prof. Nadine Van Roy (PhD)

CRIG group leader
Nadine Van Roy


Lab supervisor cytogenomics-Center for Medical Genetics (UZ Gent)
Co-principal investigator- Lab for translational oncogenomics & bioinformatics (TOBI) (UGent)
Co-principal investigator- Pediatric precision oncology lab (PPOL)(UGent)
Full professor (Faculty of Medicine and Health sciences, UGent)
Member of the IOF council 

 

Research focus

Since 1990, I am involved in neuroblastoma research, trying to unravel the genetic defects in this devastating pediatric disease. Neuroblastoma is one of the most common extra-cranial tumors in childhood, characterized by a biological and clinical heterogeneity, ranging from spontaneous regression to full blown metastatic fatal disease. Neuroblastoma is a mutational silent disease while copy number alterations are frequently found and are  prognostic important. We identified gain of chromosome 17(q) as one of the most common copy number alterations and prognostic marker in neuroblastoma. During the latest years, we invested in the optimalization of the use of liquid biopsies in neuroblastoma, but also in other common pediatric malignancies and showed the feasibility of this technology as a minimally invasive tool for copy number alteration detection. Not only genetic defects but also epigenetic changes have been explored in liquid biopsies in different cancer entities with good results, not limited to pediatric cases but also including adult cancers. Recently, we initiated the launch of a sarcoma research consortium at Ghent University with the aim to gather all expertise involving sarcoma research with the goal to establish close collaborations with other cancer researchers and explore novel fundamental as well as translational entry points and biomarker discovery. 
 

Biography

I did a master in biology at Ghent University and started a PhD in the lab of Prof. F. Speleman studying neuroblastoma. I obtained my Ph.D. in Medicine from Ghent University, in 1996. From 1996 to 2006 I performed scientific research in the neuroblastoma group where I performed a postdoctoral fellowship of the FWO. Since 2006, I was appointed as a professor at Ghent University involved in different courses, such as Biomedical Sciences, Pharmacy and Psychology.
In 2007 I started as a lab supervisor in the cytogenomics lab, studying somatic genetic alterations in leukemia and solid tumors. Part of my work resulted in the discovery of copy number alterations in neuroblastoma and use of liquid biopsies in different cancer entities.
I am member of different scientific and educational committees and engaged in several societal and scientific activities. I am also a member of the IOF council and IOF working group of life sciences, identifying valorization of scientific discoveries at Ghent University.
 

Research team

Key publications

  • High-grade endometrial stromal sarcoma-like' sarcoma in male: Does it exist? A case report and review of the literature. Pathology Research and Practice, 2023. (PMID: 36455366)
  • Shallow whole-genome sequencing: a useful, easy to apply molecular technique for CNA detection on FFPE tumor tissue-a glioma-driven study. Virchows Archive, 2022. (PMID: 3503419)
  • The feasibility of using liquid biopsies as a complementary assay for copy number aberration profiling in routinely collected paediatric cancer patient samples. European Journal of  Cancer, 2022. (PMID: 34794856)
  • From DNA Copy Number Gains and Tumor Dependencies to Novel Therapeutic Targets for High-Risk Neuroblastoma. Journal Personalized Medicine, 2021. (PMID: 34945759)
  • Association of unbalanced translocation der(1;7) with germline GATA2 mutations. Blood, 2021. (PMID: 34469508)
  • Frequency and Prognostic Impact of ALK Amplifications and Mutations in the European Neuroblastoma Study Group (SIOPEN) High-Risk Neuroblastoma Trial (HR-NBL1). Journal Clinical Oncology, 2021. (PMID: 34115544)
  • Minimally invasive classification of paediatric solid tumours using reduced representation bisulphite sequencing of cell-free DNA: a proof-of-principle study. Epigenetics, 2021. (PMID: 32662719)
  • Age Dependency of the Prognostic Impact of Tumor Genomics in Localized Resectable MYCN-Nonamplified Neuroblastomas. Report From the SIOPEN Biology Group on the LNESG Trials and a COG Validation Group. Journal Clinical Oncology, 2020. (PMID: 32903140)
  • Detection of Copy Number Alterations by Shallow Whole-Genome Sequencing of Formalin-Fixed, Paraffin-Embedded Tumor Tissue. Archives of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, 2019. (PMID: 31846367)
  • Pre-clinical evaluation of second generation PIM inhibitors for the treatment of T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia and lymphoma. Haematologica, 2019. (PMID: 30076176)
     

Contact & links

  • Lab address: Center for Medical Genetics, Medical Research Building 1 (MRB1) (entrance 34), Campus UZ Gent, Corneel Heymanslaan 10, 9000 Gent, Belgium
  • TOBI lab 
  • PPOL lab 
  • Center for Medical Genetics Ghent (CMGG)
  • Member of the Consortium for Sarcoma Research Ghent (ConSaRGhent)
  • Nadine Van Roy is interested to receive invitations for presentations or talks