Center for Molecular Medicine
Awards and Prizes
Presentation of Marianne Carlon awarded at the 5th European CF Young Investigator Meeting 2011
Prof. Veerle Baekelandt receives the price "Viscountess Valine de Spoelberch" 2008
Thursday 29th of May 2008 prof. Veerle Baekelandt was honored for her work on the role of the Parkinson’s disease linked kinases LRRK2 and PINK1 in cellular signalling: a cellular and in vivo study. The price "Viscountess Valine de Spoelberch" of the Queen Elisabeth Medical Foundation is dedicated to support medical research in neurosciences. This price includes an amount € 75.000. Please find more information in the press file on foundation's website (Dutch/French).
Prof. Zeger Debyser receives the 10th 'Price Research Centre Princes Joséphine-Charlotte'
Tuesday 18th of December 2007 prof. Zeger Debyser was honored for his work on the identification and validation of LEDGF/p75 as a curcial cellular co-factor of lentiviral integration. The Price ' Research Centre Princes Joséphine-Charlotte' is presented by the Fund for Scientific Research (F.W.O.) and its aim is to stimulate scientific research in virology. This price includes an amount € 12.500.
Dr. Linos Vandekerckhove receives Award at International AIDS Conference in Toronto!
On Wednesday, 16 August 2006 Dr. Linos Vandekerckhove will receive the International AIDS Society Young Investigators Award for Track A: Biology and Pathogenesis of HIV. This prestigious price is awarded for the abstract "The LEDGF-integrase interaction as a new target for ART" by a panel of senior scientists from around the world and has been selected out alsmost 13,000 abstracts. Only the highest scoring abstract in each track, submitted by an investigator under the age of 35, is selected for this award. This award includes an amount of US$1,000.
Prof. Veerle Baekelandt wins René De Cooman price 2005-2006
On Friday 9th of June 2006 the René De Cooman price 2005-2006 was awarded to prof. Veerle Baekelandt of the Laboratory of Neurobiology and Gene Therapy, Division of Molecular Medicine. This price of 15 000 euros is biannually awarded by the René De Cooman Foundation to a Belgian researcher less than 45 years old who has made a prominent contribution to the problem of Aging. Prof. Baekelandt received the award for her research on Parkinson’s disease. She develops in collaboration with prof. Zeger Debyser animal models and gene therapeutic strategies for Parkinson’s disease. The price was shared with prof. Yves Henrotin of the University of Liège.
Best Oral Presentation Award for Medical Student
Laura Seynaeve, medical student (1st Master year), has won the MMSRC award for the best oral presentation during the Maastricht Medical Students Research Conference, March 2006. Laura performed her research on LEDGF as a novel co-factor of HIV integrase with Prof. Dr. Z. Debyser of the Division of Molecular Medicine during the holidays following the third bachelor in Kortrijk. The Faculty of Medicine of the K.U. Leuven-campus Kortrijk pioneers in embedding medical students early on in biomedical research. Apparently with success.
Grant Awarded by The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research
In February 2006 the research of prof. dr. Veerle Baekelandt and prof.dr. Zeger Debyser was awarded with a Community Fast Track grant from The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research for their research on the pathophysiological role of PINK1 in rodent brain. Community Fast Track is a pipeline for innovative concepts in basic Parkinson’s research. The majority of awardees will work to generate new neuroprotective strategies with potential to yield the “holy grail” of Parkinson’s research: therapies to slow or stop disease progression.
Mutations in the PINK1 gene were recently linked to autosomal recessive parkinsonism. However, to date, very little is known about the role of PINK1 in the brain. The labs of prof. Baekelandt and prof. Debyser will investigate whether manipulation with lentiviral vectors of PINK1 expression levels in the adult brain can induce or modulate Parkinson’s disease-related neuropathology.
More information at http://www.michaeljfox.org
INVESTIGATOR'S AWARD "Belgian Society of Internal Medicine "
At the yearly congress of the "Belgian Society of Internal Medicine" on Friday 9 and Saturday 10 December in Brussels Dr. Linos Vandekerckhove has won the INVESTIGATOR'S AWARD for best fundamental research. Dr. Vandekerckhove combines specialisation training in Internal Medicine with PhD-research at the Division of Molecular Medicine.
Under the leadership of Prof. Dr. Zeger Debyser, Linos and his colleagues discovered LEDGF as a new cellular co-factor of HIV integration. This discovery opens up new perspectives for the development of a new generation of drugs against HIV infections.
More information at http://www.bsim.be