2025 in review: The best of the VIB blog
As the year comes to an end, we take a look back at all we've published on this blog and share some of our (and your!) favorites.
Suitably for a scientific institute's blog, 2025 was a year of experimentation. We've tried different formats, different publishing schedules, different ways of sharing our work… And we've been fortunate to have several people share their time and effort with us to make this work.
Here are some of our (and your) favorites of 2025. We looked at both the metrics and the work and depth that went into the posts. With no further ado...
Drum roll
People
There is no science without scientists. No breakthroughs without hard work behind the scenes. Some of our most popular blog posts are those that introduce new group leaders.
- Meet Sebastiaan De Schepper, who explores the connection between the gut and brain in Parkinson's disease.
- Meet Sammy Pontrelli, who looks at marine microbes to learn about carbon sequestration.
- Meet Joana Pereira, who uses deep learning to reveal unknown protein families and evolutionary mechanisms.
- Meet Olaf Klingbeil, who studies how pancreatic cancer cells adapt and evade treatment.
- Meet Sarah Weckhuysen, who aims to improve the diagnosis and treatment of genetic epilepsies and neurodevelopmental disorders.
We have welcomed other group leaders, who will make their appearance on the blog soon.
Not only do we want to attract top scientists, we also want to encourage scientists across the world to share their knowledge, which is where the VIB Training & Conferences program comes into play. These conferences, which attract some of the big names in different research fields, also give us the opportunity to pick the brains of experts. For example,
- A conversation with experts Bart Lambrecht and Diether Lambrechts on immune niches in cancer and inflammation.
- A conversation with experts Kevin Verstrepen and Irina Borodina on unlocking the microbial future.
- A conversation with experts Patrik Verstreken and Albena Jordanova on new horizons in neurodegeneration.
- A conversation with experts Damya Laoui and Chris Marine on decoding cancer’s complexity.
Science and technology
VIB is a scientific research institute, so, of course, we dive deep into the science too. Our research is not confined to a single discipline, but it covers the frontiers of the life sciences in fields as diverse as Alzheimer's disease, crop genetics, or the gut microbiome.
On this blog, we have explored several scientific topics in detail, such as,
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Impact
Our role and aim as institute is not only to do great science; it's also about having a positive impact on society. Whether it's about developing a new medication or preparing food crops for a changing climate, our scientists tackle fundamental question that, through a strong translation arm of VIB, often find their way to addressing societal needs. Or inspire art...
- Transforming scientific discoveries into biotech innovations.
- From first families to first trials.
- When scientists and politicians meet: The researcher’s perspective.
- When scientists and politicians meet: The politician’s perspective.
- Anna Dumitriu starts bioart residency in neuroscience at VIB-KU Leuven.
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We've published more posts, so feel free to browse the blog and let us know your favorite!
Finally, we'd like to thank all of you for reading and sharing our blog posts.
And stay tuned, because there is a lot more to come.
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