dr. Lana Hellebaut (PhD)

Postdoctoral researcher – Electrochemistry and Surface Analysis (ESA) – Department of Chemistry – Faculty of Sciences, UGent
Principal investigator: prof. Mieke Adriaens (PhD)
Research focus
Cervical cancer is the fourth most prevalent cancer among women worldwide. Human papillomavirus (HPV) infection particularly high-risk (HR) strains like 16 and 18, is the primary driver of cervical cancer development, although not all HR-HPV infections lead to malignancy. Both vaccination against HPV and screening methods have significantly reduced mortality rates. Currently, screening methods rely on cytology based approaches which are dependent on the expertise of trained cytopathologists. Recently, there has been a shift towards the detection of HPV-DNA, however, this approach can lead to false positives due to transient infections.
The European ELEVATE and CHILI projects aim to develop a point of care tool that can assist in cervical cancer screening, combining detection of HPV DNA with that of specific cervical cancer biomarkers. The tool uses lab-on-a-chip technology and is compatible with self-sampling.
My work focuses primarily on the detection of biomarkers (p16 and ki67) and can be divided into three main work packages. In the first place, a correlation between the biomarker profile and lesion grade must be established. Second, antibodies against these biomarkers must be screened for efficient binding properties, resulting in a highly sensitive and specific assay. Third, the antibodies must be adsorbed or covalently bound to the electrodes in our lab-on-a-chip and an appropriate assay must be developed.
Biography
I’m a molecular biologist. I obtained my PhD in the field of homologous recombination and CRISPR/Cas9 research in plants (Arabidopsis and maize). I took a brief detour into the innovation of science education and dove right back into research on the detection of cervical cancer in the ELEVATE and CHILI projects.
Contact & links
- Lab address: Campus Sterre, Krijgslaan 281-S12, 9000 Gent
- Lana Hellebaut is interested to receive invitations for presentations or talks