Research

🔬 Research Focus

I apply single-cell and multiomic techniques to uncover the cellular and epigenomic mechanisms of cardiovascular disease, with a particular focus on atrial remodeling.

My current PhD project centers on the integrative analysis of single-nucleus RNA-seq and ATAC-seq datasets to investigate how the epigenome contributes to pathological remodeling in atrial fibrillation (AF) compared to sinus rhythm (SR).
This work is part of a collaborative effort between KU Leuven, the University of Antwerp, and Ghent University.

🧭 Research Themes

• Single-Cell Multiomics
  Integrating snRNA-seq and snATAC-seq for cell type identification and regulatory landscape analysis.

• Epigenomics in Heart Disease
  Profiling chromatin accessibility and gene regulation in atrial tissues from SR and AF donors.

• Human Cardiac Tissue Analysis
  Using patient-derived atrial tissue to gain clinically relevant insights into disease mechanisms.

• Computational Method Benchmarking
  Systematically evaluating demultiplexing tools for single-nucleus RNA-seq in human cardiac samples.

🧪 Benchmarking Project

To address the increasing complexity of single-nucleus datasets, I conducted a comprehensive benchmarking study comparing leading computational tools for sample demultiplexing (including Vireo, Souporcell, Freemuxlet and scSplit).

This project evaluated accuracy, genotype concordance, runtime efficiency, and scalability across multiple donors. It provides practical recommendations for researchers working with multiplexed snRNA-seq data in human tissues.

Results from this study were presented at the 37th Meeting of the ISHR European Section in Porto, Portugal, and are currently available as a preprint.