The Lab

Our vision is to translate fundamental science to the clinic through a collaborative effort among scientists, physicians, and industry. We integrate academia with the private sector to achieve more efficient patient care. We believe in strong scientific commitment and reproducible findings to contribute to the understanding of metabolism and disease.

The Signal Transduction & Metabolism Laboratory is located on the Erasme campus of the ULB Faculty of Medicine. This provides opportunities for interactions between researchers and clinicians and promotes translational research.

 
“Don’t be afraid of hard work. Nothing worthwhile comes easily. Don’t let others discourage you or tell you that you can’t do it”
— Gertrude Elion (Nobel Laureate)

Team Members

Mobility is crucial in the scientific arena to develop new collaborations and share knowledge with people that may have different scientific ideas, skills and cultural backgrounds. We are proud and celebrate the international diversity, gender equality and family friendly environment of our laboratory.

If you are a Postdoctoral researcher, PhD candidate or master student interested in joining our groups, please contact us.

 

GURZOV Esteban Nicolas

Director (Argentina, Spain, Australia)

CARDOZO Alessandra

Group Leader (Brazil, Belgium)

 

Postdoctoral Fellows

  • BANSAL Mayank (India)

  • BUSS Carlos (Brazil)

  • GILGLIONI Eduardo (Brazil)

  • TRAINI Leonardo (Italy)

Doctoral Fellows

  • GARABET Ani (Belgium, Cardozo Group)

  • HOVHANNISYAN Garnik (Belgium)

  • LAVIS Philomene (Belgium, Cardozo Group)

  • LI Ao (China)

  • MAGGIORE Sara (Italy)

  • NEGUERUELA Javier (Spain)

  • PERÉZ CHÁVEZ Israel (Cuba)

  • SHEN Tzu-Keng (Taiwan)

  • St PIERRE WIJCKMANS Wadsen (Belgium)

  • TALAMANTES Stephanie (U.S.A.)

  • TIEZZI Margherita (Italy, Cardozo Group)

  • VANDENBEMPT Valerie (Belgium)

Research Assistants

  • ARROBA Erick (Ecuador, Belgium)

  • BREUGELMANS Cassandre (Belgium)

  • COSTA Francisco (Portugal)

  • DAHILI Rabéa (Algeria)

  • MAYANGA Héléna (Belgium)

  • NUNES Mariana (Portugal)

  • VAN PRAET Anne (Belgium)

Visiting/Master Students

  • LOMMEL Tania (Belgium)

  • BEHA Noémie (Belgium)

 

STML 2023

These are our publications in the last years

  1. Elvira B, Vandenbempt V, Bauzá-Martinez J, Crutzen R, Negueruela J, Ibrahim H, Winder ML, Brahma MK, Vekeriotaite B, Martens PJ, Singh SP, Rossello F, Lybaert P, Otonkoski T, Gysemans C, Wu W, Gurzov EN. PTPN2 Regulates the Interferon Signaling and Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress Response in Pancreatic β-Cells in Autoimmune Diabetes. Diabetes 71(4):653-668, 2022

  2. Xiao P, Takiishi T, Violato NM, Licata G, Dotta F, Sebastiani G, Marselli L, Singh SP, Sze M, Van Loo G, Dejardin E, Gurzov EN, Cardozo AK.NF-κB-inducing kinase (NIK) is activated in pancreatic β-cells but does not contribute to the development of diabetes. Cell Death Dis 13(5):476, 2022

  3. Bell KJ, Saad S, Tillett BJ, McGuire HM, Bordbar S, Yap YA, Nguyen LT, Wilkins MR, Corley S, Brodie S, Duong S, Wright CJ, Twigg S, de St Groth BF, Harrison LC, Mackay CR, Gurzov EN, Hamilton-Williams EE, Mariño E. Metabolite-based dietary supplementation in human type 1 diabetes is associated with microbiota and immune modulation. Microbiome 10(1):9, 2022

  4. Eriksson M, Litwak SA, Yun Y, Stanley WJ, Thorn P, Ahlgren U, Gurzov EN. Insulin-Binding Peptide Probes Provide a Novel Strategy for Pancreatic β-Cell Imaging. Mol Pharm online, 2021

  5. Brahma MK, Gilglioni EH, Zhou L, Trepo E, Chen P, Gurzov EN. Oxidative Stress in Obesity-Associated Hepatocellular Carcinoma : Sources, Signaling and Therapeutic Challenges. Oncogene 40(33):5155-5167, 2021

  6. Schaschkow A, Pang L, Vandenbempt V, Elvira B, Litwak SA, Vekeriotaite B, Maillard E, Vermeersch M, Paula FM, Pinget M, Perez-Morga D, Gough DJ, Gurzov EN. STAT3 regulates mitochondrial gene expression in pancreatic β-cells and its deficiency induces glucose intolerance in obesity. Diabetes 70(9):2026-2041, 2021

  7. Gurzov EN, Ke PC, Ahlgren U, Garcia Ribeiro RS, Gotthardt M. Novel Strategies to Protect and Visualize Pancreatic β Cells in Diabetes. Trends Endocrinol Metab 31(12):905-917, 2020

  8. Xi F, Li Y, Fu C, Javed I, Huang X, Schaschkow A, Garcia Ribeiro R,  Gurzov EN, Davis TP, Zhang X, Ke PC, Quiao R. A multimodal nanoprobe for pancreatic beta-cell detection and amyloidosis mitigation. Chemistry of Materials 32:1080-1088, 2020 

  9. Grohmann M, Wiede F, Dodd GT, Gurzov EN, Ooi GJ, Butt T, Rasmiena AA, Kaur S, Gulati T, Goh PK, Treloar AE, Archer S, Brown WA, Muller M, Watt MJ, Ohara O, McLean CA, Tiganis T. Obesity Drives STAT-1-Dependent NASH and STAT-3-Dependent HCC. Cell 175(5):1289-1306, 2018

  10. Eizirik DL, Gurzov EN. Can GABA turn pancreatic α-cells into β-cells? Nat Rev Endocrinol 14:629-630, 2018 

  11. Miani M, Elvira B, Gurzov EN. Sweet Killing in Obesity and Diabetes: The Metabolic Role of the BH3-only Protein BIM. J Mol Biol 430:3041-3050, 2018

  12. Papin J, Zummo FP, Pachera N, Guay C, Regazzi R, Cardozo AK, Herchuelz A. Na+/Ca2+ Exchanger a Druggable Target to Promote β-Cell Proliferation and Function. J Endocr Soc 2:631-645, 2018 

  13. Meyerovich K, Ortis F, Cardozo AK. The non-canonical NF-κB pathway and its contribution to β-cell failure in diabetes. J Mol Endocrinol 61:F1-F6, 2018

  14. Nardelli TR, Vanzela EC, Benedicto KC, Brozzi F, Fujita A, Cardozo AK, Eizirik DL, Boschero AC, Ortis F. Prolactin protects against cytokine-induced beta-cell death by NFκB and JNK inhibition. J Mol Endocrinol 61:25-36, 2018

  15. Wali JA, Galic S, Tan CY, Gurzov EN, Frazier AE, Connor T, Ge J, Pappas EG, Stroud D, Varanasi LC, Selck C, Ryan MT, Thorburn DR, Kemp BE, Krishnamurthy B, Kay TW, McGee SL, Thomas HE Loss of BIM increases mitochondrial oxygen consumption and lipid oxidation, reduces adiposity and improves insulin sensitivity in mice. Cell Death Diff 25:217-225, 2018

  16. Litwak SA, Pang L, Galic S, Igoillo-Esteve M, Stanley WJ, Turatsinze J-V, Loh K, Thomas HE, Sharma A, Trepo E, Moreno C, Gough DJ, Eizirik DL, de Haan JB, Gurzov EN JNK activation of BIM promotes hepatic oxidative stress, steatosis and insulin resistance in obesity. Diabetes 66:2973 -2986, 2017

  17. Meyerovich K, Violato NM, Fukaya M, Dirix V, Pachera N, Marselli L, Marchetti P, Strasser A, Eizirik DL, Cardozo AK MCL-1 is a key anti-apoptotic protein in human and rodent pancreatic β-cells. Diabetes 66:2446-2458, 2017

  18. Pilkington EH, Lai M, Ge X, Stanley WJ, Wang B, Wang M, Kakinen A, Sani MA, Whittaker MR, Gurzov EN, Ding F, Quinn JF, Davis TP, Ke PC Star Polymers Reduce IAPP Toxicity via Accelerated Amyloid Aggregation. Biomacromolecules 18(12):4249-4260, 2017

  19. Loh K, Shi YC, Walters S, Bensellam M, Lee K, Dezaki K, Nakata M, Ip CK, Chan JY, Gurzov EN, Thomas HE, Waibel M, Cantley J, Kay TW, Yada T, Laybutt DR, Grey ST, Herzog H Inhibition of Y1 receptor signaling improves islet transplant outcome. Nature Commun 8(1):490, 2017

  20. Stanley WJ, Trivedi PM, Sutherland AP, Thomas HE, Gurzov EN Differential regulation of pro-inflammatory cytokine signalling by protein tyrosine phosphatases in pancreatic β-cells. J Mol Endocrinology 59:325-337, 2017

  21. Ge X, Kakinen A, Gurzov EN, Yang W, Pang L, Pilkington EH, Govindan-Nedumpully P, Chen P, Separovic F, Davis TP, Ke PC, Ding F Zinc-coordination and C-peptide complexation: a potential mechanism for the endogenous inhibition of IAPP aggregation. Chemical Communications 53:9394-9397, 2017

  22. Gurzov EN, Stanley WJ, Pappas EG, Thomas HE, Gough DJ. The JAK/STAT Pathway in Obesity and Diabetes. FEBS J 283:3002-3015, 2016

  23. Jhala G, Chee J, Trivedi PM, Selck C, Gurzov EN, Graham KL, Thomas HE, Kay TW, Krishnamurthy B. Perinatal Tolerance to Proinsulin is Sufficient to Prevent Autoimmune Diabetes. JCI Insight 1:e86065, 2016

  24. Litwak SA, Stanley WJ, Pappas EG, Wali JA, Selck C, Strasser A, Thomas HE, Gurzov EN. p53-upregulated modulator of apoptosis (PUMA)-deficiency affects leptin levels but does not improve glucose homeostasis in obesity. Sci Rep 6:23802, 2016

  25. Pilkington EH, Gurzov EN, Kakinen A, Litwak SA, Stanley WJ, Davis TP, Ke PC. Pancreatic b-cell Membrane Fuidity and Toxicity Induced by Human Islet Amyloid Polypeptide Species. Sci Rep 6:21274 2016

  26. Gurzov EN, Wang B, Pilkington EH, Chen P, Kakinen A, Stanley WJ, Litwak SA, Davis TP, Ding F, Ke PC. Inhibition of hIAPP Amyloid Aggregation and Pancreatic b-cell Toxicity by OH-terminated PAMAM Dendrimer. Small 12:1615-1626, 2016

  27. Meyerovich K, Fukaya M, Terra LF, Ortis F, Eizirik DL, Cardozo AK. The non-canonical NF-kappaB pathway is induced by cytokines in pancreatic beta cells and contributes to cell death and proinflammatory responses in vitro. Diabetologia 59: 512-521, 2016

  28. Gurzov EN, Stanley WJ, Brodnicki TC, Thomas HE. Protein tyrosine phosphatases: molecular switches in metabolism and diabetes. Trends Endocrinol Metab 26:30-39, 2015

  29. Nedumpully-Govidan P, Gurzov EN, Chen P, Pilkington EH, Stanley WJ, Litwak SA, Davis TP, Ke PC, Ding F. Graphene Oxide Inhibits hIAPP Amyloid Fibrillation and Toxicity in Insulin-Producing NIT-1 Cells. Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics 18:94-100, 2015

  30. Litwak SA, Wali JA, Pappas E, Saadi H, Stanley WJ, Varanasi LC, Kay TW, Thomas HE, Gurzov EN. Lipotoxic stress induces pancreatic beta cell death through modulation of Bcl-2 proteins by the ubiquitin/proteasome system. J Diabetes Res 2015:280615, 2015

  31. Krishnamurthy B, Chee J, Jhala G, Trivedi P, Catterall T, Selck C, Gurzov EN, Brodnicki TC, Graham KL, Wali JA, Zhan Y, Gray D, Strasser A, Allison J, Thomas HE, Kay TW. Bim deficiency protects NOD mice from diabetes by diverting thymocytes to regulatory T cells. Diabetes 64:3229-3238, 2015

  32. Stanley WJ, Litwak SA, Quah HS, Tan SM, Kay TW, Tiganis T, de Haan JB, Thomas HE, Gurzov EN. Inactivation of protein tyrosine phosphatases enhances interferon signaling in pancreatic islets. Diabetes 64:2489-2496, 2015

  33. Cunha DA, Gurzov EN, Naamane N, Ortis F, Cardozo AK, Bugliani M, Marchetti P, Eizirik DL, Cnop M. JunB protects β-cells from lipotoxicity via the XBP1-AKT pathway. Cell Death Diff 21:1313-1324, 2014

  34. Wali JA, Gurzov EN, Fynch S, Elkerbout L, Kay TW, Masters SL, Thomas HE. Activation of the inflammasome complex is not required for stress-induced death of pancreatic islets. PLoS One 9: e113128, 2014

  35. Gurzov EN, Tran M, Fernandez-Rojo M, Merry T, Zhang X, Xu Y, Fukushima A, Waters MJ, Watt M, Andrikopoulos S, Neel BG, Tiganis T. Hepatic oxidative stress promotes insulin-STAT5 signaling and obesity by inactivating PTPN2. Cell Metab 20:85-102, 2014

See all publications.

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As a highly successful and internationally recognized laboratory, our groups comprise an exceptional body of established and young research professionals.

You are welcome to visit the Signal Transduction & Metabolism Laboratory to hear about our ongoing research and see how our scientists are working to improve the health of people with metabolic disorders, or to explore job opportunities.

Support our research

You have the opportunity to become a supporter of the work being undertaken at the Signal Transduction & Metabolism Laboratory - your support will help the new generation of junior researchers become experienced scientists and may make a difference in the search of better treatments for diabetes and hepatocellular carcinoma.

 
Signal Transduction and Metabolism Laboratory