dr. Pieter Rondou (PhD)

As coordinator and central point-of-contact at CRIG, dr. Pieter Rondou leads the CRIG Operational Committee, under the direct supervision of the CRIG Steering Committee. Pieter is responsible for the daily management of CRIG and coordinates different CRIG activities, such as the organisation of events, follow up of cancer research activities and initiation of new projects within CRIG, as well as network building and communication with different stakeholders (both within UGent/UZ/VIB and external stakeholders).   

Pieter Rondou obtained his Master's degree in Biotechnology at Ghent University in 2004. Having great interest in scientific research, Pieter started a PhD program (supported by the Fund for Scientific Research) at the Lab of GPCR Expression and Signal Transduction (UGent faculty of Sciences) and studied the molecular function and regulation of the dopamine D4 receptor, an important protein involved in ADHD, addiction and schizophrenia.

After obtaining his PhD degree in Biotechnology in 2009, Pieter was interested to extend his expertise in fundamental research and molecular biology to the area of cancer research with an added translational research focus. Pieter started as a postdoctoral researcher in the field of cancer genetics under supervision of prof. Frank Speleman and prof. Pieter Van Vlierberghe. More specifically, Pieter has been involved in many research projects focusing on the identification and characterization of novel genes (PHF6, microRNAs, ...) implicated in acute T-cell leukemia (T-ALL). These studies aim to identify possible novel targets for improved therapy for leukemia patients. During his trajectory, Pieter also gained specific interest and experience in project writing, project management and teaching. Pieter was also co-founder of the Ghent University Postdoc Community, which aims to stimulate postdocs to network within and outside academia, and to provide support for postdocs in their personal career path development.

Being inspired by the 'Cancer Research Institute Ghent' initiative in its earliest days (start 2015), Pieter was primarily involved together with the founding members in the full establishment of CRIG, and is currently full time coordinator of CRIG.

• RNA G-quadruplexes cause eIF4A-dependent oncogene translation in cancer. Nature, 2014 (PMID: 25079319).
• MicroRNA-128-3p is a novel oncomiR targeting PHF6 in T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Haematologica, 2014 (PMID: 24895337)
• A cooperative microRNA-tumor suppressor gene network in acute T-cell lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL). Nature Genetics, 2011 (PMID: 21642990)
• Link to all publications of Pieter Rondou via PubMed

• Postal address: Medical Research Building (MRB), UZ Gent, Corneel Heymanslaan 10, 9000 Gent
• Ghent University Postdoc Community: website, UGent magazine 'Durf Denken'
• LinkedIn
• X account (former Twitter) @PieterRondou and @crighent