Jurgen Del-Favero
Applied Molecular Genomics
VIB Department of Molecular Genetics, University of Antwerp

PhD: Univ. of Brussels, Brussels, Belgium, '95 VIB Group leader since 2003 Associate Professor, Univ. of Antwerp since 2005

e-mail phone +32 3 820 23 21 ADDRESS

Current team members
Group leader: Jurgen Del-Favero
Staff scientists: Dirk Goossens, Peter De Rijk
Postdoctoral scientists: Anthony Liekens, Karlijn van der Ven
Ph.D. Students: Bart Aelterman, Frederik Colle, Maarten Van Den Bossche, Shana Ceulemans
Support personnel: An-Sofie Lenaerts, Imke Lauryssen, Lien Heyrman, Sonia De Zutter, Veerle Depreeuw, Wim Glassee

Keywords
psychiatric diseases - pharmacogenetics/genomics - gene mapping and cloning - product and technology development - bioinformatics - computational software tools

Science

Psychiatric disorders, including affective disorders and schizophrenia, are among the most common disabling brain diseases worldwide. They have a complex etiology involving a combination of multiple genetic and environmental factors. Our research is aimed at the identification of these genetic risk factors, which is of major importance for a better understanding of the pathogenesis of these diseases.
A first strategy we use for the identification of susceptibility genes for psychiatric disorders is genome-wide linkage analysis in affected families. Using a genome wide scan, we analyzed nine multigenerational families with affective disorders, ascertained in an isolated population from northern Sweden. Linkage analysis showed a significant finding on chromosome 9q, which could be further narrowed to a candidate region of 1.6 Mb. Another study in ten Belgian multigenerational families with bipolar disorder identified a chromosomal candidate region on chromosome 10q21.3-10q22.3 in an Ashkenazi Jewish family. Further investigation of this locus will allow us to identify a susceptibility gene for psychiatric disorders. As a second strategy for gene identification we exploit the analysis of functional or positional candidate genes using population-based genetic association studies. Tryptophan hydroxylase (TPH), being the rate-limiting enzyme in the biosynthesis of serotonin, is considered an important candidate gene for psychiatric disorders. Using a HapMap-based patient-control association study, we investigated the role of the brain-specific isoform of TPH (TPH2) in unipolar and bipolar disorder in a northern Swedish population. Haplotype analysis provided evidence for a genetic protective involvement of TPH2 in both unipolar and bipolar disorder, supporting a central role for this gene in the pathogenesis of affective disorders. Currently we are exploring the involvement of posttranslational modification in the etiology of psychiatric disorders starting with genetic analysis of genes involved in A to I editing.
Next to the genetic/genomics research, our group also develops computational tools to streamline the process of gene identification in complex diseases. Recently developed tools include a software package dedicated to the automated identification of SNPs directly from sequence trace files (novoSNP). Furthermore, we developed a proprietary algorithm for designing multiplex PCR reactions (MultiPCR). Based on this algorithm we developed a PCR based method for high throughput analysis of copy number variations which we termed Multiplex Amplicon Quantification (MAQ). Recently we started with the interdisciplinary development and implementation of a data mining platform.

Press Release
See also press release (08/12/2008): New technique enables faster genetic diagnosis for hereditary diseases - based on a publication in Human Mutation (Dirk Goossens et al., Human Mutation, 2008)

Goossens D, Moens L, Nelis E, Lenaerts A, Glassee W, Kalbe A, Frey B, Kopal G, De Jonghe P, De Rijk P, Del-Favero J
Simultaneous mutation and copy number variation (CNV) detection by multiplex PCR-based GS-FLX sequencing
HUM MUTAT 30, 472-6, 2009



Alaerts M, Ceulemans S, Forero D, Moens L, De Zutter S, Heyrman L, Lenaerts A, Norrback K, De Rijk P, Nilsson L, Goossens D, Adolfsson R, Del-Favero J
Support for NRG1 as a susceptibility factor for schizophrenia in a northern Swedish isolated population
ARCH GEN PSYCHIAT 66, 828-37, 2009



Sutrala S, Goossens D, Williams N, Heyrman L, Adolfsson R, Norton N, Buckland P, Del-Favero J
Gene copy number variation in schizophrenia
SCHIZOPHR RES 96, 93-9, 2007



Van Den Bogaert A, Sleegers K, De Zutter S, Heyrman L, Norrback K, Adolfsson R, Van Broeckhoven C, Del-Favero J
Association of Brain-Specific Tryptophan Hydroxylase, TPH2, With Unipolar and Bipolar Disorder in a Northern Swedish, Isolated Population
ARCH GEN PSYCHIAT 63, 1103-10, 2006



Venken T, Claes S, Sluijs S, Paterson d, van Duijn C, Adolfsson R, Del-Favero J, Van Broeckhoven C
Genomewide scan for affective disorder susceptibility Loci in families of a northern Swedish isolated population
AM J HUM GENET 76, 237-248, 2005

print friendly