Jan Steyaert is a Belgian bioengineer and molecular biologist. He started his career as an enzymologist but th
Steyaertlab
is best known for pioneering work on (engineered)

nanobodies A single-domain antibody (sdAb), also known as a nanobody, is an antibody fragment consisting of a single monomeric variable antibody domain. Like a whole antibody, it is able to bind selectively to a specific antigen. With a molecular weight of ...

for applications in structural biology, omics and drug design. He is full professor and teaches biochemistry at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel and Director of th
VIB-VUB Center for Structural Biology
one of the Research Centers of the Vlaams Instituut voor Biotechnologie ( VIB). He was involved in the foundation of three

spin-off Spin-off may refer to: *Spin-off (media), a media work derived from an existing work *Corporate spin-off, a type of corporate action that forms a new company or entity * Government spin-off, civilian goods which are the result of military or gove ...

companies: Ablynx
Biotalys
an
Confo Therapeutics

Early life and education

Steyaert was born in Ukkel, Belgium. He grew up in the Flemish village of Alsemberg. He obtained a Master in

Bioengineering Biological engineering or bioengineering is the application of principles of biology and the tools of engineering to create usable, tangible, economically-viable products. Biological engineering employs knowledge and expertise from a number o ...

at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel. For his PhD, he moved to

Plant Genetic Systems Plant Genetic Systems (PGS), since 2002 part of Bayer CropScience, is a biotech company located in Ghent, Belgium. The focus of its activities is the genetic engineering of plants. The company is best known for its work in the development of inse ...

, one the very first

biotech Biotechnology is the integration of natural sciences and engineering sciences in order to achieve the application of organisms, cells, parts thereof and molecular analogues for products and services. The term ''biotechnology'' was first used b ...

companies in Belgium. After obtaining his Ph.D., he relocated to Kenya to perform postdoctoral research at ILRAD (now

ILRI The International Livestock Research Institute or ILRI is an international agricultural research institute within the CGIAR – formerly the Consultative Group for International Agricultural Research. It was established in 1994 by merger of th ...

), the

International Livestock Research Institute The International Livestock Research Institute or ILRI is an international agricultural research institute within the CGIAR – formerly the Consultative Group for International Agricultural Research. It was established in 1994 by merger of t ...

Academic career

In 1995, he returned to Belgium to become assistant professor in the Structural Biology Laboratory of

Lode Wyns Lode Wyns is a Belgian molecular biologist and professor at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (Brussels, Belgium). He is head of the '' VIB Department of Molecular and Cellular Interactions, Vrije Universiteit Brussel'' of the VIB. His research int ...

. From 2015 to 2017, he was a Francqui Research Professor. In 2020, he was elected as a member of the European Molecular Biology Organization.

Research

Jan Steyaert pioneered the use of

as tools in structural biology.

Nanobodies A single-domain antibody (sdAb), also known as a nanobody, is an antibody fragment consisting of a single monomeric variable antibody domain. Like a whole antibody, it is able to bind selectively to a specific antigen. With a molecular weight of ...

are the variable domains of heavy-chain only

antibodies An antibody (Ab), also known as an immunoglobulin (Ig), is a large, Y-shaped protein used by the immune system to identify and neutralize foreign objects such as pathogenic bacteria and viruses. The antibody recognizes a unique molecule of the ...

that naturally occur in camelids. Because of their small size and their beneficial biochemical and economic properties (size, affinity, specificity, stability, production cost), Steyaert applies

to freeze dynamic proteins into single functional conformations. X-ray crystallography or cryogenic electron microscopy can then be used to determine the structures of different stills of the same moving biomolecule. In collaboration with Brian Kobilka the research team of Steyaert generated

elucidate the crystal structure of several

G-protein-coupled receptors G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs), also known as seven-(pass)-transmembrane domain receptors, 7TM receptors, heptahelical receptors, serpentine receptors, and G protein-linked receptors (GPLR), form a large group of evolutionarily-related p ...

( GPCR), including the ß2 adrenergic receptor, the muscarinic acetylcholine receptor, the

μ-opioid receptor The μ-opioid receptors (MOR) are a class of opioid receptors with a high affinity for enkephalins and beta-endorphin, but a low affinity for dynorphins. They are also referred to as μ(''mu'')-opioid peptide (MOP) receptors. The prototypical � ...

, the metabotropic glutamate receptors and, as a first, the crystal structure of a GPCR- G protein complex. Steyaert also applies nanobodies as versatile tools for investigating GPCR dynamics in vitro and inside cells, and for improved

drug discovery In the fields of medicine, biotechnology and pharmacology, drug discovery is the process by which new candidate medications are discovered. Historically, drugs were discovered by identifying the active ingredient from traditional remedies or by ...

. More recently, he started engineering Nanobodies for applications in cryo-EM.

Awards

In 2016 he received The Prous Institute-Overton and Meyer Award for New Technologies in Drug Discovery for his pioneering work in the field of nanobody-enabled structural biology. From 2019 onwards, Jan Steyaert is
Web of Science Highly Cited Researcher
in the field of Biology and Biochemistry. In 2022 he won the Brandeis’ 24t

in recognition of his contributions to structural biology through the development of Camelid single-domain antibodies or nanobodies.

References

External links

Jan Steyaert Lab home page

VIB-VUB Center for Structural Biology home page

Biotalys home page

Confo Therapeutics home page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Steyaert, Jan Year of birth missing (living people) Belgian molecular biologists Living people Vrije Universiteit Brussel alumni Academic staff of Vrije Universiteit Brussel