VIB News feed

Cell-VIB Symposium: Angiogenesis, Metabolic Regulation and Cancer Biology (July 6-8 2012, Leuven Belgium)

VIB\jogan — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 10:22:54 GMT

VIB has teamed up with Cell for a symposium about angiogenesis, metabolic regulation and cancer biology. During three days (July 6-8 2012 in Leuven Belgium), scientists from all over the world will present recent advances in how molecular signaling, cellular dynamics, and metabolic regulation converge during normal development and remodeling. They will also highlight how studying angiogenesis regulation, stromal plasticity, and endothelial microenvironment offer unprecedented opportunities for designing new therapeutic strategies.

Keynote Speakers

Kari Alitalo, Haartman Institute, Helsingin Yliopisto, Finland
Chi Van Dang, Abramson Cancer Center, University of Pennsylvania, USA

Organizing Committee

Peter Carmeliet, VIB-KU Leuven
Ann Cheung, Scientific Editor, Cancer Cell
Nikla Emambokus, Editor, Cell Metabolism
Daniel Wainstock, Editor, Developmental Cell

Program and registration:

http://www.cell-symposia-angiogenesis-metabolism-cancer.com/

06/07/2012

New services at the VIB Proteomics Expertise Center (PEC)

Sven Verheyen — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 10:26:01 GMT

VIB Proteomics Expertise Center (PEC) enlarges its range of proteome analysis applications, now including:

• differential proteome analysis

• SRM (protein quantification) experiments

• phosphoproteomics and the analysis of other protein modifications

• chemical proteomics

• COFRADIC services

• label-free analysis beyond COFRADIC

To secure accuracy and speed, all measurements are made on state-of-the art mass spectrometers, including:

• Two Orbitrap XL mass spectrometers, of which one is equipped with an ETD dissociation option

• An Orbitrap Velos mass spectrometer

• A triple quadrupole mass spectrometer (SRM experiments)

• A MALDI TOF-TOF mass spectrometer

• A Q-TOF Premier mass spectrometer

• A Fourier transform mass spectrometer

PEC is now offering high-throughput proteomics and mass spectrometry services to VIB scientists, but also to non-VIB academic and industrial customers. The three types of customers pay a fee per LC-MS run:

▪ VIB = €50/LC-MS run, of which €25 is funded by the VIB Technology Fund

▪ Academic = 75 €/LC-MS run

▪ Industry, price on request

We hope you choose to benefit from their expanded services. Contact PEC for an intake interview to get advice on which analysis is suited best for your research.

Contact PEC

www.vib.be/pec

+32 9 264 92 74

15/02/2012

Increased crop yield through better insight in molecular networks

Niels De Smet — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 10:28:48 GMT

> VIB and BASF Plant Science jointly develop TopYield Technology
> Largest collaboration VIB has entered in the field of plant biotechnology
> Cooperation supported by Flemish government agency IWT

Ghent, Belgium and Ludwigshafen, Germany

VIB and BASF Plant Science announced today a cooperation agreement in plant biotechnology. Together they will develop a novel technology to identify genes and gene networks that control crop yield. The project, designated TopYield, will explore and unravel the large natural variability of plant growth under different conditions, including drought stress.

The TopYield project will run for several years. It involves about 20 full-time researchers of VIB at Ghent University and is the largest collaboration that has ever been entered into by VIB in the field of plant biotechnology. The BASF Plant Science activities for this project will focus on testing and validating the research results in its laboratory, greenhouse and screening facilities and will be mainly handled by the company’s research site at Ghent, Belgium.

The research project is supported financially by IWT – the Flemish government agency for innovation by science and technology. This collaboration will help strengthen both the competencies of VIB and the BASF Plant Science site at Ghent in the highly innovative research area of agricultural productivity.

We urgently need a new revolution in agriculture. The world population is expected to rise up to 9 billion people by 2050,” said Dirk Inzé, project leader and director at the VIB Department for Plant Systems Biology at Ghent University. “With TopYield, we hope to contribute to the improvement of agricultural crops through advanced breeding and biotechnology.”

“This highly innovative and very exciting project will help us strengthen our efforts in developing first class yield traits,” said Dr. Jürgen Schweden, Senior Vice President Research & Development of BASF Plant Science. “We see the improvement of yield as imperative for a sustainable agriculture. VIB has an outstanding research expertise in the area of plant biotechnology and is therefore an ideal partner for BASF Plant Science.”

Currently, plant scientists are able to identify single genes that have an impact on yield. With the innovative TopYield approach, BASF Plant Science and VIB aim to further develop and validate a new technology that allows researchers to understand and predict the synergistic effect of gene networks on crop characteristics such as yield or drought tolerance.

07/02/2012

VIB Nucleomics Core, former VIB MAF, now offers next-gen sequencing, microarrays, nCounter analysis

VIB\jogan — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 10:40:39 GMT

Reflecting the shift in services offered, the VIB MicroArray Facility (MAF) is now called the VIB Nucleomics Core. MAF has served the academic and industrial life sciences community with its microarray expertise for over ten years. During the last months, its services have extended into nucleic acid analysis, including next-gen sequencing platforms.

“We decided to change the name to VIB Nucleomics Core,” says Peter Verhasselt, research manager. “Now, we are offering many nucleic acid analyses, while at the same time riding the omics wave. The new name reflects this shift.”

Analyses offered by VIB Nucleomics Core:

Transcriptomic assays
VIB Nucleomics Core offers genome wide expression analysis through microarray experiments, running over 2,000 arrays (Affymetrix and Agilent) a year. For running expression analysis on a subset of tens to hundreds of genes on larger sample cohorts, we offer the nCounter® technology. Meanwhile VIB Nucleomics Core is making the transition to RNA sequencing.

Genomic analysis
For genomic analysis, VIB Nucleomics Core offers aCGH analysis, nCounter® CodeSets for putative CNV region screening and tiling arrays for ChIP-on-chip or aCGH apart from emerging applications on Next Gen Sequencers (such as targeted resequencing or ChIP-Seq).

miRNA
VIB Nucleomics Core offers miRNA analysis through microarrays and nCounter® technology. In a recent application, combined gene expression and miRNA analysis in a single assay has become feasible (nCounter® miRGE assays)

Massive Parallel Sequencing
For all sequencing needs, VIB Nucleomics Core offers service and advice on experimental design, sequencing library preparation and data analysis. In-house sequencing platforms are Roche GS-FLX & GS-Junior, Illumina MiSeq and IonTorrent PGM.

Bioinformatics
At the VIB Nucleomics Core, bioinformatics is an integral part of the service, ranging from basic quality control to more complex data analysis.

> Check the website: www.nucleomics.be

26/01/2012

Both Nature and Science select VIB-VUB research as 2011 highlights

VIB\jogan — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 12:00:44 GMT

Great news to start 2012. Top journals Nature and Science are featuring research from VIB researchers at Vrije Universiteit Brussel in their 2011 highlights.

Nature features Jan Steyaert’s work on G-protein-coupled receptors
In its ‘365 days: 2011 in review’, Nature featured the publication of the crystal structure of G-protein-coupled receptor, in which Jan Steyaert (VIB–Vrije Universiteit Brussel) played a crucial role. Nature called it ‘a fundamental breakthrough’. The researchers captured the crystal structure of a key player on the surface of cells — the G-protein-coupled receptor — locked in an embrace with its protein partner. Between one-third and one-half of all drugs target these receptors, so understanding how they work could give industrial research and development a much-needed boost.

> Nature: http://www.nature.com/news/365-days-2011-in-review-1.9684

Science highlights Jeroen Raes’s gut research
In Science, the work of Jeroen Raes (VIB–Vrije Universiteit Brussel) on the human microbiome made it to the list of Breakthroughs of the Year. Raes was one of the leading authors of a paper by European consortium that evaluated the microbial makeup of the human gut by using metagenomics. Far from being random, our internal microbial communities fell roughly into three enterotypes, which the researchers dubbed Bacteroides, Prevotella, and Ruminococcus after the dominant microbe in each. Each enterotype differed in how it processed energy and in which vitamins it produced, factors that could influence the health of the human host.

> Science: http://www.sciencemag.org/content/334/6063/1629.full#sec-5

04/01/2012

Video report - Closer to the Future - 15 Years VIB

Niels De Smet — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 13:52:03 GMT

On 6 October 2011, we celebrated 15 years VIB in ICC Ghent. The event was a succes thanks to the talks of the six international top speakers, more than 900 participants and the announcement of Minister Lieten that VIB's budget would be raised. For those who weren't there, or for those who just want to get back on one of the presentations of our guest speakers, we have put the video reports on line.

Enjoy
Jo Bury, managing director VIB

Jo Bury, VIB Headquarters

Kari Alitalo, University of Helsinki, Finland

Luke O'Neill, Trinity College Dublin, Ireland

Bob Weinberg, Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research, United States

Detlef Weigel, Max Planck Institute for Developmental Biology, Germany

Matthias Mann, Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry, Germany

Paul Nurse, Nobel Laureate, The Francis Crick Institute, London, United Kingdom

Ingrid Lieten, Flemish Minister of Innovation, Belgium

Jo Bury & Rudy Dekeyser, VIB Headquarters

06/10/2011