Projects per year
Organisation profile
About us
The research group Genetics, Reproduction and Development (GRAD) brings together researchers from the fields of genetics, reproduction and developmental biology, organised around seven specialty teams: Beta Cell Neogenesis, Biology of the Testis, Follicle Biology, Mother and Child, Neurogenetics, Reproduction and Immunology, and Reproduction and Genetics. The Beta Cell Neogenesis team is dedicated to regenerating beta cells for innovative cell therapies in diabetes, studying where new beta cells originate in adult organisms and how beta cell resilience can be enhanced in both type 1 and type 2 diabetes. The Biology of the Testis team studies spermatogenesis with a special focus on spermatogonial stem cells, including patient follow-up after childhood gonadotoxic treatment, methods to cryopreserve and transplant stem cells or testicular tissue, the generation of sperm cells in vitro, and the causes of Klinefelter Syndrome-related infertility. The Follicle Biology laboratory designs and validates new culture systems for ovarian follicles and immature oocytes to establish practical strategies for fertility clinics. The Mother and Child team focuses on perinatal medicine, emphasizing simulation-based education, multidisciplinary fetal and maternal health research and innovative approaches to complex pregnancies, advancing diagnostics, prenatal care and psychosocial support for vulnerable populations. The Neurogenetics team studies how the development of the brain can be disturbed and lead to severe congenital defects. The Reproduction and Immunology team studies human reproduction, focusing on infertility causes like fertilization failure and implantation issues, using donated embryos and 3D endometrium models to investigate early development. The Reproduction and Genetics team works at the interface between developmental biology and genetics, studying the genetic basis of infertility and poor embryonic development, using human preimplantation embryos, embryonic stem cells and stem-cell derived models such as blastoids and organoids.
Keywords
- genetics
- cell
- reproduction
- infertility
- diabetes
- therapies
- embryos
- biology
Fingerprint
Collaborations and top research areas from the last five years
Profiles
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Tom Adriaenssens
- Vrije Universiteit Brussel
- Clinical sciences - External employee
- Genetics Reproduction and Development - External employee
Person: Researcher
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Nazli Akin
- Vrije Universiteit Brussel
- Clinical sciences - Unpaid employee
- Genetics Reproduction and Development - Unpaid employee
Person: Researcher
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Diana Al Delbany
- Vrije Universiteit Brussel
- Genetics Reproduction and Development - postdoctoral researcher
- Basic (bio-) Medical Sciences - postdoctoral researcher
Person: Researcher
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Ellen Anckaert
- UZBrussel
- Vrije Universiteit Brussel
- Genetics Reproduction and Development - Lecturer
- Clinical sciences - Lecturer
- Clinical Biology - UZB Physician
Person: Researcher, Physician
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Boglarka Krisztina Bansagi
- UZBrussel
- Vrije Universiteit Brussel
- Clinical sciences - External employee
- Genetics Reproduction and Development - External employee
- Medical Genetics - UZB Physician
Person: Researcher, Physician
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EU711: Unraveling the iron metabolism of pancreatic β-cells
Staels, W. (Administrative Promotor)
1/03/26 → 28/02/31
Project: Fundamental
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FWOAL1221: Towards fully functional human testicular organoids
Goossens, E. (Administrative Promotor)
1/01/26 → 31/12/29
Project: Fundamental
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FWOTM1326: Regulators of human primitive endoderm formation
Pancken, F. (Mandate), Van De Velde, H. (Administrative Promotor) & De Munck, N. (CoI (Co-Promotor))
1/11/25 → 31/10/29
Project: Fundamental
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FWOTM1310: Liver organoids to study if aneuploidy primes human pluripotent stem-cell derived hepatocytes for oncogenic transformation.
Huyghebaert, A. (Mandate), Spits, C. (Administrative Promotor) & Al Delbany, D. (CoI (Co-Promotor))
1/11/25 → 31/10/29
Project: Fundamental
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FWOTM1350: IRON-BETA - Unraveling the iron metabolism of pancreatic β-cells
Staels, W. (Administrative Promotor)
1/10/25 → 30/09/30
Project: Fundamental
Research output
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83rd Annual Scientific Meeting: Weathering the Storm in Biopsychosocial Science and Medicine: #1349/ Hearts At Risk: Weathering The Fear of Inherited Cardiac Conditions
Van Pottelberghe, S. & Kupper, N., Jun 2026, 83rd Annual Scientific Meeting: Weathering the Storm in Biopsychosocial Science and Medicine: Meeting Abstracts: Weathering the Storm in Biopsychosocial Science and Medicine. Chicago: Society for Biopsychosocial Science and Medicine, Vol. 5. p. 1 192 p. 5Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Meeting abstract (Book)
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A comprehensive review for defining cut-off values of oocyte, zygote, and embryo maturation arrest (OZEMA) due to maternal-effect genes: towards the establishment of clinical criteria
Van Der Kelen, A., Okutman, O., Serdarogullari, M., Dequeker, B. J. H., Javey, E., Capalbo, A., Lang, C., Kakourou, G., Konstantinou, E., Mulas, F., Sermon, K., Verpoest, W. & Viville, S., Jul 2026, In: Human Reproduction. 41, 7, p. 1207-1219 13 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open Access -
A drop in serum estradiol levels during GnRH antagonist cotreatment in cycles stimulated with gonadotropins is associated with lower cumulative live birth rates
Janssens, L., Roelant, E., Blockeel, C. & De Neubourg, D., 18 Mar 2026, In: Frontiers in Endocrinology. 17, 11 p., 1722379.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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Amplicon-based sequencing as a diagnostic tool for severe pneumonia in the ICU
Michel, C., Imamura, H., Yin, N., Etienne, I., Nobile, L., Chu, M., Demuyser, T., Bogaert, D., Hites, M., Vandenberg, O. & Hallin, M., 19 Jan 2026, In: Scientific reports. 16, 1, 23 p., 2845.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open Access -
An advanced SWOT analysis of elective vitrification: today's standard IVF procedure
Global Freeze-all Expert Forum, Jul 2026, In: Reproductive Biomedicine Online. 53, 1, 9 p., 105526.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Activities
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Frequente chromosomale afwijkingen: diagnose en counseling
Keymolen, K. (Invited speaker)
12 Mar 2027Activity: Talk or presentation › Talk or presentation at a workshop/seminar
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Second Case Based meeting of the Belgian Council on Cardiogenomics
Uyttebroeck, S. (Participant)
7 May 2026Activity: Participating in or organising an event › Participation in workshop, seminar
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Administrative support for the UEMS SMG ECMGG Examination – MCQ part (Event)
Polsler, L. (Contributor)
20 Apr 2026Activity: Membership › Work on academic committees and working groups
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European Certificate in Medical Genetics and Genomics (ECMGG) 2026 - MCQ part
Polsler, L. (Chair) & Berg, J. (Chair)
20 Apr 2026Activity: Participating in or organising an event › Participation in workshop, seminar
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European Certificate in Medical Genetics and Genomics (ECMGG) 2026 - SOA part
Polsler, L. (Chair) & Berg, J. (Chair)
5 Jun 2026Activity: Participating in or organising an event › Participation in workshop, seminar
Datasets
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miRNA in semen and urine of NOA patients
Goossens, E. (Project Manager) & Willems, M. (Creator), Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO), 2023
DOI: GSE224511
Dataset
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Additional file 6: of Identification of candidate cancer predisposing variants by performing whole-exome sequencing on index patients from BRCA1 and BRCA2-negative breast cancer families
Van Dooren, S. (Creator), Teugels, E. (Creator), Bonduelle, M. (Creator), Shahi, R. B. (Creator), De Brakeleer, S. (Creator), Vanhoeij, M. (Creator), Joris, S. (Creator), Fontaine, C. (Creator), Pauwels, I. (Creator), Caljon, B. (Creator) & De Grève, J. (Creator), Springer, 2019
DOI: 10.6084/m9.figshare.7956710, http://10.1186/s12885-019-5494-7
Dataset
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Additional file 11: of Identification of candidate cancer predisposing variants by performing whole-exome sequencing on index patients from BRCA1 and BRCA2-negative breast cancer families
Van Dooren, S. (Creator), Teugels, E. (Creator), Bonduelle, M. (Creator), Shahi, R. B. (Creator), De Brakeleer, S. (Creator), Vanhoeij, M. (Creator), De Grève, J. (Creator), Caljon, B. (Creator) & Pauwels, I. (Creator), figshare.ars, 2019
DOI: 10.6084/m9.figshare.7956680, http://10.1186/s12885-019-5494-7
Dataset
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Additional file 5: of Identification of candidate cancer predisposing variants by performing whole-exome sequencing on index patients from BRCA1 and BRCA2-negative breast cancer families
Van Dooren, S. (Creator), Teugels, E. (Creator), Bonduelle, M. (Creator), Shahi, R. B. (Creator) & De Brakeleer, S. (Creator), figshare.ars, 2019
DOI: 10.6084/m9.figshare.7956704, http://10.1186/s12885-019-5494-7
Dataset
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Additional file 3: of Identification of candidate cancer predisposing variants by performing whole-exome sequencing on index patients from BRCA1 and BRCA2-negative breast cancer families
Van Dooren, S. (Creator), Teugels, E. (Creator), Bonduelle, M. (Creator), Shahi, R. B. (Creator), De Brakeleer, S. (Creator), Caljon, B. (Creator) & De Grève, J. (Creator), figshare.ars, 5 Apr 2019
DOI: 10.6084/m9.figshare.7956695
Dataset