ULB Research ⤶ |
Description of the Unit | Projects of the Unit | Composition |
Collaborations of the Unit | Protected technologies | Publications | Skills |
Faculty of Sciences | Molecular Biology
(Code: ULB131)
Person in charge of the unit : VANHOLLEBEKE Benoît. |
Our goal is to understand how the vascular and neural systems dynamically communicate to orchestrate brain development and function. It is now clear that blood vessels are more than passive conduits for blood flow and that tissue-specific vascular beds not only match the metabolic demands of the perfused organs but also act as important signaling centers releasing angiocrine factors that govern tissue morphogenesis and function. Proper brain function relies on elaborate neurovascular communications that, when perturbed, often have disabling or fatal consequences. Hence, there is great interest in studying the mechanisms that shape the anatomy and control the functionality of the cerebrovasculature, not only to better understand how the brain develops and works, but also to elaborate innovative therapeutic strategies for neurological disorders. We leverage the zebrafish brain as a normoxic and transparent setting to explore CNS neurovascular interactions in real time and at single-cell resolution in order to better understand through which cellular and molecular mechanisms CNS vascular invasion and maturation are controlled by neural signals and, reciprocally, how the developing vascular system impacts brain patterning and function.In addition, our laboratory contains two independent research sub-units studying molecular parasitology and inflammation molecular biology.
Campus : | Campus de Charleroi |
Location : | IBMM, niveau 2, local AS.2.110 |
Address : | CP300 Gosselies |
Phone number : | +32-2-650.97.61 |
Fax : | +32-2-650.97.50 |
E-mail : | Benoit.Vanhollebeke@ulb.be |
Web site : | http://nvasc.ulb.be/vanhollebekelab/ |
• Microbiology and protistology (human and animal parasitology)
• Molecular biology
• Parasitology