Prof. Francis Impens
- Full Professor
- Head of the Host-Bacteria Proteomics lab
Contact
Campus Ardoyen, Technologiepark-Zwijnaarde 75, 9052 Ghent
E-mail | LinkedIn | UGent Research Explorer | Orcid
Personalia
Biography
- 2018 - present: Professor - Ghent University
- 2016 - present: Head of the Proteomics Core - VIB-UGent Center of Medical Biotechnology
- 2012 - 2015: Postdoc - Institut Pasteur (Paris)
- 2010 - 2011: Postdoc - Ghent University
- 2010: PhD - Ghent University
- 2005: Master Biomedical Sciences - Ghent University
Fun fact
In his free time Francis plays the tenor horn in Brassband Gent.
Member of
- VIB-UGent Center for Medical Biotechnology
- BAXERNA
- ERC
- VIB Grand Challenges
- Belgian Proteomics Association
- Core for life
Research tracks
Expertise
With increasing antibiotic resistance, bacterial infections remain an important threat to human health. To identify novel targets for therapeutic intervention our group investigates host-bacteria interactions by innovative mass spectrometry (MS)-based approaches. Using Listeria monocytogenes as an intracellular bacterial model pathogen, we focus on the analysis of ubiquitin-like protein modifications of the immune system and the MS-based identification of novel bacterial antigens. Building on these main research topics, in 2023 the group was awarded an ERC Consolidator Grant to investigate rare diseases triggered by infection.
Publications
Key publications
- Immunopeptidomics-based design of mRNA vaccine formulations against Listeria monocytogenes. (2022) Nature Communications.
- Moyamoya disease emerging as an immune-related angiopathy. (2022) Trends in Molecular Medicine.
- Ring finger protein 213 assembles into a sensor for ISGylated proteins with antimicrobial activity. (2021) Nature Communications.
- Altered ISGylation drives aberrant macrophage-dependent immune responses during SARS-CoV-2 infection. (2021) Nature Immunology.
- Immunopeptidomics for next-generation bacterial vaccine development. (2021) Trends in Microbiology.