Vicky De Winter

Lab Technician

+32 (3) 265.1669
Vicky De Winter

Science

  • Peripheral Neuropathy Group

University of Antwerp

 

Education

BSc Biomedical Sciences, Karel-de-Grote Hogeschool Hoboken, 2006

FELASA category B, Katholieke Hogeschool Kempen Geel, 2007

  

Expertise:

After my studies as a Professional Bachelor in Biomedical sciences, I started my career in a pharmaceutical company as a research technician in research and development. I learned about the development of drugs, how to screen compounds on activity, using cellular models. During my young career, I realised how important in vivo research is and I subscribed to the FELASA category B course of which I obtained a certificate.  After one year, I have decided to continue in fundamental research and I started to work at VIB Molecular Genetics in Antwerp. Here I continued as a lab technician in a research group, immersing myself in the molecular cell biology of peripheral neuropathies. As a backbone of this group, I master all in house techniques, I perform complex experiments to support scientific personnel, I guide other technicians and students and I assure good organisation of the lab. The research field I’m working in, is Charcot-Marie-Tooth-Disease, particularly the subtypes caused by mutations in the small Heat Shock Proteins B1 and B8. One day, I hope, the Peripheral Neuropathy Group will realise a therapy for patients with these diseases.

 

In house techniques:

-          Cloning techniques

o    In vitro mutagenesis

o    Gateway®

o    Classical cloning techniques

-          DNA techniques

o    Isolation from diverse samples

o    PCR

o    Sequencing

-          RNA techniques

o    Isolation from tissue/cells

o    RT-qPCR

-          Protein techniques:

o    Protein isolation from tissues and cells

o    Western Blotting,

o    (Co-)immunoprecipitation

o    Immunocytochemistry

o    Immunohistochemistry

o    Biochemical testing

-          Cell culturing techniques: Overall responsible cell lab

o    Isolation of primary neuronal and non-neuronal cells

o    Maintenance of different cell lines and primary cultures

o    Production and maintenance of stable cell lines

o    Transient transfections

o    Viral transductions

o    iPSC

o    Cryostock database maintenance

-          Animal modeling:

o    Maintentance mice colonies (breeding, weaning, updating database …)

o    Genotyping genetically altered lines

o    Dissecting tissues

o    Generating mef cell lines


Keywords


  • Peripheral Neuropathy

  • Charcot-Marie-Tooth Disease

  • Small heat shock proteins

  • cell modelling

  • animal modelling