Advancing knowledge, transforming health care

Inspired by our founder, Christian de Duve (winner of the Nobel Prize for Medicine), the 320 researchers, technicians and employees of de Duve Institute work every day with passion, determination and a collaborative spirit to better understand diseases in order to cure them more effectively.

Attracting talent from all over the world, the teams focus on fundamental research in areas as varied as cancer, viral and bacterial infections, diabetes, genetic diseases and many others.

Do you want to help the institute?

Focus on our 5 research programs

Today, the Institute has 31 research groups based around 5 programs

Cell dynamics and Cancer

The cells in our bodies can move, proliferate, interact with each other, adapt their shape or even change function. We study how biomolecules (proteins, lipids, DNA, etc.) or cellular structures, such as membranes or chromosomes, control cell dynamics and how their dysfunction leads to the development of cancer.

Genes and Health

The program aims to elucidate the variations in the human genome that play a role in the development or progression of human diseases. Studies focus on DNA, RNA and protein alterations in order to understand the normal and abnormal functioning of cells and organs. Bioinformatics and artificial intelligence are used extensively in this program.

Health and Microbes

We are surrounded by bacteria and viruses, both inside and outside our bodies. While many of these micro-organisms are beneficial, others can pose a threat to our health, as we saw during the recent Covid pandemic. Our research aims to improve our understanding, at the molecular level, of the mechanisms that govern the survival of micro-organisms. In this way, we hope to facilitate the development of new treatments for bacterial and viral infections, and take advantage of the micro-organisms present in our microbiota to improve our general health.

Immunity and Cancer

Our immune system is perfectly adapted to detecting and destroying invading pathogens and tumors, while avoiding self-harm, thanks to a complex, multilayered system of checks and balances. Our work is helping to understand how these processes are regulated and how they can be exploited by new immunotherapies to combat cancers, infections, immunodeficiencies and autoimmunity.

Signalling and Metabolism

In order to respond to changes in their environment, cells must be able to translate external signals into specific responses. We are studying how protein and metabolic signals affect cellular biochemical processes and are relayed to the nucleus. Our discoveries provide a better understanding of the molecular basis of life and help to understand and treat diseases such as cancer, inborn errors of metabolism and neurodegenerative disorders.

Cell dynamics and Cancer

Genes and Health

Health and Microbes

Immunity and Cancer

Signalling and Metabolism

Fundamental research is crucial

Our fundamental research seeks to answer questions about how health works at its most basic level. Although this research does not always have an immediate practical application, it can lead to important discoveries and innovations later on.

In the biomedical field, we study the underlying mechanisms of human health and disease at the level of molecules, cells and the organism.

Without this fundamental research, there would be no clinical research (involving patients) and no new treatments for diseases.

Today's discoveries are laying the foundations for tomorrow's medicine, to the benefit - one day - of thousands of patients.

Latest news

24th Heremans Lecture, by Diane Mathis

On February 24th, she enlightened us on the molecular and cellular basis of T-cell tolerance.

A winning double for Géraldine Laloux and her team, who were awarded an ERC consolidator grant for

PREDATOR gives way to VAMPIRE

A new "ERC Starting Grant" starting at the de Duve Institute

Taking pneumococcus out of the zoo

Support our project "Humus"

The urgent need to tackle antibiotic resistance

Antibiotic resistance is a natural phenomenon that occurs when bacteria become resistant to antibiotics. According to the WHO, multi-resistant infections are one of the world's major threats to public health.

By 2050, 10 million deaths will be directly attributed to antibiotic resistance each year if no action is taken. Simple surgical procedures could be called into question, even in healthy individuals, because of the microbiological risk.

Humus, a citizen's response to antibiotic resistance

Soil microbial biodiversity is largely unexploited. Only a small percentage of this microbiological treasure trove is known to date. The aim of Humus project is to collect 10,000 soil samples, thanks to the voluntary commitment of the general public, in order to search for the potential antibiotics of tomorrow.

To get this project off the ground effectively, we need to raise €215,000 by 2025 and find corporate partners to provide funding, logistics and/or visibility.

Support the HUMUS project:
o For €150, you donate 50 soil sample collection kits
o For €1,250, you will finance 200 Petri dishes and consumables for cultivating soil microbes
o For €7,500, you will help promote the project to the public for 3 months.

Our institute within UCLouvain

Our institute is located on the UCLouvain health sciences campus. Every year, we train and graduate around twenty doctors in science. Our laboratory directors teach in the faculties of medicine, dentistry, pharmacy and biomedical sciences.