The idea behind Isala originated in Prof. Sarah Lebeer’s research group – a team of scientists who are fascinated by bacteria and their positive influence on our health. This multidisciplinary team includes microbiologists, bioinformaticians and bioengineers who often collaborate with doctors like gynaecologists and general practitioners as well. The team is driven by serious concerns about the widespread use of antibiotics and the lack of alternatives. The World Health Organization predicts that by 2050, more people will be dying of antibiotic-resistant microbes than of cancer if we don’t start using antibiotics more responsibly. Microbiome research can help us design alternative strategies for antibiotic use, but also many other approaches that could benefit women’s health. That’s why this team of scientists will be analysing the precious Isala samples with the utmost care.
Sarah Lebeer is a professor, microbiologist, bioengineer and the principal investigator of the Isala project. She has been studying the potential of lactobacilli for over 15 years. At the University of Antwerp, she leads the lab of Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology since 2012. Here, several techniques from molecular microbiology and bacterial genetics are combined with functional, microbiome analysis and citizen-science.
Sarah Ahannach is a postdoctoral researcher, microbiologist and Isala project manager. She helped set up the pilot studies and is responsible for Isala’s logistics, lab research, science communication and social media. Sarah analyzes the microbiome and studies useful microorganisms in the swabs. Finally, she also leads the GeneDoe daughter project to study the potential of the microbial fingerprint in sexual assault cases.
Eline Oerlemans is a postdoctoral researcher and worked on the importance of the vaginal microbiome during her PhD. Eline works with research data from Isala both in the lab and behind the computer.
Stijn Wittouck is a bioinformatician specialized in analyzing DNA sequences of bacteria. He studies how lactic acid bacteria adapt to different lifestyles, and how they interact with their mobile genetic elements. Stijn determines which bacteria are present in the Isala samples and contributes to the statistical analyses.
Gilbert Donders is a gynecologist with expertise in vaginal infections, vulvodynia, and HPV infections/ vaccinations at the University Hospital of Antwerp and the Regional Hospital in Tienen. He is also a visiting professor at the University of Antwerp and the KU Leuven. He also founded the research organization Femicare and is the chair of ISIDOG.
Veronique Verhoeven is professor and general practitioner and is specialized in infectious diseases, human papillomavirus, and cervical cancer. She researches detecting infections and cervical cancer on vaginal samples that girls and women take themselves. Within Isala, Veronique provides medical background with small and bigger questions from the Isala participants.
Jelle Dillen is a PhD candidate and in his research, he investigates the compounds produced by beneficial bacteria that can protect against pathogens. Jelle studies the novel bacteria obtained from pink swabs. By genome sequencing and analysis of these bacteria, he searches for novel or alternatives to antibiotics. Additionally, he is the editor of the different videos you can find on the website.
Ines Tuyaerts has been involved with Isala from the start as a lab technician. You might even recognize her from the instruction video. As a lab technician, she was involved in the logistics behind the scenes, has processed many of your samples, and has also communicated to the participants.
Leonore Vander Donck is a PhD candidate and studies the effect of your lifestyle and hygiene habits on the vaginal microbiome. In her PhD specifically, she will study the influence of underwear fabrics on the vaginal microbiome. To investigate this, she uses the bacteria from your pink swabs! Additionally, she also takes care of the Isala Instagram page.
Nele Van de Vliet is a lab technician and first came into contact with Isala during her internship. Where she then helped with the Isala pilot study. In the summer she helped put together the Isala kits and register the Isala samples as a job student. In October 2020 she was hired as a lab technician to help with the lab work for processing the Isala samples.
Sandra Condori is a postdoctoral researcher that coordinates the internationalization of the Isala project with projects in Peru (Laura) and Switzerland (Marie). She is also investigating metabolites present in your swabs. She also motivates (and train) young Peruvian researchers to investigate about the vaginal microbiota.
Thies Gehrmann is a postdoctoral researcher who performs the important bioinformatic and statistical analysis of the Isala project. With his background in computer science and statistics applied to both fungal and human genetics and transcriptomics, he is now investigating the different types of data collected within the Isala study.
Camille Allonsius is project manager in the Isala team, and helps with science communication and the organisation of the new Isala phases. Sha is also a postdoctoral researcher and worked on the interactions between vaginal microbiome members during her PhD.
Tom Eilers is a postdoctoral researcher responsible for the long questionaires that you filled in extensively. His main focus is the ecology and the role of lactobacilli in carrot fermentations. For Isala, he focuses on the effect of nutrition and lifestyle on the vaginal microbiome.
Caroline Dricot is a PhD candidate and investigates how the bacteria from your pink swabs impact the immune system of the vagina, both in a protective and pathogenic way. Specifically she focuses on unique metabolites, like vitamines, produced by these bacteria. In the future, she would love to use them for therapeutic purposes.
Isabel Erreygers is a PhD candidate who studies the role of vitamin B2 for women’s health. This is achieved by conducting the VIAB2L study, our Isala daughter study that she loves the most. In this study, her favourite bacterium Limosilactobacillus reuteri AMBV339 gets a central role as vitamin producer. Additionally, she also takes care of our social media channels and blogpage.
Inas Rahou is a PhD candidate who is looking for a new compass for the menstrual cycle in EMIRA, an Isala daughter study. In her PhD, she is specifically investigating changes in cervical mucus throughout the menstrual cycle and she is exploring which proteins are responsible for these changes. She also enjoys taking care of the Isala LinkedIn and X pages.
Maria Pinedo Bardales is a PhD candidate who leads Maggie, an Isala daughter study. In this study, she is investigating the heritability of vaginal bacteria, with the hope that new knowledge will lead to new strategies to support women’s health by ensuring the transfer of beneficial vaginal bacteria to future generations.
Maline Victor is a PhD candidate who leads DeVEnIR, an Isala daughter study. She primarily investigates the role of the vaginal microbiome in (recurrent) vaginal yeast infections. Maline aims to gain a deeper understanding of vaginal yeast infections through her research, which could contribute to improved diagnostic methods and the development of more effective therapies.
Monica Marin is a PhD candidate who is making every effort to prevent preterm birth. In her PhD, she is investigating whether certain vaginal bacteria can be linked to a higher risk of delivering preterm. Furthermore, Monica focuses on how vaginal health and lifestyle factors can affect pregnancy. With all of this, she aims for healthy pregnancies for women worldwide.
Sarah Van den Bosch is a PhD candidate studying the effects of dietary habits on the vaginal microbiome. Her work focuses on the impact of fasting during Ramadan on the vaginal microbiome and gut bacteria, as well as the complex interplay between the two. Sarah is particularly interested in whether food choices can affect vaginal health and is earger to learn more on this topic.
Kato Michiels is a PhD candidate and has her heart set on a PhD in biostatistics that she is working on in collaboration with UHasselt. She focuses on microbiome data analysis with a special interest in causal inference methods. Here she takes a close look at the extensive wealth of Isala data with a focus on menopause. She is curious about changes in the vaginal microbiome during this period.
Ilke Van Tente is a PhD candidate who collaborates on DeVEnIR, an Isala daughter study. Her research focuses on the development of vaginal vaccines against Candida albicans, which causes vaginal yeast infections. Her research combines her interests in human health, immunology and genetic modification. Ilke aims to increase the medical potential of lactobacilli for the development of new alternative therapies.
Camille Gepts is a lab technician and first came in contact with Isala during her internship. She then helped characterize Limosilactobacillus reuteri AMBV339, the amazing vaginal bacterium that produces vitamin B2. After working with us as a job student in summer 2024, she was permanently hired as a lab technician in October. She is currently helping out with the lab work of several Isala daughter studies.
Matisse Van Hee is a PhD candidate who studies various substances produced by beneficial bacteria as protection against pathogens. To do so, Matisse starts from bacteria cultured from the pink swabs. Using complex DNA techniques and analyses in the lab, he searches for new antibiotics and substances that influence the immune system.
Vanessa Croatti is an international researcher with Italian roots. She studies the substances that are produced by beneficial bacteria and, to do so, she starts from bacteria cultured from the pink swabs. She studies how these substances interact with the immune system and influence the vaginal environment. She coordinates the Italian sister project Clelia and collaborates on the DeVEnIR daughter study.
Kenfack Josiane is a PhD candidate who leads the sister project Leke in her home country Cameroon. In her PhD, she investigates the composition of the vaginal microbiome and explores the potential of lactobacilli as probiotics. Furthermore, she investigates how menstrual products affect the vaginal microbiome. She enjoys citizen science in different settings with personal interactions with participants.
Margo Hiel is a PhD candidate who became acquainted with the Isala project during her Master’s thesis. In her current research, she shifts her focus from the vagina to the skin. Her research aims to map how urban living affects our skin microbiome and the impact this has on our health. The skin samples collected during Isala are crucial to her work. Additionally, Margo aims to identify valuable bacteria that could improve skin health.
Ilke De Boeck is a postdoctoral researcher within the Isala team. She has extensive experience with (clinical) studies on the microbiome and probiotics or beneficial bacteria and supports the team with logistics, ethical approval, and biobanking for the Isala studies. In addition, she is investigating the potential of promising Lactobacillus strains to be further developed into medicines based on live bacteria, known as Live Biotherapeutic Products (LBPs) for both women’s health and applications towards the airways.
Reine Audenaert is a PhD candidate conducting research into new insights around the vaginal microbiome by mimicking the vaginal environment and vaginal communities in the lab. This allows drugs and personal care products to be tested for their safety and their effect on the vaginal microbiome. She has also conducted research on the role of lactobacilli in food fermentations.
But these researchers depend on sufficient samples for their ambitious research design. They are therefore assisted by, among others, Prof. Charlotte De Backer of the MIOS UAntwerpen Research Group and her team, Studio Maria, the Provincial Institute for Hygiene (PIH), Sensoa vzw, and almost the entire UAntwerp communication team. They help motivate enough participants and communicate about the importance of vaginal health.
Thank you for financing our research
(Grant agreement 852600 Lacto-Be0)
Thank you to our advisory board
