Hannah De Sutter
Aquaculture loses billions annually due to bacterial diseases, with Vibrio species from the Harveyi clade among the most harmful pathogens. As antibiotics resistance increases, alternative approaches are being investigated, including antivirulence therapy: a strategy that disarms pathogens instead of killing them. My research focuses on the ToxR regulon, a virulence regulatory system in Vibrio spp. By using small-molecule virulence inhibitors, I aim to disrupt this regulon to control vibriosis in aquaculture. Promising compounds will be tested in both lab and field trials using whiteleg shrimp, ultimately leading to new methods to control vibriosis in aquaculture.
Patricia Mohedano Caballero
Did you know that brewing one litre of beer can produce up to eleven litres of wastewater? While this wastewater is often treated through anaerobic digestion, the resulting streams —biogas and liquid digestate— are still largely untapped. My project will investigate how these by-products can be transformed into natural pigments. By using biogas as a carbon source and the liquid digestate as a nutrient source I aim to produce pigment-rich microbial biomass that can be extracted and used as natural colourants and antioxidants. The result? A more circular, sustainable brewing process that turns waste into vibrant new resources.
Simon Vandenberghe
I will focus on understanding and producing high-quality medium-chain-length polyhydroxyalkanoates (mcl-PHAs) from agri-food waste streams. By integrating reactor engineering with metabolic modelling, I aim to advance the development of these bio-elastomers, thereby supporting the transition to a more sustainable and circular materials economy.