2004 Master’s degree in Veterinary Medicine (major ruminants – minor small animals). Immediately started an internship at the ambulatory clinic of the Department of Reproduction, Obstetrics and Herd Health (Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Ghent University).

2005 Started as a full-time assistant at the same department.

2012 Successful defense of her PhD 'Towards a uniform characterization of equine mesenchymal stromal cells' and obtained her postgraduate degree 'Vakdierenarts Paard'.

2013 Post - doctoral researcher Reproductive Biology Unit.

2014 Diplomate of the European College of Animal Reproduction, subspecialty Equine Reproduction.

2018 Assistant Professor in Veterinary Physiology: responsible teacher for Physiology I and Pathophysiology I. Head of the Veterinary Stem Cell Research group at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine of Ghent University.

2019 Her first PhD student, Lynn Vandenberghe, defended successfully her PhD about the influence of PAF on oocyte maturation and embryo production in cattle.

2018 Master's degree in Sciences (Biochemistry and Biotechnology - major Microbial Biotechnology).

2019Started as a full-time assistant at the research group of Comparative Physiology, Department of Virology, Parasitology and Immunology at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine.

Together with her colleagues, she prepares and teaches the practical sessions of the 2nd bachelor courses Physiology I & II and Pathophysiology I & II, and supervises master thesis student(s).

Furthermore, she is part of the Veterinary Stem Cell Research group of Prof. dr. Catharina De Schauwer. Her PhD research focusses on the use of mesenchymal stem cells as source for in vitro cultured meat production. She is also responsible for the practical organization of the new cell culture lab.

In her free time, you will find her mainly in or at the side of the pool as a coach and a competitor in artistic swimming.

2020Master of Veterinary Medicine (major Equine Veterinary Medicine) at Ghent University.

After performing a small experiment for her master thesis, her interest in research was aroused and she started a PhD at the research group of Comparative Physiology under the supervision of Prof. dr. Catharina De Schauwer.

In veterinary medicine, mesenchymal stem cells are used to support healing in tendon lesions, but their modus operandi is still largely unknown. Marguerite wants to elucidate these mechanisms of action and provide a strong scientific base for regenerative therapies in (equine) sports medicine. Human athletes are dealing with similar injuries as horses, therefore this project can also support progress in human sport medicine. Since infancy, Marguerite is fascinated by horses and she dreams of combining all of her interests for a higher goal.

She usually spends her free time around horses, although she also likes to relax by hiking or jogging in nature.

2017Master’s degree in Pharmacy with the research thesis in Pharmaceutical Biotechnology.

2017-18 Worked as a laboratory assistant performing the validation of a quantitative antibody assay at the neuroimmunologic department of Axon neuroscience.

2020 Master’s degree in Biofabrication.

2020Started a joint PhD program under the supervision of Prof. dr. Catharina De Schauwer and Prof. dr. Lieven Thorrez (KU Leuven) in Customeat project to find suitable biomaterials for supporting in vitro muscle tissue growth.

The production of cultured meat possesses many challenges and one of them is replicating the right texture of the meat. To this end, aligned, fused and elongated myofibers should be created, for example by modulating the cellular organisation and the extracellular matrix composition. Maria’s mission is to develop and test different extracellular matrix components, which are also suitable for food consumption.

When Maria is not in the lab, she can usually be found on a badminton court, jogging in a park, or learning a new guitar song.