VIB is an independent research institute that translates insights in biology into impactful innovations for society. Collaborating with the five Flemish universities, it conducts research in plant biology, cancer, neuroscience, microbiology, inflammatory diseases, artificial intelligence and more. VIB connects science with entrepreneurship and stimulates the growth of the Flemish biotech ecosystem. The institute contributes to solutions for societal challenges such as new methods for diagnostics and treatments, as well as innovations for agriculture. Learn more at www.vib.be.

VIB is an independent research institute that translates insights in biology into impactful innovations for society. Collaborating with the five...

Dutch

Dutch (Belgium)

English

English (Global)

India Jane Wise

VIB is een onafhankelijk onderzoeksinstituut dat inzichten in de biologie vertaalt naar impactvolle innovaties voor de samenleving. Het werkt samen met de vijf Vlaamse universiteiten en diverse partners in de biotechsector en doet onderzoek in plantenbiologie, kanker, neurowetenschap, microbiologie, ontstekingsziekten, artificiële intelligentie en meer. VIB verbindt wetenschap met ondernemerschap en stimuleert zo de groei van de Vlaamse biotech. Het instituut draagt bij aan oplossingen voor maatschappelijke uitdagingen, zoals nieuwe methoden voor diagnose en behandeling en landbouwinnovaties. Meer info op www.vib.be. 

VIB is een onafhankelijk onderzoeksinstituut dat inzichten in de biologie vertaalt naar impactvolle innovaties voor de samenleving. Het werkt...

Joran Lauwers

French

French (Belgium)

#475569

Data Protection Authority

A Belgian research team explores how genetic switches controlling gene activity define brain cell types across species.

Scientists use deep learning to compare gene regulation in different cell types of human and chicken brains

A new view on 300 million years of brain evolution

Leuven, 14 February 2025 – In a new study published in Science, a Belgian research team explores how genetic switches controlling gene activity define brain cell types across species. They trained deep learning models on human, mouse, and chicken brain data and found that while some cell types are highly conserved between birds and mammals after millions of years of evolution, others have evolved differently. The findings not only shed new light on brain evolution; they also provide powerful tools for studying how gene regulation shapes different cell types, across species or different disease states.

Leuven, 6 August 2024 - A team of researchers from the lab of Prof. Stein Aerts (VIB-KU Leuven) presents Nova-ST, a new spatial transcriptomics technique that promises to transform gene expression profiling in tissue samples. Nova-ST will make large-scale, high-resolution spatial tissue analysis more accessible and affordable, offering significant benefits for researchers. The research was published in Cell Reports Methods.

New open-source platform for high-resolution spatial transcriptomics 

Leuven, 6 August 2024 - A team of researchers from the lab of Prof. Stein Aerts (VIB-KU Leuven) presents Nova-ST, a new spatial transcriptomics...

Leuven, 13 December - In a pioneering study published in Nature, Professor Stein Aerts and his team at VIB.AI and the VIB-KU Leuven Center for Brain & Disease Research describe a novel approach that uses artificial intelligence (AI) to guide the creation of synthetic DNA sequences. Their AI model was able to design functional enhancers, 'on switches' that can activate specific genes. The results represent a next step in decoding gene regulation and hold promise for future developments in gene therapy.

From code to control: scientists use AI to craft synthetic DNA

Leuven, 13 December - In a pioneering study published in Nature, Professor Stein Aerts and his team at VIB.AI and the VIB-KU Leuven Center for...

A fully automated machine learning algorithm predicts bone marrow inflammation in MRI scans

AI assists in arthritis diagnosis based on MRI images 

Ghent, 28 August 2023 – A fully automated machine learning algorithm can now predict bone marrow inflammation, known as bone marrow edema, in MRI scans. This innovative algorithm, developed by the teams of Prof. Yvan Saeys and Prof. Dirk Elewaut at the VIB-UGent Center for Inflammation Research and colleagues at University Hospital Ghent (UZGent), offers an objective and standardized way to evaluate inflammatory lesions, and it has the potential to impact the diagnosis and treatment of spondyloarthritis patients significantly. The work appears in Arthritis & Rheumatology.

VIB's Data Core will enable breakthrough research by efficiently managing research data

VIB launches Data Core to support life sciences research

Ghent, Belgium, 16 March 2023 – Leading life sciences research institute VIB launches its Data Core to provide researchers the tools to manage the increasing amount of data generated in life sciences research. New technologies have led to an exponentially increasing amount of data in the life sciences. The mission of VIB's Data Core is to enable breakthrough research by managing research data efficiently while adhering to international standards.

By harnessing the power of thousands of gamers, the team of Prof. Lennart Martens (VIB-UGent Center for Medical Biotechnology), with colleagues of Dhaenes lab of the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences at Ghent University, intends to improve the analysis of mass spectrometry data drastically. In turn, this may advance disease diagnostics.

All in the game: VIB-UGent researchers enlist virtual space explorers to improve disease diagnostics

Most citizen science projects stand on their own. As a result, their bottleneck is often finding and engaging enough participants. But what if we could tap into an already established large audience? Say, gamers of a very popular massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG)?

A large international consortium creates the first complete atlas of all fly cells

The fruit fly: tiny research hero now fully mapped

Fruit flies have played a leading role in biological research for over a century, ever since Thomas Hunt Morgan used these tiny insects to discover that genes reside on chromosomes, essentially uncovering the mechanical basis of heredity. Many scientists followed in Morgan’s footsteps and several went on to win a Nobel Prize for their groundbreaking discoveries using this small model organism.

Landmark fly brain study deciphers the genomic regulatory code behind neuronal diversity

VIB research team uses AI to explain cell diversity in the fly brain

The single-cell revolution is revealing more and more fine-grained insights into the biology of living organisms. The deep learning (AI) revolution adds unprecedented computational power to analyze these “big data”. A research team led by Stein Aerts (VIB-KU Leuven) has combined these two revolutions to sketch a new picture of gene regulation in all cells of the fruit fly brain, using deep learning to reveal how specific pieces of DNA steer neuronal identity, from birth to maturity. This landmark achievement, published today in Nature, is one of the signposts of a new era of AI-driven biomedical research with unprecedented possibilities, including personalized cell-based interceptive medicine.

Computational Biology

A new view on 300 million years of brain evolution

New open-source platform for high-resolution spatial transcriptomics

From code to control: scientists use AI to craft synthetic DNA

AI assists in arthritis diagnosis based on MRI images

VIB launches Data Core to support life sciences research

All in the game: VIB-UGent researchers enlist virtual space explorers to improve disease diagnostics

The fruit fly: tiny research hero now fully mapped

VIB research team uses AI to explain cell diversity in the fly brain

Contact us

India Jane Wise

Science Communications Expert, VIB

About VIB

Contact