Natalie Lorent

Natalie Lorent is an Associate Professor at the University of Leuven (KU Leuven), affiliated with the Department of Chronic Diseases and Metabolism within the Faculty of Medicine. She leads the Laboratory of Respiratory Diseases and Thoracic Surgery (BREATHE) and holds roles such as member of the Council of the Faculty of Medicine and the Medical Sciences Doctoral Committee. Her research focuses on mycobacterial infections (including tuberculosis and NTM), bronchiectasis, cystic fibrosis, and poverty-related respiratory diseases. She is a principal investigator in projects like 'Unveiling the spectrum of nontuberculous mycobacterial lung disease' and 'Understanding Antibiotic-Tolerant Persistence Mechanisms in Chronic Mycobacterium abscessus Infections.'

Teaching responsibilities include courses such as 'Respiratory Diseases' and problem-solving modules in pulmonology and internal medicine. She chairs national NTM multidisciplinary advisory boards, NTM-NET, and BELTATB MDRTB expert groups, driving collaborative research and clinical guidelines. Recent work explores biomarkers for NTM treatment response, metagenomics in bronchiectasis, and immunomodulatory therapies.

Key contributions include over 10 peer-reviewed articles in 2025 alone, addressing antibiotic therapy efficacy, NTM screening tools, and long-COVID molecular mechanisms. Her work bridges clinical practice and translational research, emphasizing patient-centered care and global health equity.