Corentin Claeys Bouuaert (PI). Contact: corentin.claeys@uclouvain.be

Corentin earned his PhD in 2011 from the University of Nottingham, where he studied the mechanism of DNA transposition under the supervision of Dr. Ronald Chalmers. He then moved to New York to join the laboratory of Dr. Scott Keeney at the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, where he initiated his research on meiosis. With support from the ERC and the FNRS, he returned to his home country in Belgium in 2019 to open his laboratory at UCLouvain. He also obtained a permanent researcher position at the FNRS in 2019.

Twitter: @ccb.Lab

Pascaline Liloku (Research Technician). Contact: pascaline.liloku@uclouvain.be.

Pascaline completed a BS in Biochemistry at the Haute Ecole de la Province de Liège in 2018. She joined UCLouvain in September 2019 and became the first member of the CCB lab. In addition to making sure that the lab runs smoothly, Pascaline exploits her biochemistry skills to tackle questions regarding the connection between the meiotic DSB machinery and chromatin.

Cédric Oger (Postdoc). Contact: cédric.oger@uclouvain.be.

Cédric has a long-standing interest in the molecular mechanisms of DNA-processing enzymes. After completing his Master degree in Biochemistry, Cellular, and Molecular Biology at UCLouvain in 2011, Cedric secured a FRIA fellowship to fund his PhD training under the supervision of Dr. Bernard Hallet. During his thesis, Cédric studied the mechanism of the Tn3-family transposon, Tn4430. He graduated in 2018, joined the CCB lab in 2019, and was awarded a postdoctoral fellowship from the FNRS in 2023. Cédric really wants to know what triggers Spo11’s DNA cleavage activity.

Mahesh Survi (Postdoc). Contact: mahesh.survi@uclouvain.be.

Mahesh did a PhD in plant reproductive biology at the CSIR-Center for Cellular and Molecular Biology, Hyderabad (India). During his thesis, Mahesh investigated the role of the transcriptional factor DYAD in the regulation of meiosis in Arabidopsis. He joined the CCB lab in July 2022 to investigate the mechanism and control of meiotic recombination.

David Álvarez Melo (Postdoc). Contact: david.alvarezmelo@uclouvain.be.

David did a PhD in Biology at the Complutense University of Madrid. During his thesis, David studied the regulation of meiotic DNA double-strand-break formation in S. cerevisiae. He is pursuing this research interest in the CCB lab since September 2022. 

Hajar Aït Bella (PhD student). Contact: hajar.aitbella@uclouvain.be.

Hajar obtained a Master in Molecular Engineering from the University of Lorraine (Nancy, France) in 2017. After a couple of internships at the I2BC Paris-Sarclay, Hajar joined the CCB lab in 2019 to investigate the dynamics of the interaction between Spo11 and DNA.

Dima Daccache (PhD student). Contact: dima.aldaccache@uclouvain.be.

Dima did a Master in Genomics and Functional Proteomics at Saint Joseph University in Beirut (Lebanon). She joined the CCB lab in October 2019 and secured an Aspirant fellowship from the FNRS to investigate the mechanism of DNA-dependent condensation by the RMM proteins.

Chi Wai Wong (PhD student). Contact: chi.wong@uclouvain.be.

Chi Wai earned a Master in Biomedical Sciences at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. After three years as a research assistant in Hong Kong, Chi Wai brought his laboratory skills to Belgium to start his PhD in 2019. Chi Wai wants to understand the relationships between the meiotic DNA double-strand break machinery and the chromosomes axis.

Marita Haddad (PhD student). Contact: marita.haddad@uclouvain.be.

Marita completed a Masters in Genomics and Biomedical Sciences at the Lebanese University in 2020. She developed an interest in meiosis during her internship in the laboratory of Dr. Thomas Robert in Montpellier (France), then joined the CCB lab in March 2021. In 2022, Marita was awarded a FRIA fellowship to study the connection between RMM condensation, chromatin folding and DSB formation.

Karen Mechleb (PhD student). Contact: karen.mechleb@uclouvain.be.

Karen did a Master in Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics at the American University of Beirut (Lebanon). She joined the CCB lab in March 2021 and is developing innovative approaches based on atomic force microscopy to characterize the interactions between meiotic DNA double-strand break proteins. Karen was awarded an Aspirant fellowship from the FNRS in 2022.

Priyanka Priyadarshini (PhD student). Contact: priyanka.priyadarshini@uclouvain.be.

Priyanka earned a Masters in Biotechnology at the Pondicherry Central University (India). In October 2021, Priyanka secured an Aspirant fellowship from the FNRS to study the role of the MRX complex in meiotic DSB formation. Priyanka was awarded a L’Oréal-UNESCO For Women in Science fellowship in 2022.

Veronica Gonzalez Gonzalez (PhD student). Contact: veronica.gonzalez@uclouvain.be.

Originally from Venezuela, Veronica came to Belgium in 2017 to start a Master in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at UCLouvain. After she graduated, Veronica joined the CCB lab in October 2023 and secured a FRIA fellowship to support her PhD. Veronica is investigating the mechanism of meiotic crossover formation.

Driss Abib (Master student).

Master in Environmental Bioengineering, UCLouvain.

Amira Benzine (Master student).
 
Master in Molecular and Cellular Biology, UCLouvain.
Paulin Fournaux (Master student).
 
Master in Molecular and Cellular Biology, UCLouvain.
Théo Christopher Borremans (Master student).
 
Master in Molecular and Cellular Biology, UCLouvain.

Former Lab Members

Name Position Years Position Afterwards
Marwane Chuitar de Callataÿ
Master student
2023
Emma De Jonge
Master student
2022-2023
PhD student at UCLouvain
Christelle Danielle Ossogo Mballa
Master student
2022
Internship at Sciensano
Alice Chanteau
Master student
2022
PhD student at Université Paris-Saclay
Kathleen Christoph
Master student
2021
Internship at GSK
Gilles Marchal
PhD student
2019-2021
Training in climate modeling and agroecology
Vikash Kumar Yadav
Postdoc
2019-2021
Staff scientist at NIPGR New Delhi, India