Meet the team
Meet the Laboratory for Plant Transformation & Gene Editing at the Department of Biotechnology of Ghent University (updated: March 2025).
Prof. dr. Laurens Pauwels
Professor Plant Biotechnology at UGent and leading the Laboratory for Plant Transformation and Gene Editing (www.pauwelslab.be) with research on Agrobacterium, plant transformation and regeneration. Through our research, we aim to make significant contributions to the field of plant science and help address global challenges related to food security and sustainable agriculture
Dr. Kate Doorly
Postdoctoral scientist at Pauwels lab and De Clercq lab (VIB-UGent). Working on an FWO research project with De Coninck lab (KU Leuven) to Identify novel host targets of Agrobacterium effector proteins in Arabidopsis and maize. PhD on N-end rule pathway with Prof. Emmanuelle Graciet (Maynooth University, Ireland)
Cynthia Marbun
PhD student at Pauwels lab and at De Roose Plants with a Baekeland mandate. Study of somatic embryogenesis in tropical crops.
Gerard Serrat Mayayo
PhD student at Pauwels lab working Use of morphogenic regulators to enhance regeneration of plants from Agrobacterium Ri-induced roots. Master Plant Biotechnology from UGent and Bachelor from University of Barcelona.
Xiaoling Shan
Phd student at Kyndt and Pauwels labs working on identifying interactions between nematode effector proteins and epigenetics in tomato.
Robbe Ackx
Master student Biochemistry and Biotechnology (UGent) working with Kate Doorly on Agrobacterium effector proteins.
Arthur Cremers
Bachelor student from Hogeschool Odisee working on improving rice transformation.
Wout Vandeputte (VIB-UGent)
PhD student in the Nelissen lab (VIB-UGent) co-promoted by Prof. Pauwels. Working on improving maize transformation using morphogenic regulators.
Alumni Pauwels lab at VIB-UGent (2017-2024)
In 2017, Laurens Pauwels established the Crop Genome Engineering Facility at the VIB-UGent Center for Plant Systems Biology (www.cgef.be). In 2024 he moved to the Faculty of Bioscience Engineering.
CGEF Alumni
- Jim Renema, PhD
- Denia Herwegh, PhD. Now postdoc at Nelissen lab
- Lennert Impens, PhD now at Tractebel
- Viviane Heinzen Da Silva, PhD. now CSO InEdita Bio, Florianopolis, Brazil
- Leticia Rios Viera, PhD, now researcher Sempre Seeds, Brazil
- Jari Haeghebaert, BSc
- Yasmine Van Hevel, PhD, now postdoc at Nelissen lab
- Carla Fabiola López Gómez, MSc, now PhD student at university of Queensland (Australia)
- Juan Fontanet, PhD, now postdoc at Nowack lab
- Shari Bossuyt, Msc, now research associate with Inari Agriculture
Current CGEF led by Dr. Lennert Hoengenaert
- Stijn Aesart
- Griet Coussens
- Els Van Lerberge
- Isabelle Verwaerde