Louise Medaer holds a master’s degree in Fundamental and Translational Research from the KU Leuven university in Biomedical Sciences. She started as a  PhD researcher in 2020 in the laboratory for Vectorology and Gene Therapy under the supervision of Prof. Rik Gijsbers. The focus of the lab is to develop viral vector technology to identify and validate genetic diseases with the long-term goal to develop novel gene therapeutic approaches to provide a potential cure for genetic disorders. Louise completed her master’s thesis on a gene addition approach for the kidney phenotype of cystinosis. Currently, she is investigating the molecular mechanism of cystinosis myopathy. This research encompasses the development of 3D models and employing viral vector technology to rescue the cystinosis phenotype. For this research, she was granted 2-year funding from Cystinosis Ireland and Cystinosis Foundation UK.