Simon Feys

Dr. Simon Feys obtained his MD title in 2018 at KU Leuven in Belgium. He is currently specializing in internal medicine with a focus on critical care at University Hospitals Leuven, Belgium. Since 2020, he combines his clinical work with PhD-research at KU Leuven in the group of Prof. Joost Wauters. His research focuses on viral-associated pulmonary aspergillosis in critically ill patients, from both clinical and translational perspectives. Dr. Feys combines his clinical background with patient sample-based multi-omics approaches to increase our understanding of the pathophysiology of viral-associated pulmonary aspergillosis, thereby identifying novel targets to optimize our prognostic, diagnostic and therapeutic toolboxes. He has presented his work at major conferences in the field such as ECCMID, TIMM and ISHAM, and his work resulted in first author publications in Intensive Care Medicine, American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, Clinical Infectious Diseases and The Lancet Respiratory Medicine.

Abstract Submission:

Whether host genetics predispose to influenza- or COVID-19-associated pulmonary aspergillosis (IAPA/CAPA) is currently unknown. We will discuss a single-nucleotide polymorphism in the gene encoding the Aspergillus-recognizing protein Galectin-3 that might predispose to IAPA. We will highlight both preclinical insights, and results from a clinical observational study.