Physiologically based pharmacokinetic (PBPK) modeling is an in-silico modelling technique that aims to predict how a drug moves through the body by mathematically representing real anatomical and physiological structures. Overall, PBPK provides a powerful framework for bridging in vitro data,
Last updated on: 18-11-2025 - 14:26
Contact: Pieter-Jan De Sutter
Organisation: Ghent University (UGent)
Status: Published in peer reviewed journal
Gelatin-methacryloyl-aminoethyl-methacrylate (gel-MA-AEMA)-, and gelatin-methacryloyl-norbornene (gel-MA-NB)-based biomaterial inks fabricated into 3D hydrogels (“villi only” versus “crypts and villi”) with digital light processing and co-cultured Caco-2/HT29-MTX cells.
Last updated on: 18-11-2025 - 14:19
Contact: Debby Laukens
Organisation: Ghent University (UGent)
Status: Published in peer reviewed journal
We established a human multi-organ-on-chip model to recapitulate key physiological elements of gut-brain communication via the systemic circulation and the blood-cerebrospinal fluid barrier (BCSFB). In our model, a gut-blood barrier, comprised of Caco-2 (enterocytes) and HT29-MTX cells (goblet cells
Last updated on: 18-11-2025 - 13:55
Contact: Debby Laukens
Organisation: Ghent University (UGent), VIB - UGent
Status: Still in development
The scope of our research ranges from the study of flow and transport processes in blood and biological fluids in the cardiovascular system and artificial organs to biomechanical aspects of the cardiovascular and the skeleto-muscular system and medical devices. All research tracks explored by our
Last updated on: 17-11-2025 - 12:19
Myocardial tissue slices (300 µm thin, 1 cm x 1 cm) are living, three-dimensional primary tissue explants prepared using a high-precision vibratome. These slices retain the full cellular complexity and native tissue architecture of the heart, preserving physiological and functional characteristics.
Last updated on: 05-11-2025 - 16:16
Contact: Eef Dries
Organisation: Katholieke Universiteit Leuven (KUL)
Status: Published in peer reviewed journal
We developed a high-throughput screening (HTS) assay to identify small molecules that stabilize mutant homogentisate 1,2-dioxygenase (HGD), the enzyme deficient in alkaptonuria (AKU). The method uses Escherichia coli cells expressing human HGD variants and measures the conversion of homogentisic
Last updated on: 03-11-2025 - 08:56
Contact: Sien Lequeue
Organisation: Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB)
Partners: RWTH Aachen
Status: Published in peer reviewed journal
Human Intestinal Organoids (HIOs) are in vitro 3D cell cultures arranged in a crypt-villus structure that incorporate many physiological features of the intestinal epithelium, including the presence of different cell populations (enterocytes, goblet cells, enteroendocrine and Paneth cells). HIOs can
Last updated on: 15-10-2025 - 15:34
Contact: Joana Rocha-Pereira
Organisation: Katholieke Universiteit Leuven (KUL)
Status: Published in peer reviewed journal
Organ-on-Chip (OoC) systems are an emerging cell culture technology that bridge the gap between conventional 2D culture and animal models or patients. These microfluidic systems typically consist of one or more compartments containing tissue-specific cells grown on scaffolds such as membranes or
Last updated on: 15-10-2025 - 15:28
Contact: Joana Rocha-Pereira
Organisation: Katholieke Universiteit Leuven (KUL), Microbiology, Immunology and Transplantation (DMIT) - KU Leuven
Status: Still in development, Internally validated
Current pre-clinical drug safety evaluation methods remain costly, inefficient, and unreliable, with 80–90% of compounds ultimately failing in human trials — often due to poor predictive models and safety concerns. Scaffold-based 3D organ models offer a more promising and physiologically relevant
Last updated on: 02-10-2025 - 14:55
Contact: Jolanda van Hengel
Organisation: Ghent University (UGent), Ghent University hospital (UZ Gent), Interuniversitair Micro-Electronica Centrum (IMEC), University of Hasselt (UHasselt)
Status: Still in development
Older adults are characterized by specific metabolic changes, altering their nutritional needs (i.e., lower calorie but higher protein requirement). Adapted nutrition is of crucial importance for this group. To develop foods adapted to the nutritional needs of older adults and test the impact of
Last updated on: 01-10-2025 - 16:20
Contact: Dorine Duijsens
Organisation: Katholieke Universiteit Leuven (KUL)
Status: Published in peer reviewed journal
