James letting off a little steam
James Dooley
James is being very mysterious and has refused to write a paragraph for the website. There are reliable rumours however that he is native Seattleite and speaks Canadian as a second language. He joined the Autoimmune Genetics lab in 2009 as Senior Scientist and is running the ERC funded research projects.
Post-doctoral fellows
Dr Stephanie Humblet-Baron
I was trained in immunology in Seattle (Pr Rawlings’lab), one of the best place I know to live in. Overthere I surely acquired additional skills in mountain climbing (see picture) and in wonderful Walla-Walla wine tasting (no picture).
I came back in my home town, Liège, Belgium, to complete a PhD in biomedical science and also a residency in pediatrics. I joined the Liston lab in Fall 2010 and I am studying immune tolerance specifically in the context of primary immunodeficiency disorders.
Dr Susan Schlenner
I trained in molecular immunology during my PhD with Hans-Reimer Rodewald in Ulm, Germany, and my post-doc with Harald von Boehmer in Harvard, USA. Currently, my major aim is to generate fancy mouse strains that will increase our understanding in regulatory T cell development and biology.
As a German I like fast vehicles like my Suzuki. I enjoy outside activities like hiking, skiing or a cold beer in the sun
Dr Benedicte Cauwe
Benedicte has a PhD in biochemistry and immunology from the Rega Institute and is currently an FWO fellow in the laboratory, studying lupus and autoimmune liver disease. Her favourite movie is Bad Santa and her favourite mythological character is Penny from Inspector Gadget. At least, that is what the internet will say about her until she writes up her own profile and gives me a picture for the website ;)
Kim Staats
Kim has seen the lab grow and flourish from its very beginning as a PhD student in the neighbouring neurobiology lab working on ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease. She is finally an official part of the Liston lab studying immunity in ALS and helping out wherever she can. She holds a Masters in Human Movement Sciences, another in Neurosciences and a teacher’s degree (all from the University of Amsterdam). Upholding the international standards of the lab (but not the drinking ones), she’s the first Dutch member of the lab and the second Canadian. Hobbies? Travelling, learning and drinking rosé with superb company.
Determined
PhD students
Tian Lei
Lei has a Bachelor of Science in Biotechnology and a Masters in Immunology from Northwest A&F University in China. She likes swimming, basketball, badminton and cooking, and has moved to Belgium to start her PhD on diabetes.
Wim carefully controls what photos are available of him on the internet
Wim Pierson
Wim was born in Bree, which (according to wikipedia) is the place where Gandalf the Grey met Thorin Oakenshield and planned the Quest of Erebor. Bree is also the only place on Middle Earth where men and hobbits live side by side. Wim is researching the basic biology of regulatory T cells for his PhD.
Wim is funded by the IWT.
Dina Danso-Abeam
Dina got her B.Sc. in Molecular Biology and Biotechnology from the University of Cape Coast, Ghana and then moved to Belgium for her Masters degree at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel. She has joined the medical research community to help make the world a better place to live. Her PhD is on understanding the interaction of human genetics and immunology. In her spare time Dina likes taking pictures, singing and dancing. Dina is funded by the IRO.
Anh Nguyen
Anh is from Can Tho, a city situated in the heart of Melong Delta, Viet Nam. She got her BSc in Biotechnology at Can Tho University, VietNam and then completed her MSc in Molecular Biology at KUL, Belgium. Her interest now is working on interactive relationships between the intestinal bacteria and host’s immune system. She likes traveling and cooking - but does not feel confident to let people try her food :-)
Anh is a VIB International Scholar in a joint PhD program with Jeroen Raes.
Dean Franckaert
I am a new PhD student in the Autoimmune Genetics lab. I live in Antwerp and got my bachelor degree in Biomedical sciences at KUL and my Masters degree in the AIG lab. I used to do a lot of sports like jiu-jitsu and waterskiing. I love going to the seaside, riding my motorcycle and mountainbike, spending some time with friends and reading an occasional book.
Lien Van Eyck
Lien joined the Autoimmune Genetics lab in 2012, wanting to add a PhD to her degrees in medicine and engineering. Lien is working on the genetics of inflammatory disease and is copromoted by Prof Carine Wouters. Lien is funded by the FWO.
Josselyn Garcia-Perez
Jossy joined the lab after working as a field epidemiologist in Ecuador, and is now studying the immunology of biofilm formation in Candida. Her PhD is copromoted with Prof Katrien Lagrou and is part of an IDO network grant with Prof Patrick Van Dijck. If you need someone to test the rats living in your bed for Chagas disease, just call Jossy.
Jayasree Sreenivasan
Jayasree joined the lab through the VIB International Scholar program for a joint PhD with Prof Dietmar Schmucker. In the Autoimmune Genetics laboratory she works on cellular positioning in the thymus. In the laboratory of Dietmar Schmucker she works on fly brains or something, no one really knows.
Yulia Lampi
Yulia is a CIHR fellow, who is doing her PhD on pancreatic cancer. She loves microscopes.
Masters students
Diana Pombal
I got my bachelor’s degree in Genetics and Biotechnology at University of Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro which is located in Vila Real, a small but beautiful city in the north of Portugal. I’m currently taking a master’s degree in Biotechnology for the Health Sciences and I joined the lab for my thesis, which relates two of my biggest interests (MS and genetics). I’m from Porto, a Portuguese city near the sea known for its wine and welcoming environment. I love to cook, have a nice meal, play cards with friends, laugh, dance salsa and kizomba (and others too)... In my free time, I’d like to learn more steps and more dancing styles.
Evelien Van Poucke
I am a thesis student at the lab, currently working on a dendritic cell project under the tender wings of Stephanie Humblet-Baron. I’ve always lived near to Leuven and finished my bachelor degree in Biomedical Sciences at KUL. All my life I’ve been interested in Biology, Medics and other sciences and I like being around people. I also love animals (including pygmy hedgehogs), different kinds of food, horse riding and climbing.
Research Staff
Susann Schönefeldt
When I was 12 years I already knew I wanted to work in a science lab and discover things the eye can't see. I'm interested in creative activities like working with ceramics and I used to take singing lessons. I love cats and dogs and horses and donkeys. Had them all except the donkey, sadly enough, though my horse had the attitude of one sometimes ;). I did karate as a teen and I will try to pick up on it again... let's see how I like kickboxing. I was born in Brandenburg / Germany and I came to Leuven two years ago.
Hanne Juchtmans
Shari Zaman
I'm a bachelor student in biomedical sciences who would love to master in medicine. My interest in the medical world came rather late, but hasn't let go ever since. Besides working in the lab as a job student I volunteer at the Red Cross Leuven and take French classes at night. No time for hobbies, but in the holidays I like to read or go on hiking trips.
Finella Akor
I’ve always been curious about how everything in the human body works and envisioned myself finding all the answers in a lab since I was about 14 years old. I’ll be starting my Masters in biomedical science this year and I’m looking forward to all the new things I’ll be learning. I used to practice Judo on a competitive level and I’m considering picking it up again. Apart from martial arts in general, I also love singing and reading. I’m quite fond of the Japanese culture, especially after my trip to Japan (this picture was taken in Osaka), so I’ve been (trying to) teach myself Japanese in my free time (which isn’t much).