Participants

In order to know who you will be able to meet during this day we provide a bio sketch and information on research focus of all participants here.

 

Gunter Kenis | Maastricht University
Omics (proteome, transcriptome, (epi)genome) - In-vitro models
Psychoneuroimmunology, Induced pluripotent stem cells, Epigenetics mechanisms, genomics, Gene-environment interactions

My research focuses on mechanisms of gene-environment interactions in the context of psychiatric and neurodegenerative disorders. Discoveries from several of our cohort studies yielded candidate pathways that are now being examined and validated at molecular level. For this, we are currently establishing patient-derived in-vitro models of stress-related disorders and Alzheimer’s Disease. Secondly, I am passionate about mind-body relationships, in particular the impact of peripheral inflammation on brain function. Here, we currently investigate the role of the tryptophan-kynurenine pathway as mediators in these processes, and how inflammation-induced activation of this pathway contributes to affective and cognitive deterioration in Alzheimer’s Disease.
Publications

Rudy Schreiber| Maastricht University
Major depression, transdiagnostic; RDoC; serotonin

Rudy Schreiber got his B.S. in Medicinal Biology and his Ph.D. in Neuropharmacology from the University of Groningen in the Netherlands. He started his career in central nervous system drug discovery in 1993. Subsequently he progressed from bench scientist to senior leadership roles at global pharmaceutical companies, including Servier (France), Bayer (Germany), Roche (CA) and Sepracor (currently, Sumitomo Pharma America, Inc, MA). From 2010 till 2012 he was the SVP of the Neurobiology group of the contract research organization, Evotec (Germany). Rudy’s drug discovery experience covers a wide range of psychiatric and neurologic indications. He also worked with many different classes of molecular targets and led projects ranging from the idea stage throughout proof of principle testing. He has published more than 100 papers and 30 patents. In 2012, he founded Suadeo Drug Discovery Consulting LLC in Boston. Rudy joined Maastricht University in 2018 and is coordinator of the 2-year research master program Drug Development and NeuroHealth. After this career change, he (re)discovered his interest for education, especially for training the next generation of drug hunters and neuro-entrepreneurs. Rudy is a Homo Aquaticus who lives on a boat in Maastricht Marina and spends his free time rowing on the Maas River or sailing offshore.
Publications

Melissa Schepers | University of Hasselt
Range of neurodegenerative disorders including Alzheimer's disease but also multiple sclerosis and spinal cord injury among others
Cognition, neuron-glia biology

Melissa Schepers is a junior postdoc at the lab of Prof. Dr. Tim Vanmierlo at BIOMED of Hasselt University and Maastricht University. She also performed her PhD in the lab of Prof. Vanmierlo, titled “PDE4 gene inhibition - a novel approach to treat demyelinating disorders”. She is currently conducting postdoctoral research focused on spatiotemporal regulation of PDE4D containing nanodomains in neurons and oligodendrocytes (FWO junior postdoctoral fellowship). Melissa’s research aims to shed light on selective PDE4D isoform inhibition as a therapeutic strategy to induce myelin- and neuroregeneration in multiple sclerosis.
Publications

Tim Vanmierlo | University of Hasselt/Maastricht University
Alzheimer's disease & Multiple Sclerosis, remyelination, oligodendrocytes

Since 2016, I am heading a research line on repair-inducing cognition enhancers in neurodegenerative disorders as part of the NIC&R group. In this context, we apply a battery of gene-editing approaches (e.g. CRISPR/Cas9, in vivo micro-electroporation) to modulate biological processes. In 2019, a cross-border initiative was established with the school for mental health and neuroscience (MHeNs) at Maastricht University to merge knowledge and expertise on cognition enhancers and gene-editing approaches. 13 joint Ph.D. students and three postdocs are currently employed under my supervision on this initiative.
Next to my core research, I am member of the executive committee of BIOMED (topic valorisation), and leading the division translational neuroscience in MHeNs.
Publications

Melanie Foecking | RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences
Neuropsychiatry, Psychosis, complement pathway

Melanie Föcking is a neuroscientist and cell biologist working to understand protein changes and pathways in psychotic disorder. She obtained her PhD in Experimental Neuroscience from the Max Planck Institute for Neurological Research, Cologne, Germany and the University of Maastricht, The Netherlands, and the European Graduate School of Neuroscience. Thereafter she started as a Postdoctoral Research fellow with David Cotter in the Department of Psychiatry at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland in Dublin, Ireland. She closely collaborated with Michael Dunne in the newly established proteomics facilities in UCD Dublin. Melanie is an Editor of PROTEOMICS and PROTEOMICS - Clinical Applications, an associate Editor of Frontiers in Molecular Psychiatry and authored over 30 proteomics related peer reviewed papers, with some of her work published in JAMA Psychiatry and Molecular Psychiatry. Her recent work is focusing on synaptic changes in the brain and the complement pathway in psychosis with the aim of identifying new targets for treatment.
Publications

Ali Jahanshahi | Maastricht University
Neurology, Parkinson's disease, Deep Brain Stimulation

Ali Jahanshahi is an associate professor in the Department of Neurosurgery at MUMC+, where he leads the fundamental neuromodulation research group. His research aims to understand the neurobiological mechanisms behind the effects and side effects of deep brain stimulation (DBS) with the goal of improving DBS therapy. Moreover, he aims to develop novel neuromodulation approaches as alternatives to standard DBS.

Alexia Mohonea | Maastricht University
Neurocognition & perception, BCI, Imaging

I’m a Research Master’s student in Cognitive Neuroscience at Maastricht University, passionate about understanding how the brain supports cognition and behavior. My academic path is shaped by curiosity, hands-on research, and a drive to build strong expertise for future scientific contributions. I enjoy coding, writing, and exploring data-driven questions, while also balancing my studies with creativity, cooking, and personal growth.

Aurore Delvenne| Maastricht University
Alzheimer, Choroid plexus, BBB, vascular burden

Aurore Delvenne is a postdoctoral researcher at the Alzheimer Centrum Limburg, Maastricht University, within the research line “Diagnostics and Disease Mechanisms.” She earned a Master’s degree in Biomedical Sciences with a specialization in Neurosciences from the University of Liège and received her PhD in 2024 from Maastricht University. Her doctoral research focused on unraveling the pathogenesis and underlying pathophysiology of Alzheimer’s disease and related amyloid and tau biomarker subgroups, including suspected non-Alzheimer’s disease pathophysiology, using proteomics. During her PhD, she developed a strong interest in the role of the choroid plexus in Alzheimer’s disease and investigated its relationship with disease pathophysiology through a unique translational approach combining mouse and human proteomics, in collaboration with the VIB-UGent Center for Inflammation Research (Ghent University, Belgium).
In her postdoctoral research, Aurore aims to further advance understanding of choroid plexus dysfunction in Alzheimer’s disease, as well as in other neurodegenerative disorders, including Parkinson’s disease and dementia with Lewy bodies, using proteomics and imaging. She is also exploring new mechanisms linked to vascular dysfunction, including MRI-detected vascular pathologies and vascular risk factors, across Alzheimer’s disease clinical stages and biomarker profiles, as well as the role of blood–brain barrier impairment, again using proteomics-based approaches.
Publications

Mario Senden| Maastricht University
Visual, biophysics, artificial intelligence, deep learning

As an Assistant Professor at Maastricht University's Department of Cognitive Neuroscience, I lead the Cognitive Computational Neuroscience Group in exploring fundamental mechanisms of neural information processing. My research integrates goal-driven deep learning, biophysical modelling, and data-driven model discovery to understand the cortical perception-action loop.
 I'm passionate about developing novel methodologies that bridge the gap between theoretical neuroscience and empirical observations.

Adrian Harwood | Maastricht University
Neurodevelopmental Disorders, Schizophrenia

I am  a stem cell biology studying the cellular basis of mental health. He has extensive experience in molecular signalling systems and cell analysis in neuronal and in vitro model cell systems.

My  current work focuses on the molecular and cellular interactions that underlie genetic risk for psychiatric conditions and dementia. Current projects focus on  neurodevelopment, synaptic function,  miRNA -mediated regulation and epigenetic mechanisms, active in  human  neuronal and glial cells. In doing so, he  aims to provide basic insight into the cellular mechanisms underlying mental health and  develop new therapeutic strategies.
Publications

Janet Harwood | Maastricht University
22q Deletion syndrome, Transcriptomics, Gene regulation, Neurodevelopment, Data management

My current research focus is on how genes identified as risk genes for psychiatric disorders from GWAS affect the developing brain. As gene regulation is temporal and cell-type-specific, I am using single cell RNA-seq data to characterise cell populations at intermediate timepoints during neuro-differentiation, then map genes known to be significantly associated with risk for neuro-psychiatric conditions to the cell types. In addition, I am working Maastricht University’s strategic collaboration projects with Cardiff University’s Neuroscience and Mental Health Innovation Institute, developing jointly curated data repositories and analysis pipelines.

Previously, I held several bioinformatics post-doctoral research positions at Cardiff University in The Centre for Neuropsychiatric Genetics & Genomics, in the Schizophrenia, Alzheimer's and the Rare CNV team, focussing on genetics and functional studies. In my early career I trained as a laboratory molecular cell biologist and worked in both academic research laboratories and industrial companies. After a career-break I retrained in bioinformatics and I have experience in programming in Perl, Python and R, using HPC computing, and designing and managing databases in REDCap. I have handled large sequencing and genetic data sets and developed pipelines to improve data-processing efficiency. I have developed and implemented data-integrity training both in-house and as part of European collaborative projects. Recently I was involved in a European COST-action project to facilitate the creation of international neuro-developmental disorder meta-cohorts from CNV carriers in a federated database, aligning with FAIR principles and open science.
Publications

Jean-Michel | University of Hasselt
Neurophysiology, Neurodevelopment, Microglia, Ligand-gated ion channels

I was born on December 4th, 1964. I studied biology at the University of Liège and received my PhD in 1994 for a work in cellular and molecular physiology for which I developed in Liège the patch-clamp technique that I learned in Helmut Kettenmann’s lab in Heidelberg. I was then appointed as an associate professor in Physiology (“premier assistant” and then “chef de travaux”) at the University of Liège. In 2002, I went for a sabbatical research period to the laboratory of Pascal Legendre at the University Pierre & Marie Curie in Paris to study glycinergic neurotransmission using advanced molecular electrophysiology. In 2004, I joined the physiology group at Hasselt University to develop an independent research program in neurobiology. I became head of the group in 2009 and full professor in 2010.
My research in neurobiology concerns the plasticity of excitability in brain development and regeneration. In close collaboration with Prof. Dr. Bert Brône, we study neuronal and microglial aspects in the etiology of autism and schizophrenia. In a first research line, the lab discovered the glycine receptor subunit alpha2 as an essential component for embryonic brain development and that its loss of function induces dysfunction of neuronal circuits involved in autism spectrum disorder. In a second research line, microglia are studied as immune mediators contributing to neurodevelopmental diseases. 
I authored 119 peer-reviewed publications (ORCID ID: orcid.org/0000-0002-0031-526X) and have been (co)promoter of 25 PhD’s and (co)investigator for 62 research contracts.
I teach, among others, general physiology and neurosciences to (bio)medical students at Hasselt University. Since my position in Liège, I have also developed expertise in self-learning methods, e-learning and virtual labs.
Besides neurobiology, I also have expertise in research and development in the domain of teaching and learning, and especially in evaluation engineering. As a teacher, I introduced and helped developing an Assessment Management System (DOCIMO, then ANS), which is now used for all modules of the medicine program, for learning assessment. As a vice-rector in charge of Education, I reformed the university system of teaching assessment. In 2022, I went for a sabbatical research period to the Haute Ecole Pédagogique of the canton of Vaud in Lausanne to develop research in engineering of evaluations of trainings with Prof. Jean-Luc Gilles.
From 2009 to 2012, I headed the department of Physiology-Immunology-Biochemistry and the education management team of the master in biomedical sciences, and I was vice-dean of the School of Life Sciences (Transnational University of Limburg). Since 2006, I have also been actively involved in development cooperation projects (RD Congo, Vietnam and Morocco).
From 2012 to 2016, I was vice-rector of Education and of Internationalisation, and from 2016 to 2020, I was vice-rector of Research and Internationalisation at Hasselt University. Since 2020, I am director of the doctoral school for Health and Life Sciences.
Publications

Bart Rutten| Maastricht University

Bart Rutten is an academic psychiatrist and translational neuroscientist with a research focus on gene-environment interplay and epigenetics in the onset and course of mental disorders. He is professor of Psychiatry  (preceded from 2017-2020 by being Professor of Neuroscience of Mental Illness ), is affiliated with the Mental Health and Neuroscience Research Institute, and he is the chair of the Department of Psychiatry & Neuropsychology at Maastricht University. Driven by his combined background and activities as clinical psychiatrist and neuroscientist, Bart and his team perform translational and multidisciplinary research projects on gene-environment interactions and neuroepigenetics in relation to mental health and illness (e.g. PTSD, psychosis, dementia). The research approach encompasses the translational innovation cycle and is characterized by combining human observational studies (longitudinal epidemiological cohorts as well as post-mortem brain studies) with molecular biological analyses and with in-vivo and ex-vivo experimental animal and in vitro (cell culture) studies. For doing so, Bart Rutten drives and coordinates several multinational research projects, involving the world’s largest project on gene-environment interactions in schizophrenia and the first longitudinal, genome-wide studies on epigenetic changes in relation to risk and resilience to the effects of traumatic stress on mental health. Bart has received grants from the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research, i.e. personal grants, a VENI award and VIDI award on “neuroepigenetics and resilience” , and from the European Union  for the international, large collaborative project EU-GEI, the European Network of national network studying gene-environment interaction in schizophrenia; www.eu-gei.eu (2010-2015; as co-PI),  and the Horizon Europe funded project Youth-GEMs (Gene Environment interactions in Mental health trajectorieS of Youth) studying gene-environment interactions underlying longitudinal trajectories of mental health in young people; www.youth-gems.eu (2022-2027; as PI). 
Publications
 

Ali Salehinejad | RWTH Aachen
OCD, non-invasive brain stimulation, cognitive neuroscience, neuropsychiatry, neurodevelopmental disorder

Dr. MD Ali Salehinejad is a researcher and Group Leader at the Clinical Neurophysiology and Neuromodulation Group within the Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychosomatics, and Psychotherapy at Uniklinik RWTH Aachen University, Germany. Holding a PhD in Cognitive Neuroscience, Dr. Salehinejad’s work focuses on advancing the understanding of abnormal brain functions/mechanisms and applying cognitive neuroscience methods, specifically noninvasive brain stimulation (tES, TMS) and neuroimaging (EEG, MRI, TMS-EEG) in neuropsychiatric and neurodevelopmental disorders.
During his postdoctoral research, he focused on developing and optimizing novel neurostimulation techniques for entraining gamma oscillations, with implications for Alzheimer's disease. His recent works on optimizing tDCS for depression treatment and the efficacy of tES for OCD are in press in Molecular Psychiatry and Nature Mental Health.
Publications

 

Daniel van den Hove | Maastricht University
Neurodegeneration/Aging, Alzheimer, Stress, anxiety disorders, depression

During my PhD at Maastricht University, my main interest was directed towards the biological mechanisms that may explain the increased prevalence of affective disorders in prenatally stressed subjects. As a post-doc and assistant professor, as a collaboration between the various divisions within MHeNs and the Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy at the University of Würzburg in Germany, I moved towards investigating the role of gene x environment (GxE) interactions, and their underlying epigenetic mechanisms, in the pathophysiology of psychiatric and neurodegenerative disorders like depression, panic disorder and Alzheimer’s disease. Presently, I am head of the Section Fundamental Neuroscience within the Department of Psychiatry and Neuropsychology. Furthermore, as a professor in Neuroepigenetics, I am heading the Neuroepigenetics group within division 3 of MHeNs, addressing the role of epigenetic processes in mental health and disease (in a lifelong perspective).
Publications

Laurence de Nijs| Maastricht University
PTSD, Epilepsy, Extracellular vesicles

I am an Assistant Professor at the Mental Health and Neuroscience Research Institute (MHeNs) at Maastricht University, The Netherlands. With a background in molecular and cellular biology, my research focuses on understanding the molecular and functional changes that contribute to Post-traumatic stress disorder and epilepsy.

I began my scientific career studying juvenile myoclonic epilepsy (JME), where my work helped establish the concept of JME as a neuronal migration disorder during brain development. In recent years, my research has expanded into epigenetics, exploring how DNA methylation and microRNAs are involved in epilepsy and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

My current work also investigates the role of extracellular vesicles and their microRNA content as potential biomarkers for PTSD, with the goal of advancing early diagnosis and treatment strategies.

 

Veerle van Gils | Maastricht University 
Alzheimer's disease; vascular risk factors, prevention, biomarkers, cognition

I am currently working as a postdoctoral researcher at the Alzheimer Center Limburg and mainly involved in the Lifestyle Intervention in General and academic Hospitals Trial (LIGHT) assessing the implementation and effectiveness of an integrated lifestyle intervention in the memory clinic, with the goal to reduce dementia risk. I have a background in neuropsychology, and my work generally focuses on cardiometabolic contributions to underlying Alzheimer’s disease pathophysiology and cognitive decline.

 

Niels Hellings | University of Hasselt
Neurodegeneration/Aging, multiple sclerosis, spinal cord injury, (immune) senescence, exercise immunology

Niels Hellings is director of the Biomedical Research Institute (BIOMED) and professor in immunology at the Faculty of Medicine and Life Sciences of Hasselt University. He graduated as master in bioscience-engineering at the Catholic University of Leuven (1996) and consequently obtained a PhD in immunology at Hasselt University (2000). He was visiting postdoctoral scientist at McGill University (Montréal), before returning to Hasselt University to setup up his own research group.
He now heads the Neurimmune Connections & Repair (NIC&R) lab that focuses on the complex interplay between the central nervous system and the immune system that is crucial for a long and healthy life. Disturbances in this delicate balance contribute to neurodegenerative diseases. The NIC&R lab investigates fundamental mechanisms in neuroinflammation, repair and immune aging using patient derived material and in vitro and in vivo models, so that novel leads for disease interventions are identified and validated. In addition to basic research, the NIC&R lab invests in collaborations with biotech and pharma and shares its passion for science through popular science communication.
Niels Hellings is president of the Belgian Immunological Society and board member of the European Graduate School of Neuroscience and Flanders Vaccine vzw.
Publications

 

Jeroen Bogie | University of Hasselt
Neurodegeneration/Aging, Multiple sclerosis, PTMs, lipid metabolism, lipid transfer, remyelinaton

Jeroen Bogie received his MSc degree in biomedical sciences from Amsterdam university (2002-2008), and subsequently received his PhD in neuroimmunology from Hasselt University (2009-2013), under the supervision of Piet Stinissen, Niels Hellings, and Jerome Hendriks. During his PhD, he defined the physiology of macrophages in multiple sclerosis (MS) and established that uptake and processing of lipids is pivotal in skewing macrophages towards a neuroprotective phenotype. As a junior and senior FWO postdoctoral fellow at Rotterdam, Lille, Chulalongkorn, and Hasselt University, Jeroen studied the impact of lipid metabolism on the functional properties of immune and glial cells in neuroinflammatory and neurodegenerative disorders such as MS and Alzheimer’s disease (2014-2021). In 2021, Jeroen accepted an assistant professor position at Hasselt University. Here, he currently heads the Medical Biochemistry and Immunology Lab (“www.bogielab.com”) and aims to further investigate the metabolic blueprint of neurodegenerative
and rare auto-inflammatory disorders.
Publications

 

Judith Fraussen | University of Hasselt
Neurodegeneration/Aging, Multiple sclerosis, Spinal cord injury, Immunosenescence, Immune phenotyping, biobanking

Judith Fraussen obtained her PhD in the groups of prof. Veerle Somers (Hasselt University) and prof. Marc De Baets (Maastricht University), where she studied the antigen specificity of B cells using the B cell immortalization technology in the context of multiple sclerosis and myasthenia gravis. She subsequently received a junior and senior FWO postdoctoral fellowship to study antibody-independent B cell functions in MS and build up a research line on the effects of immune aging on B cells in MS. Currently, Judith is an assistant professor at Hasselt University. Her research focuses on B cell functions and biomarker discovery in neurologic conditions, such as multiple sclerosis (MS) and spinal cord injury, and immune aging.
Publications

 

Bert Brône | University of Hasselt
Neuropsychiatry, Psychosis, In vivo 2-photon imaging, Drosophila

As a postdoc researcher at Janssen Pharmaceutica, Bert Brône witnessed the withdrawal of the pharma sector from the therapeutic area of psychiatry and this was in strong contrast to the continuously growing medical need in the current mental health status in the society.  Supported by interactions with the patient organizations and care takers in the field of mental health, Bert Brône decided that it is his duty as an academic researcher to follow the interest in the neuro-immune axis of psychiatric disorders to fill the gap. In a first research line, he studies microglia as immune mediators contributing to psychiatric disorders with a focus on DISC1, which  controls microglial cytoskeletal control (Kessels, Sci Adv 2025). In a second research line the lab uncovered the involvement of the glycine receptor subunit alpha2 in autism spectrum disorder and psychotic disorders. Last year, Bert Brône started, in close collaboration with the Verstreken Lab at the Catholic University Leuven, a Drosophila facility @ UHasselt, driven by the need for a model with advanced transgenesis and to reduce the use of vertebrate models, combined with an old love for insect physiology.
Publications
 

Inez Wens | Maastricht University
Neurology, Multiple sclerosis, Regeneration, Remyelination

I'm a lab manager and senior postdoctoral researcher at the Repair-inducing cognition enhancers (RICE) research group, at the University of Maastricht and University of Hasselt. Previously, I coordinated an European Horizon2020 project, performing a phase I/II clinical trial, in the development of an antigen specific cell therapy for Multiple Sclerosis (MS) patients. I'm a dedicated MS researcher, with a special interest to bring novel (regenerative) therapies closer to patients. As a bioscience engineer (cell & gene technology), I have a strong background in in vitro and in vivo research. My research resulted in >50 scientific publications (of which >15 as first or last author) in peer-reviewed, international journals. Furthermore, I'm the lead author of a book chapter, looking beyond neurological impairments in MS patients. I received invitations to present my work at several international conferences and my work has been (inter)nationally recognized and rewarded (FWO, MS Liga research grant, Charcot research fund, Roche, Stichting MS research, conference prices,...). I'm currently promotor of 2 ongoing (J. Van den Bos, Y. El Ouaamari) and 1 defended (I. Janssens) PhD projects and co-promotor of 2 ongoing (B. Rombaut, A. Taddeucci) and 1 defended (C. Keytsman) PhD projects.
Publications
 

Assia Tiane | Maastricht University
Neurodegeneration/Aging, Alzheimer, Myelination, iPSCs

I am a postdoctoral researcher at Maastricht University and Hasselt University, focusing on oligodendrocyte biology in neurodegenerative diseases. I study oligodendrocyte behavior in Alzheimer’s disease using a multi-omics approach that integrates genomics, epigenomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, and lipidomics. To validate and mechanistically explore these findings, I apply patient-derived iPSC-based oligodendrocyte models in vitro. Broadly, my research aims to elucidate how epigenetic and molecular alterations in oligodendrocytes drive disease progression and heterogeneity, with the goal of identifying novel therapeutic targets.
 

Emmanuel Hermans | UCLouvain
Pain, Gliosis

He is specialist in fundamental pharmacology and in Neuropharmacology. Pharmacist (1990), PhD in neurochemistry (1994), full professor since 2012 (teaching neurophysiology, neuropharmacology and neuropsychopharmacology). 
His main interest is the regulation of neurotransmission with a focus on the role of astrocytes in the regulation of excitatory transmission and its modulation in nervous disorders. He has deeply investigated the molecular mechanism controlling the activity of glutamate transporters in astrocytes in models of neurological disorders, in particular in models of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and in models of chronic/neuropathic pain. For these disorders, we maintain transgenic models and surgical models. We have also developed a platform for behavioural testing of locomotor activities and pain. The regulation of glutamate handling by glial cells (glutamate receptors, transporters, metabolizing enzymes, and exchanger) is studied both in vivo/ex vivo and in vitro. Considering my expertise and interest in pharmacology, we examine the impact of several soluble transmitters on these glutamate targets. We also test diverse drugs acting on neurotransmitter targets in glial cells as well as inflammatory mediators.