PhD Candidate, Dirk Elewaut Lab, UGent Center for Inflammation Research (IRC), Ghent, Belgium
Resident, Orthopaedic Surgery and Traumatology, Ghent University Hospital, Belgium

Brief Bio:
During my first year as a resident in orthopedic surgery, I began to realize that many musculoskeletal diseases do not respond well to surgical intervention, despite huge advances made in techniques. In particular, tendons heal slowly and often incompletely, even after surgery. In my opinion, the solution lies in bridging the knowledge gap; by understanding tendon biology, I hope to broaden the therapeutic options for patients suffering from tendinopathy.

I had the unique opportunity to join the lab of Professor Dirk Elewaut at the Flanders Institute for Biotechnology (VIB) at Ghent University. Together with my mentor, Eric Gracey, I combined the cutting edge technologies of our biotech institute with unique access to patient tissue to understand the cellular biology of healthy and diseased tendons. Last year, I spent one month in the lab of Professor Jess Snedeker (Zurich) to learn more about in vitro techniques to investigate the effects of mechanical force on human tenocytes.

Who have been your mentors?
My mentor is Eric Gracey, an immunologist with a particular interest in immune-mediated inflammatory diseases affecting the musculoskeletal system, such as spondyloarthropathy. Shortly before my start in the lab, Eric became intrigued by tendinopathy in collaboration with Professor Arne Burssens, a foot and ankle surgeon who was at the time a PhD student in the Elewaut lab. Eric has been guiding me for five years, and together we established a pipeline for biological tendon research in Ghent, implementing techniques like flow cytometry and single-cell RNA sequencing on human diseased and healthy tendons.

What are your specific research areas and expertise?
My main research interest is the cellular biology of human tendons. I have spent a lot of time optimizing histological methods to assess the pathological status of human tendon tissue using AI. I also have wet-lab expertise in primary tenocyte culture and have recently established a surgical tendon healing model in mice. I have established in vivo functional tests in the lab like gait analysis and jumping to study tendon function in mice.

What are you currently working on?
Through extensive investigation of the cellular composition of tendons, we aim to identify potentially pathogenic cells and the factors triggering them. I am analyzing our single-cell RNA sequencing data from healthy and end-stage tendinopathic Achilles tendon samples. We will combine immunological and molecular methods to manipulate these cells in vitro and in vivo to explore their effects on tenocyte and tendon health. Ultimately, our goal is to increase the functionality of damaged tendons through manipulation of pathogenic cell populations.

What has been the biggest challenge for you in your research?
The most interesting aspect, but also the biggest challenge in my research, is its translational nature. My dual position – one foot in clinical practice as an orthopedic resident and the other in the lab as a PhD student – allows me to investigate clinically relevant human samples in an optimal setting. However, my dual role comes with a busy schedule, and it’s not always easy to meet the expectations of both my clinical and scientific environments. Fortunately, my mentors in the clinic and lab recognize my unique position and allow me to simultaneously grow as both a clinician and scientist.

What project(s) are you looking forward to in the near future?
I am eagerly awaiting the results of our murine follow-up studies. We have identified specific tenocyte populations that are enriched in human tendinopathy. Now, we will target these tenocytes in our murine tendon healing model and assess tendon function during healing after injury. This experiment will help us determine whether targeting specific tenocyte populations in tendons might improve function in human disease.

What do you want to do next in your career?
I aim to combine my clinical work as an orthopedic surgeon with continued translational research in tendinopathy. In December, I will continue my orthopedic training and focus on shoulder pathology. With access to upper limb tissues, I plan to broaden our group’s work to other tendons, such as rotator cuff tendons, to investigate the cellular characteristics of tendinopathy in different tendons.

What advice would you give young investigators in the field?
Scientific fields are becoming increasingly specialized. Step outside your field and collaborate with others to solve practical problems by bringing together people with diverse sets of knowledge and expertise. This not only increases the chances of finding solutions but also broadens your perspective and thinking.

When you’re not in the lab, what do you like to do for fun?
I enjoy being outside to connect with nature through activities like trail running, cycling, growing my own vegetables and hunting. As a Belgian, I also enjoy a good beer!

What resources would you like to see available from the ORS Tendon Section?
The ORS Tendon Section provides a platform for researchers with different skill sets to connect. It would be great if the ORS Tendon Section could foster collaboration between fundamental tendon researchers around the world.

How can we follow you?
Lab Website | ResearchGate |  LinkedIn