dr. Wim Trypsteen (PhD)

During my Master and PhD years, I became fascinated by long non-coding RNAs, as they are versatile molecules which are shown crucial for (embryonic) development and proper cellular functioning. Strikingly, this family of molecules remains largely unexplored and were long deemed non-functional noise arising from our genome. On the contrary, current efforts have already identified hundreds of functional lncRNAs and discovered interesting therapeutic properties such as their tissue-specific and temporal expression patterns. The challenge over the next years will be to further identify functionally relevant lncRNAs and complement our knowledge on molecular biology and implications for disease processes such as cancer.

In my postdoctoral research, I will focus on the overlap between long non-coding RNAs involved in the context of infectious diseases (i.e. HIV) and cancer development, as the immune system plays a central role in clearing both infectious and tumorigenic cells. For this, I will contribute to the development of high-throughput CRISPR interference screening platforms to identify lncRNAs which can boost the immune system to recognize and destroy these malignant cells.
 

SCIENTIFIC DEGREES

• 2012 - 2018: PhD in Biomedical Sciences, HIV Cure Research Center, UGent, Belgium
• 2012 - 2017: BSc in Bioinformatics, Hogeschool West-Vlaanderen, Belgium
• 2006 - 2012: BSc & Msc in Biomedical Sciences, UGent, Belgium

PROFESSIONAL CAREER 

• 2018 - ...: Postdoctoral fellow, HIV Cure Research Center, UGent
• 2018 - ...: Postdoctoral fellow, Center for Medical Genetics, UGent
• 2017 - 2018: Digital PCR data analysis expert, COMBiNATi, San Francisco, USA (consultant)
• 2017:
  - Visiting PhD, University of Hawai’i, N’dhlovu Lab, USA (Jul - Aug)
  - Introducing ddPCR assay for total HIV-1 DNA quantification in patient cohort 
• 2016 - 2017:
  - Visiting PhD, Univ. of California San Francisco , Krogan Lab, USA
  - RNA interaction partners of HIV proteins  
  - Genome-wide CRISPR interference screen for lncRNAs in HIV infection
• 2016:
  - Visiting PhD, University of Southampton, Woelk Lab, UK
  - lncRNA discovery in HIV latency via transcriptome analysis
• 2012 - 2018:
  - Doctoral fellow, HIV Cure Research Center, UGent, Belgium
  - Standardizing digital PCR diagnostics & pioneering lncRNA discovery in the context of HIV cure research

SCIENTIFIC AWARDS

• 2019: New Investigator, Conference on Retroviruses & Opportunistic Infections, Seattle, USA
• 2018: New Investigator, Conference on Retroviruses & Opportunistic Infections, Boston, USA
• 2017: Early Career Researcher, 4BIO Summit on digital PCR, London, UK
   

• Lab address: Medical Research Building 1 (MRB1) – Campus UZ Gent, Corneel Heymanslaan 10, 9000 Gent, Belgium
• LinkedIn
• ResearchGate
• Google Scholar
• Biblio Ugent
• Providing specific platforms or services for other researchers : digital PCR data analysis (Bio-Rad QX200, Stilla Naica)
• Wim Trypsteen is interested to receive invitations for presentations or talks