dr. Jeffrey Aalders (PhD)
Post-doctoral researcher – Lab for medical cell biology (UGent)
Principal investigator: prof. Jolanda van Hengel (PhD)
Research focus
The use of induced pluripotent stem cells provide a powerful tool in disease modelling and drug toxicity testing. In my research I am using induced pluripotent stem cells to generate different cardiac specific cell types (e.g. cardiomyocytes, cardiac fibroblast).
The aim of my research is to uncover the mechanisms in Marfan-related cardiomyopathy. On the other hand the human in vitro cardiac models provide an important platform for drug toxicity testing. Early evaluation of cardiac safety of novel drugs could help in more effective clinical trials and prevent the financial drawbacks of drug withdrawal from the market.
In the past I used zebrafish as a model to study both teratological and toxicological effects of compounds on early development.
Contact & links
- Lab address: Campus UZ Gent, C. Heymanslaan 10, The Core,
ingang 37a, 9000 Gent, Belgium - Lab for medical cell biology
- Jeffrey Aalders is interested to receive invitations for presentations or talks