Rate My Professor Chris Van Ginneken

Prof. Dr. Chris Van Ginneken serves as Full Professor in the Department of Veterinary Sciences and Vice-Rector for Education and Student Affairs at the University of Antwerp. With qualifications including a DVM, PhD, MsLAS, and certification as a pig practitioner, Van Ginneken has held the position of Full Professor since October 2001. Leading the Comparative Perinatal Development (CoPeD) research group at Campus Drie Eiken, their research centers on comparative perinatal development and functional anatomy, particularly intestinal health and barrier function in pigs, humane killing methods, neonatal piglet rearing, the enteric nervous system, necrotizing enterocolitis models, and zebrafish welfare. Current projects encompass "Careful handling of pigs in distress – sharing knowledge and strengthening skills" (2025-2027), "Functional Anatomy using Classical and Cutting-Edge Techniques (FAC²ET)" (2025-2029), "Does biological sex determine the outcome of early life adverse events? What a leaky gut has to say?" (2023-2027), "Humane killing of pigs" (2023-2025), and the development of guidance for improving zebrafish welfare (2020-2023). Previously, Van Ginneken hosted the Collen-Francqui Professor Per Sangild (2021-2022).

In education, Van Ginneken teaches core courses in the Bachelor of Veterinary Medicine such as Applied Neuroanatomy, Locomotor System I and II, Skills Lab I and II with communication skills and internship, Propaedeutics, and General Surgery. They also coordinate Laboratory Animal Science modules, including core content, rodents, and fish, for Master's programs in Biochemistry and Biotechnology, Biomedical Sciences (various tracks), Biology, and Teaching in Science and Technology. Key publications include "Age-dependent cognitive decline in the APP23 model precedes amyloid deposition" (2003, European Journal of Neuroscience), "DMSO concentrations up to 1% are safe to be used in the zebrafish embryo developmental toxicity assay" (2021, Frontiers in Toxicology), "A review on early gut maturation and colonization in pigs, including biological and dietary factors affecting gut homeostasis" (2017, Animal Feed Science and Technology), and recent CoPeD outputs like "Effects of hypothermia and hypoxia on cytochrome P450-mediated drug metabolism in neonatal Göttingen minipigs" (Basic & Clinical Pharmacology & Toxicology) and "Drug Disposition in Neonatal Göttingen Minipigs: Exploring Effects of Perinatal Asphyxia and Therapeutic Hypothermia" (Drug Metabolism and Disposition, 2024).