February 6th/7th, 2025
BRAINS-lab at MaRBEL Conference 2025 (Liège)
Numerous members of BRAINS-lab attended the MaRBEL conference and pre-conference courses, where the latest advancements in Belgian MR research were presented and discussed. It was a great opportunity to exchange knowledge and connect with fellow researchers in the field.

We are proud to highlight Robin’s oral presentation and Svitlana’s data blitz presentation, as well as the impressive poster contributions from Sara, Shanti, Maud, Robin, Svitlana, and Katrien, along with our UHasselt colleagues Dries and Joana. Well done to all for sharing their exciting research!

A big thank you to ULiège for organizing such a well-structured and engaging event. The conference was hosted in the stunning Salle Académique, a truly inspiring venue that added to the atmosphere of scientific exchange and collaboration.

Looking forward to the next edition!

January 17th, 2025
BRAINS-lab at ISMRM BeNeLux in Hilversum, NL
The new year started off well at the ISMRM BeNeLux in Hilversum, an annual conference where MRI scientists share their knowledge and findings in the field of advanced MRI. Our dra. Maud Beeckmans presented her brand-new diffusion results during one of the poster sessions. Additionally, Dr. Melina Hehl and dra. Robin Heemels attended to gather new ideas, stay up to date with the state-of-the-art of MRI, and further implement it in the BRAINS-lab!

October 18th, 2024
First PhD graduate from BRAINS-lab: Melina defends PhD on “The neural correlates of bimanual motor learning“
We are excited to announce that Melina has successfully defended her PhD titled “The neural correlates of bimanual motor learning: neurometabolites, synaptic density, and effective premotor-motor connectivity”, supervised by Professors Koen Cuypers, Stephan Swinnen, and Raf Meesen. This marks a significant milestone as the first PhD completion from the BRAINS-lab. Her research, conducted over the past four years, has provided valuable insights into the neural mechanisms underlying motor learning.

Before her defense, external jury member Prof. Charlotte Stagg also gave a Meet the Jury lecture, sharing recent research findings of her group and interesting on “Multimodal Approaches to Studying Human Movement“. This provided an excellent opportunity to interact with one of the top experts in this field.

July 3rd, 2024
Publication alert: Dual-site TMS
Our former Master’s students, Robin Heemels and Sian Ademi, can be proud: they have published their thesis work, along with their co-supervisor Melina, in Clinical Neurophysiology. This study explores the effective connectivity between the dorsal premotor cortex and primary motor cortex using dual-site TMS. We optimized the protocol and investigated the 24h test-retest reliability, highlighting the effectiveness and reliability of this dual-site TMS setup. Curious? Access the article through this link. For open access until August 20th, 2024, click here.

February 10th, 2024
First Belgian MR Research Community (BMRC) Meeting in Hasselt! Next year MaRBEL!
Our BRAINS-lab team attended the Belgian MR Research Community (BMRC) kick-off event hosted at Oude Gevangenis UHasselt. Besides tons of networking, there was a great 7T keynote by Gilbert Hangel and workshops by researchers from VUB, UGent, University of Liège, KU Leuven and UHasselt (MRS talk given by Melina and Koen). Jitske, Maud and Koen did an amazing job in organising this event together with colleagues from UGent, UAntwerp and KU Leuven. Melina won the ‘Future name contest’: We are already looking forward to MaRBEL 2025!

January 25th, 2024
Snowy Escapade: BRAINS-lab Bonding
Last weekend, the seven members of BRAINS-lab took a break for a team-building getaway in the snowy Ardennes. It was a cozy retreat filled with good food, fun, and games, set against the backdrop of a beautiful winter wonderland.

January, 16th, 2024
New Research Paper Alert!
Our latest paper has been published in Clinical Neurophysiology. This publication introduces a pioneering dual-site TMS setup designed to stimulate two adjacent brain regions. Unlike previous attempts, this setup is subject to fewer technical and spatial limitations, allowing for more precise and reliable targeting of brain regions.
Interested in delving into the details? Access the article through this link. For open access until March 6th, 2024, click here.

November 10-15, 2023
Society for Neuroscience, Washington DC (USA)
About 25600 neuroscience enthousiasts recently made a pilgrimage to Washington DC. Off course, BRAINSlab was also represented. Besides presenting our lab’s latest MRS work and attending several lectures, we also joined the SfN ‘Yes and…’ neuroscience improv social. We are thankful to FWO (Koen) and to the SfN Trainee Professional Development Award program (Melina) for making this journey possible.

October 8, 2023
BRAINS-lab @ Dwars Door Hasselt
In the spirit of “a healthy mind in a healthy body”, the BRAINS-lab colleagues Koen, Shanti, and Melina participated in the “Dwars door Hasselt” (Straight through Hasselt) run this Sunday. They were not only hitting the track for their (brain-)health but also to support a good cause, the “Universitair MS Centrum (UMSC)”.