Expertise

GENERAte has a wide range of in-house expertise in epilepsy and neurodevelopmental disorder research, going from fundamental molecular and cellular expertise to translational animal studies, as well as clinical studies. We listed all expertise and in-house infrastructure here:

• Molecular expertise​: microbiology, transformations, advanced multi-omics strategies, including genome, transcriptome, and epigenome analysis, PCR, RT-PCT, western blotting, as well as biochemical and enzymatic assay
• ​Cell culture: patient-derived cell lines, patient-derived both 2D and 3D iPSC models, immortalized cell lines
• Animal experimentation: animal models and translational research (drug prediction)

• Clinical expertise:

Several of the senior team members are active clinicians at the University Hospital Antwerp, bringing complementary expertise from the Departments of Neurology (Sarah Weckhuysen), Child Neurology (Anna Jansen), and Medical Genetics (Marije Meuwissen). Our combined clinical focus lies in the diagnosis, treatment, and long-term care of individuals with epilepsy and neurodevelopmental disorders, with particular expertise in rare genetic conditions. This close integration of clinical and research activities allows us to maintain a strong translational perspective, ensuring that insights from patient care directly inform our research priorities, and that scientific advances can be rapidly translated back into improved diagnostics and therapies.

• Other expertises:

Through the affiliation of Sarah Weckhuysen with the VIB Center for Molecular Neurology (VIB-CMN), the team has access to cutting-edge infrastructure and expertise in neurogenetics, neuroimmunology, functional genomics, and human cellular disease modeling.  The VIB-CMN provides a highly collaborative research environment, integrating expertise units for bio-imaging, long-read sequencing, biobanking and biostatistics https://cmn.sites.vib.be/en/expertise-units. This infrastructure enables translational research from gene discovery to functional validation and therapeutic exploration. Our connection with VIB also facilitates interdisciplinary collaboration and access to specialized training programs for early-career researchers.