Current lab members
Youssef Boullauazan
PhD student
After graduating, Youssef was supported by the department for one year to develop a PhD project on urban mosquitoes. This got funded by an FWO SB fellowship in 2026. He works both in our lab and in the lab of Prof. Kristien Brans, who is the project’s co-supervisor. The project combines Kristien’s expertise in urban evolution with our lab’s expertise in mosquito control and habitat selection.
Sofie Van Daele
PhD student
After graduating from VUB, Sofie completed an internship in Finland studying beavers. She returned to Brussels to develop a PhD project on the impact of beavers in urban and rural settings in Flanders. Her project, ‘Backyard Beavers’, was funded by FWO in 2025.
Eliza Van De Sande
PhD student
Eliza completed her MSc at VUB and was awarded an FWO SB fellowship in 2021 to study cacao pollination. She investigates global variation in cacao pollinators and techniques to enhance cacao pollinator production in plantations.
Van de Sande, E. N., Vroman, S., Kratz, F. N., Zalipah Mohamed, N., Mohd Salim, J., Vandromme, M., & Vanschoenwinkel, B. (2026). Revisiting cacao pollination: New behavioural and pollen-based evidence for the key role of Ceratopogonidae. Basic and Applied Ecology, 94, 24–33. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.baae.2026.05.006
Vincent Dolmans
PhD student
Vincent Dolmans has a MSc degree in Ecology and Biodiversity from VUB. He acquired an FWO SB PhD fellowship. In his project “Birdscapes” we study how wetland habitats in Flanders provide resources for migrating water birds. We analyze prey distributions, calculate their nutritional value and use foraging models to estimate which water birds benefit from which types of prey.
Dolmans, V., Partoens, L., Van Goethem, L., & Vanschoenwinkel, B. (2026). Rapid establishment of waterbird prey populations in newly created wetlands. Restoration Ecology, e70435. https://doi.org/10.1111/rec.70435
Leonard De Causmaecker
PhD student
Leonard De Causmaecker was awarded an FWO SB PhD fellowship and investigates novel methods to monitor insects and other flying organisms. After first developing camera based insect sensors during his BSc and MSc projects at VUB he is now experimenting with a LIDAR based set-up in close collaboration with professor Mikkel Brydegaard from Lund University in Sweden and co-supervisor Valéry Ann Jacobs at VUB. As an engineer, Leonard loves to develop new technological tools. He also enjoys oversize scarfs.
De Causmaecker, L. M. S., Mentens, A., Segers, L., Van Den Bossche, P., Vanschoenwinkel, B., & Jacobs, V. A. (2023). Towards public LED lighting with minimal impact on insect movement. Proceedings of the 30th CIE Session, 291–300. Commission Internationale de l’Éclairage (CIE).
Sara Vroman
PhD student
Sara obtained an MSc in Tropical Biodiversity and Ecosystems and completed her MSc thesis in our lab, studying cocoa pollination in Asia and South America. She has now joined the lab as a PhD student, investigating whether organic cocoa can be a feasible alternative to conventional cocoa agroforestry in West Africa.
Van de Sande, E. N., Vroman, S., Kratz, F. N., Zalipah Mohamed, N., Mohd Salim, J., Vandromme, M., & Vanschoenwinkel, B. (2026). Revisiting cacao pollination: New behavioural and pollen-based evidence for the key role of Ceratopogonidae. Basic and Applied Ecology, 94, 24–33. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.baae.2026.05.006
