After studying Biology at the Universities of Hasselt and Leuven, I obtained my PhD at the University of Antwerp in 1996. After a 10-year postdoctoral period in Canada and Belgium I became assistant professor at the SPHERE group in 2006 and evolved to be full professor, head of the new ECOSPHERE research group, and chair of the Institute of Environment and Sustainable Development (IMDO). My research focuses on effects of environmental factors (pollution, climate change) on the performance of fish. Studies are comparative in nature and include freshwater and marine teleosts and elasmobranchs.