Applying Academic Expertise to Innovative Bio-Tech Business Concepts

Wim Van Criekinge is a professor in Computational Genomics and Bioinformatics at Ghent University, with a strong track record of applying his expertise to innovative bio-tech business concepts. He graduated in 1994 as a Chemical Engineer from Ghent University, where he also earned his PhD in Molecular Biology in 1998. Today, the professor also heads the core sequencing facility NXTGNT at the university as well as BIOBIX, the laboratory for computational genomics and bioinformatics.

The core competences of BIOBIX are, apart from bioinformatics, data-integration and analysis – particularly in combination with high-throughput applications. Based on these competences, the lab obtained ample expertise in epigenetic research. Within BIOBIX, there is a general focus on systems biology and comparative genomics, with cancer and (cardiovascular) aging as the most important targets.

Over the course of his career, Van Criekinge has also founded several other innovative ICT en bio-tech companies, such as Devgen, Novalis Biotech (an early-stage venture capital fund in life sciences) and H42.ai (mapping DNA methylation patterns across the genome).

www.noval.is/wimvancriekinge
www.biobix.ugent/wimvancriekinge