Single cell ‘omics’ is evolving at an incredible pace with emerging genomic technologies. It is widely used in genetics – and in biological sciences – but will it be used in clinical practice? Hence the title: ‘Single cells, to care or not to care?’
The meeting comprises scientific sessions with invited keynote speakers at the plenary sessions and oral contributions from young investigators, selected from the best-scoring abstracts, in parallel sessions.

These will be complemented by poster presentations and visits to the exhibitors’ booths.

Friday April 12, 2024

Moderators: prof. Geert Mortier, PhD, MD (UZ Leuven) & dr. Damien Lederer, MD (IPG Gosselies; BeSHG)

08:00 – 09:00 Registration

09:00 – 09:15Welcome address by the president of the BeSHG, Dr. Damien Lederer, MD (IPG Gosselies, BE)

09:15 – 11:00Plenary session 1
Chair persons: prof. Geert Mortier, PhD, MD (UZ Leuven) & dr. Damien Lederer, MD (IPG Gosselies; BeSHG)

9:15 An introduction to single cell and spatial multi-omics
prof. Bernard Thienpont, PhD & prof. Thierry Voet, PhD (KU Leuven, BE)

9:40 Single cell human genetics: from genotype to phenotype one cell at a time
prof. Malte Spielmann, PhD, MD (University Hospital Schleswig-Holstein in Kiel & Lübeck, DE)

10:20 Linking common and rare diseases using gene regulatory networks
prof. Lude Franke, PhD (University Medical Centre Groningen, NL)

11:00 – 11:30BeSHG Annual General Assembly

11:30 – 12:00 Coffee Break + Meet your sponsor + Poster viewing

12:00 – 13:00 Selected Oral Presentations

12:00 Parallel session 1: Tools and tricks in genetics
Chair personsprof. Bernard Thienpont, PhD (KU Leuven) & dr. Julie Soblet, PhD (UH Brussels; BeSHG)

Evaluation of a novel antisense oligonucleotide therapy targeting a 5’UTR mutation in the RDH12 gene (Manon Bouckaert, UGent)

Two models, one mutation: functional characterisation of a Brugada syndrome associated CACNA1C variant in stem-cell-derived cardiomyocytes and zebrafish
(Bert Vandendriessche, UA Antwerpen)

Dissection of the 3D genome and long non-coding RNAs in the regulation of FOXL2 in novel ovarian granulosa cell models (Charlotte Matton, UGent)

Unsupervised ECG feature extraction using deep learning empowers discovery of genetic determinants of cardiac electrophysiology (Ewa Sieliwonczyk, UA Antwerpen)

12:00 Parallel session 2: Diagnosing and understanding malignant disease
Chair persons: prof. Thierry Voet, PhD (KU Leuven), dr. Arvid Suls, PhD (UA Antwerpen; BeSHG)

Clonal heterogeneity and evolution during treatment in high hyperdiploid b-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (Margo Aertgeerts, KU Leuven)

The Role of Hexokinase 3 in Familial Hodgkin Lymphoma (Hiba Maalouf, UCL Louvain)

IMPRESS: Improved methylation profiling using restriction enzymes and smMIP sequencing, combined with a new biomarker panel, creating a multi-cancer detection assay
(Thomas Vanpoucke, UA Antwerpen)

Importance of SPRED1 in cutaneous melanoma (Charlotte Carton, KU Leuven)


13:00 – 14:30 Lunch break + Meet your sponsor + Poster viewing


14:30 – 16:00 Selected Oral Presentations

14:30 Parallel session 3: Functional insights and genomics
Chair persons: prof. Joris Vermeesch, PhD (KU Leuven) & prof. Leila Zahed, PhD (UCL Brussels; BeSHG)

  • Comparative 3D genome analysis between neural retina and RPE reveals differential cis-regulatory interactions at retinal disease loci (Eva D’haene, UGent)
  • WES analysis of rare families points to a pathogenic role for the cGAS/STING – IFN-I axis in SSc
    (Pierre Maus, UCL Louvain)
  • Matrisome expression patterns in murine and human dorsal root ganglia (Delfien Syx, UGent)
  • Comprehensive tissue specificity analysis identifies (novel) retina-specific, long non-coding RNAs (Emma Delanote, UGent)
  • Identifying regulatory variation in the human brain through single-cell multiomics and whole genome sequencing (Alexandra Pančíková, KU Leuven)
  • Unlocking the Power of Multiomics with NovaSeqTM X (Vivek Mishra, PhD, Senior Marketing Manager, Illumina)

14:30 Parallel session 4: Clinical genetics and gene discovery
Chair persons: prof. Hilde Vanesch, PhD, MD (KU Leuven) & prof. Saskia Bulk, PhD, MD (CHU Liège; BeSHG)

  • Mutations in sterile alpha motif domain containing 7 (SAMD7) cause autosomal recessive macular dystrophy with or without cone dysfunction (Miriam Bauwens, UGent)
  • Loss-of-function mutations of the TIE1 receptor tyrosine kinase cause congenital and late-onset primary lymphedema (Lucas Potier, UCL Louvain)
  • Loss-of-function of the Zinc Finger Homeobox 4 (ZFHX4) gene causes a novel neurodevelopmental disorder (María del Rocío Pérez Baca, UGent)
  • Understanding the role of somatic genetic variation in causing sporadic Frontotemporal Lobar Degeneration (Vanshika Bidhan, UA Antwerpen)
  • Non-invasive cell-free DNA methylation profiling of pregnant women for the diagnosis and early risk determination of preeclampsia (Machteld Baetens, UGent)
  • Liquid biopsy, outlook for routine clinical implementation
    (Dr Martens, AZ Delta, voor Astra Zeneca)

14:30 Parallel session 5: Psychosocial aspects in genetics
Chair persons: mrs. Aude Lombard (IPG Gosselies), mrs. Ariane Van Tongerloo (UGent)
& dr. Kathelijn Keymolen, MD
(UZ Brussels; BeSHG

  • The role and tasks of the clinical (educational) psychologist at the genetic centres across Belgium (Ann Swillen, UZ Leuven)
  • Family communication and its legislation (Amicia Phillips, KU Leuven)
  • Psychosocial impact of communicating VUS (Charlotte Spaas, UZ Antwerpen)
  • TOP and future reproductive decision-making (Ileen Slegers, UZ Brussel) 
  • Expanded carrier screening (Eva Van Steijvoort, KU Leuven)


16:00 – 16:30 Coffee break + Meet your sponsor + Poster viewing

16:30 – 17:45 Plenary session 2
Chair persons: prof. Patrick Callaerts, PhD(KU Leuven) & prof. Bert Callewaert, PhD, MD (UZ Gent; BeSHG)

16:30 Single-cell analyses of the tumor microenvironment during checkpoint immunotherapy
prof. Diether Lambrechts, PhD (VIB - KU Leuven, BE)

17:05 A Decade of Molecular Cell Atlases
prof. Stephen Quake, PhD (Stanford University, USA)

17:45 – 18:00 Closing Remarks + Best Poster + Presentation Award
prof. Gert Matthijs, PhD (KU Leuven; BeSHG) & dr. Damien Lederer, MD (IPG Gosselies; BeSHG)

18:00 – 20:00 Reception


20:00 – 22:00 Party

Scientific & local organization committee:.

Prof. Patrick Callaerts, Prof. Gert Matthijs, Prof. Geert Mortier, Prof. Bernard Thienpont,

Prof. Hilde Van Esch, Prof. Joris Vermeesch, Prof. Thierry Voet


Local contact:
Liliane Geyskens, Annemie Puttemans, Lindsey Stevens