|
XB-PERS-4939
|
Name: Dr. Thomas Naert
Position: Assistant Professor
Research Description:
My research focuses on using CRISPR/Cas9 for cancer modeling and drug discovery in Xenopus, an innovative approach I pioneered for studying various types of cancer. During my PhD, I successfully established the first CRISPR/Cas9-mediated cancer model in Xenopus for retinoblastoma. That work laid the foundation for extending these models to other cancers, including glioblastoma and neuroendocrine pancreatic tumors, and particularly on desmoid tumors. A notable contribution in this area was the identification of EZH2 as a novel therapeutic target for desmoid tumors through multiplex CRISPR/Cas9 experiments. My postdoctoral experience at the University of Zurich expanded my interests towards light-sheet microscopy (LSM), where I was involved in developing new microscopy platforms. I am further interested in large tissue staining, clearing, and deep learning analysis of extensive LSM datasets. Current interests focus on utilizing LSM to explore the desmoid tumor microenvironment in three dimensions, providing new spatial insights. Such multidisciplinary approach integrates elements of biology, chemistry, optics, engineering, and computer science.
Disease Research Areas/Interest:
hereditary desmoid diseaseLab Memberships
Lienkamp Lab
(Post-doc, Alumni)
Vleminckx Lab of Developmental Biology
(Graduate Student, Alumni)
Contact Information
Address:
University of Ghent
Ghent
Belgium