Kae’s manuscript describing EHBP1, a novel regulator of INPP5E, was published in the Journal of Cell Science in March 2026. You can read the full manuscript here.
And, this was just the beginning of a very successful year for them, followed by the official approval of their PhD thesis by the manuscript committee. This will be followed by a defense on September 7th and of course a banging party to send Kae off into the sunset, or in this case => the Human Technopole in Milano where Kae will join the group of Prof. Gaia Pigino as a postdoctoral researcher.
What an amazing year, Kae! And we are not even halfway 2026. We are so happy and proud of you!
We have made it no secret that cilia proteomics is one of our favourite topics ever and we could talk about it until we literally make your ears bleed. And we are not the only ones! A joint review by Ronald, Prof. David Mick and Prof. Bernhard Schermer was published in the Journal of Cell Science in October 2025 giving an amazing overview of the current status of the field. You can read the full paper here.
Fantastic CilNetNL kick-off meeting at the UMC Utrecht on Saturday 11 November 2023!
Connecting the community and sharing of cilia science. Thanks to all participants for making it a great success!
PhD Defense Siebren Faber
On December 18th 2023, to mark the completion of a very successful year (and PhD), Siebren defended his doctoral thesis, entitled “Photoreceptor Protein Networks - towards restoring the disturbed balance in inherited retinal diseases". To say that he crushed it, would be an underestimation. Siebren sparred with the doctoral committee in the same way he appoaches everything else: with calm composure, soft smile and well-structured responses.
CONGRATULATIONS DR. FABER!!!
In April 2023, in collaboration with the lab of Dr. Olivier Mercey, Siebren published his work on the potential of gene augmentation therapy for LCA5 associated Leber Congential Amaurosis. You can read more about this work here.
An Excellent Beginning of 2023 for the Roepman Lab!
In January of 2023 within just a few days, Mariam & Cenna and Siebren published their work on the ciliary ubiquitinome and the role of PDE6D in trafficking prenylated cargo, respectively. Mariam & Cenna shared co-first authorship on a manuscript published in a special issue of Frontiers in Cell and Developmental Biology focusing on cilia homeostasis. This work established two different models to study specifically the ubiquitinated protein composition of the primary cilium and further established a role for caveolae, and more precisely CAV1, in regulating cilia length through ubiquitination. You can find the full article here.
Siebren’s work which was published in MDPI focuses on the role of PDE6D, a protein involved in the pathogenesis of Joubert Syndrome, in trafficking prenylated NIM1K and UBL3. His works demonstrates that UBL3 localizes to the photoreceptor compartment and may be implicated in sorting cargo towards the outer segment which may explain the retinal degeneration phenotypes seen in mice with mutated PDE6D. Read the paper here.
PhD Defense Cenna Doornbos
On December 8th 2022, Cenna defended her thesis entitled “From bench to bioinformatics and back: dissecting the mechanisms that regulate cilium homeostasis”. She did such a wonderful job at it that Ronald and Dr. Pleasantine Mill were all smiles after the event. Naturally the day culminated with a lively party.
CONGRATULATIONS
DR. DOORNBOS!!!!
PhD Defense Brooke Latour
On June 16th 2022, and despite the unforeseen circumstances, our Brooke proved once again that she is an absolute rock star. Brooke defended her thesis “Primary Cilia in Brain Development and Disease” with an ease and confidence that would make many jealous. But not us! We were simply bursting with pride! The day ended with a fabulous party, lots of cheers and, of course, dancing.
CONGRATULATIONS DR. LATOUR!!!!
