VIB-KU Leuven Center For Brain & Disease Research

🚀 Congratulations to our group leaders who received senior research project grants from the Research Foundation Flanders - FWO! • Sandrine Da Cruz (Group Leader Laboratory of Neurophysiology in Neurodegenerative Disorders) • Joris de Wit (Group Leader Laboratory of Synapse Biology) • Pierre Vanderhaeghen (Group Leader Laboratory of Stem Cell and Developmental Neurobiology) • Esther Klingler (Group Leader Laboratory of Developmental Trajectories of Emotional Circuit Neurons)

Microglia are known to play an important role in Alzheimer's disease, but exactly what they do has remained elusive. Scientists in the De Strooper Lab show that the role of microglia varies depending on the stage of the disease, in a new study published in Nature Communications. "From these experiments, we concluded that microglia do indeed have different functions at different stages at the disease: in the early stages, they perform a 'good' role and in the later stages a 'bad' one." Nóra Baligács, first author and PhD researcher in the lab, explains. Find out more 👉 https://lnkd.in/eDTfbJRM

📣 New research from the Wim Annaert Lab sheds light on how mutated PSEN2 accelerates disease progression in familial Alzheimer's disease! Their findings, published in Nature Communications, offer new insights into the mechanisms driving this genetic form of the disease. Prof. Wim Annaert: “Our findings underscore the importance of PSEN2 in regulating brain cell health. Targeting the underlying cellular dysfunction caused by PSEN2 mutations could be a potential route for Alzheimer’s treatments. To translate these insights into treatments, we require further research, but our work suggests that therapies aimed at restoring the function of endosomes and lysosomes or normalizing γ-secretase activity in these organelles could help mitigate the effects of PSEN2 mutations and slow disease progression in familial Alzheimer's disease.” Find out more 👉 https://lnkd.in/e6fwnWN6 Stichting Alzheimer Onderzoek / Fondation Recherche Alzheimer | BrightFocus Foundation | Alzheimer's Association®

⏲️ Just one day left! Apply to do a PhD in Neuroscience and join our vibrant international research community in Leuven, Belgium! 🌍💙 🔬 We have 11 projects available spanning computational biology, developmental biology, neurodegeneration, and more. Benefit from cutting-edge training, resources, and expertise with access to state-of-the-art technology and support. 🚨 Deadline: 29th November 2024 (tomorrow!) More about the PhD Call 👉 https://lnkd.in/ekijhCzy Discover our Center 👉 cbd.sites.vib.be/en #PhD #Neuroscience

🔷 Follow us on Bluesky at @cbdresearch.bsky.social! 📸 Throwback to when we had blue skies here at Gasthuisberg Campus 🌧

🚀 We wrapped up another successful PhD Symposium! Our annual event to foster science and community among our students, together with Nerf - empowered by imec, KU Leuven and VIB. Find out more 👉 https://lnkd.in/eDk5puve

⏰ Just two weeks left to apply for a PhD position in our International PhD Call 2025! Join our neuroscience research hub in the heart of Europe 🌍 🔍 We're looking for enthusiastic, creative, and highly motivated candidates from across the globe to explore how the brain and nervous system develops, ages and functions in health and disease. 👩🔬 We have 11 exciting projects available across numerous labs, topics, and disciplines. Browse and apply 👉 https://lnkd.in/ekijhCzy 💌 Know someone who would be perfect for the call? Tag them in the comments share or share to your network 👇 #neuroscience #brain #disease #research #PhD

🌟 The iPSC Modelling in Neuromuscular Disorders (iMND) Conference brought together top speakers from around the world to talk about the latest developments in the field of using induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) models to study neuromuscular disorders. "In this rapidly evolving field of modelling Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (#ALS), Charcot-Marie-Tooth (#CMT) and Spinal Muscular Atrophy (#SMA) using human iPSC-derived models, it is extremely important to regularly come together and discuss the opportunities and challenges of these new 2D and 3D models." Ludo Van Den Bosch, group leader of the Laboratory of Neurobiology and member of the Organizing Committee, explains. “Creating a European network of researchers using these models was one of our main goals for this meeting, and one I believe we have achieved in the past few days." Find out more 👉 https://lnkd.in/er4QXfxB

👋 Meet Henne Holstege, new group leader at the VIB-KU Leuven Center For Brain & Disease Research! 🎂 Henne's groundbreaking research on cognitively healthy centenarians – people who live to be more than 100 years old – has been instrumental in understanding how some people defy age-related cognitive decline. Henne has joined our Center to dive deeper into the molecular mechanisms that underlie ageing in health and disease. 💬 “With Henne joining our team, we gain a world-class researcher and a leader who brings a collaborative spirit and a wealth of knowledge in Alzheimer’s genetics. I am confident that her contributions will have a lasting impact on our center and on the field of neurodegenerative disease research.” Patrik Verstreken, Scientific Director. 🍂 Welcome to our research community, Henne! Find out more 👉 https://lnkd.in/eKP-MYTu

🤔 Can we protect nerve cells from dying in #Alzheimers? New research published in Science Translational Medicine has identified specific inhibitors that can prevent the loss of nerve cells in mouse models of the disease! Last year, Sriram Balusu and colleagues announced they had mapped triggers for such necroptosis in human nerve cells transplanted into Alzheimer’s affected mouse brains.  To better understand the neurodegenerative process, and how it could be halted, the team of researchers led by Balusu, Dietmar Thal annd Bart De Strooper now further explored the role of necroptosis in different mouse models for Alzheimer’s. Find out more 👉 https://lnkd.in/e8nk_MJY VIB | KU Leuven