With support from the Odysseus program, Bart Lambrecht transferred in 2007 from Erasmus MC in Rotterdam to Ghent University Hospital. He is Doctor of Medicine, holds a PhD, is an immunologist, a lung specialist, and describes himself as both a basic and a translational researcher. On January 1, 2012, Lambrecht will become VIB group leader and Director of the VIB Department of Molecular Biomedical Research, UGent (DMBR). His priorities: making inflammation the central theme of department, and strengthening the link with clinical research.
What are your plans for DMBR, the VIB department you will be heading?
Inflammation will become the central research theme within the Department. Even before my
arrival, the group leaders had already identified this as their natural strength. I think it is an
excellent choice. Ghent University is traditionally strong in this area and the University Hospital
has also chosen inflammatory illnesses as its spearhead.
It is important to develop international name recognition for DMBR as a center for research on
inflammation. This will have to happen through publications in top journals, but also by organizing
a number of conferences around inflammation. With this in mind, a meeting on mucosal immunity has been planned in Bruges. And in 2012, I will be organizing a Keystone Symposium about the workings of the immune system, which should definitely raise DMBR’s profile. I would love to bring a Keystone Symposium to Belgium and organize it with VIB. I also hope to internationalize the internal seminars within the department.
Another priority is the selection of postdocs. To boost internationalization, we will focus on
attracting foreign, highly qualified postdocs, besides our own top researchers. And when they
take their career somewhere else afterwards, they will be VIB's best ambassadors.
We also need medically trained researchers among our PhD students and postdocs. This will assist us in making the link to clinical research.
Another pillar I would like to develop more is bioinformatics. I plan do this with our plant
biology colleagues in the FSVM building – with the groups of Yves Van de Peer and Dirk Inzé. I would also like to work with PSB (VIB Department of Plant Systems Biology, UGent) on plant immunity
and pathogen recognition. This is pure discovery research, but it could very well produce findings
that may be applicable to humans.
You work as a doctor at the University Hospital in Ghent for a day a week. Will you keep doing this?
Yes, definitely. When you regularly see patients, you stay connected with what happens in the
clinic. DMBR research has to become more clinically oriented. I am going to establish close cooperation between DMBR and the University Hospital. In two years, the University Hospital
campus will have a new research building completely dedicated to immunology. DMBR will have 800 square meters there. The VIB groups working on translational research will work at the Faculty of Medicine. This should significantly facilitate the interaction between basic and clinical researchers. I am still connected with Erasmus MC in Rotterdam. They are also interested in collaborating on medical issues.
Bart Lambrecht: "I am going to establish close cooperation between DMBR and the University Hospital." They are also interested in collaborating on medical issues.
Why is this link important?
Collaborations with hospitals greatly enhance the relevance and impact of your research. DMBR’s
strength to date is its detailed understanding of existing pathways – its view is in-depth, from
molecule to transgenic model. It is my hope to expand this to patients. This would create
enormous strength. Today you often see top projects and papers that make the jump from
molecules to humans. It would be amazing if this could be accomplished at DMBR.
What is the expertise of your research group?
Together with Hamida Hammad and Sophie Janssens, we are working in an immunological lab specialized in the study of dendritic cells.
These are cells that are able to recognize danger, including allergens, bacteria, viruses, but also soot particles and other substances that cause allergic reactions. Somewhat like generals, dendritic cells give orders to the other immune system cells. Our main research focuses on the role of these cells in asthma.
Our lab’s long-term goal is to understand better how dendritic cells succeed in recognizing
allergenic substances in mucous membranes. From that understanding, we can then work on asthma prevention – let’s say, a type of vaccine. That is why we are also studying how the human body handles flu viruses. We cannot interfere in the activity of dendritic cells without ensuring that the lung defenses remain intact. Simply halting the activity of dendritic cells would lead to a loss in immunity. Flu is a good model for studying this.
Also our studies on lung cancer are related to asthma research. In lung cancer the tumors secrete
a range of substances that undermine dendritic cell activity. If we could determine how the tumor
accomplishes this, we might be able to identify molecules that could be used in the fight against
asthma.
Asthma and flu research will be moving to VIB; lung cancer research will remain at the Ghent
University Hospital, since the latter is most closely related to clinical research.
Why did you choose VIB for expanding your research?
There are a lot of possibilities for collaborating with groups within VIB. This will leverage our
own research. Recognition receptor and cytokine signaling is the specialty of Rudi Beyaert and Geert van Loo. We know that allergens lead to the release of endogenous danger signals possibly issued by dead cells, the specialty of Peter Vandenabeele.
Jody Haigh has transgenic technologies that we also use in our lung research. Nico Callewaert is
involved in glycobiology, which is important for the recognition of allergens. And I could go on.
In fact, I see possibilities for collaborating with all DMBR groups. In fact, we are already working
together, resulting in two papers on immunity in a short period. But I also see potential for
collaborations with groups in other departments.
We are already working with Peter Carmeliet on the way in which dendritic cells deal with reduced
oxygen pressure. We are working on ER stress with Vincent Temmerman. I am, by the way, coordinating a UGent network that includes Jan Tavernier, Geert van Loo, Mathieu Bertrand and Sara Gerlo. And I would like to work with Peter Tompa’s department at Vrije Universiteit Brussel. ER stress is caused by incorrectly folded proteins.
How do you see industrial collaboration?
Large pharma companies are increasingly outsourcing basic research. They are looking
for strategic alliances with research centers and universities. This means that they will no longer
just finance research, but act as equal scientific partners. They often have unique expertise that we are never able to develop. Platforms for screening compounds, for example. It is incredible how
advanced they are in this area. We don’t have to develop this again. We, on the other hand, are
much stronger in assay processing, validating lab animal models and patient material testing.
We have to capitalize on this trend. We are already working on a large collaborative project on ER stress.
What significance does the Nobel prize of Ralph Steinman, who discovered dendritic cells, have for the field?
It is a recognition of the immeasurable value of his work. The discovery of dendritic cells has
given us crucial insights into the workings of the immune system. Steinman launched the field and
spearheaded it for years. It was a shock to hear that he died.
Research on dendritic cells has already led to cancer treatment applications. Some cancer
patients are now being treated by loading dendritic cell precursors with a specific tumor
antigen and then reinjecting them. I used this technology in Rotterdam on patients with pleural
cancer. Ghent uses this technology on patients with lung cancer and pleural cancer. Leuven
does the same for brain cancer, Brussels for skin cancer and Antwerp for leukemia. At a recent
rheumatology congress in the US, a study was presented in which dendritic cells were used to
induce tolerance against rheumatic disease.
You worked for a long time in the Netherlands. What were the most important things you learned there?
In the Netherlands, collaboration between research groups goes very smoothly. Transparent,
explicit agreements are made at the outset about the division of labor, author rights and financing.
This makes it much simpler. A second lesson is the great importance of facilitating collaboration
at the research institute where you work, by having, for example, good core facilities. That is something VIB already understands.
Central services and technologies are crucial. They help create an institute identity. Take it away and you are left with researchers working on their own islands. What struck me in the Netherlands is the group feeling – the idea that everyone is equal and at the same time equally responsible for the success of the organization. To create that kind of environment at DMBR is my goal and the key to success.