On January 11, the inauguration of the extension of the QbD Chair took place.

This chair, a crucial part of the QbD Foundation, carries with it a deeply personal story of friendship and dedication.

Three friends, Bart Van Acker, Prof. Pieter Van Vlierberghe, and Frederik De Smet, who graduated together as bio-engineers from KU Leuven, were reunited by fate. Bart, the founder of QbD, and Pieter, a cancer researcher at Ghent University, had been friends for many years. In 2020, Pieter received a devastating diagnosis: glioblastoma, an aggressive form of brain cancer. Seeking hope and innovation, he reached out to Frederik De Smet, who had since dedicated his laboratory to finding better treatments for glioblastoma. This request sparked a collaboration that would set remarkable things in motion.

Bart Van Acker, deeply moved by his friend's plight, joined this mission, offering financial support through his company. This support took the form of a research chair, inaugurated in 2021, focused on finding better treatments for glioblastoma.

Tragically,Pieter passed away at the end of 2022 due to glioblastoma. In honor of Pieter, Bart Van Acker continues to support the research into better treatments for glioblastoma, ensuring that Pieter's legacy lives on.

Glioblastoma (GBM) remains one of the most challenging cancers to treat, with a five-year survival rate of less than 5% despite intensive standard therapies. The stark reality is that nearly all clinical trials over the past 20 years have failed, largely due to the diverse nature of GBM patients and the heterogeneous characteristics of each tumor. However, small groups of patients sometimes respond exceptionally well to various treatments, highlighting the potential of more precise patient selection to significantly improve clinical outcomes.

While traditional methods of matching patients to therapies based on genetic analysis have proven insufficient for GBM, functional precision oncology (FPO) offers a promising alternative. FPO aims to provide better and clinically actionable insights. With the generous support of QbD, we are now developing new methods and tools for FPO analysis, including single-cell analysis, to map out detailed therapy responses for GBM.

Thanks to this continued support, we are optimistic about advancing our understanding and treatment of glioblastoma, honoring Pieter’s memory, and making strides towards better outcomes for patients facing this devastating disease.