Cristina Vicente

What are you investigating?

I am trained as a cell and molecular biologist and at VIB my focus is on epigenetics and non-coding genetic variants, and how both of these contribute to frontotemporal dementia. Currently, I am mainly working on profiling the DNA methylation landscape of disease subjects and understanding the underlying mechanisms through which aberrant patterns influence the disease pathophysiology.

Outside research, what is your favorite thing about VIB?

The large amount of trainings available and that are provided to staff free of charge. I have followed a few of these and found them super useful, particularly in topics that are slightly outside my comfort zone.

What’s your favorite thing about your job?

That there are no two days that are the same. There is always a new technique to try, new experiments to do, new data to analyze, grants/papers to write, so it is never boring and forever a changing environment.

The scientific process entails a lot of failures and things not going as planned along the way. How do you deal with that aspect of the work?

I think that having a good support system is key to help dealing with failure. For me, having a close knit group of friends that helps me process and see things from a different perspective or that just take me out for drinks, is the greatest coping strategy.

What keeps you busy outside the lab? / What are your hobbies?

I have had several hobbies over the years but playing soccer has stuck the longest. It has been a constant in my life since I was a child and so far, I have played in three different continents. I am trained in futsal but I also love the outdoors so, when I moved to Antwerp I started playing outdoors. In hindsight it was maybe not the wisest option because I nearly freeze during the winter games but it is still great fun!