Elke Vereecke

Elke obtained her professional bachelor’s degree in Pharmaceutical and Biological Laboratory Technology from Odisee in 2019. Driven by a strong curiosity to deepen her scientific understanding, she continued her studies by pursuing a bridging program followed by a master’s degree in Biotechnology and Biochemistry at KU Leuven. During her master’s thesis in 2022, Elke conducted research at the Masschelein Lab (Biomolecular Discovery & Engineering) at VIB in Leuven. Her work focused on unlocking the antimicrobial potential of linear azol(in)e-containing peptides from Staphylococcus species, contributing to the exploration of novel bioactive compounds. In September 2022, she joined the lab of Thomas Jacobs to begin a combined PhD in collaboration with ILVO. She initially worked on the GeneBEcon project and later secured her own FWO grant. Her research centers on gene editing in microalgae, with the goal of enhancing the production of industrially relevant compounds.