"The world of Dory the antibody" is the popularized title of Margaux Mignolet's thesis. This neuroscience researcher is part of the Unité de Recherche en Physiologie Moléculaire (URPhyM) at the Faculty of Medicine. She works under the supervision of Professor Charles Nicaise and is also a member of the NARILIS Institute. She studies pathogenic autoantibodies in patients with post-acute neurological sequelae of COVID-19.

"Many people still suffer from persistent symptoms after COVID (e.g. memory disorders, fatigue, pain,...). This condition is called long COVID. The mechanism is still unknown. One hypothesis is that patients have antibodies that attack their nervous system, inducing an autoimmune disease. The aim of my thesis is to determine whether patients have these antibodies. This will enable better patient care", explains Margaux Mignolet.

On Wednesday May 21, 2025, she brilliantly succeeded in popularizing her research topic and captivating the audience using clear, simple language, at the national inter-university final of the MT 180 competition. The aim of the competition is to inform the general public about the richness and interest of scientific research, while developing the communication skills of doctoral students. Each participant (doctoral student or doctor who graduated in the previous academic year) presents a clear, concise and convincing three-minute popular presentation in French on his or her thesis. All with the support of a single slide!

And Margaux Mignolet managed to convince the jury, as she won first prize in the competition!

A fine accolade for this enthusiast of the human body and medicine. "I've always been fascinated by how our bodies work, and I've always wanted to understand how diseases work and how to cure them. So I studied biomedical sciences in Namur to be able to work in research," she confides. "I never expected to win this prize! The fourteen other participants presented topics that were each more exciting than the last, and the pitches were really well written. I'm very happy to have won this prize, with Petra by my side, and to have been able to experience this competition alongside Thomas and Petra."

Doctoral students from UNamur shone particularly brightly in this competition, with second prize going to Petra Manja, a microbiology researcher at the Research Unit in Microorganism Biology (URBM) of the Faculty of Science (NARILIS Institute). She is a member of Prof. Régis Hallez's research group. Her thesis aims to understand the persistence mechanisms of the E. coli uropathogenic bacterium.

"Uropathogenic E. coli is one of the bacteria that causes cystitis. Treatment of cystitis is difficult, not least because of its persistence. When the bacteria are treated with antibiotics, the majority of the population dies, except for a small population that goes dormant and thus avoids treatment. Studies have shown that a molecule called alarmone plays a role in this form of persistence. The aim of my research is to find out more about this role. To understand it, I'm interested in the protein that produces alarmone, called SpoT. The idea is to find a regulator of SpoT that will be activated when bacteria are treated with antibiotics. This regulator will in turn activate SpoT which leads to alarmone production and bacterial dormancy," she explains. "I really enjoyed this experience, I learned how to popularize my work to make it accessible to the general public. It's also for them that we do science", she reacts.

Her presentation was entitled: "Dormir pour ne pas mourir".

Thomas Rouma, also a researcher at URBM (Faculty of Science) and the NARILIS Institute, and whose doctoral thesis is co-directed by Professors Eric Muraille and Xavier De Bolle, is studying the protective immune response against lung infections caused by Acinetobacter baumannii in mice.

His presentation was entitled: "How to get rid of a freeloader!"

Congratulations to Margaux, Petra and Thomas, who rose to the challenge of presenting their thesis in 180 seconds!

For more than 20 years, the Namur university community has been mobilizing in support of the fight against cancer through the FNRS's Télévie operation. In 2025, a team made up of staff members and students enabled the implementation of several initiatives combining conviviality, solidarity and generosity.

Students got the ball rolling on March 26 with an improvisation match which, thanks to the involvement of the ImproNam kot-à-projet for the 2nd year running, raised a handsome 1,126 euros. Then, on April 10, the university community vibrated to the sound of the greatest hits at a first Blind Test organized by the General Student Assembly and UNamur, before meeting up again on April 17 for a sandwich lunch organized in partnership with the Au P'tit Gourmand sandwich shop.

All in all, it was a cheque for 20,000 euros that Vice-Rector for Research Carine Michiels and Professor Anne-Catherine Heuskin, both Télévie project promoters, presented at the grand closing evening in the presence of FNRS Secretary General Véronique Halloin and all Télévie scientists.

The University of Namur sincerely thanks the members of the community, alumni, donors and sponsors who have associated themselves with its actions in 2025.

In 2025, no fewer than 6 Télévie research projects are being carried out at UNamur's NARILIS Institute, exploring innovative approaches to better understand and treat pancreatic, lung, breast and skin cancers, colorectal cancer as well as carcinoma of the neck and head. This work mobilizes varied expertise, from an interdisciplinary perspective, and with the ambition of improving treatment efficacy and patients' quality of life.

Boosted by the success of 2025, the UNamur Télévie team is already setting a date with members of the university community and its partners for new moments of conviviality in aid of Télévie.

The three scientific experiments were selected from 29 projects for "their scientific value, technical feasibility and budgetary compatibility", states the public service of Federal Science Policy (Belspo).

Historically, Belgium has built up notable expertise and influence within the European Space Agency (ESA). Today, UNamur finds itself at the heart of an experiment that will be deployed during Belgian astronaut Raphaël Liegéois's stay aboard the ISS in 2026. The BeBlob project, conducted at the interface of biology and physics, aims to study Physarum polycephalum, commonly known as a "blob".

Boris Hespeels is a researcher at the ILEE Institute and the Beblob project leader alongside Anne-Catherine Heuskin, a researcher at the Narilis Institute. "We're also interested in its amazing ability to dry out completely and survive extreme stresses, including the vacuum of space, extreme temperatures or even high doses of radiation causing massive DNA damage," the two Namur researchers continue.

Building on their experience gained on previous ISS missions with other biological models, UNamur teams have developed a new miniaturized "vessel" for carrying different blob samples. In orbit, the astronaut will rehydrate the samples, which will then have to adapt to their new environment. The objectives are twofold: firstly, to assess the effects of the orbital environment on blob metabolism; secondly, to study DNA repair in samples previously irradiated on Earth by massive doses. Scientists will analyze how this organism repairs its genome in microgravity, and determine whether this process is altered by spaceflight.

This work should make it possible to identify key players in cell protection and repair under extreme conditions. Combined with the many experiments carried out at UNamur, they could ultimately lead to the development of new molecules capable of protecting astronauts, preserving fragile biological samples or even limiting the side effects of radiotherapy by protecting patients' healthy cells.

Discover the other scientific experiments selected to be carried out on board the International Space Station (ISS) during astronaut Raphaël Liégeois's mission in 2026

UNIVERSEH (European Space University for Earth and Humanity) is part of the "European Universities" initiative promoted by the European Commission. Its ambition is to develop a space to meet the societal, social and environmental challenges arising from European space policy.

"As early as December 2019, I followed very closely what was still just an alert about cases of atypical pneumonia, in China, and spreading rapidly", recalls Benoît Muylkens, Director of the Department of Veterinary Medicine and member of the NARILIS Institute (NAmur Research Institute for LIfe Sciences). "And on January 17, I realized that control of the epidemic had been lost and that this was a potentially serious disease. Fortunately, as early as February, the German reference laboratory shared the genetic map of the virus. Virology research logistician Damien Coupeau and I immediately began searching for genetic sequences of interest and ordering material."

Then the latter had an idea: why not mobilize the many molecular biology laboratories found in all the country's universities, to support the overwhelmed clinical analysis laboratories? "To carry out a PCR test from a nasal sample, it was necessary to extract the virus's RNA first, explains Benoît Muylkens. "Now, in clinical analysis laboratories, this step was carried out by expensive machines, and required products that were in short supply at the time. "What followed was "an absolutely crazy week" in which the researcher, with the help of all good will and the support of the relevant authorities, set up a logistics platform, from the receipt of samples to encoding, including the extraction of viral RNA "by hand", i.e. via techniques tried and tested in research laboratories and requiring only "some reagents and a centrifuge", as well as a certain amount of know-how. At cruising speed, this project named SANA, endorsed by the five Faculties, has delivered up to 500 tests per week, with a total of 10,000.

While today, the SANA project no longer has a raison d'être, its influence can still be felt. "It hasn't been talked about much, but two new variants of the blue tongue virus, which affects sheep and cattle, emerged this summer, with very serious consequences, says virologist. "Because of our work on SARS-CoV-2, we're much more organized and we've been instrumental in identifying the virus in animals."

In the summer of 2020, as Covid-19 vaccines begin to emerge from laboratories and the tension over PCR testing has eased, pharmacology professor Jonathan Douxfils, a member of the NARILIS Institute, has, for his part, already been several months into the CRO-VAX project, which aims to determine whether a person has been infected with SARS-CoV-2, via, not a nasal swab, but blood. "The idea was to see, by measuring antibodies, whether people had developed immunity to the virus, and what the quality of this immunity was", he summarizes.

Then, with the arrival of vaccines in early 2021 and for two and a half years, the CRO-VAX project expanded to test the serological response of vaccinated individuals. "Our results showed, even before the first vaccines, that they should be done recurrently", he explains. "In fact, SARS-CoV-2 is a rapidly multiplying virus at respiratory level. From then on, it's important that our first line of defense, which are antibodies, are permanently present on the battlefield. With the development of new viral variants, our studies have shown that the efficacy of vaccines diminishes with each new strain, and that a booster is necessary."

Named Covimoa, the aim of this study was to develop an alternative to PCR tests. "These tests have a number of disadvantages: they are expensive, very cumbersome from a logistical point of view, and the assessment of viral load is highly dependent on the quality of the nasal swab", the researcher points out."Conversely, blood is homogeneous, and the Simoa platform makes it possible to detect certain proteins or viral antigens in it with very high precision. Our tests were therefore able to determine, by estimating the viral load, whether the infected person was likely to require rapid admission to intensive care."

For all that, and despite the good results of these two studies, Professor Douxfils regrets that they have not had a greater societal impact. "Everyone did their best in a context of crisis, and there's no question of pointing the finger at anyone", he tempers. "But I think the Belgian state would benefit from listening to and involving the players who have worked on this disease." For his part, Professor Douxfils and his teams intend to draw on the lessons learned from this crisis: "It has undoubtedly made us grow, and today we are turning our attention to other pathologies, such as influenza viruses and the syncitial virus, responsible for bronchiolitis."

A total of 33 million doses of vaccine were injected in Belgium. Many of them in the huge vaccination centers that have sprung up across the country, such as Namur Expo, run for a time by Dr. Dominique Henrion, also a general practitioner and teacher in the Department of Medicine. The doctor saw a tremendous opportunity: to understand the reasons behind the choice to vaccinate, at a time when the anti-vax phenomenon was gaining momentum, and becoming louder in the media every day.

With nearly 11,000 respondents, this study highlighted several elements. "The first conclusion we can draw from it concerns the fact that no socio-economic profile can predict whether a person is pro, hesitant or anti," states the doctor. "But above all, our study has shown that the most influential person on a person's choice remains the GP. Much more so than anyone else."

An insight that Dr Henrion intends to share with his students, even as he takes part in the training of future general practitioners. "We must insist on the attitude and the true role of influencer that these practitioners will have with their patients", he believes. "For, beyond the simple cachet of trust that GPs can have, this study also reveals the importance of their attitude. Too many practitioners remain in a reserved attitude, without involving themselves in the advice they give. But giving personal information, such as the fact that you've had your family vaccinated, speaks volumes. And above all, verbalizing this vaccination advice can have a real impact on patients' choices."

For the doctor, "practitioners too often doubt the broad medical knowledge they hold, under the pretext that they are not experts in every field. It's a question of posture! That's why it's important to keep talking about the results of this study, which are rich in learning."

Today, five years after the start of the pandemic, the emergency has passed, but SARS-CoV-2 is still with us. Research continues, first and foremost to better understand how our own immune system reacts.

When the virus penetrates one of our cells, it dumps its RNA into it. "The cell then has tools at its disposal, enzymes capable of inducing mutations in this viral genome, in order to render it inoperative and thus slow down the development of the infection, the researcher points out. "We've been working on these enzymes, for several years, via other more common viruses, such as adenoviruses. But we are fortunate, at UNamur, to have a category 3 laboratory that enables us to work on SARS-CoV-2 and broaden our skills."

This research is also aimed at gaining a better understanding of this strange pathology known as Covid long. Indeed, a significant number of people who have contracted Covid-19 continue to suffer from various symptoms, such as severe fatigue, breathing difficulties, or neurological symptoms such as mental fog and pain.

Early on, UNamur researchers Nicolas Gillet and Charles Nicaise, Professor in the Department of Medicine and President of the NARILIS Institute, collaborated on this subject to better understand its causes, particularly in the brain. "There are several hypotheses on this subject. Given the variability of the disease's symptoms, it is most certainly a multifactorial phenomenon", thinks Charles Nicaise. "For our part, we have chosen to focus on the autoimmune aspects of the disease."

The hypothesis envisaged by the researcher, and confirmed by initial results, involves patients' antibodies directed, not against the virus, but against its own cells.

In the coming months, Professor Nicaise hopes to go one step further, by discovering the cells or proteins targeted by these antibodies, in order to better understand the pain for which they are responsible. The fight goes on.