Welcome to the Switch Laboratory

Mapping aggregation-specific interactions in human disease

Our research focuses on understanding the mechanisms gearing protein folding and misfolding and their relation to human disease. In particular, we are investigating how protein aggregation affects the interactome by suppressing native interactions but also by introducing novel aggregation-specific interactions. These latter are especially relevant as they are usually associated with gain of function activities such as neurotoxicity (neurodegeneration).

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Newest publications

  • publication

    FoldDelay web server: an online tool to quantify translation-driven delays in protein native contact formation

    Ramon Duran‑Romaña, Joost Schymkowitz, Frederic Rousseau
    Nucleic Acids Res . 2026 Apr 28
    PubMed
  • publication

    Atomic structures of medin and Aβ fibrils reveal polymorphic remodeling in mixed amyloid systems

    Brajabandhu Pradhan, Senthil T Kumar, Jessica Wagner, Rodrigo Gallardo, Gabriele Orlando, Matthias De Vleeschouwer, Valentina Zorzini, Jillian Madine, Nikolaos Louros, Jonas J Neher, Frederic Rousseau, Joost Schymkowitz
    Nat Commun . 2026 Apr 28.
    PubMed
  • publication

    Belgian recommendations for tissue diagnosis of amyloidosis

    Amélie Dendooven, Annelore Vandendriessche, Priyanka Joseph Koshy, Frank Timmermans, Marijn Speeckaert, Nicolas Kint, Lucas Van Aelst, Marie‑Christiane Vekemans, Nathalie Meuleman, Anne‑Catherine Pouleur, Antoine Bondue, Steven Droogmans, Philippe Debonnaire, Jan De Bleecker, Amaryllis Van Craenenbroeck, Rodrigo Gallardo, Joost Schymkowitz, Frédéric Rousseau, Francis Impens, Simon Devos, Michel Delforge
    Acta Clin Belg . 2026
    PubMed
  • publication

    Phagocytes as plaque catalysts: Human macrophages generate seeding-competent Aβ42 fibrils with cross-seeding activity

    Katerina Konstantoulea, Meine Ramakers, Sarah C. Borrie, Dries T’Syen, Daan Moechars, Malgorzata A. Sliwinska, Brajabandhu Pradhan, Giulia Albertini, Nóra Baligács, Grigoria Tsaka, Bert Houben, Mark Fiers, Rodrigo Gallardo, Maarten Dewilde, Dietmar Rudolf Thal, Michael Willem, Jonas J. Neher, Bart De Strooper, Frederic Rousseau, Joost Schymkowitz
    Proc Natl Acad Sci US 2026 Mar 10
    PubMed
  • publication

    Conformation-specific monoclonal antibodies reveal early Tau structural intermediates in Alzheimer's disease

    Grigoria Tsaka, Aida Montserrat Pagès, Cristiano Brás De Sousa, Jeroen Lammertyn, Grzegorz Walkiewic, Luis Aragão Gomes, Maya Imbrechts, Sophie Tops, Rajasekhar Kolla, Kevin Muwonge, Rik Vandenberghe, Karen Vanhoorelbeke, Christine A F von Arnim, Nick Geukens, Frederic Rousseau, Joost Schymkowitz, Dragana Spasic, Dietmar Rudolf Thal, Debby Thomas, Joris Winderickx
    J Biol Chem . 2026 Feb 3
    PubMed
  • publication

    In silico design of stable single-domain antibodies with high affinity

    Zhongyao Zhang, Rob van der Kant, Iva Marković, David Vizarraga, Teresa Garcia, Katerina Maragkou, Javier Delgado Blanco, Damiano Cianferoni, Gabriele Orlando, Gabriel Cia, Nick Geukens, Carlo Carolis, Alexander N Volkov, Savvas N Savvides, Maarten Dewilde, Joost Schymkowitz, Luis Serrano Pubul, Frederic Rousseau
    Structure . 2026 Jan 9
    PubMed