Speakers

Prof. Annemieke Madder 

Prof. dr. Annemieke Madder obtained her Ph.D. in organic chemistry from Ghent University in 1997. As a national science foundation (FWO) fellow, she went for postdoctoral stays with Prof. Dr. C. Gennari at the University of Milan and with Prof. Dr. R. Strömberg at the Karolinska Institute in Sweden to become acquainted with peptide and oligonucleotide chemistry. She returned to Ghent to take up tenure as assistant professor in 2002 and started her independent career. She was promoted Full Professor at the Department of Organic and Macromolecular Chemistry in 2014 and Senior Full Professor in 2022. Currently she is heading the Organic and Biomimetic Chemistry Research Group (OBCR, currently ca 17 members) specialised in the design and synthesis of modified peptides and nucleic acids and methods for their conjugation and labelling. More about her research at: https://www.ugent.be/we/orgchem/obcr/en/about-us

Over the last 20 years, A. Madder has been productive in peptide and oligonucleotide synthesis and modification. Furthermore, the group has extensive expertise in the use of ¹O₂ for biomolecule modification. A. Madder recently coordinated a European Network on the use of ¹O₂ strategy in sustainable oxidation procedures. A. Madder is currently a member of the IOF (Industrial Research Fund) council and serves as substitute member in the Special Research Fund (BOF) council at UGent. She became member of the FWO-Expert panel W&T4 from 2020 onwards. 

Jean Louis Mergny.

Jean-Louis Mergny is a biochemist by training who has dedicated his career to elucidating the structures of nucleic acids and their roles in physiological and pathological processes. He first completed his Master's degree and then his PhD within the Biophysics laboratory led by Professor Claude Hélène at the Museum in Paris. He then became interested in four-stranded conformations of nucleic acids, the i-motif, and guanine quadruplexes (G4). His work has notably involved the development of simple and reliable biochemical or biophysical tests to study these structures in vitro as well as their interaction with partners, such as small molecules or helicases. More about his research interests can be found at: https://lob.ip-paris.fr/en/research/microbial-adaptation/unusual-nucleic-acid-structures.

He actively contributed to the creation of a scholarly society, the G4 Society, and the organization of several international conferences in the field. After spending ten years in Bordeaux (Pessac) at the European Institute of Chemistry and Biology, he is now based at the Laboratory of Optics and Biosciences (LOB) at the Ecole Polytechnique. He currently heads the Biology department at the Polytechnic Institute of Paris and co-directs the interdisciplinary Center "Engineering for Health" (E4H: https://www.ip-paris.fr/en/research/interdisciplinary-centers/engineering-health-interdisciplinary-center-e4h).