Predoctoral fellow

So Hyung graduated from Ghent University Global Campus in South Korea in 2021, majoring Molecular Biotechnology with magna cum laude. Her Bachelor's project was conducted in the lab of Prof. Dr. Hoo Sun Chung, focusing on unravelling a novel suppressor in MAP kinase signalling network. Followed by working as a full-time research assistant in Chung lab after graduation, So Hyung has participated in the project 'Reprogramming Stem Cell Niches', gaining expertise in protoplasting and marker-assisted microscopy screening of Arabidopsis chemical mutants. After having a fruitful exchange semester in UGent, So Hyung continued her passion in plants by commencing master programme in Biochemistry & Biotechnology, focusing on plant biotechnology and bioinformatics. Master projects and thesis were conducted in PSB Bio-Energy lab and Cell Cycle lab, delving into plant regeneration potentials in Arabidopsis and poplar to improve regeneration efficiency of poorly-propagating species. After obtaining her Master's degree, So Hyung embarked on a Ph.D. journey in Advanced Live Cell Imaging lab, under mentorship of Prof. Dr. Daniël Van Damme. So Hyung is part of the GOA consortium 'Microspore embryoGENESIS', collaborating with lab of Programmed Cell Death (Nowack lab), Oxygen Stress Signalling (Van Breusegem lab), Inter-organelle Signalling (De Clercq lab) and Horticell (Geelen lab). Within the project, So Hyung aims to elucidate the role of autophagy in microspore embryogenesis to enhance double haploid production in crops, using Brassica napus (oilseed rape) as a model plant.

My research career started in 2001 at Ghent University. I initially focused on the regulation of cytokinesis, more specifically, how plants determine quite early during the cell cycle, where the new cell wall that divides both daughter cells will be constructed. The initial fluorescence-based localization screen that I performed in tobacco BY-2 cells revealed several new proteins that were specifically recruited to the forming cell plate. We are now 20 years later, yet one of those proteins that I initially identified then is still the cornerstone of my current research.
After my PhD in 2006, I joined the newly established lab of Eugenia Russinova at the Department of Plant Systems Biology (PSB VIB/UGent) as a postdoctoral fellow of the Research Foundation of Flanders (FWO), working on the role of the alpha-type aurora kinases in cell plate orientation during the first asymmetric divisions leading to the formation of lateral root primordia. I consider myself very lucky that already at a very early point in my career, I was allowed to independently pursue my own project. My longstanding collaboration with the group of Geert De Jaeger (PSB VIB/UGent) was initiated during my second postdoctoral term as an FWO fellow. Together, we embarked on a joint PhD project that combined interactomics via tandem affinity purification on a set of bait proteins from my original localization screen, with live cell imaging in planta.  The results from this collaboration allowed me to create my niche research that continues until today as it was then that we discovered the existence of the TPLATE complex and its crucial role in plant endocytosis.
After my second postdoctoral term, I successfully applied for the position as expert scientist for live cell imaging that was opened at the Center for Plant Systems Biology. This position served to provide expertise, experimental design, acquisition and maintenance as well as practical assistance to the researchers at PSB for all aspects of fluorescence-based live cell imaging. At the same time, it provided me with the necessary time to finalize the dissection of the role of our newly discovered endocytic complex. I am still very proud that the discovery of the existence of this evolutionary ancient multi-protein complex was made in plants first, albeit only a few months in advance of the publication characterizing this complex in slime moulds.
The structural and functional elucidation of the process of endocytosis in plants was the topic of my LS3 ERC Consolidator Grant, which I obtained in 2016. That year, I also became associate professor at Ghent University, in the Department of Plant Biotechnology and Bioinformatics as well as Principle Investigator of advanced live cell imaging group at VIB. In 2018, I became full professor.
My current research focuses on the mechanistic regulation of how endocytosis modulates cellular communication by controlling the abundance of receptors and channels in its plasma membrane. We do this by combining interactomics as well as structural and cell biology on the endocytic machinery. Next to this, together with my microscopy expert, Evelien Mylle, I continue to provide assistance and maintenance of the light microscopy infrastructure of the Center.
Throughout my research career, and quite obvious from my publication record, I have always shared my initial data with the research community early on and actively reached out to other groups to pursue research collaborations. This approach allowed me to establish a broad and international network of colleagues to fall back on and the heterosis that is generated from the combined efforts of multiple labs significantly contributed to the quality of my research.
 

Evelien Mylle graduated in 2001 as Industrial engineer, specialization biochemistry at the Provinciale Industriele Hogeschool (PIH) in Kortrijk, Belgium. After working 6 months at the Laboratory of Molecular Biology (DMBR) at Gent University, she moved to Brussels to work at the Scientific Institute of Public Health (IPH), section Biotechnology and Biosafety (SBB) to trace genetic modified organisms in food. Since August 2004, she joined the former Cell Biology Group (Prof. Danny Geelen) at PSB. From 2006 this group changed to the Brassinosteroids group under the supervision of Dr. Eugenia Russinova, where she contributed to study the Brassinosteroid pathway, mainly by using fluorescence microscopy techniques. In order to become more specialized in the microscopy field, she moved from January 2015 to the Advanced Live Cell Imaging group under the supervision of Dr. Daniel Van Damme to further develop new microscopy tools for plant cell biologists at PSB.

Alvaro Furones studied Biotechnology at University of Salamanca, Spain. After that he moved to Belgium to study the Master of Biotechnology and Biochemistry at Gent University. For his Master thesis he worked on characterizing the structural aspects of Themis2, a protein involved in T-cell differentiation. Since 2023 he joined the advanced live cell imaging group where he is working on unraveling the structural and functional basis of the TPLATE complex.

I completed my Master’s degree in Biochemistry and Biotechnology at Ghent University in 2021. During my studies, I conducted my Master’s thesis research in the Vascular Development lab at PSB. Presently, I am pursuing my PhD through a collaborative effort involving the company Aphea.Bio and two research labs at PSB: the Advanced Live Cell Imaging and Rhizosphere labs. My current research focuses on unraveling the mode-of-action of biocontrol agents against fungal pathogens in wheat.

Andreas Joined the Van Damme lab as part of his master II studies in biochemistry and biotechnology at the Ghent university. During his master II project he focussed on inactivation strategies of the endocytic adaptor complexes, the AP-2 complex and the TPLATE complex. After graduating, he joined the lab as a PhD student to work on a proteomics project with the AP-2 complex and the TPLATE complex, looking for novel players in clathrin-mediated endocytosis. He is currently funded by an FWO fundamental research fellowship since 2020.

Michaël Vandorpe graduated in 2003 at KATHO Roeselare as Bachelor in biotechnology and started to work in the Oxidative Stress Signaling group at PSB. In 2016 he joined the Advanced Live Cell Imaging group.

PREDOCTORAL FELLOW

Tingyu Zhu studied on cell biology at Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University in China. Her research focused on the role of GCCK/RP motif and conserved cysteine residues in distribution and function of Tetraspanin proteins in Arabidopsis. After her master‘s degree, she started her PhD in Advanced Live Cell Imaging group of Prof. Daniel Van Damme since September 2022. She is working on unraveling the role of temperature-dependent AtEH/Pan1 phosphorylation.