Did you know that caring for someone with FTD can be one of the most demanding caregiving roles? During this World FTD Awareness Week, we acknowledge the burden carers carry. For us, patients and their families are true partners in research. #endFTD #WorldFTDAwarenessWeek

We’re hiring! 📣 🎓🎓 2 PhD positions 🧬🧫 2 Postdocs 🥼 1 Lab Technician 🖥️ 1 IT profile https://cmn.sites.vib.be/en/join-us Please share!

Next up in our #CMNcohorts #CMNconsortia series, we spotlight a collaboration between the @sleegerslab.bsky.social#CMNcohorts#CMNconsortiand Dietmar Thal at KU Leuven: a post-mortem brain cohort, now paired with genetic characterization, and transcriptomic profiling underway.

“What if it’s FTD?” World FTD Awareness Week kicked off right after World Alzheimer’s Day on Sunday, a timely reminder that while FTD is the second most common dementia, it’s not Alzheimer’s. #endFTD

On #WorldAlzheimersDay, we’re reminded that progress is possible, and it’s powered by people. Every dataset, every partnership, every volunteer brings us closer to earlier detection and better treatments. Thank you to our participants and collaborators. Hope moves forward together. 💜

When the gene is mapped, the work is far from done. In this interview with Julie van der Zee, we talk why long-horizon science only delivers if relationships, records, and ethics are cared for as diligently as the data. https://blog.vib.be/from-first-families-to-first-trials

The Rademakers lab presents the most comprehensive analysis of DNA methylation patterns in FTLD-TDP to date, revealing that the molecular differences between disease subtypes run even deeper than previously recognized. https://tinyurl.com/4cahyuup

That’s a wrap on the 2025 BioHackathon! From 8 to 10 Sept, three hubs, at the University of Cambridge, VIB-University of Antwerp Center for Neurology, and Newcastle University, coded in sync on bioinformatics, math & computational biology. See you at the next edition!

We’re hiring a part-time (Junior) Linux System Administrator 📣 Join a small, collaborative IT team and support cutting-edge neuroscience research. https://cmn.sites.vib.be/en/join-us#/job-description/122451

Huge congratulations to Sebastiaan De Schepper on obtaining a prestigious ERC grant to launch PRIME-PD, a project uncovering how the immune system helps initiate and drive Parkinson’s disease. 🙌

We’ve built our strategy around consortia-driven science, where our own expertise plugs into global networks, and local patient data fuels international discovery. From genetics to biomarkers, there’s power in numbers. https://beakon.ghost.io/united-in-purpose/ #CMNcohorts #CMNconsortia

Congratulations to Laura Morant from the @jordanovalab.bsky.social‪ on obtaining an AFM-Telethon Trampoline grant! 🎉 With the funding, she will explore the role of YARS1 in peripheral neuropathy and reconstruct its interaction with actin.

We're counting down the weeks until #NHND25. @vibtrainconf.bsky.social‬ Seppe De Schepper is looking forward to Katerina Akassoglou’s talk, whose "work on perivascular neuroimmunology is fascinating. It beautifully connects vascular changes to immune signaling and neurodegeneration.”

New paper from the Jordanova lab 📣 The study provides genetic + functional evidence across three families (8 individuals), linking COX18 (a Complex IV assembly factor) to predominantly peripheral neuropathy, with occasional CNS features. https://tinyurl.com/3ybz8w65

As translational timelines are tightening and evidence demands keep rising, we’ve made biobanking a strategic priority. Read how we are building a biobank that’s shareable by default, analysis-ready by design, and fast to collaborate with. https://beakon.ghost.io/more-samples-less-friction/

“It's good to have worked in more than one place—you pick up good habits from each lab.” Read Trend's interview with our director Rosa Rademakers https://tinyurl.com/wnf4nytv

Next up in our cohorts-and-consortia series: ERDERA – European Rare Diseases Research Alliance 🧬 🧠 Rare disorders 🥼 New treatments and diagnostics 🌍 Over 180 leading organizations from 40 countries 📌 Sarah Weckhuysen's team at CMN

Next up in our cohorts-and-consortia series: BELNEU – Belgian Neurology Consortium 🧬 🧠 Alzheimer's and disorders along the dementia spectrum. 🥼 Creates a comprehensive biosampling and biobanking infrastructure 🌍 Neurology departments and memory clinics across Belgium 📌 Sleegers lab

Next up in our cohorts-and-consortia series: ESCO – The European STXBP1 Consortium 🧬 🧠 STXBP1-related disorders 🥼 Clinical and preclinical research on STXBP1 🌍 Across 10 European countries 📌 Sarah Weckhuysen 👉 https://stxbp1eu.org

Next up in our cohorts-and-consorta series: ALLFTD – ARTFL LEFFTDS Longitudinal Frontotemporal Lobar Degeneration Study 🧬 🧠 FTLD 🥼 Led by the Mayo Clinic and UCSF 🌍 Expert sites across the US, Canada and Europe, including Belgium 📌 Rosa Rademakers leads the consortium’s Genetics Core

👇 Next up in our consortia series EMIF-AD – the European Medical Information Framework for Alzheimer's Disease 🧬 🥼 Combines data from >85K patients and healthy individuals 🌍 Nearly 50 cohorts across Europe and US 📌 The Sleegers lab contributes their genomics expertise

🧠🌍 This #WorldBrainDay, we’re celebrating the brain at every stage of life. CMN's research spans the full arc of the brain’s lifespan: from inherited childhood epilepsy to age-related neurodegenerative disease. Let’s keep pushing for more awareness, prevention, research, and access to care. 🧡

Next up in our cohorts and consortia series: Epi25 – Collaborative for Large-Scale Whole Genome Sequencing in Epilepsy 🧬 🧠 Epilepsy 🥼 >30,000 sequenced exomes, helpint to untangle the complex genetic causes 🌍 Over 200 partners from 40 cohorts around the world 📌 Sarah Weckhuysen 👉 epi-25.org

Kicking off our summer spotlight on cohorts and consortia with: 🧬 GENFI: Genetic Frontotemporal Dementia Initiative GENFI follows individuals with a family history of FTD, including those who carry mutations in GRN, MAPT, or C9orf72. 🌍 46 sites across 15 countries 🥼 Coordinated by UCL

🎓 Throwback to June 19, when Jonathan De Winter & Anke Claessens both defended their PhDs! Jonathan explored the role of spectrins in hereditary neuro/muscular disorders; Anke dove into axonal degeneration in peripheral neuropathies. Congrats Dr. De Winter & Dr. Claessens!

The @seppedeschepper.bsky.social, Malysheva, @pasciutolab.bsky.social & Weckhuysen labs, and our Neuromics support team, have all earned LEAF sustainability certifications. 👏 Proud of the collective effort toward more eco-friendly lab practices! 🌿

Big congrats to @verwilt.bsky.social‬ from the @sleegerslab.bsky.social‬ on his FWO fellowship! He’ll be mapping RNA and DNA in blood, CSF, even tear fluid, to develop non-invasive biomarkers for Alzheimer’s using long-read sequencing. https://tinyurl.com/ym6c8csr

We received great news last week. 🎉 Three of our researchers have been awarded FWO postdoctoral fellowships. 🙌 These fellowships will help us push forward with new ideas, methods, and collaborations. Huge thanks to the FWO for the support, and congratulations to our talented postdocs! 👏

We're hiring! From doctoral scholarships to postdoc roles and specialist positions—there’s never been a better time to join our team. Check all vacancies 👉 https://cmn.sites.vib.be/en/join-us#/job-list

Kudos to @rafaelapolicarpo.bsky.social‬, who led two science workshops this month with Native Scientists! She co-designed hands-on science activities in Portuguese, helping make science more accessible & relatable. 🇵🇹 These initiatives matter. They break down barriers & open doors.

🚨 Training Alert: Dive into long-read single-cell RNAseq with #scywalker 🗓️ June 5, 2025 📍 Ghent – VIB/UGent FSVM II 🎟️ Registration deadline is Monday May 26th: https://training.vib.be/all-trainings/scywalker-processing-long-read-single-cell-rnaseq-data

🧠🍻 Tonight: a sold-out final night of Pint of Science in Antwerp with Júlia Faura Llorens and Gonzalo Leguia Fauro. See you at Spéciale Belge Taproom at 7 pm!

New from the Weckhuysen lab in @ebiomedicine.bsky.social: A multimodal atlas of mouse brain development, mirroring key human milestones. A powerful new baseline for studying neurodevelopmental disorders. Recap: https://tinyurl.com/cwmwy894 Full story: https://tinyurl.com/2aj54ye2

Rosa Rademakers and @mancusorenzo.bsky.social dive into why and how we are doubling down on our neurogenetics legacy while expanding into neuroimmunology - with new tech, talent & translational pipelines. 👉 https://tinyurl.com/ykpvs885 @viblifesciences.bsky.social

📸 How it started: @seppedeschepper.bsky.social at his PhD defense in 2018 How it's going: The De Schepper lab in 2015 The story of what happened along the way? 👉 https://deschepperlab.sites.vib.be/en/news#/news/tracing-the-immune-dialogue-between-the-gut-and-brain

🙌 Five students from PITO Stabroek visited the @jordanovalab.bsky.social this week, after building hundreds of custom fly combs for our Drosofiler. Hands-on STEM meets real-world science! 📸 More info and pictures: https://cmn.sites.vib.be/en/news#/news/students-develop-more-sustainable-lab-tools

'Increased #TMEM106B levels lead to #lysosomal dysfunction which affects synaptic signaling and neuronal health' @jolienperneel.bsky.social @mirandalastraosua.bsky.social Sara Alidadiani... Xiaolai Zhou & Rosa Rademakers @cmn-vib.bsky.social @uantwerpen.be bit.ly/4lG76ro

With over 180 partners from 37 countries, ERDERA builds on the success of the EJPRD and takes collaboration to the next level. Sarah Weckhuysen’s team will contribute to the Clinical Research Network, helping to close the diagnostic gap for patients with unresolved rare disorders across Europe.

Dementia isn’t one disease—it’s a tangled forest of symptoms. And we still don’t know where the paths begin to split. With support from Stichting Alzheimer Onderzoek (SAO), Duc Nam Nguyen is taking on this challenge. https://cmn.sites.vib.be/en/news#/news/mapping-the-molecular-terrain-of-dementia

Congratulations to Silvia Amor-Barris, Akram Khanghahi, and Ayse Candayan from the @jordanovalab.bsky.social on securing research grants from the Belgian Association of Patients with Neuromuscular Disorders (ABMM-Telethon)!

The CMNeurons made it! Despite a rainy start and the hilly terrain between Leuven and Brussels, these champs made it across the finish line! 👏 Great job in raising awareness and money for Alzheimer's research! 💜

🏃‍♀️🏃‍♂️ Ready to run for research! This Sunday, 𝗧𝗲𝗮𝗺 𝗖𝗠𝗡𝗲𝘂𝗿𝗼𝗻𝘀 will be running to raise awareness and funding for neurological research. 🙌 Help give them that final push across the finish line: https://action.stopalzheimer.be/teams/vib-center-for-molecular-neurology?locale=nl

With a grant from Stichting Alzheimer Onderzoek (SAO), Júlia Faura Llorens, Rosa Rademakers and their colleuagues are developing a diagnostic toolkit for one of the most elusive forms of frontotemporal dementia.

PhD opportunity 📢 Hannah Stamberger, Sarah Weckhuysen, and An-Sofie Schoonjans are teaming up on a translational project tackling STXBP1-RD. Dive into clinical epilepsy research, bioinformatics, biostatistics, and genetics 👇 https://cmn.sites.vib.be/en/join-us#/job-description/109433

Thrilled to share our latest review in @natureneuro.bsky.social We dive into the transcriptional diversity of microglia across development, disease, regions, and sexes—highlighting emerging tools + a new resource for cell state annotation. @mancusorenzo.bsky.social @cmn-vib.bsky.social

I am so excited to share our review on microglial heterogeneity @natureneuro.bsky.social! It was a fantastic effort by the lab, led by @c9laura72.bsky.social and Alma Mohebiany. We provide a critical view on the plethora of microglial cell states in health and disease. www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Your new hitchhiker's guide to microglia heterogeneity and cell states annotation! Congrats to @c9laura72.bsky.social, Alma and the whole team at @mancusorenzo.bsky.social lab 🍾

Last week, we spoke to Ayse Candayan, a Postdoc @jordanovalab.bsky.social , who explores advancements in genetic diagnostics for neurodegenerative disorders, focusing on the challenges and insights gleaned from long-read sequencing. ▶️Watch her #RNGS25 video pitch to find out more.

Last month, Matilde Malcorps and Luiza Ramos from the Jordanova Lab brought hands-on genetics to life for students at GO! Atheneum Berchem. Thank you for the warm welcome and engaging discussions! Outreach like this shows just how powerful early scientific experiences can be.

Brand new review by the @mancusorenzo.bsky.social lab on microglial heterogeneity: Laura Fumagalli et al. dive into transcriptional states across development, disease, sex & CNS regions—plus annotation tools. Out now in Nature Neuroscience: 📄 https://www.nature.com/articles/s41593-025-01931-4