Helena Slaets

Helena Slaets (a.k.a. Leen), PhD, is an assistant professor at BIOMED, Hasselt University, in the NeuroImmune Connections & Repair lab led by Prof. Dr. Niels Hellings. She supervises the research lines on immune aging and cellular senescence. During her PhD, she studied the role of neuropoietic cytokines in multiple sclerosis. After her PhD, Leen worked in the team of Prof Orhan Aktas in Düsseldorf, Germany, investigating the disruption of neural progenitor cell homeostasis during inflammation. Next, Leen started a new position at the Jessa clinical laboratory, where she was responsible for the in-house validation and implementation of novel diagnostic tests for autoimmune diseases and allergies.

After her clinical work, Leen became the scientific project manager for an Interreg EMR project at BIOMED, which focused on understanding the molecular mechanisms of immune aging. Her efforts in this project led to a European patent application, where she is a co-inventor. After the successful completion of the project, Leen initiated a novel research line on the impact of exercise interventions on immunosenescence. Furthermore, Leen founded the Healthy Aging Research Consortium (hARC), to unify aging research and facilities at Health Campus Diepenbeek, aiming to establish an innovative knowledge hub on aging. Leen combines these responsibilities with teaching/lecturing in the Bachelor of Biomedical Sciences, Medicine and the Master of Biostatistics programs of Hasselt University.