Université Libre de Bruxelles
Laboratoire de Médicine Expérimentale
Campus Erasme
Building GE 5th floor
Route de Lennik 808
1070 Brussels
Belgium

Homepage

Team Leader

Prof. Décio Eizirik Phone: +32 2 555 62 42  Fax: +32 2 555 62 39  Contact

Project Staff

Isabelle Milllard Phone: 0032.2.555.63.15  Fax: 0032.2.555.62.39  Contact

Guy Bottu Research fellow  Phone: +32 2 555 6107  Fax: +32 2 555 6239  Contact

Institute Presentation

The Laboratory of Experimental Medicine (Director, Decio L. Eizirik) is located in the research buildings of the Université Libre de Bruxelles. The total area of the laboratory is 502 m², including 9 offices, 8 large laboratories and 6 modules (cold chamber, dark room, radioactive room, cell culture room and deposits). All this area is utilized for research on the different aspects of physiology, pathology and imaging of the pancreatic beta cells. The laboratory is fully equipped for cell and molecular biology research, including FACS analysis, cell culture, light and contrast phase microscopy, immunohistochemistry, hormone, cytokine and chemokine measurements (RIA, ELISA), protein biochemistry, regular PCR and real-time PCR, Northern, Western and Southern blot analysis, cloning, sequencing, gene transfection, animal experiments, and safe facilities for working with viruses (biosafety level class 2) and with radioactive isotopes.

Team Leader: Prof. Decio L. Eizirik is Director of the Laboratory of Experimental Medicine, ULB. He has published  more than200 full papers and reviews in peer-reviewed international journals. He has received several national and international prizes, including the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) Diabetes Care Research Award and the EASD/Eli Lilly award. His research is funded by the JDRF, Fonds National de la Recherche Scientifique, Belgium, EU and the European Foundation for the Study of Diabetes (EFSD). He was Honorary (Scientific) Secretary of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD; 2004-2007) and was Deputy Editor of Diabetologia (1998-2004). He is also member of the Advisory Boards of the "Programme National de Recherche sur le Diabete", France and of the "Metabolism Network", Spain.
D.L. Eizirik group's research focus is on beta cell apoptosis caused by inflammatory mediators that may contribute to trigger type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1D), and on the elucidation of the transcription factor and effector gene networks involved in beta cell apoptosis. He has shown by microarray analysis that beta cell fate following different insults depends on an intricate pattern of gene expression. Identification of these "gene signatures", and how to modulate them to increase beta cell function and survival in diabetes, is the ultimate goal. He has been in this field for nearly 20 years. He is coordinator of the "Beta Cell Gene Expression Bank", the prototype of a tissue targeted gene bank.