prof. Jolien Van Cleemput (DVM, PhD)

Papillomaviruses, retroviruses, and herpesviruses are known to cause tumors in humans and animals by inducing oncogenesis in both host and neighboring cells. Still, the molecular mechanisms underlying these virus-induced cell transformations remain poorly understood, particularly in animals. This is largely due to a lack of tools needed to modify animal viruses and cells. My goal is to advance animal virus and host cell engineering to perform fundamental viral pathogenesis research, including that of virus-induced oncogenesis. This includes dissecting virus-host interactions that promote tumor formation and disturb immune-mediated tumor clearance. In turn, I aim to develop novel platforms that disrupt viral oncogenes or reprogram the immune response by combining gene editing with targeted cell delivery. As such, this dual approach can be used to treat viral oncogenesis in animals and ultimately pave the way for addressing analogous diseases in the human cancer field.
 

Prof. Jolien Van Cleemput earned her Ph.D. in Veterinary Sciences from Ghent University in 2018, focusing on the pathogenesis of equine herpesviruses. She then joined the lab of Prof. Enquist at Princeton University as postdoctoral researcher where she studied the molecular mechanisms underlying pseudorabies virus latency and introduced the CRISPR-Cas9 system. In 2020, she joined the HIV Cure Research Center (HCRC) at Ghent University, where she established a research team dedicated to developing CRISPR-Cas9 nanomaterials for HIV cure strategies including lipid nanoparticles, virus-like particles, and viral vectors. In 2024, she became assistant professor at the Laboratory of Virology at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Ghent University. Her lab focuses on virus and host cell engineering as well as nanoparticle synthesis to perform fundamental virus research including virus-induced oncogenesis and to develop vaccines and therapies against infectious diseases and virus-induced tumors. Examples of virus-induced tumors include equine sarcoid tumors, equine multinodular pulmonary fibrosis (EMPF), virus-induced leukemia or lymphoma.
 

• Prof. Ann Martens (DVM, PhD) – principal investigator, full professor
• dr. Maarten Haspeslagh (DVM, PhD) – postdoctoral staff member
• Alexandre Merchiers (DVM) – doctoral fellow
   

• Unravelling the first key steps in equine herpesvirus type 5 (EHV5) pathogenesis using ex vivo and in vitro equine models. Veterinary Research, 2019. (PMID: 30777128)
   

• Lab address: Laboratory of Virology, Department of Translational Physiology, Infectiology, and Public Health, Salisburylaan 133, 9820 Merelbeke
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