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On 15 March 2023, Prof. Henri-François Renard and Prof. Alison Forrester introduced the new advanced bioimaging tools of the UNamur Morphology & Imaging technology platform available to a broad audience of users.

Since 1996, the European Radiation Research Society (ERRS) has awarded the Bacq and Alexander Prize each year to an outstanding European researcher in recognition of the recipient's achievements in the field of radiation research. This year, the award was presented to Professor Carine Michiels, from the University of Namur.

The lysosome, a small intracellular organelle, is often represented as the stomach of the cell due to its acidity and the presence of numerous digestive enzymes within it. Its role? The degradation of numerous molecules and their recycling to build new molecules and fuel energy production in the cells. Since 2003, Marielle Boonen has been particularly interested in the lysosome. Together with researchers from UNamur, she has highlighted the role of a lysosomal enzyme called HYAL1 in the bone remodelling process.

In the summer of 2022, we set out to discover the qualified researchers of UNamur, winners of the funding granted by the FNRS in 2022. Today, we meet Alison Forrester, currently a post-doctoral researcher at the Institut Curie (Paris) who will join UNamur in September for her new mandate as a FNRS Qualified Researcher within the NARILIS Institute. Her research focuses on the study of compounds that could modify the efficiency of the protein production process and thus envisage new therapeutic approaches.

To restore an old book correctly, it is essential to know the secrets of its manufacture and the reasons for its deterioration. Thanks to the King Baudouin Foundation's Jean-Jacques Comhaire Fund, the restoration workshop of the Moretus Plantin University Library has launched a new research project on parchment bindings in the Southern Netherlands in the 16th and 17th centuries. The aim is to gain a better understanding in order to improve conservation.

As the largest and heaviest organ in the human body, the skin is the focus of Professor Yves Poumay's research. For nearly 30 years, within the Cells and Tissues laboratory (LabCeTi), he has been developing in vitro epidermal models that reproduce skin pathologies to better understand and treat them. A pioneering approach that offers alternatives to animal experimentation! On the eve of an international congress devoted to dermatology research organised at UNamur (see below), he talks about the importance of melanoma screening and details the latest advances in dermatology made in his laboratory.

The Elongator complex is involved in the addition of 5'-carboxylmethyluridine (cm5U)-derived modifications to transfer RNAs (tRNAs), thereby influencing the translation of certain messenger RNAs (mRNAs) and helping to maintain the integrity of the proteome. This complex is involved in a variety of biological processes, and is of particular importance in oncology. The identification of chemical inhibitors of Elongator is of significant interest in both basic and pharmaceutical research.Through a yeast screen, this work reveals a potential new role for Elongator and identifies a chemical inhibitor of the complex. This compound presents itself as an interesting candidate as a pharmacological inhibitor, opening up new perspectives for the search for anti-cancer therapies.

More info coming soon! More info on the NARILIS website

At UNamur's NARILIS Institute, the 'Stress and AGEing' (SAGE) research group, led by Professor Florence Chainiaux, is seeking to understand the biological processes involved in ageing, focusing on the interconnection between exposure to stress and cellular senescence.

Catherine Michaux, a qualified FNRS researcher, is a partner in the European MSCA-Doctoral Network PROSTAMET project. The special feature of this project is that it funds both research and the training of 9 doctoral students within a network of multidisciplinary experts.