News

Sandrine and Laura attended this year's iMND (iPSC modeling in neuromuscular disorders) meeting in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, where Sandrine got invited to give a talk and Laura presented her poster. 

Fernanda Valentina Moreso Contreras, a master student from Chile, will do a 4-months internship in our lab working together with Marije!

After almost six years of hard work, dedication, and perseverance, we are very happy to share that Tessa has successfully defended her PhD thesis, titled “The role of the RNA-binding protein FUS in health and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.” Congratulations, Tessa, on this fantastic achievement! We are very proud of all that you have accomplished and wish you all the very best for your next steps.

Organized by the Switch lab at VIB-KU Leuven and supported by VIB training & conferences, the 3rd edition of Leuven Protein Aggregation Meeting took place, where Bilal and Günseli presented a poster and Sandrine gave a talk. We are very happy to share that the campaign image was taken from Rummens et al., Cell, 2025! 

We are happy to announce that Olivier Dionne, who finished his PhD at the Université du Québec, Canada, will start his postdoc with us. He will be working on studying TDP-43 pathology in human motor circuits. 

Isabella Marzi, a PhD student from the University of Florence, will join our lab for the next 2 months to work together with Günseli, Catarina and Bilal to learn how to use our seeding assay. 

Sandrine, together with Prof. Barbara Treutlein (ETH, Zürich, Switzerland), was invited to present in a webinar called "Driving innovation in human neural models of development and disease" sponsored by Maxwell Biosystems and organized by Nature/Springer Nature. We want to thank the sponsors and the organizing team for the invitation and giving us the opportunity to share our latest scientific efforts. Check out the link to watch the recording!

We are happy to announce that Sam obtained a junior postdoctoral FWO fellowship where he will be working on defining the isoform landscape of human axons and its vulnerability to TDP-43 dysfunction

Sandrine was invited to give a talk in a seminar hosted by Prof. Wiep Scheper at Amsterdam UMC, the Netherlands.

Congratulations to the MOSAIC ALS team. We are excited to share that MOSAIC ALS, which the Da Cruz lab is proudly part of, has been selected for Stage 1 of the Longitude Prize on ALS. We'll team up with an exception group of international experts to use AI and patient molecular data to map ALS subtypes and identify precision therapeutic targets for this devastating disease. For more information, read the press release on EIN Presswire or check the Longitude Prize on ALS website.  

This annual event is an opportunity for everyone across the center to come together. The day featured research highlights from the labs, opportunities to learn about each other’s work, and plenty of time to connect with colleagues across groups. The program included a selection of short talks and presentations from researchers across different labs, poster sessions, and tech booths, showcasing the breadth of research happening in our community. Marije, Tessa, Günseli and Laura had the opportunity of presenting their poster. 

LEUCALS, Leuven Center for ALS, brings together all clinical and research groups that are involved in ALS research at KU Leuven and UZ Leuven. Once per year, a symposium is organized, where researchers and clinicians come together to share and discuss the latest findings from the different labs and foster collaboration across disciplines. This year, Bilal presented his work in an oral presentation, while Marije, Tessa and Laura showcasted their research during the poster session. Looking forward to next year's symposium!  

Organized by Stop Alzheimer, this one-day congress brings together early-career researchers active in Alzheimer’s and dementia research, where Bilal gave a presentation and Laura participated in the poster session. 

Our center had the privilege of welcoming Olivier Goy, an ALS patient and major advocate, who has been fighting to promoting research in the field. Together with the van den Bosch and van Damme labs, we had the great opportunity to introduce our laboratories and present our research to Olivier, which was very meaningful and motivating for the teams. Read the VIB news article to learn more about it! 

Catarina and Sandrine attended the 26th edition of the Packard meeting in Baltimore, USA, where Sandrine, together with our collaborator Prof. Albert La Spada, gave a talk about TDP-43-dependent alternative polyadenylation. 

In recognition of her contributions to ALS research, Graciana is featured on the ALS Association website celebrating the International Day of Women and Girls in Science. Check the link to read her interview!

VIB-KU Leuven Center for Neuroscience, together with the Scientific Support Association, of which Yana is a member, organized the symposium The Evolving Use of Animals in Scientific Research, bringing together researchers, policy experts, and science communicators for an afternoon of dialogue and reflection on current practices and future directions in animal research. Check the VIB news article for more information. 

Viktorija, a first-year student from the Master of Biophysics, Biochemistry and Biotechnology, will be joining us for the next year to work under the supervision of Graciana to study neuromuscular junctions. 

Together with TADA, an organization committed to supporting young people from disadvantaged socioeconomic backgrounds, we welcomed middle school students to show them the daily life of scientist through interactive presentations and hands-on experiments. Check our gallery for more pictures!

We are proud to announce that our lab has been upgraded to LEAF Silver certification, recognizing our continued efforts to improve sustainability in our research environment.

We’re happy to share that our latest work on axonal protein synthesis defect in ALS has just been published in Nature Neuroscience. The findings were also featured at the VIB website. Do not forget to check them out! 

Sandrine has been awarded by the Radala Foundation for ALS research. The well-deserved recognition highlights her outstanding contributions and dedication. 

Together, Sandrine, Bilal and Catarina attended the I's on TDP-43 workshop in Paris, France. Bilal presented his work on "Uncovering local mechanisms of axon/synapse maintenance and loss in ALS/FTD" and Sandrine participated as an invited panelist in the round-table discussion "How many entities to treat and how many therapies to develop?". 

Our team enjoyed a wonderful lab day outing in Brussels, starting with a cozy brunch and finishing with a fun and challenging escape room. A great day of teamwork and laughs!

We’re excited to welcome Marije as our new postdoctoral researcher. We look forward to the ideas she will bring to the team!

Our lab has recently received recognition with the LEAF (Laboratory Efficiency Assessment Framework) certification for our efforts in improving sustainability and adopting greener practices to reduce environmental impact. 

Graciana presented her work with a poster in the New Horizons in Neurodegeneration conference, organized by VIB in partnership with Cell Press, which took place in Leuven, Belgium. 

We're thrilled to share that Anastasios has being awarded an FWO fellowship! This is a well-deserved recognition of his hard work and dedication. Well done, Tasos! 

This week, our lab had the honor of being featured on Instagram as part of Frontotemporal Dementia (FTD) Awareness Week. We're proud to contribute to raising awareness about the diseases and to share a glimpse of our research efforts. Check out the post on Instagram to see some of the beautiful scientific images from our work!

We are excited to share that Catarina has started her PhD with us!

Günseli presented a poster and Bilal gave a talk in the 2nd biennial conference on TDP-43 function and dysfunction in disease in Trieste, Italy

Aditya will join us for his master thesis for the next 10 months. He will be working under Bilal's supervision on TDP-43.

Sam has joined us for his postdoc where he will be investigating the role of the axonal transcriptome in ALS. 

Sandrine was invited to give a Keynote talk on the local translation session at the Dutch Neuroscience Meeting in Tiel, the Netherlands. 

Sandrine chaired a session and gave a talk at the Keystone Symposia - Neurodegeneration: Linking Cellular Pathways to Therapeutics Strategies in Whistler, Canada

Graciana presented her project in the ENCALS meeting in Turin

Bilal and Tessa presented their projects on the Science Day organized by our center. 

Sandrine joined the Cure-ND (Catalysing a United Response in Europe to Neurodegenerative Diseases) meeting, an alliance between top research institutes from Germany, France, Belgium and the UK to combat neurodegenerative diseases. 

We’re thrilled to share that our latest work on a new TDP-43 seeding model has just been published in Neuron, which appears back-to-back with a fantastic paper from the Polymenidou team. Do not forget to check them out!

After five years of dedication and hard work, Jens has successfully defended his PhD! We couldn’t be prouder of this incredible achievement. We wish you all the best for your future. We can’t wait to see where it takes you!

For the second consecutive year, we were thrilled to welcome two high school students for a unique opportunity to get a glimpse into the world of scientific research and the life of a scientist. During their visit, they learned about ALS and had the chance to dive into hands-on experiments, including genotyping and immunofluorescent staining. 

Sandrine and Laura joined the 25th Annual Packard Center ALS Research Symposium in Baltimore, USA, where Sandrine and Albert La Spada (UC Irvine) presented their collaborative and ongoing work on alternative polyadenylation-driven subcellular RNA mislocalization in TDP-43proteinopathies. 

Catarina Da Costa Glória, master student at the Radboud University Nijmegen, will join our lab until July. She will be working with Bilal on TDP-43. 

We are thrilled to share that Diana has embarked on an exciting new chapter as a Senior Research Scientist at the University of Padova. We wish her every success in her academic journey ahead!

Sandrine, Graciana, and Diana participated in the Motor Neuron Disease Association (MNDA) Symposium, which was preceded by the André-DeLambre ALS Research Symposium. At the André-DeLambre Symposium, Sandrine delivered a talk. At the MNDA Symposium, Diana also gave a talk, while Graciana presented a poster. 

Laura joined the Da Cruz lab as a PhD student, where she will focus on targeting the neuromuscular junction to develop therapeutical strategies for ALS. 

Sandrine co-hosted the iPSC modeling in neuromuscular disorders (iMND) meeting in Leuven, where Bilal presented his poster. 

Sandrine gave a talk and Tessa presented a poster. We are thrilled to share that Tessa was awarded an FWO travel award as well as the Brain Prize stipend. Congratulations!

Diana presented her work in the conference on RNA-binding proteins in ALS: Translating basic mechanisms into novel therapeutics at Villa Vigoni, Italy. 

Our Postdoc Graciana was awarded with a Safenowitz Postdoctoral Fellowship 2024. She will unravel the mechanisms behind neuromuscular junction dysfunction in ALS. Very well deserved!

Bilal, our senior postdoc, received the Alzheimer's Association Research Fellowship to Promote Diversity (AARF-D), designed to support exceptional post-graduate researchers from diverse backgrounds. He will work on the toxicity mechanisms exerted by axonal TDP-43 in dementias. Good luck!

Sandrine gave a talk about "Local Mechanisms of Axonal Maintenance and Loss in Neurodegeneration" in the Gordon Research Conference on Cell Biology of the Neuron, in New Hampshire, USA

Sandrine’s paper “Frontotemporal dementia-like disease progression elicited by seeded aggregation and spread of FUS”, published in Molecular Neurodegeneration, was featured in the national newspapers "Het Nieuwsblad". We invite you to take a look at the generated media articles following the press release. 

Bilal and Sandrine attended the conference organized by the International Society for Molecular Neurodegeneration (ISMND) in Seoul (South Korea). Sandrine gave a talk on "Phase transition, aggregation and spreading pf RNA binding proteins: from models to disease mechanisms in ALS/FTD".

Tessa got a well deserved reward for the beautiful poster she presented at this year's Science Day organized by VIB-KU Leuven Center for Brain and Disease Research. Congratulations!

At the Leuven Center for ALS (LEUCALS) Conference, Diana won the best poster prize. Congratulations!

Check out the new preview from our lab on "14-3-3θ, a novel player in TDP-43 pathophysiology: Implications for ALS/FTD" by Ke and colleagues published in Neuron.

Congratulations to Sandrine and Bilal for their Grants awarded by Stichting Alzheimer Onderzoek (SAO) Foundation. They will study the role of FUS and TDP-43 proteinopathy in the axons in the context of Frontotemporal Dementia (FTD) for therapy development.

Sandrine gives a talk at the University of Edinburgh for the School of Biological Sciences Monday Seminar Series. The title is: "From Mechanisms of Neurodegeneration towards Therapy Development in ALS and FTD".

Today two high school students visited our lab to get a flavor on how is life as a scientist. They joined our Friday lab meeting and we ate pizza all together. Funny times!

Diana gives a talk on "Unraveling the contribution of local translation to neuromuscular junction degeneration in FUS-ALS", project that was recently awarded a Development Grant by the Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA). She also presents a poster entitled "Spatial characterization of the lower motor neuron circuitry of a FUS-ALS mouse model". Enjoy Orlando!

The ALS Canada society and the Brain Canada foundation grant to Sandrine and her key collaborators Dr. Richard Robitaille (Université de Montréal) and Dr. Danielle Arbour (Université de Montréal) a Discovery Grant to explore new approaches to treat ALS focusing on the neuromuscular junctions.

Today Anastasios Cholevas officially joins our lab! He did an internship with us few months ago as a visiting scholar within the Erasmus program from the University of Crete (Greece), and he decided to continue his scientific adventure in our lab working on the integrated stress response activation in ALS. Good luck Tasos!

Sandrine gives a talk for the International Society for Molecular Neurodegeneration (ISMND), the title is: "From Mechanisms of Neurodegeneration towards Therapy Development in ALS and FTD". Join us in the discussion!

Award received for the development of a therapy targeting FUS in people living with ALS.

Sandrine gave a talk at the III PhasAGE International Conference in Porto (Portugal).

Sandrine is invited guest for the Annual Seminar Series at the CERVO - University of Laval (Canada).

Inspiring workshop at the Banbury Center gathering experts in the field of ALS and Kennedy's disease (SBMA) to brainstorm on common disease features for possible collaborations. Great opportunity to push forward motor neuron disease research!

Anastasios (Tasos) Cholevas joined our group as visiting Master student. He is from the University of Crete (Greece). Welcome!

It is conference time for Britt and Graciana! They participated to the ENCALS meeting 2023 held in beautiful Barcelona. Britt presented a poster on her efforts on elucidating the mechanisms underlying aggregation and spreading of FUS.

Sandrine gave a talk at the Gordon Research Conference on Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) and Related Motor Neuron Diseases - Mechanisms, Modeling and Translational Therapeutics. This year it was organized in Les Diablerets (Switzerland). Time to enjoy science, strengthening already established collaborations and making new ones, surrounded by beautiful nature!

Theo Killian joined our team and the Sifrim Lab (KU Leuven Department of Human Genetics) as PhD student. He will work on the development of new computational techniques for the analysis of spatial multi-omics data in the context of ALS and FTD. Good luck!

The official launch of the "Leuven Center for ALS" (LEUCALS), part of the "Leuven Brain Institute" (LBI) is scheduled on May 11th 2023. No registration fee. One of the Keynote speakers is Prof. Don Cleveland, whose pioneering work together with colleagues led to the recent FDA approval of the first treatment targeting a genetic cause of ALS to treat ALS patients with SOD1 mutations. Sandrine and Tessa will give a talk to offer a glimpse of the research we are doing in our lab. 

A new PhD student joined our team: Günseli Yıldırım from Koç University (Turkey). She will work on TDP-43 aggregation sharing the position with the Switch Lab (VIB-KUL Center for Brain and Disease Research). Good luck!

We are happy to share our latest review on the role of TDP-43 and FUS in the maintenance of motor axons and neuromuscular junctions with a particular attention on local translation. 

Da Cruz Lab participated to the 23rd Annual Packard Center ALS Research Symposium in Baltimore, where Sandrine presented the ongoing work on elucidating how ALS-related mutations contribute to impaired local translation. Great community and great science!

The new year brought us two brand new postdocs: Bilal Khalil and Graciana de Azambuja. Bilal obtained his PhD in Neuroscience from Aix-Marseille University (France) and then moved to Mayo Clinic (USA) for his first postdoc. Graciana recently defended her PhD at the State University of Campinas (Brazil). Welcome guys!

Sandrine gave a talk at the PhasAGE International Conference held in Brussels.

Sandrine presented at the Donders Institute at the Radboud University (Nijmegen, NL).

Neurotechnologies 2022 organized by VIB has started. Check out the webpage: bit.ly/3IUWGDj

Sandrine was part of the scientific organizing committee, check out the interview here: bit.ly/3UEYrYZ 

Diana chaired one session and was one of the conference reporter, check out her impressions: bit.ly/3ZIOv2T

Renata Castro from the University of Coimbra (Portugal) and Alexander Gilis, Master student of Bioscience engineering (KU Leuven), joins our lab to develop their Master theses.

Sandrine is giving a talk at the Armenian Bioinformatics Institute for the OMICS-2022 Seminar.

Today Eline Pieters presented her project to obtain the Master of Science in Biomedical Science, under the supervision of Sandrine and Jens. Thanks to the jury members Dr. Thomas Moens and Dr. Eliana Nachman.

Tessa presented a poster at the European Network to Cure ALS (ENCALS) 2022, held in Edinburgh. She described her PhD work on the role of FUS in axonal homeostasis and degeneration.

Alice Monticelli joined the lab as Visiting Graduate Student. She obtained her Master of Science in Medical Biotechnology at the University of Perugia, Italy.

Viola Ferrari joined the team as a Master Student! She is an Erasmus student from the University of Trento, Italy.

Just before the Christmas break, we had lunch together tasting some Belgian delicacies. Then we challenge ourselves in some good and healthy bowling games! Jens is the man to beat ?

Sandrine is presenting at the University of Leeds for the School of Molecular and Cellular Biology seminar series.

Sandrine is presenting at the Packard Center investigator meeting.

The first poster of our PhD student Tessa, good job! She talked about her project on axonal translation in mouse primary motor neurons.

Sandrine is presenting at the Second UCL Queen Square Motor Neuron Disease Centre International Symposium.

Excited about our new Lumicks C-Trap system. These "Optical Tweezers" allow us to study single molecule interactions in real time. Our lab is part of the first Center of Excellence on Dynamic Single-Molecule Analysis for Brain and Disease Research in Belgium!

A warm welcome to Burçin Atkaş, Erasmus student visiting from Turkey, and Eline Pieters, volunteer Bachelor’s student from KU Leuven.

Congratulations to Britt Tilkin and Laura Raes for their successful Masters graduation from KU Leuven.

We had a lovely lab dinner, where we also celebrated Tessa's birthday!

Check out our new lab space and that of our colleagues in our Center's new virtual tour. Sandrine made a vlog to give you a quick overview of what we are up to in the lab.

Sandrine gives a talk and Diana presents her first poster at our annual CBD Science day

Welcome to Eline Pieters who will be doing her 6-week lab rotation with us!

Sandrine speaks at the CURE-ND Neurotechnology workshop in Leuven, Belgium

Cristiano will be starting his postdoc with us. He obtained his PhD at the University of Nottingham (UK) and his MSc degree from the University of Camerino (Italy). Welcome Cristiano!

Sandrine is presenting for the Department of Neurosciences at Université de Montréal (Canada).

Stichting Alzheimer Onderzoek (SAO) allocates research funds to Diana Piol. Congratulations!

Sandrine presented at the 6° Journées Recherche sur la SLA et les maladies du neurone moteur, Paris (France).

Jens will join the lab as PhD student, and Stef as lab technician. Welcome both!

The FWO allocates research funds in ALS thanks to a very specific bequest. The research funding has been awarded to Diana Piol. Congratulations!

Diana obtained her PhD at the University of Trento (Italy), then she moved to University of Padova (Italy) where she did her first postdoc. Welcome to the team Diana!

Tessa will join the lab as PhD student. She obtained her Master of Science at KU Leuven (Belgium), brilliantly defending her thesis carried out in Dietmar Thal's laboratory. Welcome Tessa!