Nicolas Debusschere
Doctoral fellow - Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology - Liver Research Center Ghent (Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, UGent)
Principal investigator: prof. Xavier Verhelst (MD, PhD)
Research focus
Cholangiocarcinoma (CCA) is a rare cancer of the bile ducts with a very poor prognosis, mainly because it is often detected at an advanced stage when curative treatment is no longer possible. One of the strongest risk factors for CCA is primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC), a chronic inflammatory disease of the bile ducts. However, we currently lack good tools to identify which PSC patients are at highest risk of developing CCA and when this will occur. Earlier identification of these high-risk patients could allow closer follow-up, earlier intervention and ultimately improve survival.
My research focuses on PSC patients, specifically comparing those who do and do not develop CCA, to build a prognostic model for CCA development. I will use serum N-glycomics, a technology that measures complex sugar structures (N-glycans) in serum samples, to create glycomic profiles of these patients. By identifying specific changes in N-glycans associated with CCA development we aim to discover new prognostic biomarkers that can be measured in a simple blood test and have the potential to improve risk stratification, enable more personalized surveillance strategies and contribute to better outcomes for PSC patients at risk of CCA.
Biography
- Master of science in Bioinformatics systems biology
Contact & links
- Lab address: The Core (entrance 37a), campus UZ Gent, Corneel Heymanslaan 10, 9000 Gent, Belgium
- Nicolas Debusschere is interested to receive invitations for presentations or talks