We kicked off day 2 of #NHND25 with a session on neuro-inflammation in neurodegeneration, featuring Xiaoying Chen, Katerina Akassoglou, and our very own @seppedeschepper.bsky.social.

Interested in the role of T cells in Alzheimer’s? PhD student Amelia is presenting her exciting work at #NHND25 in Leuven. If you are there, check out her poster to learn more!

Morning recap from #NHND25, where Albena Jordanova co-chaired the first session on better, human-relevant models for neurodegeneration, and Renzo Mancuso presented new data on how progranulin dosage shapes microglial trajectories.

Off to a great start!
@vibtrainconf.bsky.social

The European Alzheimer & Dementia Biobank (EADB) unites cohorts across 18 countries to decode the genetics of Alzheimer’s disease. https://eadb.eu/
At CMN, the @sleegerslab.bsky.social plays a leading role, with postdoc Fahri Küçükali as our in-house EADB specialist.

#CMNcohorts #CMNconsortia

Happy anniversary to the 1,000 Healthy Elderly Study! 🎂
On this day last year, we included our very first participant (again). Today we’re at 196 re-inclusions, and on track to hit 200 by the end of the week. 💪
A special thank you today to our study nurse, Sofie Van de kerckhoven! 🥳
#CMNcohorts

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 and 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.”

Biallelic variants in COX18 cause a mitochondrial disorder primarily manifesting as peripheral neuropathy Armirola-Ricaurte et al. report that variants in the COX18 gene can cause autosomal recessive axonal Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease type 2 with or without CNS

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

Bio-Banking The Biobank Expertise Unit of the VIB Center for Molecular Neurology was established in 2020 to promote high-quality translational research and therapeutic innovation.

Curious about study setup, hosting/registration, or compliant sharing? Get in touch with Julie van der Zee.
cmn.sites.vib.be/en/expertise...

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