We’re proud to announce that three VIB group leaders have secured prestigious ERC Advanced Grants. These highly competitive grants, awarded by the European Research Council, support ground-breaking science by leading researchers across Europe. Together, Martin Guilliams, Klaas Vandepoele, and Bart De Strooper will receive nearly eight million euros to pursue ambitious projects in liver regeneration, plant gene regulation, and Alzheimer’s disease.

Scientists at the VIB-UGent Center for Plant Systems Biology and VIVES University College have developed a new method to genetically improve poplar trees without introducing foreign DNA into its genome. This advancement could pave the way for faster and more widely accepted use of gene-edited trees in forestry and the bio-based economy. The work appeared in New Phytologist.  

Researchers at the VIB-UGent Center for Plant Systems Biology have revealed crucial insights into the role brassinosteroids – essential plant hormones – play in regulating cell division and growth.