In our latest researcher spotlight, meet Nelson Martins, our Doctoral Candidate 5 (DC5) based at UZ Gent! Nelson moved from Portugal to Belgium to join the ProgRET consortium and tackle the mysteries of Inherited Retinal Diseases (IRDs). Under the supervision of his PI, Prof. Elfride De Baere, Nelson is mapping 3D genome topologies to understand how distant DNA regions interact. Using a clever yarn analogy in his video, he explains how studying this intricate folding process in the nucleus can help interpret non-coding structural variants and uncover the "why" behind unsolved IRD cases.
Watch the video to see how unravelling the 3D genome can ultimately improve genetic diagnoses!
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ProgRet fellow Lihan Xu presented a poster at the 20th International Retinal Research Colloquium – Potsdam Meeting 2026. The poster, titled “iPSC-based modeling of BEST1 retinopathy identifies RPE phagocytic dysfunction”, received valuable feedback and inspiring ideas for future experiments.   On April 10th, members of the MSCA ProgRet project participated in the Sensathon, an inspiring collaborative program held during the Hearing & Vision 4 All research program day at Radboudumc.
ProgRet researchers Susanne Roosing, Rob Collin, Hossein D. Banadaki, and Stefanida Shliaga joined multidisciplinary teams to dive into selected genetically undiagnosed cases, with a strong focus on inherited retinal diseases and deafness. The true strength of an event like this lies in the collaboration between the departments of Human Genetics, Ophthalmology, and ENT. Bringing together complementary expertise is essential to driving new insights and advancing diagnosis and patient care. The outcomes of the day were incredibly rewarding! These joint efforts yielded several new research leads, generated requests for additional clinical and functional tests, and even successfully addressed an urgent intervention in clinical care. It was a fantastic opportunity for the ProgRet team to contribute to such a vital, cross-disciplinary initiative and work alongside other experts to close the diagnostic gap! Did you know we can grow mini-retinas in a lab?
Meet Kobe Outtier, our ProgRET Doctoral Candidate (DC10) based at the Institute for Neurosciences of Montpellier! In this behind-the-scenes video, Kobe shows us how she literally turns patient skin cells into 3D retinal organoids. It takes 225 days to grow these "mini-retinas," but the payoff is massive: they allow her to study CRX gene mutations up close and test out cutting-edge CRISPR therapies for Inherited Retinal Disorders, all without using animal models! Check out the video to see the science in action, and stay tuned for more updates from our amazing DCs every month! What can a tiny fish teach us about the secrets of human aging? Meet the Killifish; the shortest-lived vertebrate that can be raised in a lab. With a lifespan of just 4 to 6 months, it’s a "fast-forward" model for understanding how our eyes age and why retinal dystrophies occur. In our latest video, Sofia Manzo (DC1) dives into her research on 3D genome architecture and how "switching" genes on and off over time affects our vision. By studying the epigenetics of this remarkable fish, the PROGRET network is working toward new strategies to preserve vision and combat retina degeneration.
 A group of 14 walkers from Radboudumc and Amsterdamumc, including our very own Stefanida Shliaga (DC6), walked 15 or 10 km in the Stichting Oogfonds Nederland walk & ride event!
The EASIGEN Advanced Course on Long-Read Sequencing at KU Leuven included Nelson Martins' (DC5) talk "CiFi long-read chromatin contact mapping to decode multi-way 3D genome interactions" and his input was well received by fellows from Flemish Universities.  This past week has been an incredible journey as part of the progRET consortium, where our mission is to unravel the mechanisms behind autosomal dominant inherited retinal diseases (IRDs) and push forward diagnostics and therapies to help patients. This week we got the chance to deepen our knowledge in Bioinformatics, Functional genomics & multiomics. Besides science we worked together on career development, project management, and creative thinking. An occasion to share the difficulties faced this first year of PhD and share ideas on how solve them. Great Thanks to Rob Collin and Susanne Roosing for organizing these courses and activities for us. One of the highlights Is definitely the cooking (and drinking) workshop!
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HORIZON-MSCA-2022-DN — ProgRET — No.101120562
ProgRET 2024