UMONS 
" The high-performance computing facility of UMONS (Dragon 2, which is part of the Consortium des Equipements de Calcul Intensif), has been adapted and used to run the analysis of the COVID-19 phylogenetic clusters performed by the Spatial Epidemiology Laboratory at ULB (Dr. S. Dellicour and Prof. M. Gilbert). "
Contact: people involved at UMONS: Sébastien Kozlowskyj, system manager This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. Prof. Roberto Lazzaroni This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

UMONS - Faculty of Engineering - ILIA and ISIA Departments
" This study allows an early Covid-19 diagnosis by using AI and explainable based classification and detection methods applied to CT and X-ray datasets. Many datasets form several hospitals in Belgium are used. The goal of the project is to use AI based methods to identify Covid-19 patients. Explainable AI methods are used to provide efficient interpretation and visualization tools for the classification and detection results obtained. The second goal of this project is to create a benchmark dataset composed of chest CT and X-ray database related to Covid-19 disease. To this aim, a semi-automatic annotation tool is developed in order to allow fast image annotation by radiologists. - Explainable artificial intelligence applied to Covid-19 detection based on CT and X-ray images. - Annotation tool development to build a benchmark database. "
Funding: University of Mons - Faculty of Engineering
Publication References: ...

Read more: Saïd Mahmoudi, Professor - Thierry Dutoit, Full Professor - Sidi Ahmed Mahmoudi, Professor- Xavier...

ULB - FNRS
" Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, an unprecedented number of genomic sequences of the causative virus (SARS-CoV-2) have been publicly released. The resulting volume of available genetic data presents a unique opportunity to gain real-time insights into the pandemic, but also a daunting computational hurdle if analysed with gold-standard phylogeographic methods. We here describe and apply an analytical pipeline that is a compromise between fast and rigorous analytical steps. As a proof of concept, we focus on Belgium, one of the countries with the highest spatial density of sequenced SARS-CoV-2 genomes. At the global scale, our analyses confirm the importance of external introduction events in establishing transmission chains in the country. At the country scale, our spatially-explicit phylogeographic analyses highlight an impact of the national lockdown of mid-March on both the long-distance dispersal events and the dispersal velocity of viral lineages. Our...

Read more: Simon Dellicour, FNRS Postdoctoral Researcher

UCLouvain, IRSS 
" How the Covid-19 Pandemic changes the dynamics of meetings and organizations in the Health and Education Sectors? The containment measures deployed following the Covid-19 pandemic produced a partial, if not complete, shift to telework. In many sectors, virtual meetings are now at the heart of work organization and coordination. How do people feel about their virtual meetings? And what do virtual meetings say about our organizations ? To find an answer to these questions, we have distributed a survey within six Belgian universities (University Ghent, University Hasselt, VUB, UCLouvain, ULiège and ULB) and health care services and administrations. "
Funding: none
Publication References: https://www.lecho.be/opinions/carte-blanche/que-penser-des-reunions-virtuelles-qui-se-generalisent/10223471 https://uclouvain.be/fr/decouvrir/coronavirus-que-nous-apprend-la-pratique-des-reunions-virtuelles.html
Contact: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Comment: "Virtual Meetings in the...

Read more: Sophie Thunus, Professor

ULB, UCLouvain, UNamur - FNRS
" Since early March, we have monitored spatial features of the epidemic, and various possible spatial determinants of its progression, including demographic, socio-economic and environmental indicators. We are also investigating the predictive and explanatory value of various indicators of mobility. Since the beginning of the covid-19 pandemic in Belgium, we observed strong spatial patterns in the disease case incidence. Before confinement measures came into effect mid-March, spatial predictors such as population density, as expected, were correlated to incidence. After the confinement came into effect, many such predictors no longer affected recorded incidence. We have assembled a rich database of demographic, socio-economic, and environmental indicators at the municipality level to identify spatial correlates of disease transmission. These are expected to differ pre- and through confinement, and to change further after confinement. We are also working...

Read more: Sophie Vanwambeke, Professor - Catherine Linard, Professor - Marius Gilbert, FNRS Senior Research...

GIGA-Institute, ULiège - FNRS - Royal Academy of Sciences, Letters and Fine Arts of Belgium
" The main objective of our research program is the identification of human genetic factors impacting the COVID19 pandemic. Within the COVID-19 host genetics initiative (https://www.covid19hg.org/), we will establish a shared set of phenotypes to be combined with genomic data for standard GWAS and further meta-analysis. Field of expertise of our laboratory : genetics, genomics, bioinformatics, immune-response related diseases. In addition, the GIGA Institute is an interdisciplinary research institute from the ULiege devoted to academic excellence in the biomedical sciences to foster ground-breaking medical innovation. It comprises 583 members attached to six faculties (Medicine, Science, Veterinary Medicine, Engineering, Agbiotech, Psychology) that are organized in four disease-based (neuroscience, cancer, infection-inflammation-immunity, cardiovascular) and two method-based thematic units...

Read more: Souad Rahmouni, Doctor

UCLouvain - Royal Academy of Medicine of Belgium

Determination of Germ-Line Variations and Pathological Gene Expression that May Contribute to Immunopathology in COVID-19." The SARS-CoV-2 infection (1, 2), can be followed by a severe evolution with severe respiratory distress. We hypothesize that germline variants in genes involved in innate immunity, especially type I interferon induction and actions, predispose to delayed pathological response/cytokine storm. Our aims are to identify: i) such germ-line variants and ii) peripheral leukocyte gene expression that can predict unfavorable SARS-CoV2 infections. A group of SARS-CoV2 patients with unfavorable evolution, young and without co-morbidities (25) will be compared with an aged matched group of 25 SARS-CoV2 individuals with absence or a minimum of symptoms. Germ line DNA obtained from peripheral blood (PB) will be whole exome sequenced (WES) and analyzed with bioinformatics tools that are used for rare disease germline...

Read more: Stefan Constantinescu, Professor

UNamur
" Understanding the evolution of the epidemic spreading using simple mathematical models to overcome of the biaises in the data "
Funding: UNamur
Publication References: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/340610501_UPDATE_Italy_now_two_weeks_past_the_peak
Contact: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

UCLouvain
" To confirm endothelial dysfunction in severe covid-19 patients admitted in Intensive Care Unit "
Funding: actually private; but waiting answer for credit urgent de recherche by FNRS
Publication References: 1) Manoury B, Montiel V, Balligand JL (2012). Nitric oxide synthase in post-ischaemic remodelling: New pathways and mechanisms. Cardiovascular Research, 94(2), 304-315. 2) Montiel V, Leon Gomez E, Bouzin C, Esfahani H, Romero Perez M, Lobysheva I, Balligand JL (2014). Genetic deletion of aquaporin-1 results in microcardia and low blood pressure in mouse with intact nitric oxide-dependent relaxation, but enhanced prostanoids-dependent relaxation. Pflugers Archiv European Journal of Physiology, 466(2), 237-251. 3) Montiel V, Robinson E, Bella R, Michel L, Esfahani H, De Mulder D, Deglasse JP, Jonas JC, Steinhorn B, Michel T, Beauloye C, Bertrand L, Farah C, Dei Zotti F, Bouzin C, Brusa D, Bergmann O, Gilis D, Rooman M, Roderick L, Devuyst O, Balligand JL. Cardiac...

Read more: Virginie Montiel, Professor

USL-B 
" The pharmaceutical industry is confronted with many different issues at the levels of logistics and supply chain management. Traceability is a paramount in the pharmaceutical sector. It is not only essential to ensure the quality of the product, but also, it is required to trace possible adverse reactions back to a given lot of drug product, its manufacturing and control. Traceability needs to be addressed at three stages. First, the source (supplier) and origin (e.g. chemical, microbiological, animal, human…) of raw and starting materials must be identified. These materials must be tested and found compliant with compendial requirements. Second, traceability must be ensured in-house, throughout the all manufacturing process, from starting materials to the drug product, through the drug substance and all intermediates. Third, traceability should be ensured downstream, from lot release by the company to patient's administration. Traceability within the industry (stage 2) is...

Read more: Wim Laurier, Chargé de cours