Photo: A view from Ambo (Peru), a place where Leishmania hybrids are known to occur. Picture by: Senne Heeren

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Short Summary

I’m a young researcher with a keen interest in population and landscape genomics of all sorts of organisms (protozoa, viruses, fish,…).
I have well established skills in statistical data analyses and
bio-informatic analyses for population/landscape genomic, phylogenomic and -geographic analyses, and I do not mind making my hands dirty during field work.

Research interests

Population & landscape genomics | Molecular evolution
Biological and Genomic diversity | Species distribution modelling

Working experience

Junior Researcher (joint-PhD candidate) | 2021 - present
Focus: Co-evolutionary patterns and population dynamics of Leishmania Viannia spp. and Leishmaniavirus 1
Affiliations:
Institute of Tropical Medicine Antwerp (Belgium) – Biomedical Sciences – Molecular Parasitology unit
University of Antwerp (Belgium) – Pharmaceutical, Biomedical and Veterinary Sciences
KU Leuven (Belgium) – Microbiology, Immunology and Transplantation, Rega Institute for Medical Research – Evolutionary and Computational Virology

PhD candidate | 2020 - 2021
Focus: Mechanisms of large internal deletions in HIV proviruses
Affiliation:
AIDS Reference Laboratory at University of Ghent (Belgium)
Premature ending: Mismatch between research interests and topic

Teaching experience

Guest lecturer at University of Antwerp | 2023
Course: Molecular Epidemiology of Infectious Diseases
Contribution: two lectures on Population genomics

Education

Joint-PhD in Biomedical Sciences | 2021 - present
Focus: Evolutionary biology of pathogenic parasites and their viruses Institutions:
University of Antwerp
Institute of Tropical Medicine Antwerp
KU Leuven

Master in Biology | 2018 - 2020
Specialization: Ecology & Evolution
Institution: KU Leuven

Bachelor in Biology | 2015 - 2018
Specialization: Environment & Sustainable Development
Institution: KU Leuven

Grants / Awards

Zoetis Travel Grant | 2021
Awarded after plenary presentation at the annual meeting of the Belgian Society of Parasitology and Protistology (BSPP). Specifically meant for attending the WorldLeish7 conference in August 2022 (Cartagena, Colombia).

VLIR-UOS Travel Grant | 2019
Awarded after application for a six-week research visit and field work in Uvira, Democratic Republic of the Congo in 2019.

Reviewer for peer-reviewed Journals

Microbial Genomics | 2023
American Journal of Tropical Medicine & Hygiene | 2022

Publications

Academic Publications

Heeren, S., Maes, I., Sanders, M., Lye, L.-F., Adaui, V., Arevalo, J., Llanos-Cuentas, A., Garcia, L., Lemey, P., Beverley, S. M., Cotton, J. A., Dujardin, J.-C., & Van den Broeck, F. Diversity and dissemination of viruses in pathogenic protozoa Nat Commun 14, 8343, 2023.

Van den Broeck, F., Heeren, S., Maes, I., Sanders, M., Cotton, J. A., Cupolillo, E., Alvarez, E., Garcia, L., Tasia, M., Marneffe, A., Dujardin, J.-C., & Van der Auwera, G. Genome Analysis of Triploid Hybrid Leishmania Parasite from the Neotropics Emerging Infectious Diseases, 29(5), 1076–1078. 2023.

Hadermann, A., Heeren, S., Maes, I., Dujardin, J.-C., Domagalska, M. A., & Van den Broeck, F. Genome diversity of Leishmania aethiopica Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology, 13. 2023.

Pre-prints:

Nikol Kmentová, Armando J. Cruz-Laufer, Leona J. M. Milec, Tanisha Moons, Senne Heeren, Elze van den Hoorn, Kelly J. M. Thys, Lawrence Makasa, Auguste Chocha Manda, Pascal Masilya Mulungula, Maarten Van Steenberge, Michiel W. P. Jorissen, Maarten P. M. Vanhove. Host lifestyle and parasite interspecific facilitation mediate co-infection in a species-poor host-parasite system bioRxiv 2023.01.03.522369. 2023.

Non-Academic Publications

Policy Brief:
De Keyzer Els L. R. & Mushagalusa Cirhuza Deo, Badesirhe Kalume Modeste, Heeren Senne, Hugé Jean, Janssens de Bisthoven Luc, Migabo Serge Ndondwa, Kmentová Nikol, Marwa Beatrice, Mulimbwa N’Sibula Théophile, Munundu Mangaza Aline, Muterezi Bukinga Fidel, Mwangaza Binti-Sadiki Francine, Nabintu Bugabanda Noëlla, Raeymaekers Joost, Tusanga Sylvain, Van Steenberge Maarten, Vanhove Maarten P. M., Verheyen Erik, Volckaert Filip A. M., Masilya Mulungula Pascal. A critical look at fishing in Lake Tanganyika: will future generations still have access to fish? (CEBioS Policy brief n° 15). 2020.

Press releases:
Virus spread within parasites outlines grim future for tropical disease control 2023.