The new year's resolutions for 2025 of your colleagues

(23-01-2025) The start of the new year is the perfect time to set resolutions. Discover here what your colleagues have in store for 2025.

Jolien Verbeke - FWO aspirant (GE37)

"My New Year's resolution? To try something new every month! A new hobby, an unfamiliar travel destination, or an exotic dish—2025 will be the year of new discoveries!"

Bart Blanckaert - Logistic staff scientific research (GE33)

"My resolution for the new year is to focus more on family in the broader sense of the word. With young students at home and loved ones who depend on healthcare and science, I see my modest yet enthusiastic involvement in education, science, and healthcare at work as the professional extension of that."

Hans Van Vlierberghe - Director of Research (GE35)

"For myself, I’d like to create more empty moments in my schedule in 2025: moments to spend time with family, go to a concert, move more... or simply to be lazy. I firmly believe that this is not only great for work-life balance, mental and physical health, but also for performing better professionally. These empty moments often give me inspiration and new ideas, which I can dive into with even more enthusiasm afterward. A double win!"

Kim De Keyser - Policy officer research and doctorates (GE51)

"For our family, 2024 was a year full of challenges: a renovation that started, living in different places, and a second baby on the way. 2025 means a fresh start for me with a beautiful home extension and more time to spend with our family. My New Year's resolution? To fully focus on what gives me energy and makes me happy: decorating our home, spontaneous outings with family and friends, carefree enjoyment of good food, getting back into sports, discovering surprising places on trips, and with great ambition, taking on my new role at the faculty after my maternity leave. I am very grateful for the opportunities this new year brings!"

Gwendolyn Portzky - Director Flemish Centre of Expertise in Suicide Prevention & Unit for Suicide Research (GE34)

"I don’t really do New Year’s resolutions, but I have to admit that 2025 does feel like a special year.

On the one hand, I turn 50 this year, which inevitably makes me reflect a bit more on where I stand in life, both personally and professionally, and especially on what really matters in life. On the other hand, our eldest, Mattéo, turns 18 and is stepping into a year full of meaningful events (his last year of high school, looking forward to ‘100 days’, the Retorica-prom & trip, getting his driver’s license, choosing a university, graduation, starting higher education…). In the fall of 2024, we also realized that this will be the last year our son and daughter will have a ‘study-free’ Christmas and Easter break together. This will be the first time in my professional career that I will take Easter vacation off, because we’re going to New York as a family. With this, we break a bit from the tradition of showing our children as many beautiful European cities and cultures as possible. But since New York has been number 1 on their bucket list for years (and when you’re 50, you realize it’s really the time together that matters most), we’re going to dive into American culture this time.

I secretly hope and expect that the New York trip with the four of us will be one of the highlights of 2025 and a memory for life."

Liesbeth Mazyn - Department manager (GE30)

"With a special son at home – Obe has multiple disabilities – the resolutions here are always a bit different. But perhaps it's more about the rays of hope that I want to wish myself, rather than actual resolutions. 2025 may be a year filled with many changes in our lives and hopefully a new sense of freedom, new opportunities, and new energy. On Monday, Obe started a new therapy, a new hiking aid is on its way, and thanks to the generous support of many, a large vehicle has been ordered. Our resolution is to finally break out of our (wonderfully beautiful) little cocoon after 10 years and explore the world: a year where Obe can be less sick, where we can hike without struggling with a wheelchair, visit friends again, and finally go on a day trip. We still need to wait and see how the afternoon nap in the car will go, but I’m confident: zoo and sea, here we come!"

To make her resolution of going out with Obe more often a reality, Liesbeth has launched a crouwdfunding campain. Colleagues who want to contribute, can do so via the Help Obe-website.

Robrecht Raedt - Head Animalarium, Neurobiologist (GE61-GE34)

"My New Year's resolutions are the following:

Research: To enjoy and take pride in the scientific results we achieve at 4BRAIN in the context of research on the treatment of brain disorders. Together with a team of enthusiastic PhD students and colleagues, I am working on technologies where we use smart optical, electrical, or ultrasonic stimulation to precisely treat diseased regions in the brain, in order to treat conditions like epilepsy and brain cancer as efficiently as possible with minimal side effects.

Education: To contribute to the continued quality improvement of the biomedical sciences programme, and specifically the neuroscience major, which is a very popular track within the programme. As the major coordinator, I want to ensure there is enough capacity for students to complete their master’s thesis in areas that interest them, and I plan to do this by asking companies and international labs to also submit topics.

Outreach: To further promote brain research within 4BRAIN through Run4Brain, Bike4Brain, the Day of Science, etc., motivating more runners and cyclists to participate in our events, and raising more funds to continue groundbreaking research.

Personal: To continue making time for cycling between Merchtem, where I live, and UZGent: a 47 km journey. I have also signed up for the 21 km of Namur and would like to try running a marathon again in the fall. I was out for over a year due to an injury. Additionally, I want to renovate the last rooms in our house so that it will finally be finished after 12 years. I almost have to start over with my first room 🙁."

Inès Phlypo - Assistent (GE36)

"In 2025, I want to make more room for spontaneous moments. I really enjoy things that happen unexpectedly: a friend calling to go for a walk, jumping in the car and driving to the sea, unplanned visits. That's why I want to plan my (social) calendar a bit less so there's more space for those kinds of things. I also want to enjoy being at home without plans more. Last year, an evening at home with my partner turned into a spontaneous dance hour in the living room – it was really wonderful! I want more of that in the new year."

Kris Gevaert - Ad interim Science Director VIB-UGent Center for Medical Biotechnology (GE31)

"Professionally, I will do my best to ensure that our VIB Center for Medical Biotechnology passes the five-year evaluation with flying colours by the end of this summer! Personally, more mountain biking, reading more novels, and attending more musical performances – can someone please make sure that Vampire Weekend and The Horrors perform in Belgium this year? – would be wonderful (in no particular order, but preferably on repeat)."

Lynn Opdebeeck - Study track counsellor (GE58)

"I have two resolutions:

Make room for fun things: The busyness of life makes our schedules quickly fill up with appointments, household tasks, and other obligations. My goal is to prioritize things that energize me, like a beautiful walk in nature or baking something delicious.
Not being too hard on myself: I enjoy chasing new goals and striving for the best version of myself, but I also have down days when that best version feels far out of reach. On the days when I have less energy, I don't want to be too hard on myself. On those days, my 50% is my 100%, and that's okay."