Bert Luyckx
Doctoral fellow - Translational Nuclear Receptor Research (TNRR) lab - VIB Center for Medical Biotechnology (Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, UGent)
Principal Investigators: prof. Karolien De Bosscher (PhD), prof. Steven Goossens (PhD) and prof. Pieter Van Vlierberghe (PhD)
Research focus
Multiple Myeloma (MM) is a plasma cell malignancy localized in the bone marrow. Treatment protocols consist of varying combinations of chemotherapeutics, immunomodulatory agents, proteasome inhibitors and glucocorticoids (GCs). GCs are used in all treatment stages, however, prolonged treatment with GCs comes with detrimental side effects (e.g. osteoporosis, hyperglycemia) and eventually the emergence of glucocorticoid resistance. To date, there is no clinical test available that determines the GC responsivity of patients and signals the start of GC resistance in an early stage.
In our research, we aim to identify a set of biomarkers that can indicate the presence of glucocorticoid resistance in MM patients in a robust and timely manner. These biomarkers can be used to allow a faster reorientation of the patient’s treatment scheme. This would reduce the, at that point, pointless suffering from the GC-related side effects.
Contact & links
- Lab address: VIB Center for Medical Biotechnology- UGent Department of Biomolecular Medicine, Technologiepark-Zwijnaarde 75 - 9052 Gent – BELGIUM
- VIB-UGent Center for Medical Biotechnology
- Bert Luyckx is interested to receive invitations for presentations or talks