Below you find the list of Ph.D. research projects that are selected for the VIB International Ph.D. Program 2012. Don't forget to mention the correct project number on your application form.
Project 1
An oncogenomics-based in vivo screen to identify melanoma progression and metastasis drivers
Keywords: Melanoma, Genomics, Mouse models, Oncogenic drivers
Supervisors: Jean-Christophe Marine and Diether Lambrechts
Project 2
A proteomic approach to study the influence of strigolactones on root system architecture
Keywords: Plant hormone signaling, strigolactones, mass spectrometry driven proteomics, root system architecture
Supervisors: Sofie Goormachtig and Kris Gevaert
Project 3
Cellular uptake routes of toxic peptide aggregates
Keywords: Protein aggregation, endocytosis, confocal microscopy, neurodegenerative disease, cancer
Supervisors: Frederic Rousseau, Joost Schymkowitz and Wim Annaert
Project 4
Characterization of MALT1 protease mediated signaling in the context of chronic inflammation and B cell lymphoma: the metacaspase connection
Keywords: MALT1, metacaspase, inflammation, cancer, plant cell death
Supervisors: Rudi Beyaert and Frank Van Breusegem
Project 5
Comparative genomics of industrial yeasts
Keywords:Bio-informatics, genomics, systems biology, beer, wine, fermentation
Supervisors: Steven Maere and Kevin Verstrepen
Project 6
Crosstalk between EMT and p53 driving melanoma progression
Keywords: Melanoma, EMT, Metastasis, p53, senescence
Supervisors: Geert Berx and Jean-Christophe Marine
Project 7
Engineering of the yeast Yarrowia lipolytica for the synthesis of pharmaceutically active terpenes
Keywords: Triterpenes, artemisinin, plant derived drugs, combinatorial biochemistry, synthetic biology
Supervisors: Alain Goossens and Nico Callewaert
Project 8
Exploring DSCAM function in immunity and neuronal development
Keywords: Immunology, mouse models, neuroscience, Drosophila, cell-cell communication, genetic engineering
Supervisors: Adrian Liston and Dietmar Schmucker
Project 9
Exploring neural circuits from genes to function
Keywords: transcriptional profiling, neural pathfinding, neural circuits, functional imaging, optogenetics
Supervisors: Dietmar Schmucker and Emre Yaksi
Keywords: protein complex isolation, interactomics, bio-informatics, mass spectrometry, plant cell
Supervisors: Geert De Jaeger and Lennart Martens
Project 11
Keywords: Mental retardation, neural circuits, functional imaging, optogenetics, Drosophila
Supervisors: Emre Yaksi and Bassem Hassan
Project 12
Keywords: inflammation,cancer, proteases, proteomics, brain
Supervisors: Claude Libert and Kris Gevaert
Project 13
Keywords: RabGAP, GTPase, synaptic transmission, Drosophila, X-ray crystallography, structure-function
Supervisors: Patrik Verstreken and Han Remaut
Project 14
Massively parallel sequencing as a tool in recombinant protein expression system engineering
Keywords: Genomics, proteomics, protein expression, bio-informatics
Supervisors: Nico Callewaert and Yves Van de Peer
Project 15
Keywords: Inflammasome, microRNA, innate immunity, inflammation, infection
Supervisors: Mohamed Lamkanfi and Rudi Beyaert
Project 16
Keywords: Alzheimer’s Disease, GPCR3, Nanobody, transmembrane signalling
Supervisors: Jan Steyaert and Bart De Strooper
Project 17
Supervisors: Jan Gettemans and Jean-Christophe Marine
Project 18
Regulation of endothelial leadership potential in blood vessel sprouting
Keywords: Vascular patterning, tip and stalk cell competition, computation modeling, embryonic stem cells, transgenic mouse models
Supervisors: An Zwijsen and Holger Gerhardt
Project 19
Keywords: Arabidopsis, root development, stress tolerance, trehalose, crosstalk plant hormones and sugar signaling
Supervisors: Tom Beeckman and Patrick Van Dijck
Project 20
Keywords: Physcomitrella patens, polysaccharides, cell wall, trehalose, Arabidopsis
Supervisors: Patrick Van Dijck and Wout Boerjan
Project 21
Keywords: A thaliana, oxidative stress, phenotyping, sulfenome, structure/function
Supervisors: Frank Van Breusegem and Joris Messens
Project 22
Keywords: protein aggregation, protein-protein interaction, neurodegeneration, Parkinson disease, protein folding
Supervisors: Bart De Strooper, Frederic Rousseau and Joost Schymkowitz
Project 23
Keywords: Endocytosis, trafficking, proteomics, brassinosteroids, Arabidopsis
Supervisors: Jenny Russinova and Wim Annaert
Project 24
Keywords: Aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases, neurodegeneration, molecular/cell biology, molecular mechanisms, disease models
Supervisors: Albena Jordanova and Jan Gettemans
Project 25
Project 26
Project 28
Structural determination of protein complexes involved in jasmonate perception and signalling
Keywords: Jasmonates, JAZ/NINJA, hormone perception & signalling, protein complexes, structural molecular biology
Supervisors: Alain Goossens and Han Remaut
Project 29
Screening of different VHH-Fc antibody formats produced in the Arabidopsis seed platform for maximal functionality
Keywords: Camel antibodies (nanobodies, VHH), bivalent antibodies, transgenic seeds, bio-betters, antibody design
Supervisors: Serge Muyldermans and Ann Depicker
Project 30
Cellular stress and stressosome formation: mutual interaction between p53 and the RIPK complex formation
Keywords: p53, cellular stress, apoptosis, necroptosis, stressosome
Supervisors: Peter Vandenabeele and Jean-Christophe Marine
Project 31
Keeping the balance: Coordination of Programmed Cell Death and Autophagy in Mammals and Flowering Plants
Keywords: cell death, apoptosis, necroptosis, PCD, autophagy, cell death modifier screening, Beclin 1
Supervisors: Peter Vandenabeele and Moritz Nowack
Project 32
”Of yeast and men”: comparison of the degradome and ubiquitinome of MALT1 and YCA1 in the context of immunity and cellular stress
Keywords: Proteases, ubiquitination, degradomics, immunity
Supervisors: Rudi Beyaert and Kris Gevaert
Project 33
The role of unstable tandem repeats in human evolution and disease
Keywords: genetics, genomics, human genetic disease, bioinformatics, molecular biology
Supervisors: Kevin Verstrepen and Bart De Strooper
Project 34
Identification of putative oncogenes and tumor suppressor genes through a UV-B radiation related genome scan in Arabidopsis thaliana
Keywords: Plants, UV-B, skin cancer
Supervisors: Marnik Vuylsteke and Geert Berx
Project 35
Metagenomics analysis of spontaneous fermentations during the production of traditional Belgian beers
Keywords: Metagenomics, bioinformatics, molecular biology, microbiology, beer fermentation
Supervisors: Kevin Verstrepen and Jeroen Raes
Project 36
Understanding how microorganisms generate biofilms, and how the immune system can clear them
Keywords: Candida albicans, biofilm, host immune response, virulence, pathogen recognition receptor
Supervisors: Patrick Van Dijck and Adrian Liston
Project 37
The role of oxygen sensors in immune surveillance in cancer
Keywords: oxygen sensors, dendritic cells, immune system, cancer, transgenic models
Supervisors: Bart Lambrecht and Peter Carmeliet
> Next step: How to apply?