Our strategic drivers
GENeHOPE has identified four strategic drivers around which the Fund focuses its efforts:
1
Accelerating genetic research
2
Improving access to diagnosis and to treatment
3
Raising awareness
and mobilizing
4
Supporting patients and their loved ones
Our Calls for Projects
The GENeHOPE Fund launches each year, in collaboration with the King Baudouin Foundation, a call for projects to select the most promising genetic research initiatives.
Call for Projects 2025
The first call for projects from GENeHOPE made it possible to fund four projects involving collaborative research.
Project 1
Childhood glaucoma and Xenopus model
Decoding a rare genetic mechanism behind severe childhood glaucoma — a disease affecting the optic nerve and potentially leading to blindness — using an original Xenopus model to better understand and ultimately treat adult glaucoma.
Elfride De Baere (Ghent University) – Jean-Michel Rozet (Institut Imagine)
Project 2
Kidney and pancreatic ciliopathies: understanding multi-organ involvement
Studying the interactions between kidney and pancreas in a rare ciliopathy caused by the NPHP3 gene, responsible for childhood kidney failure. The project combines fundamental research and preclinical trials.
Patrick Jacquemin (de Duve Institute, UCLouvain) – Amandine Viau (Institut Imagine)
Project 3
Loeys-Dietz syndrome and IPO8 mutation: toward better understanding of rare forms
Analyzing the effects of an IPO8 gene mutation in mouse models to uncover mechanisms behind the variability of symptoms in patients affected by this rare disorder of the vessels, skeleton, and immune system.
Marianna Parlato (Institut Imagine) – Aline Verstraeten (Center of Medical Genetics, Antwerp)
Project 4
RAPIDGEN: accelerating diagnosis of severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID) in newborns
Development of an ultra-rapid platform to validate new genes responsible for SCID, enabling vital treatments — such as bone marrow transplant — within the first weeks of life.
Filomeen Haerynck (Ghent University) – Jacinta Bustamante (Institut Imagine)
The Researchers
“Genetic research is key to understanding and treating genetic diseases. Every discovery, every breakthrough, paves the way for new hopes for patients and their families.”
Anne De Paepe
Geneticist and expert in genetic diseases.
“Advances in genetics allow us to better understand genetic diseases and develop targeted treatments. It is through collaboration between researchers, clinicians, and institutions that we can transform research into concrete solutions for patients.”
Corinne Antignac
Geneticist and Director of Research at the Imagine Institute.
