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Beautiful victory for Margaux Mignolet, a researcher at the Faculty of Medicine's Unité de Recherche en Physiologie Moléculaire (URPhyM), who wins 1st prize in the Belgian inter-university final of the Ma thèse en 180 secondes (MT180) competition. Her research? To better understand the mechanisms of antibodies active in cases of long COVID. The second prize in this national competition was also won by a candidate from Namur. It was Petra Manja, from the Unité de Recherche en biologie des micro-organismes (URBM), Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, and is pursuing a thesis aimed at understanding resistance mechanisms in the bacterium E. coli. Both are also researchers at the NARILIS Institute.

The Covid-19 pandemic is a human tragedy that has caused millions of deaths worldwide and put our entire society under great strain. But it has also been a tremendous collective moment for many UNamur scientists, whose research continues in an attempt to better understand this disease and its consequences.

Founded some 50 years ago, the Laboratoire d'Analyse par Réactions Nucléaires (LARN) in the Department of Physics at the University of Namur is home to a 2MV tandem particle gas pedal named ALTAÏS (Accélérateur Linéaire Tandetron pour l'Analyse et l'Implantation des Solides), in operation since 1999.

On the occasion of the International Day of Women and Girls in Science proclaimed on February 11 by the United Nations General Assembly, and as part of the European alliance European Space University for Earth and Humanity (UNIVERSEH) focusing on the theme of space, discover the testimonies of four women scientists from UNamur working on astronomical themes.

Bringing a new drug to market, particularly when it is intended to treat a pediatric or orphan disease, is a journey fraught with pitfalls. The ERAMET project, coordinated by Professor Flora Musuamba Tshinanu, aims to overhaul the assessment procedures, so that regulatory agencies can take innovative technologies into account and thus make more informed choices.

A major breakthrough for the health of women on oral contraceptives has been achieved by researchers in Namur. Every year in Europe, more than 22,000 cases of venous thrombosis or embolism occur among contraceptive pill users. A team of researchers from the University of Namur, in collaboration with QUALIblood (spin-off), has conducted an important study, the results of which could transform prescribing recommendations..

Helping us to age independently and in good health. This is the aim of Charlotte Beaudart's research into sarcopenia, an age-related disease that can occur as early as the age of 50. The work of the UNamur researcher and member of the Narilis Institute has been rewarded once again, as she has just been awarded the title of "Namuroise of the Year", for the Sciences category!

The TineaDiag project is a research project run by UNamur and ULiège with funding from the SPW Research Win²WAL program. It tackles dermatophytoses, skin infections responsible for ringworm, which can affect both humans and animals. The aim? To identify, in dermatophytes, precise cellular markers in order to detect them with sensitivity and certainty, and thus identify infections caused by antifungal-resistant strains.

Abstract Radiotherapy is a cornerstone of cancer treatment and is currently administered to approximately half of all cancer patients. However, the cytotoxic effects of ionizing radiation on normal tissues represent a major limitation, as they restrict the dose that can be safely delivered to patients and, consequently, reduce the likelihood of effective tumor control. In this context, delivering radiation at ultra-high dose rates (UHDR, > 40 Gy/s) is gaining increasing attention due to its potential to spare healthy tissues surrounding the tumor and to prevent radiation-induced side effects, as compared to conventional dose rates (CONV, on the order of Gy/min).The mechanism underlying this protective effect-termed the FLASH effect-remains elusive, driving intensive research to elucidate the biological processes triggered by this type of irradiation.In vitro models offer a valuable tool to support this research, allowing for the efficient screening of various beam parameters and biological responses in a time- and cost-effective manner. In this study, multicellular tumor spheroids and normal cells were exposed to proton irradiation at UHDR to evaluate its efficacy in controlling tumor growth and its cytotoxic impact on healthy tissues, respectively.We report that UHDR and CONV irradiation induced a comparable growth delay in 3D tumor spheroids, suggesting similar efficacy in tumor control. In normal cells, both dose rates induced similar levels of senescence; however, UHDR irradiation led to lower apoptosis induction at clinically relevant doses and early time points post-irradiation.Taken together, these findings further highlight the potential of UHDR irradiation to modulate the response of normal tissues while maintaining comparable tumor control.JuryProf. Thomas BALLIGAND (UNamur), PresidentProf. Stéphane LUCAS (UNamur), SecretaryProf. Carine MICHIELS (UNamur)Dr Sébastien PENNINCKX (Hôpital Universitaire de Bruxelles)Prof. Cristian FERNANDEZ (University of Bern)Dr Rudi LABARBE (IBA)

In May 2025, the Department of Physics welcomed two special visitors: Serge Mathot and François Briard from Namur, both alumni of UNamur and members of CERN. Several activities were on the program, ranging from a visit to the particle accelerator, to science popularization and thematic seminars, particularly in heritage sciences. The aim? To identify areas or activities in which UNamur and CERN could strengthen their collaboration.