Christine Van Broeckhoven (born 9 April 1953) is a

Belgian Belgian may refer to: * Something of, or related to, Belgium * Belgians, people from Belgium or of Belgian descent * Languages of Belgium, languages spoken in Belgium, such as Dutch, French, and German *Ancient Belgian language, an extinct languag ...

molecular biologist Molecular biology is the branch of biology that seeks to understand the molecule, molecular basis of biological activity in and between Cell (biology), cells, including biomolecule, biomolecular synthesis, modification, mechanisms, and interact ...

and professor in Molecular genetics at the

University of Antwerp The University of Antwerp ( nl, Universiteit Antwerpen) is a major Belgian university located in the city of Antwerp. The official abbreviation is ''UA'', but ''UAntwerpen'' is more recently used. The University of Antwerp has about 20,000 stud ...

( Antwerp, Belgium). She is also leading the VIB Department of Molecular Genetics,

of the Flanders Institute for Biotechnology ( VIB). Christine Van Broeckhoven does research on Alzheimer dementia, bipolar mental disorders and other

neurological Neurology (from el, νεῦρον (neûron), "string, nerve" and the suffix -logia, "study of") is the branch of medicine dealing with the diagnosis and treatment of all categories of conditions and disease involving the brain, the spinal c ...

diseases. Since 1983 she has had her own laboratory for

molecular genetics Molecular genetics is a sub-field of biology that addresses how differences in the structures or expression of DNA molecules manifests as variation among organisms. Molecular genetics often applies an "investigative approach" to determine the ...

at the University of Antwerp, and since 2005 is focussing her research on neurodegenerative brain diseases. She is an associate editor of the scientific journal ''

Genes, Brain and Behavior ''Genes, Brain and Behavior'' (also known as ''G2B'') is a peer-reviewed online-only scientific journal covering research in the fields of behavioural genetics, behavioral, neurogenetics, neural, and psychiatric genetics. It is published by Wiley- ...

''.

Honors

For her achievements as a scientist, Van Broeckhoven received the Belgian Quinquennial Prize of the Belgian

National Science Foundation The National Science Foundation (NSF) is an independent agency of the United States government that supports fundamental research and education in all the non-medical fields of science and engineering. Its medical counterpart is the National ...

and in 1993 she and three other scientists were awarded the American

Potamkin Prize The Potamkin Prize for Research in Pick's, Alzheimer's, and Related Diseases was established in 1988 and is sponsored by the American Academy of Neurology. The prize is funded through the philanthropy of the Potamkin Foundation. The prize is awarded ...

for their work on the

amyloid precursor protein Amyloid-beta precursor protein (APP) is an integral membrane protein expressed in many tissues and concentrated in the synapses of neurons. It functions as a cell surface receptor and has been implicated as a regulator of synapse format ...

(APP) which can cause severe, early Alzheimer's disease. In 2005, she was awarded the

Arkprijs van het Vrije Woord The Arkprijs van het Vrije Woord (Ark Prize of the Free Word) is a symbolic award created in 1951 by Herman Teirlinck and the editorial team of the ''Nieuw Vlaams Tijdschrift'' (New Flemish magazine) to counteract ideologically driven restrictions ...

. In 2006, she was awarded as laureate for Europe the international L'Oréal-UNESCO Award for Women in Science of

l'Oréal L'Oréal S.A. () is a French personal care company headquartered in Clichy, Hauts-de-Seine with a registered office in Paris. It is the world's largest cosmetics company and has developed activities in the field concentrating on hair color, ...

and

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

, "For the genetic investigation of Alzheimer's disease and other

neurodegenerative disease A neurodegenerative disease is caused by the progressive loss of structure or function of neurons, in the process known as neurodegeneration. Such neuronal damage may ultimately involve cell death. Neurodegenerative diseases include amyotrophic ...

s". She was the winner of the

European Inventor Award The European Inventor Award(formerly European Inventor of the Year Award, renamed in 2010), are presented annually by the European Patent Office, sometimes supported by the respective Presidency of the Council of the European Union and by the Eur ...

2011, category research., and she received the

Metlife Foundation Award for Medical Research in Alzheimer's Disease The Metlife Foundation Award for Medical Research in Alzheimer's Disease were awarded annually from 1986 to 2016 to recognize scientific contributions toward a better understanding of the underlying causes, prevention, and treatments of Alzheimer's ...

in 2012.

Involvement in politics

On 19 March 2007 it became known that Christine Van Broeckhoven would be a candidate for the

Socialist Party – Differently Vooruit (Dutch for Forward, ) is a Flemish social democratic political party in Belgium. The party was known as the Flemish Socialist Party (1978–2001: ''Socialistische Partij'', SP; 2001–2021: ''Socialistische Partij Anders'', SP.A) until ...

, a center-left social-democratic party, in the 2007 Belgian federal elections. Van Broeckhoven headed the list for the

Belgian Chamber of People's Representatives The Chamber of Representatives (Dutch: , french: link=no, Chambre des représentants, german: link=no, Abgeordnetenkammer) is one of the two chambers in the bicameral Federal Parliament of Belgium, the other being the Senate. It is considered ...

in the

province of Antwerp ) , native_name_lang = nl , settlement_type = Province of Belgium , image_flag = Flag of Antwerp.svg , flag_size = , image_shield = Wapen van de provincie Antwerpen.svg , shield_size ...

.Van Broeckhoven trekt SP.A-lijst in Antwerpen
/ref> On 10 June 2007 she was elected a member of the Chamber of People's Representatives. She retired from politics after the

2010 Belgian general election Federal elections were held in Belgium on 13 June 2010, during the midst of the 2007-11 Belgian political crisis. After the fall of the previous Leterme II Government over the withdrawal of Open Flemish Liberals and Democrats (Open VLD) from the ...

to concentrate on her scientific work.

References

External links

Christine Van Broeckhoven

Molecular Genetics Department
(University of Antwerp) {{DEFAULTSORT:Van Broeckhoven, Christine 1953 births Living people Flemish scientists Belgian molecular biologists Alzheimer's disease researchers Members of the Belgian Federal Parliament University of Antwerp alumni Academic staff of the University of Antwerp L'Oréal-UNESCO Awards for Women in Science laureates 21st-century women scientists Ark Prize of the Free Word winners European Inventor Award winners 21st-century Belgian politicians 21st-century Belgian women politicians

Honors

Involvement in politics

See also

References

External links