Violette Deleeuw

Biomedical scientist with a PhD in Health Sciences and more than 6 years of experience coordinating complex preclinical and clinical-cohort studies in rare connective tissue disorders, cardiovascular disease and HIV. Skilled in project planning, mentoring and coaching others, coordination of sample and data workflows, ethics and regulatory documentation follow-up, and cross-functional collaboration between laboratory, clinical and academic teams. Known for decisive, people-centered leadership, strong analytical and critical thinking, presentation skills, and clear and direct communication.

Postdoctoral Research Fellow at HIV Cure Research Center (HCRC), Ghent University (2025 – Present)

• Study coordination: Structured planning and follow-up for translational HIV reservoir clinical studies, aligning lab work with clinical sampling schedules, and ensuring timely completion of key analysis.
• Process improvement: Simplified sample and data workflows by clarifying responsibilities, standardizing hand-offs, and resolving recurring bottlenecks between lab and clinical teams.
• Regulatory documentation: Took ownership of drafting and updating ethics submissions and protocol amendments for ongoing clinical studies.
• Clinical collaboration: Led and supported joint projects with national and international academic/clinical partners, coordinating clinical studies, study plans, timelines and expectations across institutions involved in HIV reservoir research.
• Strategic group support: Provided mentoring and coaching to PhD students and lab technicians, helped structure project- and lab meetings, contributed to grant application, and supported the organization of scientific and outreach events, strengthening the overall functioning and visibility of the research group.
• Experimental ownership: Executed and optimized key assays in ex vivo studies on HIV reservoir and latency, coordinating clinical samples and downstream analyses.

Predoctoral Research Fellow at Heritable Thoracic Aortic Diseases (HTAD) Research group, Ghent University (2019 – 2024)

• Project leadership: Led and managed multiple research lines cardiovascular complications in rare connective tissue-disorders, coordinating in vivo models, imaging, sample analysis and data integration across disciplines.
• Experimental ownership: Designed, optimized, and quality-controlled key experiments (mouse models, micro-surgery, cardiac ultrasound, histology, preclinical drug study, RNA assays).
• Scientific output: Delivered multiple peer-reviewed publications, (international) conference presentations and successful contributions to grant applications.
• Team mentoring: Mentored and guided junior researchers, lab technicians and MSc students in planning experiments, troubleshooting, trainings and data analysis and interpretation.
• Interdisciplinary and international collaboration: Collaborated with clinicians, engineers and international research partners to integrate diverse expertise into preclinical and clinical research projects.

Predoctoral Research Fellow and Teaching Assistant at Biomedical Research Center (BMRC) Ghent University Global Campus & Vrije Universiteit Brussel (2018 – 2019)

• Experimental ownership: Conducted in vivo and in vitro studies on parasite-mediated immunopathology, coordinating experimental timelines, infections protocols and downstream analyses.
• Teaching: Coordinated and designed practical laboratory sessions in Immunology, Animal Biology, Microbiology, Molecular Biological Analysis for Bachelor students of Bioengineering Sciences.

PhD in Health Sciences – Ghent University

Master of Science in Bioengineering: Medical Biotechnology – Vrije Universiteit Brussel

Bachelor of Science in Bioengineering: Cell and Gene Biotechnology – Vrije Universiteit Brussel