About the ULB Center for Research in Immunology (U-CRI)
Given the major recent progresses in immunology, the teams involved in the field at the ULB have created a dedicated research institute. This institute brings together researchers from the Faculties of Sciences, Medicine and Pharmacy. Its aim is to promote fundamental and translational immunology. The teams, led by more than 25 principal investigators, are active on the BIOPARK campus (Gosselies) and the HEALTH POLE (Erasme campus, Institut Jules Bordet and Brugmann campus).
Research Axis:
Molecular Immunology : With a particular emphasis on innate immune cells and T lymphocytes, these projects involve state-of-the art approaches in molecular biology, flow cytometry and imaging to study transcriptional, post-transcriptional and epigenetic processes.
Pre-clinical Immunology : It involves the development of mouse models for human pathologies or therapeutic interventions. Several projects rely on implantable/genetic tumor models, infections and vaccination protocols or chronic inflammation. The animal facilities from the BIOPARK campus include a specific pathogen-free structure and several units dedicated to experimentation and infectious pathogens.
Human and translational Immunology : Research teams involved in human immunology are mainly located in the HEALTH POLE. It involves projects in vaccinology, infectious diseases, hematology and cancerology that rely on strong collaborative networks with clinicians.
Latest news
7th Research Day on Tumor Immunology and Immunotherapy program
September 26th 2025 - 09:57
Don't miss Aurélie, Panagiotis, Solange and Abdullah who have been selected for oral presentation!
08h30 – 09h30 Registration and Coffee 09h30 – 09h40 Welcome and Introduction Prof. Dr. An Coosemans, KU Leuven – Belgium 09h40 – 10h25 Macrophage Subsets In Tumor Immunity Prof. Julie Helft, INSERM - Paris - France 10h25 – 11h10 Selected Abstracts: Jolien Van Craenenbroeck, Karo Van Lil, Aurélie Detavernier Chair: Prof. Evelien Smits, U Antwerp – Belgium 11h10 – 11h20 LiveDrop-Bio: The ModaFlow™, a microfluidic instrument for high-throughput...
Uncovering Cellular Factors Driving Success or Failure of Immunotherapy
September 16th 2025 - 15:49
Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) have transformed cancer treatment, yet many patients fail to respond. To investigate why, Jelena Gabrilo and colleagues from the lab of immunobiology used a preclinical model in which only part of the mice respond to anti-PD-1 therapy, enabling direct comparison between responding and non-responding settings. This study, published in Cancer Immunology Research showed that tumors responding to treatment were enriched in tumor-reactive CD8⁺ T-cell clones expressing high levels of Tim-3, suggesting these cells are key drivers of the anti-tumor response. They...
Tristetraprolin (TTP) is an RNA-binding protein that plays a major role in the control of inflammation. TTP KO mice spontaneously develop a complex multi-organ inflammatory syndrome but no overt intestinal inflammation, suggesting the involvement of local regulatory mechanisms. In this study published in the European J of Immunology and led by Bérengère de Toeuf and Maxime Melchior in the team of Stanislas Goriely, the researchers observed local expansion of IL-22-producing type 3 innate lymphoid cells (ILC3s) in the lamina propria of TTP KO mice. They show that these mice were...
New publication in Gut microbes on the dynamic connection between the maternal microbiome and the offspring immunity
January 06th 2025 - 15:27
Influenza virus causes a significant threat to neonatal health characterized by a less robust anti-viral adaptive CD8 T-cell response. In this publication, researchers from the group of Véronique Flamand (IMI) uncovered how maternal probiotic supplementation during pregnancy and lactation empowers neonatal immunity. By enhancing the development and protective function of effector and memory CD8 T cells, probiotics offer robust defense against influenza virus in offspring. Furthermore, in collaboration with the team of Amandine Everard (UCLouvain), they showed profound changes in the...
Solange Dejolier présentera ses travaux de thèse en cours lors de la première édition d'automne d'Immuno-Connect, organisée à l'Institut GIGA de l'Université de Liège le 24 octobre, de 16h à 21h.
JELENA GABRILO will be held on WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 2ND, AT 3:00 PM AT: The Brachet Seminar Room, Gosselies Campus 12, Rue des Professeurs Jeneer et Brachet, 6041 Gosselies
as well as online via Teams: QR code (click on the title above)
New publication in Science Translational Medicine on the imprinting of monocytes by vaccine adjuvants
August 14th 2024 - 14:27
Most vaccines based on recombinant antigens rely on coadministration with an adjuvant to elicit a robust immune response. Although adjuvants are needed for many vaccines, it is less clear which adjuvant(s) should be paired with each immunogen. In this article, GSK and IMI researchers from the group of Fabienne Willems and Arnaud Marchant showed that an AS01-adjuvanted hepatitis B virus vaccine, which induces robust CD4+ T cell responses against the vaccine antigen, also elicited trained immunity in human recipients, which was not observed in an Alum-adjuvanted vaccine. These data demonstrate...
Guillem Sanchez Sanchez is selected as a finalist for the F.R.S.-FNRS best PhD thesis prize in Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Sciences
July 09th 2024 - 18:07
Guillem Sanchez Sanchez, from David Vermijlen's laboratory, defended his thesis in December 2023, entitled “Decoding early life γδ T cell ontogeny and their response to bacterial infection through the lens of single-cell transcriptomics”. Recently, Guillem was selected as one of three finalists for the F.R.S.-FNRS in Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Sciences. He will present his work together with the two other finalists at the end of October 2024 on the UCLouvain campus in Brussels.
