Lindsy graduated with a Master in Biochemistry and Biotechnology from Ghent University in 2023. During her Master thesis in the lab of Prof. Frank Van Breusegem (VIB-UGent PSB), she focused on the role of cysteine oxidative post-translational modifications, more specifically protein sulfinylation, and the role of sulfiredoxin in the oxidative stress response in plants. After her Master thesis, she started in the lab of Prof. Bert De Rybel (VIB-UGent PSB), working on the Plant Single Cell Platform. During her time on the platform she gained novel knowledge and skills using single cell and single nuclei transcriptomics technologies. Later in 2024, Lindsy started her PhD journey in the group of Prof. Inge De Clercq (VIB-UGent PSB) where she studies the post-translational regulation mechanisms of membrane-bound transcription factors during mitochondrial retrograde signaling.

Matilde Sanches graduated in 2017 as master of Biodiversity and Plant Biotechnology at University of Coimbra, Portugal. During her master thesis, under the guidance of Prof. Jorge Canhoto, she studied developmental epigenetics throughout somatic embryogenesis of tamarillo plant (Solanum betaceum, Cav.), performing experiments and developing skills (particularly immunofluorescence microscopy) at Pilar S. Testillano's lab in CIB-CSIC, Madrid, Spain. After a one-year experience as Project Developer - DIVA project (H2020) and SKAN Platform activities - at INOVISA (Lisbon, Portugal) and at the Centre for Investigation and Transference of Technology to Community Development (CITT - Maputo, Mozambique), she enrolled in the Plants for Life Doctoral Program in 2019, from ITQB NOVA (Lisbon, Portugal). During her PhD project, focussing on the study of quantitative genetics and mechanisms behind water stress tolerance in grass pea (Lathyrus sativus), she had the opportunity to foster a collaboration between Dr. Carlota Vaz Patto's lab (PlantX group, ITQB NOVA, Oeiras, Portugal) and Prof. Frank Van Breusegem'lab (Oxidative Stress Signalling group, PSB-VIB, Ghent, Belgium). Her main scientific interests are I&D in the agronomic sector, particularly stress resilience in plants, the genetics and epigenetics underlying it; and more important, the potential applications of that field of knowledge in crop improvement and breeding programs, with a particular fondness for orphan crops. More recent (but obviously related) passions are statistics, experimental design and data science, and it was in that framework that she recently joint Hilde Nelissen's Systems Biology of Yield group at PSV-VIB (Ghent, Belgium).

Andreas Joined the Van Damme lab as part of his master II studies in biochemistry and biotechnology at the Ghent university. During his master II project he focussed on inactivation strategies of the endocytic adaptor complexes, the AP-2 complex and the TPLATE complex. After graduating, he joined the lab as a PhD student to work on a proteomics project with the AP-2 complex and the TPLATE complex, looking for novel players in clathrin-mediated endocytosis. He is currently funded by an FWO fundamental research fellowship since 2020.