My name is Emilie Van Oproy, and I graduated with a Master's degree in Biomedical Sciences from the University of Antwerp, specializing in Molecular Mechanisms of Disease.
I am currently pursuing a PhD within the CONNEX research group at the University of Antwerp. My research focuses on the influence of genetic background on the development and severity of the various manifestations of IPO8 syndrome, including thoracic aortic aneurysms as well as skeletal and craniofacial abnormalities. To investigate these features, I use several mouse models to characterize and compare these phenotypes. In addition, I aim to gain a better understanding of the underlying molecular mechanisms that explain differences in disease susceptibility between the mouse models, and to identify factors that either confer protection against or contribute to the development of thoracic aortic aneurysms.
My PhD research is supervised by Prof. Aline Verstraeten and Wouter Steyaert (CONNEX research group), and Prof. Josephina Meester (Cardiogenomics research group).
