Dr. Jonas De Kesel & Dr. Igor Fijalkowski are laureates of the 4th Pieter Van Vlierberghe Award

Each year, CRIG launches the 'Pieter Van Vlierberghe Award', a yearly award for the best paper in oncology published by young CRIG researchers.

This initiative is taken to honor and remember CRIG group leader Prof. Pieter Van Vlierberghe, who lost his unfair battle against cancer in 2022 (in memoriam Pieter Van Vlierberghe). Pieter has been one of the driving forces of cancer research in Ghent, made great contributions in the field of (pediatric) leukemia and lymphoma, embodied the mission of CRIG to collaborate, and was an excellent leader, motivator and friend to many of us.

In 2026, the fourth ‘Pieter Van Vlierberghe Award’ was given to CRIG researchers Dr. Jonas De Kesel & Dr. Igor Fijalkowski for their paper 'HNRNPC and m6A RNA methylation control oncogenic transcription and metabolism in T-cell leukemia' (published in Blood, 2025 - link to the publication). 

More info on the publication: RNA homeostasis is dysregulated in cancer. N6-methyladenosine (m6A), the most abundant epitranscriptomic modification in eukaryotic messenger RNA, plays a pivotal role in RNA biology, affecting transcript stability, translation, and splicing. In their study, Jonas, Igor and colleagues have uncovered extensive m6A changes in patients with T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL). Moreover, they have shown that T-ALL is highly dependent on the m6A reader heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoprotein C (HNRNPC). Also,  the levels of the m6A demethylase fat mass and obesity-associated protein (FTO) are significantly elevated in T-ALL cells compared with normal cells, and to other types of leukemia. Therefore, targeting m6A regulators such as HNRNPC and FTO shows promising therapeutic potential and may improve treatment outcomes.

The laureates were awarded during a dedicated closing session on CRIG’s PrIOMiC-OncoPoint symposium on 31 March 2026.