On our blog, you can find content curated by the VIB community. Discover our research through the eyes of our scientists.Want to be kept up-to-date on our biotechnological news and stories? Join our community and subscribe to our bi-monthly newsletter here.

VIB Blog

On our blog, you can find content curated by the VIB community. Discover our research through the eyes of our scientists.Want to be kept...

Op onze blog vindt u inhoud samengesteld door de VIB-gemeenschap. Ontdek ons onderzoek door de ogen van onze wetenschappers.

English (Global)

Dutch (Belgium)

#475569

Engineering gut microbes for disease detection and drug production

the MiStiC project

Developing new drugs is a journey that requires significant resources and knowledge. A promising strategy involves harnessing the power of microbes in so-called microbial synthetic in vivo cell therapy systems to produce natural products with medicinal properties. The MiSTiC ERC (European Research Council) project led by Joleen Masschelein (VIB-KU Leuven Center for Microbiology) investigates the potential of beneficial, human-associated microorganisms to produce complex natural products for chronic intestinal disease treatment. This approach can potentially revolutionize drug development, as it addresses challenges of complexity and scarcity while offering new, sustainable routes to personalized medicine.

An interview with Prof. Thomas Voets for Pain Awareness Month

Turning up the heat on pain research

Most of us are familiar with the painful, eye-watering sensation that comes with taking a bite out of a red hot chili pepper. But what puts the kick in these chilies?

Bringing together Flemish expertise to accelerate the development of precision medicine for Alzheimer’s disease. 

The PRISMA consortium

Alzheimer’s disease is the world’s leading cause of dementia as it accounts for up to 80% of dementia cases. Alzheimer’s disease is the result of a complex interplay of both genetic and environmental factors, but it remains poorly understood to this day. The PRISMA consortium has the ambition to create new insights about the disease by answering the following questions:

New lab will study the development of emotional circuit neurons

Esther Klingler joins CBD as a new PI

We welcome Esther Klingler as a new group leader at the VIB-KU Leuven Center for Brain & Disease Research and professor at the Department of Neurosciences at KU Leuven. Esther will also be a member of the Leuven Brain Institute. Esther will move from Switzerland to Leuven to start her lab, which will study the developmental trajectories of emotional circuit neurons. We caught up with Esther during these busy times to get to know her.

Volunteering with IPBO in Kenya

Here are the volunteers' experiences

Looking for a way to make a positive impact on sustainable agriculture? Meet IPBO, or the UGent-VIB International Plant Biotechnology Outreach organization. IPBO is a VIB team with a mission to promote advances in agriculture and improve collaboration between African and Belgian organizations.

Facing Future Challenges

Our young researchers in the spotlight

In March 2023, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) published its sixth synthesis report. Needless to say that this report did not paint a pretty picture. More extreme weather conditions like droughts and heatwaves are occurring globally. Even with a strong reduction of greenhouse gasses, it could take up to 30 years to see global temperatures stabilize. We are in it for the long run! The world needs to find ways to secure food and reduce carbon emissions for the decades to come. Luckily, we have bright young minds at the VIB-UGent Center for Plant Systems Biology. These researchers, at the beginning of their careers, make it their mission to tackle the challenges facing us in the next decades. Let us shine a spotlight on them.

An update on CRISPR-Cas Genome editing in plants

Facts series Reviewed

In 2019, our Facts series on genome editing was published. The revolutionary technology of CRISPR-Cas took biotechnology by storm, and questions from the public started to come in. Thanks to our publication, many of these questions were answered. However, science doesn’t stand still . New techniques and applications emerge every year, with new economical and societal impacts. Politicians around the world are adapting and updating their legislations in function of these scientific evolutions. In summer 2023, the European commission will propose a new regulatory framework on genome editing. At VIB we see this as the perfect opportunity to review our Facts series from 2019 and update you on how genome editing has evolved over the past 4 years, and what a changing legislation might mean for you.

A journey of innovation in sustainable agriculture

Harnessing the power of soybeans

Soybeans are not only a vital source of plant-derived protein for food and feed but they also offer numerous benefits beyond their nutritional value. Soy cultivation contributes to soil improvement and reduces nitrogen pollution via nitrogen fixation by associated bacteria, which makes it a sustainable crop, especially in the face of a changing climate and shifting dietary patterns. However, growing soybeans in Belgium is challenging due to the lack of adaptation to local soil and environmental conditions. Perhaps, though, bacteria can come to the rescue…

Ludo Van Den Bosch (left), Philip Van Damme (center), and Sandrine Da Cruz (right), ALS researchers at the VIB-KU Leuven Center for Brain & Disease research

LEUCALS: Meet the Labs working together to fight ALS

Ludo Van Den Bosch (left), Philip Van Damme (center), and Sandrine Da Cruz (right), ALS researchers at the VIB-KU Leuven Center for Brain &...

“Turning an idea into reality is an immensely rewarding experience”

Dr. Melanie Matheu, founder of Prellis Biologics, receives the 2023 VIB Alumni Award

On to its fourth edition, the VIB Alumni Award recognizes members of the VIB community who have gone on to make an extraordinary impact on society. Dr. Melanie Matheu definitely meets that description: after a PhD and two postdocs at UC Irvine, VIB, and UCSF, she founded Prellis, a startup developing ultrafast technology for high-resolution 3D bioprinting. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the company put its full weight into developing human SARS-CoV-2 antibodies using their EXIS™ platform to create lymph node organoids.