Projects for Candidates 2010
Please find below a list of Ph.D. research projects available for the VIB International Ph.D. Program. By clicking on the title, you will be directed to a page which has a short project description.
From the list below, indicate your three favorite projects in your application form. Please fill in the project number only, not the title of the project. When you are selected for the VIB International Ph.D. Program, you can choose one of these three projects as your Ph.D. research project. You will perform research on the project of your choice in the laboratories of the promoter and co-promoter. Your Ph.D. degree will be from the host university of the promoter, and you will have to enroll in the Ph.D. program from that university.
Project 1: Understanding obesity and diabetes through systems biology
Promotor: Adrian Liston, VIB Autoimmune Genetics Lab, K.U.Leuven
Co-promotor: Kris Gevaert, VIB Dept. of Medical Protein Research, Ghent University
Keywords: mouse models, systems biology, targeted proteome analysis
Host University: K.U.Leuven
Project 2: Functional-structural analysis of a novel class of DNA-stress induced cyclin-depenent kinase inhibitors
Promotor: Lieven De Veylder, VIB Dept. of Plant Systems Biology, Ghent University
Co-promotor: Remy Loris, VIB Dept. of Molecular and Cellular Interactions, Vrije Universiteit Brussel
Keywords: cell cycle control, cyclin-dependent kinases, DNA stress, structural biology, plant genetics
Host University: Ghent University
Project 3: Characterization and relevance of ubiquitination of proteins involved in jasmonate signalling in plants
Promotor: Alain Goossens, VIB Dept. of Plant Systems Biology, Ghent University
Co-promotor: Rudi Beyaert, VIB Dept. for Molecular Biomedical Research, Ghent University
Keywords: Jasmonates, nuclear factor-kappaB (NF-kB), ubiquitination, protein stability and activity
Host University: Ghent University
Project 4: Chromatin as a regulator of genome evolution
Promotor: Yves Van de Peer, VIB Dept. of Plant Systems Biology, Ghent University
Co-promotor: Kevin Verstrepen, VIB Lab of Systems Biology, K.U.Leuven
Keywords: genomics, epigenetics, evolution, bioinformatics, yeast
Host University: Ghent University
Project 5: How do our genes influence our gut microflora, and how do our microflora influence our immune system?
Promotor: Jeroen Raes, VIB Dept. of Molecular and Cellular Interactions, Vrije Universiteit Brussel
Co-promotor: Adrian Liston, VIB Autoimmune Genetics Lab, K.U.Leuven
Keywords: autoimmunity, metagenomics, bioinformatics, mouse genetics, gut microbial flora
Host University: Vrije Universiteit Brussel
Project 6: Development and production of VHH-Fc antibodies as functional tools for plant biotechnological research
Promotor: Ann Depicker, VIB Dept. of Plant Systems Biology, Ghent University
Co-promotor: Serge Muyldermans, VIB Dept. of Molecular and Cellular Interactions, Vrije Universiteit Brussel
Keywords: Camel antibodies (nanobodies, VHH), bivalent antibodies, transgenic seeds, molecular farming, proteomics
Host University: Ghent University
Project 7: Tracking the endocytic routes of brassinosteroid receptor complexes by the proteome
Promotor: Jenny Russinova, VIB Dept. of Plant Systems Biology, Ghent University
Co-promotor: Wim Annaert, VIB Dept. of Molecular and Developmental Genetics, K.U.Leuven
Keywords: endocytosis, trafficking, organelle proteome, brassinosteroids, Arabidopsis
Host University: Ghent University
Project 8: Systems biology of cell migration and adhesion
Promotor: Christophe Ampe, VIB Dept. of Medical Protein Research, Ghent University
Co-promotor: Yves Van de Peer, VIB Dept. of Plant Systems Biology, Ghent University
Keywords: Actin cytoskeleton, signaling network, bioinformatics, cell migration and adhesion, differentiation and development
Host University: Ghent University
Project 9: The impact on human disease of small heat shock protein hyperactivation
Promotor: Vincent Timmerman, VIB Dept. of Molecular Genetics, University of Antwerp
Co-promotor: Joost Schymkowitz & Frederic Rousseau, VIB Switch Laboratory, Vrije Universiteit Brussel
Keywords: heat shock proteins, peripheral neuropathy, molecular cell biology, crystallography, molecular mechanisms
Host University: University of Antwerp
Project 10: Cell-to-cell communication and receptor-like kinase signaling during root development
Promotor: Tom Beeckman, VIB Dept. of Plant Systems Biology, Ghent University
Co-promotor: Kris Gevaert, VIB Dept. of Medical Protein Research, Ghent University
Keywords: Cell-to-cell communication, receptor-like kinase signaling, phosphoproteomics, root development
Host University: Ghent University
Project 11: Information flow through growth factor receptor kinases: unraveling the crosstalk between the inside to the outside of the cell
Promotor: Peter Carmeliet, VIB Vesalius Research Center, K.U.Leuven
Co-promotor: Joost Schymkowitz & Frederic Rousseau, VIB Switch Laboratory, Vrije Universiteit Brussel
Keywords: Receptor Tyrosine Kinases, Inflammation, Cancer, Angiogenesis, Protein Structure
Host University: K.U.Leuven
Project 12: What drives organ-specific expression of the Wnt pathway?
Promotor: Kris Vleminckx, VIB Dept. for Molecular Biomedical Research, Ghent University
Co-promotor: Pierre Rouzé, VIB Dept. of Plant Systems Biology, Ghent University
Keywords: signaling, cancer, stem cells, bioinformatics, data mining
Host University: Ghent University
Project 13: Cross-kingdom analysis of conserved targets and regulators of caspase-like (para- and metacaspase) proteases
Promotor: Rudi Beyaert, VIB Dept. for Molecular Biomedical Research, Ghent University
Co-promotor: Frank Van Breusegem, VIB Dept. of Plant Systems Biology, Ghent University
Keywords: immunity, stress, cell death, protein-protein interactions, bioinformatics
Host University: Ghent University
Project 14: Chemical compound screening for cell death modality switches
Promotor: Peter Vandenabeele, VIB Dept. for Molecular Biomedical Research, Ghent University
Co-promotor: Tom Beeckman, VIB Dept. of Plant Systems Biology, Ghent University
Keywords: apoptosis, necrosis, autophagic cell death, innate immunity, compound screening
Host University: Ghent University
Project 15: Pharmacogenetics of antipsychotics in Drosophila and human
Promotor: Patrick Callaerts, VIB Lab. of Developmental Genetics, K.U.Leuven
Co-promotor: Jurgen Del-Favero, VIB Dept. of Molecular Genetics, University of Antwerp
Keywords: systems genetics, psychiatric genetics, schizophrenia, antipsychotic drugs, personalized medicine
Host University: K.U.Leuven
Project 16: Keeping the balance: Coordination of Programmed Cell Death and autophagy in mammals and flowering plants
Promotor: Moritz Nowack, VIB Dept. of Plant Systems Biology, Ghent University
Co-promotor: Peter Vandenabeele, VIB Dept. for Molecular Biomedical Research, Ghent University
Keywords: cell death, apoptosis, autophagy, interactome, mitochondria
Host University: Ghent University
Project 17: EMT deregulating senescence and anoikis inducing cancer metastasis
Promotor: Geert Berx, VIB Dept. for Molecular Biomedical Research, Ghent University
Co-promotor: Chris Marine, VIB Lab. for Molecular Cancer Biology, K.U.Leuven
Keywords: Cancer, EMT, Metastasis, p53, senescence
Host University: Ghent University
Project 18: Identification and functional analysis of molecular interaction partners of the Glucocorticoid Receptor in inflammation and cancer
Promotor: Claude Libert, VIB Dept. for Molecular Biomedical Research, Ghent University
Co-promotor: Jan Tavernier, VIB Dept. of Medical Protein Research, Ghent University
Keywords: Glucocorticoid receptor, inflammation, cancer, MAPPIT, transcription
Host University: Ghent University
Project 19: The proteome of oxidative stress signaling in plants
Promotor: Frank Van Breusegem, VIB Dept. of Plant Systems Biology, Ghent University
Co-promotor: Jan Steyaert, VIB Dept. of Molecular and Cellular Interactions, Vrije Universiteit Brussel
Keywords: oxidative stress, reactive oxygen species, proteomics, signal transduction
Host University: Ghent University
Project 20: The role of unstable tandem repeats in human evolution and disease
Promotor: Kevin Verstrepen, VIB Lab of Systems Biology, K.U.Leuven
Co-promotor: Bart De Strooper, VIB Dept. of Molecular and Developmental Genetics, K.U.Leuven
Keywords: evolution, genomics, short tandem repeats, mental retardation, human
Host University: K.U.Leuven
Project 21: SAMBA: a novel regulator of plant growth
Promotor: Dirk Inzé, VIB Dept. of Plant Systems Biology, Ghent University
Co-promotor: Han Remaut, VIB Dept. of Molecular and Cellular Interactions, Vrije Universiteit Brussel
Keywords: crop yield, plant growth regulation, structural biology, biochemistry, transcriptomics
Host University: Ghent University