Sam Kint - UGent:
EpiGuide: cancer plasticity monitoring using cfDNA methylation analysis
Inas Bosch - VUB/ULB:
More than one: Decoding oligogenic diseases using Machine Learning
Date: 25/09/2026
Time: 12:00 - 14:00
Location: Campus Middelheim, building G, room M.G.017
(Middelheimlaan 1, 2020 Antwerp)
Registration: is required and free of charge for researchers affiliated with the University of Antwerp (see below).
EpiGuide: cancer plasticity monitoring using cfDNA methylation analysis
Drug resistance and subsequent cancer relapse continues to be one of the major hurdles to overcome in cancer treatment. Previous research did identify several genomic drivers of drug resistance and therapy failure (e.g. mutations, copy number variations). However, more recent research also showed the involvement of non-genetic mechanisms such as epigenetic heterogeneity/plasticity that are linked to cell state switches and escaping therapeutic pressure. Longitudinal monitoring these epigenetic alterations is a challenge that needs to be tackled in order to allow in time detection of therapy resistance. Therefore, in the EpiGuide project, we aim to develop a minimal-invasive assay to monitor epigenetic switches that drive drug resistance in patients.
The envisioned EpiGuide assay measures different epigenetic data layers from circulating cell-free DNA (cfDNA) shedded by tumor cells into the blood plasma and translates this signal into the fractional presence of epigenetic cell states in the tumor through computational deconvolution. Additionally, we aim to generate epigenomic atlases of the tumors by implementing and developing innovative single-cell and spatial epigenomic methods. Next to studying the temporal and spatial dynamics of epigenetic cell state switches in relation to drug resistance and patient outcome, the long-term goal is to bring the EpiGuide assay into clinical practice and guide personalized and disease state-adapted therapy selection.
More than one: Decoding oligogenic diseases using Machine Learning
Inas Bosch is a PhD candidate at the FARI Institute and the Interuniversity Institute of Bioinformatics in Brussels (IB2). After obtaining a Bachelor’s degree in Mathematics, she went on to complete a Master’s degree in Bioinformatics and Modelling at the Université Libre de Bruxelles. At the end of her Master’s degree, she completed a Master’s thesis focusing on genetic diseases. This work explored the use of knowledge graph embeddings – a representation learning approach – to study rare genetic diseases, particularly digenic diseases, in which two mutated genes are involved. Her PhD research extends this work by exploring the subject more in-depth and by adapting the developed tool to a clinical setting, with the aim of facilitating the diagnosis of affected patients and the development of clinical treatments.
The Biomina Lunch Talks are an initiative of a number of young researchers in the biomina network and is sponsored by the Flemish Government.
We aim to stimulate the interaction between researchers from different disciplines who encounter bioinformatics and computational biology, and consequently we focus on a broad and multidisciplinary public. With this informal medium we would like to provide a platform where knowledge and experience can be presented and exchanged, across partners from both academia and industry.
In this manner we have had the pleasure to welcome speakers from various institutes in and outside Antwerp, such as VIB, UZA, KULeuven, Johnson & Johnson. Even international speakers, from Ethiopia, USA, South-Africa, ... have been presenting their expertise!
These sessions provide a great opportunity for young researchers to acquaint themselves with new ideas and methods in the field of bioinformatics and medical informatics!.
Are you interested in giving a talk yourself? Let us know!
