Background pattern of a brain with neural connections

Team Gijsbers

Viral vector toolbox for Parkinson’s Disease research

We will generate viral vector tools for target knock down (KD), knock out (KO) and overexpression (OE). To this end, proprietary production platforms for lentiviral (LV) and recombinant adeno-associated viral (rAAV) vectors and virus-like-particles (VLPs) are established at the Leuven Viral Vector Core (LVVC). VLP-CRISPR tools will be used for target KO and will be validated in clonal cells, iPSCs and brain-on-chip. LV and rAAV vectors for target OE and KD will be validated in iPSCs, brain-on-chip models and in rodent brain with a focus on correct localization and levels of KD, respectively. Tools will be distributed via the LVVC.

Tags
3D human PD chipBrain-on-a-chipDisease modelsViral vectors

Leadership

Rik Gijsbers

Rik Gijsbers

Lead PI (Core Leadership)

Veerle Baekelandt

Veerle Baekelandt

Co-PI (Core Leadership)

Veronique Daniels

Veronique Daniels

Co-PI (Core Leadership)

Peter Loskill

Peter Loskill

Co-PI (Core Leadership)

Wouter Peelaerts

Wouter Peelaerts

Co-PI (Core Leadership)

Contributions

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Accolades

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In the News

Aligning Science Across Parkinson’s and The Michael J. Fox Foundation Expand Global Research Initiative with $261M Investment Toward Personalized Treatments

Aligning Science Across Parkinson’s and The Michael J. Fox Foundation Expand Global Research Initiative with $261M Investment Toward Personalized Treatments

04/28/2026 — Today, Aligning Science Across Parkinson’s (ASAP), in partnership with The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research (MJFF), announced $261 million in new grant funding for the Collaborative Research Network (CRN) to map the biological blueprint of Parkinson’s disease and build a standardized toolkit of global research resources that are needed to turn discoveries into treatments.

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