Our experts

Kris Audenaert

• Plant defense molecules and plant pathogenic fungi
• Green leave volatiles
• Monitoring of pathogenic fungi
• Phenotyping robot for plant phenotype analysis

Pascal Boeckx

• N and water use efficiency of plants
• Tropical soil fertility
• Biochar
• Leguminosae and rhizobium
• Stable isotope applications

Aurélien Carlier

• Endophytic bacteria
• Interaction of rhizosphere bacteria and the plant

Patrick De Clercq

• Biocontrol of arthropod pests
• Biocontrol of greenhouse pests
• Environmental risks of biocontrol
• Development of rearing techniques and quality control of beneficial mites and insects
• Compatibility of pesticides and GM crops with biocontrol

Leen De Gelder

• Phosphor solubilizing bacteria
• Selecting functional microbial strains
• Quorum sensing signaling compounds
• Bioreactors and fermentation

Kristof Demeestere

• Chemical trace analysis of bioactive small organic molecules
• Biofiltration and advanced oxidation processes

Stefaan De Neve

• Soil enzyme activities
• Phosphor and nitrogen dynamics in the plant and soil
• Phosphor solubilizing bacteria
• Microbial biomass in the soil
• Biochar

Sarah De Saeger

• Identification of new (myco)toxins
• (Myco)toxins: prevalence and in situ detection in the field

Paul De Vos

• Nagoya protocol
• Phylogeny and taxonomy of bacteria
• Fermentation of bacteria

Danny Geelen

• Plant hormones and their relation to (root) growth
• Chemical analogues of plant hormones
• Molecular Breeding
• Urban farming
• Hydroponics

Xavier Ghellynck

• B2B agri-food marketing
• Optimization of the agri value chains and networks
• Sensoric quality of food
• Circular economy: sustainable approaches of wastes
• Lean management

Godelieve Gheysen

• Biocontrol of nematodes
• Induced plant resistance against nematodes
• Plant-nematode interaction
• Nematode-induced plant response
• Rice pathogenic nematodes

Geert Haesaert

• Mycorrhiza
• Fertilizing biostimulants and humic substances
• Biopesticides
• Mycotoxins
• Cereals and leguminosae

Monica Höfte

• Biocontrol agents
• Secondary metabolites in Pseudomonas bacteria
• Plant immunity and Induced resistance
• Plant pathogen interactions
• Rice pathogens

Tina Kyndt

• Epigenetics and plant defense mechanisms against nematodes
• Screening of bionematicidal molecules
• Plant-nematode interaction
• Biotic stress in cereals

Joos Latré

• P solubilizing bacteria on corn
• Grain legumes
• Crop rotation

Sven Mangelinckx

• Synthesis of N-heterocyclic compounds
• Non proteinogenic amino acids
• Plant extracts and their chemical analogues
• Algae pheromones
• Quorum sensing signaling compounds

José Martins

• Cyclic lipopeptides produced by Pseudomonas bacteria
• Solid state peptide synthesis
• Extraction of natural compounds from complex matrices
• Elucidation of the covalent structure of molecules via NMR
• Determination and modelling of the 3 D structure and dynamics of molecules

Joachim Moens

• Biocontrol of insects
• Flower strips hosting natural enemies
• Integrated pest management

Dirk Reheul

• Plant breeding
• Crop rotation

Guy Smagghe

• Bumble bees: sustainable pollination
• Botanical insecticides
• Insect physiology and receptors: interaction with bioactive peptides
• RNAi
• Risk assessments of pesticides on bumble bees

Pieter Spanoghe

• Formulation of biopesticides
• Risk assessment of (bio)pesticides
• Fate of biopesticides in crops and environment

Kathy Steppe

• Plant responses to abiotic and biotic stress
• Innovative plant sensors
• Plant ecophysiology
• Plant modelling
• Climate change

Luc Tirry

• Biology of noxious insects
• Integrated control of noxious insects
• Diagnosis of stored product pests, household and urban pests
• Biocontrol of pests via predatory insects and mites

Els Van Damme

• Defense related proteins
• Carbohydrate binding proteins (lectins)
• Interaction of proteins in the plant
• Abiotic stress assays

Patrick Van Damme

• Tropical mycorrhiza
• Rhizobium and N fixation
• Abiotic stress in tropical crops
• Ecophysiology of plants in (semi)arid regions
• Domestication of new tropical crops

Peter Van Damme

• Burkholderia bacteria
• Bacteria culture collection
• Genotypic characterization of bacteria
• Colony picker: high throughput isolation of rhizosphere bacteria

Dominique Van Der Straeten

• Plant reactions to nutrient deficiency
• Nutritional biofortification of crops
• Plant hormones (ethylene and jasmonate) in relation to mechanical stress
• Light and hormones: crosstalk
• Analysis of plant volatiles

Marie-Christine Van Labeke

• Adaptation of plants to stress
• Effect of light on plant growth
• Abiotic stress in horticultural plants
• Greenhouse vegetables and strawberries

Thomas Van Leeuwen

• Mode of action of (bio)insecticides
• Toxicity screening of (bio)insecticides
• Biocontrol of mites
• Elucidation of resistance mechanisms in insects

Wim Verbeke

• B2C marketing
• Consumer behavior

Lieve Vermeiren

• Food microbiology
• Lactic acid bacteria
• Food safety

Stefaan Werbrouck

• Chemical analogues of plant hormones
• In vitro micropropagation
• Somatic embryogenesis
• Temporary immersion bioreactors

Anne Willems

• Plant Growth Promoting Bacteria (PGPR)
• Rhizobium
• Functional biodiversity of bacteria
• Plant pathogenic bacteria