Wen-Juan Ma
Principal Investigator
Wen-Juan is Assistant Professor at Vrije Universiteit Brussel. Wen-Juan is interested in how sex chromosomes evolve and differentiate, genetics and evolution of sex determination, how endosymbionts manipulate host reproduction and the evolutionary consequences, as well as genetics of selfish genetic element and the effects on sex chromosome evolution.
Paris Veltsos
Senior scientist
Paris is interested in the interplay between sexually antagonistic selection, sex chromosome evolution and environmental adaptation. For more information see his website.
Sagar Shinde
Postdoc fellow
Sagar did his PhD thesis on devolution at different timescales on gene, genome and pan-genome levels. He is overall interested in evolutionary genomics, comparative genomics, molecular evolution on genomes, sex chromosomes as well as single gene levels.
Barbora Augstenová
Postdoc fellow
Barbora has been mainly trying to unravel the mystery of evolution of sex chromosomes and their differentiation in reptiles primarily with cytogenetic methods. She was especially interested in sex chromosomes evolution in snakes, which were inspiration for the canonical model of sex chromosome differentiation (Ohno 1967).
Currently, she shifted her focused towards frogs to investigate the genetic and possible epigenetic mechanisms underlying the sex determination in frogs.
Fantin Carpentier
Postdoc fellow
During his PhD thesis, Fantin studied non-recombining regions on mating-type chromosomes in the anther amut fungal genus Microbotryum. He has two years break from academic research and he has been dedicated to his family and to his work in an informatics company, he decided to take up the challenge to come back into research. He is still interested in evolutionary genomics and sex chromosomes. Besides his work, he is a music lover. He also enjoys sport, yoga and reading.
Ezgi Unal
PhD student
Ezgi has passion for evolutionary studies and molecular biology research. Her PhD research is investigating the mechanisms of extreme heterochiasmy, the exaggerated sexual dimorphism in the recombination landscape in frogs. During her master studies at Vrije Universiteit Brussel, she developed a heavy metal detecting E.coli whole-cell biosensor in collaboration with several research institutions. She is particularly enthusiastic about interdisciplinary approaches and collaborations.
Email: hatice.ezgi.unal[@]vub.be
Ricard Fontsere
PhD student
Ricard is overall very interested in the origin and evolution of sex chromosomes, eco-evolutionary dynamics and phenotypic plasticity. His PhD is investigating the evolutionary and genetic drivers of sex chromosome turnover in various frog lineages. During his free time he is an avid chess player.
Ramses Moortgat
PhD student
Ramses is a dedicated naturalist and enthusiastic insect lover with a deep passion for nature, biodiversity, and fieldwork. His primary interest lies in the fascinating world of invertebrate biodiversity and how evolutionary processes shape it. Currently, as part of his PhD research, Ramses is investigating how bacterial infections, particularly from Wolbachia, influence insect sexual reproduction, sex determination and even impact the evolution of sex chromosomes. In his free time, Ramses enjoys immersing himself in nature, carefully observing and documenting the richness of life around him. He also enjoys breading native plants. You can explore his nature observations and insights through his documented findings here.
Jie Wang
Visiting PhD student
Jie is a visiting scholar. He is pursuing a PhD at the Max Planck Institute for Plant Breeding Research. He is interested in how polyploids adapt and survive. Currently, he is using the diploid-tetraploid genus Neobatrachus frog lineage and tetraploid and hexaploid strawberries (F. orientalis, F. moschata) to study WGD-mediated introgression and the interplay between WGD and sex chromosome evolution.
Marzieh Sadat Bagheri
Master student
Marzieh is the third year Master student in Cellular and Molecular Life Science. She is highly interested in molecular genetics, sexual reproduction, and immunology. She is fascinated by the complexity in organisms between genotypes and phenotypes. She investigated in sex chromosome differentiation in the common frog. Currently, for her Master thesis, she is working on pollination networks in agroecological and conventional rural farming in Central Tanzania, in collaboration with Dr. Massimiliano Virgilio from the Royal Museum for Central Africa, Brussels, Belgium.
Benjamin Aime Allaer
Bachelor thesis student
Benjamin is fascinated by the molecular aspect of biology in particular genetics and microbiology. He finds the functioning of bacteria, viruses and fungi and the way we can use this information to make antibiotics, vaccines and many more very interesting. He likes to play tennis and jogging in his spare time. Currently he is working on unraveling possible sex-specific splicing variants of key candidate sex determining gene(s) in frogs his bachelor thesis.
Email: benjamin.aime.allaer[@]vub.be
Luca Silvio Pignatti
Bachelor thesis student
Luca is a third year bachelor student in Biology. He is interested in evolution and speciation. Currently he is working on salt preference in Caenorhabditis elegans, C. remanei and C. brenneri, with a focus on differences between the sexes.
Email: Luca.Silvio.Pignatti[@]vub.be
Rafaël Kana
Bachelor thesis student
Rafaël is a third-year Bachelor student in Biology with a strong passion for life sciences. He is deeply interested in understanding the intricate processes within organisms and how these insights can be applied to address societal challenges. His academic interests lie primarily in genetics and epigenetics. Beyond academics, Rafaël enjoys staying active through sports and values connecting with people to learn about their perspectives and interests. For his Bachelor thesis, he is investigating differential gene expression during meiosis in the brown frogs Rana temporaria. His research aims to shed light on the mechanisms underlying the extreme sexual dimorphism in the recombination landscape.
Email: rafael.kana[@]vub.be
Rosalie Van Eeckhaute
Bachelor thesis student
Starting the last semester of her bachelor in biology, Rosalie is writing her bachelor thesis on sex chromosome evolution in robber frogs. She has a keen interest in molecular biology, particularly genetics. Her research focuses on mapping the genome and identifying the sex chromosomes of the robber frogs, with the aim of setting the stage for future studies on the dosage compensation mechanism.
Email: rosalie.catherine.m.van.eeckhaute[@]vub.be
Lab alumni
Postdoc fellow, Meriç Erdolu
Bachelor thesis student: Gabriel Orlando Bidó Féliz, currently student exchange program at University of Palacky, Czech Republic
Bachelor thesis student: Tristan Cornelis, currently Master program at VUB, Belgium
Bachelor thesis student: Ezel Bahar Balci, currently Master program at VUB, Belgium
Bachelor thesis student: Marie Cecile M. Aerts, currently Master program at VUB, Belgium