María del Rocío Pérez Baca
Who is Rocío?
Rocío is a PhD student in the FunGen lab since December 2019. Her project involves the unravelling of the function of two transcription factors, ZFHX3 and ZFHX4, in neuronal development and assess how dysfunction can lead to disease.
To better understand how loss of function can lead to disease, she uses CRISPR-Cas9 genome engineering and overexpression to study the molecular, morphological, and electrophysiological effects of aberrant proteins. She also works with in vivo models, Drosophila melanogaster and Danio rerio, to study the phenotypical effects of ZFHX3 and ZFHX4 aberrations.
In addition to working in the lab, she highly values specialized skills, therefore she has completed the postgraduate course Human Genetics from the Belgian Society of Human Genetics.
She has also improved her transferable skills with the following courses: “Effective Scientific Communication”, “Presentation Skills”, “Time management” and “Initiation GIMP and Inkscape” courses. Most of these courses were put into practice during selected talks concerning the ZFHX3 project at the joint meeting BeSHG/NVHG in Bruges on the 21st April 2022 and the international ESHG meeting in Vienna (Austria) on the 11th of June 2022. She has also mentored different master students during her PhD.
In her spare time, Rocío likes to go for a run, enjoys hanging out with her friends, and travel around the world.
Rocío has been awarded a Marguerite-Marie Delacroix fellowship to work on these exciting projects.
Lisa Hamerlinck
Who is Lisa?
Lisa is a PhD student in the FunGen lab since December 2021. Her project focuses on the regulation of SATB2 and how disruption can be linked to disease. For this purpose she will use iPSC derived models, enhancer assays, CRISPRi and chromatin conformation capture techniques. Once the regulatory landscape is established, this information will be used to determine the potential of cis-regulation therapy (CRT) in cell lines of patients with SATB2-associated syndrome. Her project will lead to improved diagnostics and therapy for SATB2-associated syndrome.
Her research interests revolve around genetics, the noncoding part of the genome, gene regulation and neuroscience. In addition to working in the lab, Lisa followed the permanent education course on human genetics offered by the Belgian Society of Human Genetics, in order to continuously expand her knowledge on genetics.
In her spare time, Lisa plays tennis and enjoys playing boardgames with friends and colleagues.
Lisa has been awarded an FWO fellowship to work on these exciting projects.
Nore Van Loon
Who is Nore?
Nore is a PhD student in the FunGen lab since November 2022. Her project involves the use of neural organoids to study human brain development in health and disease. More specifically she investigates the role of the transcription factor FOXG1 in neurodevelopment. For this purpose, she uses CRISPR-Cas9 genome engineering tools on induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) to create or remove mutations in FOXG1. In collaboration with the team of Prof. Ruslan Dmitriev, experienced in Fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy (FLIM) and other advanced imaging approaches, she will study the characteristics of FOXG1 in living neural organoids. Live imaging is compatible with downstream omics analyses such as single cell RNA-sequencing and ChIP-sequencing, to obtain a deeper understanding of human brain development. Her research interests revolve around genetics, molecular biology and neuroscience.
In her spare time, Nore enjoys playing volleyball, the piano and board games.
Nore is funded by a project from the Special Research Fund (BOF) of Ghent University to work on these exciting projects. Nore has also been awarded an FWO fellowship to work on this exciting project and previously received a grant from the Marguerite-Marie Delacroix Foundation.
Lara Colombo
Who is Lara?
Lara is a PhD student in the FunGen lab since November 2023. She completed her M.Sc. in Bioinformatics for computational genomics in University of Milan and Polytechnic of Milan in September 2023.
Her project involves the exploration of the regulatory landscapes orchestrating the functionality of key neurodevelopmental genes. For this purpose, she leverages various computational analyses to shed light on the noncoding genome and its putative role in finely tuned and context-specific gene regulatory mechanisms by delving into evolutionary aspects, differences between tissues or cell types and the impact of common and rare variants. Via these studies, we will thus be able to better characterize the regulatory landscapes of crucial neurodevelopmental genes and how disruption of these landscapes can cause neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs).
Her research interests revolve around neuroscience, genetics, and the specific role of enhancers in these complex frameworks. In particular, she likes to tackle these biological problems through bioinformatics and mathematical approaches.
In her spare time, Lara likes to hang out with friends, going for a walk, read a good book or visit new places.
Lara is supported by an FWO Research Project to work on this exciting project.
Sebastian Leimbacher
Who is Sebastian?
Sebastian is a PhD student in the FunGen lab since November 2023. His project aims to determine the function, expression and regulation of genes involved in neurodevelopmental disorders (NDD) using pathway enrichment analysis and multi-omics approaches. He will try to establish a high throughput cell sorting protocol to use (sc)RNA-seq, (sc)ATAC-seq, CUT&RUN and (Hi-)C on the different cell types of neuronal organoids at different stages of maturity.
His research interests include bioinformatics, neurobiology, genetics and statistics. Outside the lab, Sebastian enjoys a variety of sports, including martial arts, tricking and surfing, as well as playing board games.
Sebastian is supported by an FWO Research Project to work on this exciting project.
Lukas Genbrugge
Who is Lukas?
Lukas Genbrugge is a PhD student in the FunGen lab since October 2024. His research aims to increase our understanding of the relationship between human neurodevelopment and the choroid plexus, a critical brain region involved in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) production and the blood-CSF barrier.
To delve deeper into this connection, he employs choroid plexus organoids and by analysing their transcriptome and 3D genome, he aims to unravel the underlying mechanisms. Specifically, he is investigating the neurodevelopmental disorder SMARCB1-related intellectual disability with choroid plexus hyperplasia (ID-CPH). This condition is caused by a specific genetic variant in the SMARCB1 gene. Furthermore, his research will explore the potential therapeutic benefits of bumetanide in modulating choroid plexus function and addressing SMARCB1-related ID-CPH. His work promises to shed light on the complex interplay between early neurodevelopment and choroid plexus function, potentially leading to novel therapeutic strategies.
His research interests include neuroscience, genetics, and bioinformatics. In particular, Lukas finds it important to gain a dual skillset in both laboratory techniques and bioinformatical strategies with the aim of becoming a bridge between these two areas.
In his spare time, Lukas enjoys playing board games, hiking in nature (or the urban jungle), and watching films.
The people powering FunGen Lab
Our team consists of a young and enthusiastic team of researchers who strive to advance the field in understanding the genetic causes of neurodevelopmental disorders.
