular appreciation of, and ability to effectively treat, complex neurodegenerative diseases of the central and peripheral nervous system.

First an improved understanding of the genetic, transcriptomic, proteomic and metabolomic etiology of neurodegenerative diseases.

Secondly the development of effective translational pipelines and eventual therapies, that are specifically tailored to their well-characterized patient cohorts, for remedy development. The center activities can be described as ‘Translational Integrative Neuroscience’.

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integrated structural biology approach

VIB-VUB Center for Structural Biology studies the structure and dynamics of macromolecular complexes in health and disease to explain their mode of action. These scientists integrate their structural biology work with genetic and cellular studies, aiming to bridge molecular and cellular resolution. They excel in translating our discoveries into biotechnological and medical applications.

Structural biology insights are evaluated and challenged in their cellular and in vivo context. This interdisciplinary and integrative approach gives us enormous leverage to produce excellent educational opportunities, carry out grand challenge science, and stimulate research-based economic development.

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Tracking inflammatory responses with myeloid cells

VIB-UGent Center for Inflammation research and more specifically its Myeloid Cell Immunology Lab at Vrije Universiteit Brussel uses the heterogeneity of myeloid cells (MCs) as an in vivo sensor to track inflammatory responses and as a target for therapeutic intervention.

This lab focuses on studying (epi)genomics, (single cell) transcriptomics, proteomics, metabolomics and functional heterogeneity of different MC subpopulations present in selected homeostatic or inflamed tissues, in particular in tumors (tumor-associated macrophages, myeloid-derived suppressor cells and dendritic cells), the liver (Kupffer cells), and the brain (microglia subsets and barrier-associated macrophages). 

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Hasselt University Campus

Imec campus

Imbalanced immune system leads to human disease

VIB-UGent Center for Inflammation research and more specifically its Lab for Translational Immunomodulation at Hasselt University is interested in mechanisms of how immune system imbalance leads to human disease.

This group of scientists focuses on the role of specific immune cell subsets in this process, in particular on the interplay of anti-inflammatory CD4+ regulatory T cells and pro-inflammatory CD4+ effector T cells.interested in mechanisms of how immune system imbalance leads to human disease.
Our group focuses on the role of specific immune cell subsets in this process, in particular on the interplay of anti-inflammatory CD4+ regulatory T cells and pro-inflammatory CD4+ effector T cells.

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unravel the secrets of the brain

NERF its mission is to unravel the anatomical and functional fundamentals of neuronal circuits. They do so by using and integrating neurobiological and nano-electronic approaches. The first goal is to generate the evidence needed for a theory of mental function and memory. Secondly, NERF should result in new medical applications for the diagnosis and treatment of brain disorders or malfunction.

Today, neurobiology stands at an exciting crossroad. In their quest to unravel the secrets of the brain, a number of approaches, such as molecular and cellular biology, genetics, imaging, physiology, and behavioral studies are converging. In the past, each of these approaches has contributed significantly to our understanding of the brain. But now, it is their convergence that yields exciting results at an ever increasing pace.

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