Four open positions in the lab
The laboratory of stem cells and cancer is currently looking for :
Publication in Cell 2020 : Defining the Design Principles of Skin Epidermis Postnatal Growth
Defining the design principles of postnatal tissue growth
Dekoninck S, Hannezo E, Aragona A, Sifrim A, Malfait M, Gargouri S, de Neunheuser C, Dubois C, Voet T, Simons Benjamin D, Blanpain C
Cell. 2020 Apr 5. pii: S0092-8674(20)30277-4. doi: 10.1016/j.cell.2020.03.015. [Epub ahead of print]
Cover article
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ULB press release
European Research Council : new ERC grant for Pr. Cédric Blanpain
For the third time, Pr. Cédric Blanpain – Laboratory of Stem Cells and Cancer, Université libre de Bruxelles – has obtained a grant from the European Research Council (ERC). This new project called “TrackingTumorStates” aims to define at the single cell resolution, the mechanisms regulating tumor transition states, responsible for tumor growth, differentiation, invasion, metastasis and resistance to therapy.
Cédric Blanpain – Welbio Investigator, Director of the Laboratory of Stem Cells and Cancer Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB) – had obtained an ERC starting grant in 2007 (“CancerStem” 2007-2013), during which his lab identified the cells of origin of the most frequent epithelial cancers, demonstrated the existence of cancer stem cells within their natural microenvironment and identified intrinsic and extrinsic mechanisms regulating their functions.
He has also obtained an ERC consolidator grant in 2014 (“EXPAND” 2014-2019), during which his group defined the cellular and molecular mechanisms regulating tissue expansion and cell fate decision during postnatal growth and repair of epithelial tissues.
With his new ERC Advanced Grant (TrackingTumorStates, 2020-2025), he and his team will define at the single cell level the different tumor states. Within a given tumor, some cancer cells actively proliferate, while others differentiate, others migrate and give rise to metastasis, or finally some cells enter in a dormant state and resist to chemotherapy.
In the project TrackingTumorStates, using multidisciplinary approaches that combine single-cell lineage tracing, single-cell genomics, epigenomics and transcriptomics together with pharmacological treatment and genetic perturbations, Prof. Blanpain and his team will define in a comprehensive and integrated manner the identities and functions of distinct tumor states at single-cell resolution. By identifying the mechanisms that regulate tumor cell state transitions and functions, Blanpain and colleagues hope to define new tumor vulnerabilities and provide new therapeutic opportunities.
“I am so grateful to the ERC to fund my new research project studying tumor transition states and their role during tumor progression, metastasis and response to therapy. Without the ERC, my lab would never be able to make many of the discoveries we made over the last 10 years. It is so exciting and encouraging for all our European countries to have the ERC, which had made so much good things and change the dynamic of the European research” comments Cédric Blanpain, the first Belgian scientist that already obtained three ERC grants since the launch of the first ERC call in 2007.
Publication in Sciences Advances 2020 : Epidermal autonomous VEGFA/Flt1/Nrp1 functions mediate psoriasis-like disease
Benhadou F, Glitzner E, Brisebarre A, Swedlund B, Song Y, Dubois C, Rozzi M, Paulissen C, del Marmol V, Sibilia M, Blanpain C
Epidermal autonomous VEGFA/Flt1/Nrp1 functions mediate psoriasis-like disease
Science Advances 2020 Jan 8 ; 6(2):eaax5849. doi : 10.1126/sciadv.aax5849
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Publication in Cell Reports 2019: Context Dependency of Epithelial-to-Mesenchymal Transition for Metastasis
Revenco T, Nicodeme A, Pastushenko I, Sznurkowska MK, Latil M, Sotiropoulou PA, Dubois C, Moers V, Lemaire S, de Maertelaer V and Blanpain C
Context Dependency of Epithelial-to-Mesenchymal Transition for Metastasis
Cell Rep. 2019 Nov 5; 29(6):1458-1468. doi: 10.1016/j.celrep.2019.09.081
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Pr. Cédric Blanpain received the 2019 AstraZeneca Price
Prof. Cédric Blanpain was awarded the price for biomedical research 2019 from the AstraZeneca Foundation. Every two years, the AstraZeneca Foundation, together with the Académie Royale de Médecine de Belgique (ARMB) and the Koninklijke Academie voor Geneeskunde van België (KAGB), awards a prize to a Belgian biomedical scientist for research that has contributed, or could contribute, to improving human health. S.A.R. Princess Astrid gave this distinction to Prof. Blanpain at the Royal Academy in Brussels. Jean-Claude Marcourt, the Belgian’s French Community Minister for Research, together with other guests including the members of the Blanpain’s lab, were also present at the ceremony.
Crédits : AstraZeneca Foundation – Laurent Dubrule
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La Libre Belgique : special edition on cancer
Prof. Blanpain makes the cover of this special edition PDF
An EMBO long-term fellowship for Magdalena Sznurkowska
Magdalena Sznurkowska has been working in the lab as a post-doctoral researcher for one year. The fellowship she received from EMBO, a prestigious organization of more than 1800 leading researchers that promotes excellence in the life sciences, will permit her to carry on her research on the cellular and molecular basis of cancer metastasis.
World Cancer Day : a new campaign for Télévie
In the distant future, will cancer still be so frightening? Will it be easily and totally curable? Prof. Blanpain has accepted to answer these questions for the new Télévie campaign. PDF
Joint interview with Jean Stéphenne and Cédric Blanpain
Is the creation of biotech companies as a logical extension of scientific research work worthwhile? Read under the link below the viewpoints of Jean Stéphenne, former GlaxoSmithKline CEO and Prof. Cédric Blanpain.
“Il nous faut des chercheurs qui puissent écouter”, L’Echo, 10 December 2018. PDF
Publication in Nature 2018: Overcoming the resistance to therapy in skin cancer
Sánchez-Danés A, Larsimont JC, Liagre M, Muñoz-Couselo E, Lapouge G, Brisebarre A, Dubois C, Suppa M, Sukumaran V, Del Marmol V, Tabernero J,Blanpain C.A
Slow-cycling LGR5 tumour population mediates basal cell carcinoma relapse after therapy.
Nature. 2018 Oct; 562(7727):434-438. doi: 10.1038/s41586-018-0603-3. Epub 2018 Oct 8.
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Cédric Blanpain cited as a good incarnation of leadership in Wallonia
“Des fêtes dans une Wallonie en panne de leadership”, Le Soir, 15-16 September 2018. PDF
A long portrait of Cédric Blanpain in “Le Soir” : « J’ai peur du cancer donc je cherche à le soigner »
In the framework of its summer series, Le Soir publishes a long portrait of Prof. Cédric Blanpain : « Mon moteur? La découverte de l’inconnu », 11 August 2018. PDF
ChromaCure SA is launched
Created by Prof. Cédric Blanpain, this new spin-off will be dedicated to the development of therapeutic molecules against cancer. The launch of this very promising venture is considered a major event in the Belgian biotech world.
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Publication in Nature Cell Biology 2018: Origin of mammary gland stem cells identified
Wuidart A, Sifrim A, Matsumura S, Fioramonti M, Brisebarre A, Brown D , Centonze A, Dannau A, Dubois C, Van Keymeulen A, Voet T, Blanpain C
Early lineage segregation of multipotent embryonic mammary gland progenitors.
Nat Cell Biol.2018 Jun;20(6):666-676. doi: 10.1038/s41556-018-0095-2. Epub 2018 May 21.
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Publication in Nature 2018: Tumor transition state and the origin of the metastasis
Pastushenko I, Brisebarre A, Sifrim A, Fioramonti M, Renvenco T, Boumahdi S, Van Keymeulen A, Brown D, Moers V, Lemaire S, De Clercq S, Minguijon E, Cédric Balsat C, Sokolow Y, Dubois C, de Cock F, Scozzaro S, Sopena F, Lanas A, D’Haene N, Salmon I, Marine JC, Voet T, Sotiropoulou P and Blanpain C.
Identification of the tumour transition states occurring during EMT.
Nature. 2018 Apr;556(7702):463-468. doi: 10.1038/s41586-018-0040-3. Epub 2018 Apr 18.
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Publication in Science 2018: Early step of cardiac development revealed
Lescroart F, Wang X, Lin X, Swedlund B, Gargouri S, Sànchez-Dànes A, Moignard V, Dubois C, Paulissen C, Kinston S, Göttgens B,Blanpain C.
Defining the earliest step of cardiovascular lineage segregation during gastrulation by single cell RNA-seq.
Science. 2018 Mar 9;359(6380):1177-1181. doi: 10.1126/science.aao4174. Epub 2018 Jan 25.
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Belgian Foundation against Cancer Research Award to Prof. Blanpain
The Belgian Foundation against Cancer has granted its first Cancer Research Award to Prof. Blanpain in the field of fundamental research. This award is given to the researcher who has been ranked in first place in the grant selection. Press release
Prof. Cédric Blanpain amongst the 100 most influential Belgians of the year 2016
Publication in Cell Stem Cell 2016/2017 : the origin of EMT revealed
Latil M, Nassar D, Beck B, Boumahdi S, Wang L, Brisebarre A, Dubois C, Nkusi E, Lenglez S, Checinska A, Vercauteren Drubbel A, Devos M, Declercq W, Yi R, Blanpain C.
Cell-Type-Specific Chromatin States Differentially Prime Squamous Cell Carcinoma Tumor-Initiating Cells for Epithelial to Mesenchymal Transition. Cell Stem Cell.2017 Feb 2;20(2):191-204.e5. doi:10.1016/j.stem.2016.10.018. Epub 2016 Nov 23.
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Press higlight: La Libre Belgique
Pr. Cédric Blanpain elected as a member of Academia Europaea
Publication in Nature 2016 : the origin of skin cancer uncovered
Publication in Cell Reports 2015 : Uncovering the number and clonal dynamics of cardiac progenitors during heart morphogenesis
Maylis Raphael received the “Prix pour les Jeunes Chercheurs” award from the Bettencourt-Schueller Foundation
Pr. Cédric Blanpain received from his Majesty the King Philippe the prestigious FNRS quinquennial 2011-2015 prize
On November 2015, Pr. Cédric Blanpain was awarded from a FNRS quinquennial 2011-2015 price (the Joseph Maisin price for fundamental biomedical sciences). Every five years, those prestigious prices award five Belgian researchers for their particularly exceptional career.
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Publication in Nature Cell Biology 2015 : the causal link between aneuploidy and cancer showed
Pr. Cedric Blanpain has been elected Member of the Belgian Royal Academy of Medicine
Publication in Nature 2015 : the cells at the origin of breast cancers identified
Van Keymeulen A, Lee M.Y., Ousset M, Rorive S, Brohée S, Wuidart A, Bouvencourt G, Giraddi R, Dubois C, Salmon I, Sotiriou C, Phillips W.A., Blanpain C.
Reactivation of multipotency by oncogenic PIK3CA induces breast tumor heterogeneity.
Nature 2015 Sep 3;525(7567):119-23. doi: 10.1038/nature14665. Epub 2015 Aug 12.
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Publication in Nature Medicine 2015 : new genetic alterations involved in the development of skin squamous cell carcinoma uncovered
Publication in cell stem cell 2015 : Sox9 gene is a key in skin cancer
Larsimont JC, Youssef KK, Sánchez-Danés A, Sukumaran V, Defrance M, Delatte B; Liagre M, Marine JC, Lippens S, Guerin C, Del Marmol V, Vanderwinden JM, Fuks F & Blanpain C. Sox9 controls renewal of oncogene targeted cells and links tumor initiation and invasion. Cell Stem Cell. 2015 Jul 2;17(1):60-73. doi: 10.1016/j.stem.2015.05.008. Epub 2015 Jun 18.
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Press highlight : Le Soir
Human Frontier Science Program (HFSP) fellowship award to Mariaceleste Aragona
Grant received from the Fonds Erasme : convention d’excellence 2015-2021
A biomedical research group led by Prof. Isabelle Salmon, Head of the pathologic anatomy service at the Erasme Hospital, was granted a 1.800.000 euros subsidy in order to analyse the tumoral heterogeneity in the patients-derivated xenografts and their incidence for the specialised medicine. The lab of stem cells and cancer is very active in this nice project. Project presentation on the Fonds Erasme web site
An EMBO long-term fellowship for Maylis Raphael
Maylis Raphael has been working in the lab as a post-doctoral researcher since 2015. The fellowship she received from EMBO, a prestigious organization of more than 1800 leading researchers that promotes excellence in the life sciences, will permit her to carry on her research on the epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT).
“Ma démarche scientifique est celle d’un agnostique”
Portrait of Pr. Cédric Blanpain by Philippe Lambert in La Recherche, n°497, March 2015. PDF
The future of scientific research in Belgium
Pr. Cédric Blanpain was invited by Ms. Christine Defraigne, President of the Belgian Senate, to give a talk during a seminar about the future of the scientific research in Belgium. Here is the content of his intervention: PDF
Visit of His Majesty the King Albert II to the lab
Press highlights :
Publication in Cell Stem Cell 2015 : a new mechanism involved in tumour initiation, growth and progression in skin squamous cell carcinoma uncovered
Beck B, Lapouge G, Rorive S, Drogat B, Desaedelaere K, Delafaille S, Dubois C, Salmon I, Willekens K, Marine JC, Blanpain C.
Different levels of Twist1 regulate skin tumor initiation, stemness, and progression.
Cell Stem Cell. 2015 Jan 8;16(1):67-79. doi: 10.1016/j.stem.2014.12.002.
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Publication in Nature Cell Biology 2014 : definition of the early lineage segregation during early mammalian heart development
Lescroart F, Chabab S, Lin X, Rulands S, Paulissen C, Rodolosse A, Auer H, Achouri Y, Dubois C, Bondue A, Simons BD, Blanpain C.
Early lineage restriction in temporally distinct populations of Mesp1 progenitors during mammalian heart development.
Nat Cell Biol. 2014 Sep;16(9):829-40. doi: 10.1038/ncb3024. Epub 2014 Aug 24.
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Press highlight : Le Soir
A book edited for Inbev-Baillet Latour Fund’s 40th birthday
The InBev-Baillet Latour fund is one of the most important supporters of the Lab of stem cells and cancer. For its 40th birthday, it published a book where the research and main discoveries done in the lab are detailed : PDF
Publication in Nature 2014 : the molecular mechanisms regulating tumour initiation and cancer stem cells functions in skin squamous cell carcinoma uncovered
Boumahdi S, Driessens G, Lapouge G, Rorive S, Nassar D, Le Mercier M, Delatte B, Caauwe A, Lenglez S, Nkusi E, Brohée S, Salmon I, Dubois C, del Marmol V, Fuks F, Beck B, Blanpain C.
SOX2 controls tumour initiation and cancer stem-cell functions in squamous-cell carcinoma.
Nature. 2014 Jul 10;511(7508):246-50. doi: 10.1038/nature13305. Epub 2014 Jun 8.
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Press highlight : Le Soir
ERC consolidator grant to Pr. Cedric Blanpain
For the second time, Pr. Blanpain was granted a funding from the European Research Council (ERC). Named EXPAND, this new project – a consolidator grant – aims to define the cellular dynamics leading to tissue expansion.
Cédric Blanpain had already got an ERC starting grant in 2007 for the Cancerstem project. During his first ERC Starting Grant (CancerStem, 2007-2012), Blanpain and colleagues uncovered new populations of stem cells and progenitor cells in the epidermis, prostate and mammary gland, and identified the cancer cell of origin in these different tissues. Using novel genetic approaches, they demonstrated the existence of cancer stem cells within their natural microenvironment and identified intrinsic and extrinsic mechanisms regulating their functions.
Now, in his new ERC Consolidator Grant (EXPAND, 2014-2019), he studies the cellular and molecular mechanisms regulating tissue expansion and cell fate decision during growth and repair of epithelial tissues.
Prof. Blanpain’s interview on the embryo status
Mathilde Latil received the “Prix pour les Jeunes Chercheurs” award from the Bettencourt-Schueller Foundation
Portrait of Pr. Cédric Blanpain for ULB TV
Interview with Bernard Rentier and Cédric Blanpain : “la recherche scientifique est-elle mal-aimée?”
Is scientific research unloved? Pr. Bernard Rentier, Rector of the Université of Liège (Belgium) and Pr. Cédric Blanpain don’t share the same opinion on this subject : La Libre Belgique, 24 May 2013
Portrait of Pr. Cédric Blanpain in “Le Vif L’Express” : “Le hasard ne sourit qu’à ceux qui y sont préparés”
Portrait of Prof. Cédric Blanpain in “Knack” : “Ik zou graag honderdduizenden mensen genezen”
Portrait of Cédric Blanpain in EMBO Encounters
Pr. Cédric Blanpain received the Liliane Bettencourt Price for life sciences 2012
This prestigious price is awarded once a year to a young European researcher recognised by the scientific community for the quality of his international publications.