prof. Jo Vandesompele (PhD)
- Principal investigator - OncoRNALab, Center for Medical Genetics (UGent)
- Full professor (Department of Biomolecular Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, UGent)
- Co-founder and Chief Scientific Officer at pxlence
- Co-founder and Chief Scientific Officer at InActiv Blue
- Co-founder of CRIG & former chairman of the CRIG steering committee (2016-2019)
Research focus
The lab’s research aims to exploit RNA for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes. The various research lines converge on studying the role of non-coding RNA (long non-coding RNA and circular RNA) in cancer, on the utility of extracellular nucleic acids in liquid biopsies, and on the spatial analysis of nucleic acids in tumor tissue. Apart from providing novel fundamental insights, the research also aims for clinical applications. Through a combination of high-throughput (functional) genomics technologies, custom method development, and bio-informatics tools, we seek to answer various fundamental and translational research questions.
Biography
Jo Vandesompele obtained a Master of Science in Bioscience Engineering (1997) and a PhD in Medical Genetics (2002). Since 2007, he is professor in Functional Cancer Genomics and Applied Bioinformatics at Ghent University. He is author of more than 350 scientific articles in international journals, including some pioneering publications in the domain of nucleic acid quantification and non-coding RNA. His H-index is 85, with over 57,000 citations (Web of Science, February 2025). Jo is a frequently invited speaker at international conferences and symposia. Jo is one of the CRIG co-founders and was chairman of the first steering committee (2016-2019).
Research team
- prof. Tom Van Maerken (PhD) - post-doctoral fellow
- dr. Anneleen Decock (PhD) - post-doctoral fellow
- dr. Wim Trypsteen (PhD) - post-doctoral fellow
- dr. Annelien Morlion (PhD) - post-doctoral fellow
- dr. Philippe Decruyenaere (MD) - doctoral fellow (co-promotor prof. Fritz Offner)
- Franco Alexander Poma Soto - doctoral fellow (co-promotor prof. Pieter Mestdagh)
- Hanne Van Droogenbroeck - doctoral fellow (co-promotors prof. Bram De Wilde & prof. Tom Van Maerken)
- Elena Ramos Varas - doctoral fellow
- Brecht Soulliaert - doctoral fellow
- Charlotte Stubbe - doctoral fellow (co-promotors prof. Fritz Offner & prof. Pieter Mestdagh)
- Quinn Croughs - doctoral fellow (co-promotor prof. Jimmy Van den Eynden)
- Kimberly Verniers - technician
- Justine Nuytens - technician
- Jasper Anckaert - bioinformatician
- Amber Van Daele - technician
- Nickolas Johns Ramirez - technician
Key publications
- Unequivocal delineation of clinicogenetic subgroups and development of a new model for improved outcome prediction in neuroblastoma. Journal of Clinical Oncology, 2005
- Antitumor activity of the selective MDM2 antagonist nutlin-3 in a chemoresistant model of neuroblastoma. Journal of the Nat Cancer Institute, 2009
- Predicting outcomes for children with neuroblastoma using a multigene-expression signature: a retrospective SIOPEN/COG/GPOH study. Lancet Oncology, 2009
- The miR-17-92 microRNA cluster regulates multiple components of the TGF-beta pathway in neuroblastoma. Molecular Cell, 2010
- Melanoma addiction to the long noncoding RNA SAMMSON. Nature, 2016
- Charting Extracellular Transcriptomes in The Human Biofluid RNA Atlas. Cell Reports, 2020.
- Whole transcriptome profiling of liquid biopsies from tumour xenografted mouse models enables specific monitoring of tumour-derived extracellular RNA. NAR Cancer, 2022.
- Longitudinal evaluation of serum microRNAs as biomarkers for neuroblastoma burden and therapeutic p53 reactivation. NAR Cancer, 2023.
Contact & links
- Lab address:
- Postal and laboratory address: Medical Research Building 1 (MRB1, entrance 34)
- Office address: The Core, third floor, room 130.006 (entrance 37a) - Bluesky
- Google Scholar
- Web of Science ResearcherID