Modern science needs stronger infrastructure, and a new generation is rising to build it
Behind every cutting-edge experiment is a growing need for people who can build, manage, and future-proof the infrastructure that makes science possible. With its first ARISE fellow from EMBL, VIB is joining a European effort to train exactly that new generation of research technology professionals.
Latest stories
Germ-free mice and gut inflammation - Meet Lars Vereecke
As newly minted VIB Expert scientist and associate professor at UGent, Lars Vereecke leads the Host-Microbiota-Interaction lab at the VIB-UGent Center for Inflammation research. His lab established the first Belgian germ-free and gnotobiotic mouse facility and is part of the Ghent Gut Inflammation group. He is also a group leader at the Cancer Research Institute Ghent (CRIG).
Eight novel genes expand the clinical and molecular spectrum of peripheral neuropathy
Last year, scientists across the globe were able to link eight new genes to peripheral neuropathy—three of them by researchers at the Jordanova lab (VIB-UAntwerp). Postdoc Ayşe Candayan explains that more than any single technology, it was close collaboration and creative problem-solving that made these discoveries possible.
New study highlights intestinal macrophages as early drivers of Parkinson’s disease
A new Nature publication by Sebastiaan De Schepper and collaborators strengthens the growing view that Parkinson’s disease is not exclusively a 'brain-first' disorder. By looking at very early events in the body, particularly in the gut, the study adds new clues about how disease processes might begin outside the brain and later progress into the nervous system.
Bacteria as plant fertilizers: How soil microbes can help plants grow under drought
Farmers rely heavily on chemical fertilizers to boost crop yields, but this approach comes at a cost to soil quality, biodiversity, and plant fertility. Soil microbes may provide greener alternatives to help plants grow better under tough conditions like drought by triggering faster growth and earlier flowering. The intended result? Improved crop yields when water is scarce.