My name is Yasmine and I am a post-doctoral researcher in the lab of Hilde Nelissen. In 2019, I obtained a master degree in biochemical engineering technology at Ghent University. I carried out my master dissertation in the Crop Genome Engineering Facility of Laurens Pauwels, where I investigated methods to enhance transformation efficiency in maize by using morphogenic regulators. Additionally, I also explored mutagenesis via transgenerational CRISPR-Cas9 activity. Afterwards, I obtained a VLAIO grant to start my PhD in the Bio-Energy and Bio-Aromatics group of Wout Boerjan, in collaboration with an industrial partner. During my doctoral research, I studied the CCR gene family of the lignin pathway to improve biomass processability for animal feed and biofuel production in maize. This involved generating gene-edited maize lines, followed by evaluation under greenhouse and field conditions. In January 2024, I joined the Plant Growth Dynamics lab of Hilde Nelissen to work on the EU-funded BOOSTER project. Our objective is to develop strategies to improve drought tolerance in maize and teff. My role involves bioinformatic analyses and multiplex genome editing to target cis-elements in non-coding genomic regions associated with drought response. My academic training and industrial exposure have provided me with a robust skill set in molecular biology, genome engineering, cell wall analysis, digestibility testing and phenotyping. I am particularly passionate about exploiting these modern breeding methods to accelerate crop improvement and translating these advancements into practical applications through field trials. What I like most about my job is that I’m part of a fantastic scientific community and the ability to work from lab-based research to field experiments.

Visiting Professor

Nick obtained his master’s degree in Biochemistry and Biotechnology at Ghent University and completed his PhD in 2020 in the Root Development Group of professor Beeckman at the VIB-UGent Center for Plant Systems Biology. As a teaching assistant, he lectured on plant biology topics and gained experience in regulatory aspects and intellectual property rights relevant for the plant sector.
Nick joined the association Euroseeds in October 2020 to facilitate the involvement of the seed & plant breeding sector in relevant EU research and coordination programs and to coordinate the management & administration of the different projects that Euroseeds is involved in.
In addition, Nick co-lectures science communication & public outreach as visiting professor for the master course Biotech and Society at Ghent University.

Michaël Vandorpe graduated in 2003 at KATHO Roeselare as Bachelor in biotechnology and started to work in the Oxidative Stress Signaling group at PSB. In 2016 he joined the Advanced Live Cell Imaging group.

My topics

Text will be added soon.

I obtained my master’s degree in Biochemistry and Biotechnology at the Ghent University in 2021. During my thesis I worked in the Pauwels lab on the combination of doubled haploid breeding and multiplex gene editing in maize. Later that year, I joined the group of Dirk Inzé and Hilde Nelissen where I worked on the BREEDIT ERC project, with a focus on genotype-phenotype correlation in multiplex edited maize lines. In 2022, I obtained an FWO PhD fellowship and joined the Pauwels lab again. The main focus of my PhD is to improve regeneration in maize with the goal to expand the number of transformable maize inbred lines, while also developing gene editing strategies.

Short CV

Klaas Vandepoele is Full Professor at Ghent University and group leader in the VIB-UGent Center for Plant Systems Biology. His aim is to extract biological knowledge from large-scale experimental data sets using data integration, comparative sequence/chromatin/expression analysis, and network biology. Through the development and application of various bioinformatics methods, he identifies new aspects of genome biology, especially in the area of gene function prediction, gene regulation and evolutionary/systems biology in plants, green algae and diatoms. Klaas Vandepoele published >140 papers in international peer-reviewed scientific journals and is a Highly Cited Researcher.

Michiel Vandecasteele obtained his PhD in Bioscience Engineering at Ghent University in 2019. During his PhD, he studied the occurrence, genotypic diversity, and the mode of action of pathogenic Alternaria species on Flemish potato fields, while also performing educational tasks as an assistant. In 2020, he returned to the Rhizosphere group as a doctor-assistant since he performed his Master's thesis in the same group eight years prior. Now, he investigates the action of drought-tolerance-inducing rhizobacteria on maize plants.