dr. Bert Dhondt (MD)
PhD Researcher - Laboratory for Experimental Cancer Research (Ugent)
Urology Resident - Department of Uro-Gynaecology (UZ Gent)
Principal investigators: prof. An Hendrix (PhD) & prof. Nicolaas Lumen (MD, PhD)
Research focus
An important challenge in cancer is to diagnose the disease in the earliest stage possible and to localize the organ of origin, while stratifying patients to receive the right treatment increases survival and quality of life. New non-invasive sampling is needed for early detection, screening and investigating tumor dynamics as well as the risk of relapses. Extracellular vesicles (EV) are released by viable cells and are detected in every body fluid. EV based liquid biopsies provide dynamic information from tumors at the time of collection. Based on that information, promising new diagnostic tools could be developed.
My research focusses on the optimization of methods for standardized analysis of EV in liquid biopsies and the development of a platform for urinary EV-based biomarker discovery in urological cancers.
Biography
Bert Dhondt graduated in 2015 as Master of Medicine, magna cum laude, at Ghent University. After obtaining his degree as a medical doctor (MD), he initiated his training in Urology at Ghent University Hospital and started doctoral research at the Laboratory for Experimental Cancer Research (LECR) at Ghent University. His doctoral studies included research stays at the University of Turku (Finland). Bert presented his work at several (inter)national conferences and is the (co-)author of multiple peer reviewed publications in the fields of fundamental and clinical sciences.
Key publications
- Function of extracellular vesicle-associated miRNAs in metastasis. Cell and Tissue Research, 2016.
- Urinary extracellular vesicle biomarkers in urological cancers: From discovery towards clinical implementation. The International Journal of Biochemistry & Cell Biology, 2018.
- Discovery and validation of a serum microRNA signature to characterize oligo-and polymetastatic prostate cancer: not ready for prime time. World journal of urology. 2019.
- Unravelling the proteomic landscape of extracellular vesicles in prostate cancer by density-based fractionation of urine. Journal of extracellular vesicles. 2020.
- Preparation of Multi-Omics Grade Extracellular Vesicles by Density-Based Fractionation of Urine. STAR Protocols. 2020.
Contact & links
- Laboratory Experimental Cancer Research, Ghent University Hospital, 2RTP, Corneel Heymanslaan 10, 9000 Gent, Belgium
- Laboratory for Experimental Cancer Research
- Urology UZ Gent
- Researchgate
- X (former Twitter)