Wang Heping
Wang Heping - Predoctoral fellow
Peng Meng
Peng Meng - Postdoctoral fellow
Vanholme Ruben
Vanholme Ruben - Staff scientist
Ruben Vanholme is a staff scientist in the Bio-Energy and Bio-Aromatics group of Wout Boerjan.
Ruben graduated in 2004 as Master of Chemistry at Ghent University. He made a master dissertation in the Ghent Quantum Chemistry Group, under supervision of Patrick Bultinck. In 2005, he obtained an IWT grant to start his PhD in the Bio-Energy and Bio-Aromatics lab of Wout Boerjan. His research included the study of systems-wide consequences of lignin perturbations in Arabidopsis. For this, transcriptome and metabolome approaches were used. After obtaining his PhD degree in Biotechnology, he got two consecutive FWO post-doc grants to further investigate the lignin biosynthesis and engineering in Arabidopsis, poplar and maize. Meanwhile, he is staff scientist in the Bio-Energy and Bio-Aromatics lab as an expert in MS-based phenolic metabolite profiling and identification.
Ruben is actively involved in communicating science-based information about genetic engineering of crops. In addition, he is a climate warrior with a mission: to inform people on climate change and the dramatic loss in biodiversity it causes. He also informs what can be done to avoid further dramatic scenarios.
Ruben graduated in 2004 as Master of Chemistry at Ghent University. He made a master dissertation in the Ghent Quantum Chemistry Group, under supervision of Patrick Bultinck. In 2005, he obtained an IWT grant to start his PhD in the Bio-Energy and Bio-Aromatics lab of Wout Boerjan. His research included the study of systems-wide consequences of lignin perturbations in Arabidopsis. For this, transcriptome and metabolome approaches were used. After obtaining his PhD degree in Biotechnology, he got two consecutive FWO post-doc grants to further investigate the lignin biosynthesis and engineering in Arabidopsis, poplar and maize. Meanwhile, he is staff scientist in the Bio-Energy and Bio-Aromatics lab as an expert in MS-based phenolic metabolite profiling and identification.
Ruben is actively involved in communicating science-based information about genetic engineering of crops. In addition, he is a climate warrior with a mission: to inform people on climate change and the dramatic loss in biodiversity it causes. He also informs what can be done to avoid further dramatic scenarios.
De Moor Astrid
De Moor Astrid - Predoctoral fellow
De Ridder Nette
De Ridder Nette - Predoctoral fellow
Boerjan Wout
Boerjan Wout - Group leader
Transgene-free genome editing in poplar trees: a step toward sustainable forestry
Scientists at the VIB-UGent Center for Plant Systems Biology and VIVES University College have developed a new method to genetically improve poplar trees without introducing foreign DNA into its genome. This advancement could pave the way for faster and more widely accepted use of gene-edited trees in forestry and the bio-based economy. The work appeared in New Phytologist.
First VIB labs achieve certification for sustainable practices
Two labs from VIB-UGent Center for Plant Systems Biology have received a Bronze level LEAF certificate for sustainable practices. The Jacobs and Boerjan labs have succesfully completed their first assessment and subsequent on-site audit. The LEAF assessment guides labs towards more sustainable practices in resource and energy efficiency, waste collecting and sorting, and overall people involvement. Congrats to both!