MST and MSC, a + 50% match
February 2024
Hello again, friends of MST! To all you brilliant young scientists tirelessly running in the hamster wheel of Marie Sklodowska Curie funding, chasing that prestigious grant with a 17% success rate, there are more relaxed avenues to satisfaction. MST just had a fantastic round with 4 applications, of which 50% of them were granted. The remaining 2 applications scored a whopping >92/100, earning an additional reserve list status (fingers crossed it's not waiting for Godot). The Centre of Excellence of Microbial Systems Technology is truly a great place to be...
MST received a Blue Cluster cSBO grant from Vlaio
December 2023
MST strikes again! With its 4th SBO grant in the last 4 months, MST is once again demonstrating its ability to convince funding agencies of their groundbreaking research ideas. The MST team, led by Prof. Filip Meysman and Dr. Sebastiaan Van De Velde (UAntwerpen), along with Prof. Steven Bouillon (KULeuven), Dr. Vera Van Lancker, and Dr. Michael Fettweis (RBINS), has secured a grant of over €2,000,000. Their aim is to investigate new, innovative coastal ocean alkalinization (COA) techniques for CO2 sequestering and examine how they can be integrated into ongoing marine engineering applications. This research project is particularly timely following a recent court order that obliges the Belgian state to reduce CO2 levels to 55% below 1990 levels by 2030.
Invitation for lecture about the origin of life
June 2023
What? Scientific lecture "A metabolic primordium: Metals, Hydrogen, Carbon, and then Sulfur".
What was the role of the element sulfur in evolution? Why was it present in early stage?
Who? William F. Martin is a renown professor working at the Institute of Molecular Evolution in Heinrich-Heine-University Düsseldorf, Germany.
To study earlier phases of evolution, going back to life's origin, he uses laboratory experiments and bioinformatic techniques.
When? Tuesday the 4th of July 2023 15:30 - 16:30 (doors 15:10).
Where? Prinsstraat 13, 2000 Antwerp - Convention hall Hof van Liere - Tassis hall.
Follow the signs of the 6th International Symposium on Microbial Sulfur Metabolism.
How? Attendance is free, registration is required. Please register here.
The talk will be in English.
Breaking News! Results last FWO SBO call
May 2023
With 3 winning projects in the latest round of the FWO SBO-call, the Centre of Excellence (what’s in a name) in Microbial Systems Technology from Universiteit Antwerpen scored a hattrick. Prof Siegfried Vlaeminck’s project on water purification was granted, while the greatest glutton was Prof Sarah Lebeer with research projects on vulvovaginal candidiasis and disease and pest management in strawberry, how sweet it is. Meanwhile she and her team also received the EU citizens science prize (https://ars.electronica.art/citizenscience/en/)... and the best is yet to come!
Admire Lizzy in Micropia, the only Microbe Museum in the world!
Admire Lizzy -our 7 meter long model of a cablebacterium- in Micropia, the only Microbe Museum in the world! Discover why she is part of the temporary exhibition #ABetterWorldBeginsWithMicrobes full of sustainable applications through a video, passport, stories and images.
This science communication project is performed by the research lab of Prof. Filip Meysman from the Excellence Centre on Microbial Systems Technology of the Biology Department. The researchers study cable bacteria, since they conduct electricity very well. So these bacteria are living electrical wires that could contribute to sustainable applications in material science and electronics. Additionally, these bacteria could also prevent toxic nightmares in coastal areas.
Interested to know more about these bacteria? Visit Micropia (www.micropia.nl/en) in Amsterdam! The expo is open every day until the 31st of October. No time for a visit? Feel free to check the website of the research group: www.microbial-electricity.eu.