The Department of Biomedical Sciences at the University of Namur focuses on the development of tools and techniques dedicated to understanding the functioning of the human body at the molecular, cellular and organic levels. Its aim is to create new therapies and technological devices to improve people's health and quality of life. By training tomorrow's researchers with an active and innovative teaching approach, the department prepares students for their future.

In addition, it offers students the chance to discover a variety of professional opportunities right from the Bachelier, whether in Belgium or internationally, by collaborating directly with companies!

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A boost for ageing research thanks to a new Collen-Francqui Start-up Grant for Charlotte Beaudart

Medicine

Charlotte Beaudart, a lecturer in the Faculty of Medicine's Department of Biomedical Sciences, has been awarded the Mandat Start-Up Collen-Francqui! A prestigious distinction awarded by the Francqui Foundation to support promising young researchers in the development of their research program.

Charlotte Beaudart UNamur

For nearly fifteen years, Charlotte Beaudart has been researching the physiological aspects of aging, exploring themes such as sarcopenia, frailty and intrinsic capacities.

Thanks to her Start-Up Collen-Francqui mandate, she will now be able to devote more time to her research. Time that she wishes to use on the one hand to strengthen her presence in international and interdisciplinary collaborations, and on the other to explore new dimensions in her research on aging."I would like to explore research in the field of osteosarcopenia, defined by the combination of sarcopenia and osteoporosis."

Towards patient-centered research

Charlotte Beaudart defines the majority of her research as "patient-centered". Her wish is to take this approach a step further and thus "more fully take into account the patient's preferences in terms of therapeutic modalities to adapt management proposals and thus hope for better treatment initiation and adherence."

Image
Charlotte Beaudart

The ultimate aim of this research is to promote more personalized and humane medicine. In this way, the notion of democracy is also included in the healthcare sector.

Charlotte Beaudart Lecturer, Department of Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine

Expertise in meta-analysis to be developed

In the course of her career as a researcher, Charlotte Beaudart has also developed several methodological expertises, skills in biostatistics and meta-synthesis of scientific literature, which are transposable to numerous themes. "This has already led to numerous interdisciplinary collaborations, for example with UNamur's pharmacy department, but also with several clinicians working in hospitals in the Namur region," continues the scientist. This new mandate will also enable her to further develop this aspect of her research, notably by training her teams in these rigorous methods and strengthening her internal collaborations.

Deciphering resistance mechanisms in liver cancer

Biochemistry, genetics and molecular biology

Hepatocellular carcinoma is the most common primary liver cancer. Unfortunately, this tumor still has a high mortality rate due to the lack of effective treatments for its most advanced or poorly localized forms. As part of a partnership with the CHU UCL Namur - site de Godinne and with the support of Roche Belgium, researchers in the Department of Biomedical Sciences are trying to understand why liver tumor cells are so resistant to treatment, and to identify therapeutic alternatives to better target them.

Jean-Pierre Gillet

The liver is our body's largest internal organ and plays an essential role in many vital functions such as digestion and detoxification. As a result, although diseased, the liver is very well equipped to resist chemical agents sent into the body to treat it, such as chemotherapy. On the strength of his expertise in the field of multi-drug resistance in cancer, Professor Jean-Pierre Gillet, Director of the Department of Biomedical Sciences and the Laboratory of Molecular Cancer Biology at UNamur, is one of the linchpins of a new research project devoted to the resistance mechanisms of hepatocellular carcinoma conducted in collaboration with Drs. Lionel D'Hondt and Quentin Gilliaux, oncologists at the Medical Oncology Department of CHU UCL Namur - site de Godinne.

Olfactory receptors under the microscope

This project focuses on olfactory receptors, proteins localized in the membrane of sensory neurons in the nasal cavity, but which are also found expressed elsewhere in the body. Beyond their role in odor detection, these receptors have highly interesting properties in terms of treatment: they are, in fact, so-called "highly druggable " therapeutic targets, i.e. particularly receptive to small molecule drugs, but also to biological drugs such as, for example, antibodies. In other words, they are excellent candidates for the development of drugs that can bind to them effectively and modulate their function to produce the desired therapeutic effect. Based on the existing literature and Professor Gillet's previous work on liver cancer, the following question arose: would olfactory receptors be specifically expressed in liver tumors and, if so, play a role in their development and mechanisms of resistance to treatment?

To answer this question, an interdisciplinary collaboration was set up between various partners. The Biobank of the CHU UCL Namur in Godinne, which preserves tissue samples taken in particular during tumor removal, made it possible to build up a representative collection of healthy livers, diseased (cirrhotic) livers and liver tumor tissue. Messenger RNA was extracted from these three types of tissue, then sequenced (a method which identifies the genes expressed in the cells). Data analysis was then carried out at Namur Molecular Tech, a molecular biology technology platform located on the Godinne university site and directed by Dr Degosserie. This work led to the identification of six olfactory receptors specifically expressed in tumor cells, and hitherto little studied. They are therefore promising candidates for further investigation of the original hypothesis: deciphering the role of these receptors in the development of treatment-resistant liver tumors.

Support from Roche Belgium

Thanks to their joint expertise and the innovative nature of their research, UNamur and CHU UCL Namur - site de Godinne have been awarded a €50,000 grant to further explore the role of these six olfactory receptors. In collaboration with the CHU Research Laboratory and in particular Dr Morgane Canonne, the UNamur Cancer Molecular Biology Laboratory is currently developing in vitro models, such as organoids, or mini-organ, from liver tumor biopsies. These models will make it possible to test the biological role of olfactory receptors within the cell: does the expression of these receptors in tumor cells induce an increase in their proliferation or aggressiveness? Do they accelerate the generation of metastases in other tissues? Or, on the contrary, does a lack of activation of these receptors contribute to these mechanisms? Depending on the answers to these questions, it will be possible to assess whether these receptors constitute good therapeutic targets within the primary liver tumor, with a view to blocking its metastatic capacity or slowing its development. The ultimate aim is to test targeted treatments on cells from these models, with a view to developing therapeutic alternatives that will offer new hope for patients.

.
Image
Jean-Pierre Gillet

This project is the result of an excellent collaboration between different partners who, together, each have their own role to play.

Jean-Pierre Gillet Professor and Director of the Department of Biomedical Sciences and the Molecular Cancer Biology Laboratory at UNamur

NARILIS, a bridge between hospital and university

Founded in 2010, the Namur Research Institute In Life Sciences (NARILIS) brings together the University of Namur and the CHU UCL Namur - site de Godinne. It brings CHU doctors into dialogue with scientists from a variety of backgrounds, with a resolutely interdisciplinary outlook.

This article was published in the Fond Namur Université newsletter.

UNamur students in direct contact with an astronaut on the ISS.

UniversEH

As part of the English course given in the first year of science-medicine, students are introduced to the popularization of scientific concepts in the form of videos. This is the "It's not Rocket Science" project, proposed by Natassia Schutz and Aude Hansel, professors at UNamur's School of Modern Languages (ELV). This year's competition prize-giving event featured a highlight: a live audio connection with Donald Pettit, American astronaut, currently aboard the International Space Station.

INRS_Vignette

The project's ambition is to make science accessible to as many people as possible, especially high school students. The aim is clear: to demystify complex scientific concepts while offering young people a fascinating gateway to the world of research.

The idea behind "It's not Rocket Science" is simple but ambitious: each student duo must design a 2-minute popular science video that explains a space-related scientific concept or phenomenon. From a pool of 300 videos, the most convincing are selected to take part in a competition organized during Printemps des Sciences. High school students are invited to vote for the best video.

The objectives of this project are multiple: (1) to practice English in a concrete way , (2) to offer secondary school students a glimpse of what is achieved at university , (3) to discover interdisciplinarity and (4) to inspire young people to study science - why not at UNamur?

To meet this challenge, the finalist students are supported in the production of their videos by the team of English and subject teachers, by Confluent des Savoirs - UNamur's science popularization service - and by the Audio-Visual Service.

inrs_photo_sav

2025 edition: discovering space

The videos produced by the students cover concepts related to space, a theme that captures the imagination and arouses the curiosity and interest of young people. From the effects of cosmic radiation on the human body, to the quest for new energy sources in space or the study of volcanoes on other planets, each video becomes a fascinating exploration of a complex subject, presented in a clear and engaging way.

INRS2025_Lauréates

An exceptional live exchange with the International Space Station

The competition's prize-giving event was marked by a highlight: a live audio connection with Donald Pettit, American astronaut, currently aboard the International Space Station. This privileged moment of exchange enabled the students and secondary school pupils in attendance to ask questions of the astronaut orbiting the Earth and learn more about life on board, the astronauts' journey and the challenges they face on a daily basis.

Following this exchange, the winners of the 2025 edition were presented with prizes donated by project partner EuroSpace Centre. Among the 7 finalist videos, the one made by Ella Cishahayo and Angelina Severino, students in biomedical sciences, won the competition.

The evening closed with a talk by Julie Henry, STEAM Project Manager at UNamur, on the challenge of attracting girls to scientific fields.

Listen to the exchange with the astronaut

© NASA/Bill Ingalls

Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.

An AstraZeneca-FNRS-FWO Foundation award for Charlotte Beaudart

Price

On 13 December 2023, Charlotte Beaudart, a new academic at the University of Namur Faculty of Medicine, will be awarded a prize at the annual ceremony for Belgian scientific research in support of her innovative research on the subject of ageing.

Photo Charlotte Beaudart © AstraZeneca Foundation

Chargée de cours au Département des sciences biomédicales de la Faculté de médecine depuis le 1er septembre 2023, et membre de l’Institut NARILIS, Charlotte Beaudart s’occupe plus particulièrement du master sciences biomédicales, spécialisé en recherche clinique.  Elle est également impliquée dans le master EMOTION - Erasmus Mundus.

Ce 13 décembre 2023, elle reçoit un prix Fondation AstraZeneca-FNRS-FWO dans la catégorie qualité de vie des aînés avec sa recherche intitulée Healthy aging: from physiological to psychological and ethical aspects.

Ce prix récompense les différentes recherches effectuées par Charlotte Beaudart au cours des 11 dernières années se concentrant sur les aspects physiologiques du vieillissement, explorant des domaines tels que la sarcopénie, la fragilité et les capacités intrinsèques.

Dès 50 ans, la masse et la force musculaires diminuent de manière significative. Au-delà d'un certain seuil, ce phénomène est appelé sarcopénie. Il a un impact sur les performances physiques, favorise les troubles de la marche et constitue un facteur de fragilité chez les personnes âgées.

Avec plus de 150 publications scientifiques à son actif et un H-index de 40, Charlotte Beaudart a su se distinguer dans le domaine des recherches sur le vieillissement. L'une de ses réalisations les plus marquantes est la création de la cohorte SarcoPhAge, rassemblant plus de 530 participants de plus de 65 ans à Liège. Cette étude prospective s'étend sur près d'une décennie, offrant des informations précieuses sur la dynamique du vieillissement. De plus, le Dr. Beaudart s’est distinguée pour avoir développé le SarQoL, le premier questionnaire validé de qualité de vie spécifique à la sarcopénie.

Traduit dans 35 langues, il est désormais utilisé au quotidien par les cliniciens : « Sur le plan médical, explique Charlotte Beaudart, il est formidable de pouvoir accroître la force musculaire dans les deux bras, par exemple. Mais pour le patient, quel est l'intérêt ?  Pour lui, il sera certainement plus important d'être capable de faire ses courses, de jardiner, de ne pas avoir à demander d'aide. Grâce à ce questionnaire, le clinicien peut prendre en compte tous les aspects qui définissent la qualité de vie du patient ».

Au cours de sa carrière de chercheuse, Charlotte Beaudart a également développé plusieurs expertises méthodologiques, des compétences en biostatistiques et en méta-synthèse de la littérature scientifique, qui sont transposable à de nombreuses thématiques.  Cela permet des collaborations interdépartementales mais aussi interfacultaires.  Elle effectue également des recherches en économie de la santé.  Dans ce cadre, elle s’intéresse principalement aux études de préférences de patients, études qui entrent dans la dynamique de l’évolution des politiques de santé publique et des modèles de santé plus centrés sur le patient.  Charlotte Beaudart se concentre sur une  méta-analyse des études dans le domaine. Elle a créé un outil statistique destiné à aider les médecins dans leur pratique quotidienne.

Même si j’ai réalisé mes études dans le bassin liégeois, je suis namuroise d’origine.  Je suis ravie de commencer ma carrière académique à l’UNamur. Je sens que l’environnement de travail est sain.  Je suis sûre que cela va me permettre de m’épanouir professionnellement.

Charlotte Beaudart Chargée de cours au département des sciences biomédicales de la faculté de médecine

CV express

Charlotte Beaudart a obtenu son master en sciences de la santé publique, finalité Epidémiologie et Economie de la santé à l’Université de Liège en 2012.  Elle obtient son Doctorat en sciences de la santé publique 4 ans plus tard, en décembre 2016, sous mandat d’Aspirante FNRS. Elle travaille ensuite près de 3 ans comme chercheuse post-doc au sein de l’Unité de Recherche en Epidémiologie et Economie de la santé de l’Université de Liège avant de commencer un post-doctorat, dès 2020, à l’Université de Maastricht dans le Département « Health Service Research ».

Cérémonie de remise des prix

Le Fonds pour la recherche scientifique (F.R.S.-FNRS), la Fondation pour la recherche en Flandre (FWO) et la Fondation AstraZeneca organisent une cérémonie annuelle de remise des prix pour la recherche scientifique belge.

Trois scientifiques belges, désignés par le FNRS et la FWO, reçoivent un prix de 25.000€ pour soutenir leur recherche scientifique innovante.

La Fondation AstraZeneca confie la sélection de trois lauréats à des jurys indépendants nommés par le Fonds National de la Recherche Scientifique (FNRS) et le Fonds voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek (FWO).

«L’attribution de ces Prix témoigne à nouveau du soutien de la Fondation AstraZeneca à la recherche de qualité dans des domaines à fort impact sociétal, comme la santé au travail, le vieillissement, ainsi que dans l’application de techniques de pointe à des traitements personnalisés. Par cela, la Fondation s’engage clairement dans des voies porteuses d’amélioration de la santé pour les générations présentes et futures », déclare le Pr. Jean-Luc Balligand, Président de la Fondation.
 
Depuis 1993, au travers des prix remis aux chercheurs, la Fondation AstraZeneca a déjà consacré 5 750 000 € au soutien de la recherche en Belgique.

Les sciences biomédicales à l’UNamur

Un chercheur en sciences biomédicales

Des masters diplômants enseignés en anglais

4 finalités sont proposées :

Ces programmes diplômants vous conduiront, par le biais de la recherche dans le domaine des sciences de la vie, à travers chaque étape du développement de nouvelles molécules thérapeutiques, de biomarqueurs et de tests diagnostiques.

Deux spécialisations en recherche clinique sont également proposées et conduisent à des métiers tels qu’attaché de recherche clinique, chef de projet clinique, assistant d'essais cliniques ou data manager. Ces métiers impliquent la mise en place et le suivi des essais cliniques, la qualité des données recueillies, le respect de la réglementation en vigueur, ainsi que la gestion du traitement des données.

Les études en sciences biomédicales vous intéressent ?  Découvrez le Département des sciences biomédicales et les formations proposées !

A boost for ageing research thanks to a new Collen-Francqui Start-up Grant for Charlotte Beaudart

Medicine

Charlotte Beaudart, a lecturer in the Faculty of Medicine's Department of Biomedical Sciences, has been awarded the Mandat Start-Up Collen-Francqui! A prestigious distinction awarded by the Francqui Foundation to support promising young researchers in the development of their research program.

Charlotte Beaudart UNamur

For nearly fifteen years, Charlotte Beaudart has been researching the physiological aspects of aging, exploring themes such as sarcopenia, frailty and intrinsic capacities.

Thanks to her Start-Up Collen-Francqui mandate, she will now be able to devote more time to her research. Time that she wishes to use on the one hand to strengthen her presence in international and interdisciplinary collaborations, and on the other to explore new dimensions in her research on aging."I would like to explore research in the field of osteosarcopenia, defined by the combination of sarcopenia and osteoporosis."

Towards patient-centered research

Charlotte Beaudart defines the majority of her research as "patient-centered". Her wish is to take this approach a step further and thus "more fully take into account the patient's preferences in terms of therapeutic modalities to adapt management proposals and thus hope for better treatment initiation and adherence."

Image
Charlotte Beaudart

The ultimate aim of this research is to promote more personalized and humane medicine. In this way, the notion of democracy is also included in the healthcare sector.

Charlotte Beaudart Lecturer, Department of Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine

Expertise in meta-analysis to be developed

In the course of her career as a researcher, Charlotte Beaudart has also developed several methodological expertises, skills in biostatistics and meta-synthesis of scientific literature, which are transposable to numerous themes. "This has already led to numerous interdisciplinary collaborations, for example with UNamur's pharmacy department, but also with several clinicians working in hospitals in the Namur region," continues the scientist. This new mandate will also enable her to further develop this aspect of her research, notably by training her teams in these rigorous methods and strengthening her internal collaborations.

Deciphering resistance mechanisms in liver cancer

Biochemistry, genetics and molecular biology

Hepatocellular carcinoma is the most common primary liver cancer. Unfortunately, this tumor still has a high mortality rate due to the lack of effective treatments for its most advanced or poorly localized forms. As part of a partnership with the CHU UCL Namur - site de Godinne and with the support of Roche Belgium, researchers in the Department of Biomedical Sciences are trying to understand why liver tumor cells are so resistant to treatment, and to identify therapeutic alternatives to better target them.

Jean-Pierre Gillet

The liver is our body's largest internal organ and plays an essential role in many vital functions such as digestion and detoxification. As a result, although diseased, the liver is very well equipped to resist chemical agents sent into the body to treat it, such as chemotherapy. On the strength of his expertise in the field of multi-drug resistance in cancer, Professor Jean-Pierre Gillet, Director of the Department of Biomedical Sciences and the Laboratory of Molecular Cancer Biology at UNamur, is one of the linchpins of a new research project devoted to the resistance mechanisms of hepatocellular carcinoma conducted in collaboration with Drs. Lionel D'Hondt and Quentin Gilliaux, oncologists at the Medical Oncology Department of CHU UCL Namur - site de Godinne.

Olfactory receptors under the microscope

This project focuses on olfactory receptors, proteins localized in the membrane of sensory neurons in the nasal cavity, but which are also found expressed elsewhere in the body. Beyond their role in odor detection, these receptors have highly interesting properties in terms of treatment: they are, in fact, so-called "highly druggable " therapeutic targets, i.e. particularly receptive to small molecule drugs, but also to biological drugs such as, for example, antibodies. In other words, they are excellent candidates for the development of drugs that can bind to them effectively and modulate their function to produce the desired therapeutic effect. Based on the existing literature and Professor Gillet's previous work on liver cancer, the following question arose: would olfactory receptors be specifically expressed in liver tumors and, if so, play a role in their development and mechanisms of resistance to treatment?

To answer this question, an interdisciplinary collaboration was set up between various partners. The Biobank of the CHU UCL Namur in Godinne, which preserves tissue samples taken in particular during tumor removal, made it possible to build up a representative collection of healthy livers, diseased (cirrhotic) livers and liver tumor tissue. Messenger RNA was extracted from these three types of tissue, then sequenced (a method which identifies the genes expressed in the cells). Data analysis was then carried out at Namur Molecular Tech, a molecular biology technology platform located on the Godinne university site and directed by Dr Degosserie. This work led to the identification of six olfactory receptors specifically expressed in tumor cells, and hitherto little studied. They are therefore promising candidates for further investigation of the original hypothesis: deciphering the role of these receptors in the development of treatment-resistant liver tumors.

Support from Roche Belgium

Thanks to their joint expertise and the innovative nature of their research, UNamur and CHU UCL Namur - site de Godinne have been awarded a €50,000 grant to further explore the role of these six olfactory receptors. In collaboration with the CHU Research Laboratory and in particular Dr Morgane Canonne, the UNamur Cancer Molecular Biology Laboratory is currently developing in vitro models, such as organoids, or mini-organ, from liver tumor biopsies. These models will make it possible to test the biological role of olfactory receptors within the cell: does the expression of these receptors in tumor cells induce an increase in their proliferation or aggressiveness? Do they accelerate the generation of metastases in other tissues? Or, on the contrary, does a lack of activation of these receptors contribute to these mechanisms? Depending on the answers to these questions, it will be possible to assess whether these receptors constitute good therapeutic targets within the primary liver tumor, with a view to blocking its metastatic capacity or slowing its development. The ultimate aim is to test targeted treatments on cells from these models, with a view to developing therapeutic alternatives that will offer new hope for patients.

.
Image
Jean-Pierre Gillet

This project is the result of an excellent collaboration between different partners who, together, each have their own role to play.

Jean-Pierre Gillet Professor and Director of the Department of Biomedical Sciences and the Molecular Cancer Biology Laboratory at UNamur

NARILIS, a bridge between hospital and university

Founded in 2010, the Namur Research Institute In Life Sciences (NARILIS) brings together the University of Namur and the CHU UCL Namur - site de Godinne. It brings CHU doctors into dialogue with scientists from a variety of backgrounds, with a resolutely interdisciplinary outlook.

This article was published in the Fond Namur Université newsletter.

UNamur students in direct contact with an astronaut on the ISS.

UniversEH

As part of the English course given in the first year of science-medicine, students are introduced to the popularization of scientific concepts in the form of videos. This is the "It's not Rocket Science" project, proposed by Natassia Schutz and Aude Hansel, professors at UNamur's School of Modern Languages (ELV). This year's competition prize-giving event featured a highlight: a live audio connection with Donald Pettit, American astronaut, currently aboard the International Space Station.

INRS_Vignette

The project's ambition is to make science accessible to as many people as possible, especially high school students. The aim is clear: to demystify complex scientific concepts while offering young people a fascinating gateway to the world of research.

The idea behind "It's not Rocket Science" is simple but ambitious: each student duo must design a 2-minute popular science video that explains a space-related scientific concept or phenomenon. From a pool of 300 videos, the most convincing are selected to take part in a competition organized during Printemps des Sciences. High school students are invited to vote for the best video.

The objectives of this project are multiple: (1) to practice English in a concrete way , (2) to offer secondary school students a glimpse of what is achieved at university , (3) to discover interdisciplinarity and (4) to inspire young people to study science - why not at UNamur?

To meet this challenge, the finalist students are supported in the production of their videos by the team of English and subject teachers, by Confluent des Savoirs - UNamur's science popularization service - and by the Audio-Visual Service.

inrs_photo_sav

2025 edition: discovering space

The videos produced by the students cover concepts related to space, a theme that captures the imagination and arouses the curiosity and interest of young people. From the effects of cosmic radiation on the human body, to the quest for new energy sources in space or the study of volcanoes on other planets, each video becomes a fascinating exploration of a complex subject, presented in a clear and engaging way.

INRS2025_Lauréates

An exceptional live exchange with the International Space Station

The competition's prize-giving event was marked by a highlight: a live audio connection with Donald Pettit, American astronaut, currently aboard the International Space Station. This privileged moment of exchange enabled the students and secondary school pupils in attendance to ask questions of the astronaut orbiting the Earth and learn more about life on board, the astronauts' journey and the challenges they face on a daily basis.

Following this exchange, the winners of the 2025 edition were presented with prizes donated by project partner EuroSpace Centre. Among the 7 finalist videos, the one made by Ella Cishahayo and Angelina Severino, students in biomedical sciences, won the competition.

The evening closed with a talk by Julie Henry, STEAM Project Manager at UNamur, on the challenge of attracting girls to scientific fields.

Listen to the exchange with the astronaut

© NASA/Bill Ingalls

Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.

An AstraZeneca-FNRS-FWO Foundation award for Charlotte Beaudart

Price

On 13 December 2023, Charlotte Beaudart, a new academic at the University of Namur Faculty of Medicine, will be awarded a prize at the annual ceremony for Belgian scientific research in support of her innovative research on the subject of ageing.

Photo Charlotte Beaudart © AstraZeneca Foundation

Chargée de cours au Département des sciences biomédicales de la Faculté de médecine depuis le 1er septembre 2023, et membre de l’Institut NARILIS, Charlotte Beaudart s’occupe plus particulièrement du master sciences biomédicales, spécialisé en recherche clinique.  Elle est également impliquée dans le master EMOTION - Erasmus Mundus.

Ce 13 décembre 2023, elle reçoit un prix Fondation AstraZeneca-FNRS-FWO dans la catégorie qualité de vie des aînés avec sa recherche intitulée Healthy aging: from physiological to psychological and ethical aspects.

Ce prix récompense les différentes recherches effectuées par Charlotte Beaudart au cours des 11 dernières années se concentrant sur les aspects physiologiques du vieillissement, explorant des domaines tels que la sarcopénie, la fragilité et les capacités intrinsèques.

Dès 50 ans, la masse et la force musculaires diminuent de manière significative. Au-delà d'un certain seuil, ce phénomène est appelé sarcopénie. Il a un impact sur les performances physiques, favorise les troubles de la marche et constitue un facteur de fragilité chez les personnes âgées.

Avec plus de 150 publications scientifiques à son actif et un H-index de 40, Charlotte Beaudart a su se distinguer dans le domaine des recherches sur le vieillissement. L'une de ses réalisations les plus marquantes est la création de la cohorte SarcoPhAge, rassemblant plus de 530 participants de plus de 65 ans à Liège. Cette étude prospective s'étend sur près d'une décennie, offrant des informations précieuses sur la dynamique du vieillissement. De plus, le Dr. Beaudart s’est distinguée pour avoir développé le SarQoL, le premier questionnaire validé de qualité de vie spécifique à la sarcopénie.

Traduit dans 35 langues, il est désormais utilisé au quotidien par les cliniciens : « Sur le plan médical, explique Charlotte Beaudart, il est formidable de pouvoir accroître la force musculaire dans les deux bras, par exemple. Mais pour le patient, quel est l'intérêt ?  Pour lui, il sera certainement plus important d'être capable de faire ses courses, de jardiner, de ne pas avoir à demander d'aide. Grâce à ce questionnaire, le clinicien peut prendre en compte tous les aspects qui définissent la qualité de vie du patient ».

Au cours de sa carrière de chercheuse, Charlotte Beaudart a également développé plusieurs expertises méthodologiques, des compétences en biostatistiques et en méta-synthèse de la littérature scientifique, qui sont transposable à de nombreuses thématiques.  Cela permet des collaborations interdépartementales mais aussi interfacultaires.  Elle effectue également des recherches en économie de la santé.  Dans ce cadre, elle s’intéresse principalement aux études de préférences de patients, études qui entrent dans la dynamique de l’évolution des politiques de santé publique et des modèles de santé plus centrés sur le patient.  Charlotte Beaudart se concentre sur une  méta-analyse des études dans le domaine. Elle a créé un outil statistique destiné à aider les médecins dans leur pratique quotidienne.

Même si j’ai réalisé mes études dans le bassin liégeois, je suis namuroise d’origine.  Je suis ravie de commencer ma carrière académique à l’UNamur. Je sens que l’environnement de travail est sain.  Je suis sûre que cela va me permettre de m’épanouir professionnellement.

Charlotte Beaudart Chargée de cours au département des sciences biomédicales de la faculté de médecine

CV express

Charlotte Beaudart a obtenu son master en sciences de la santé publique, finalité Epidémiologie et Economie de la santé à l’Université de Liège en 2012.  Elle obtient son Doctorat en sciences de la santé publique 4 ans plus tard, en décembre 2016, sous mandat d’Aspirante FNRS. Elle travaille ensuite près de 3 ans comme chercheuse post-doc au sein de l’Unité de Recherche en Epidémiologie et Economie de la santé de l’Université de Liège avant de commencer un post-doctorat, dès 2020, à l’Université de Maastricht dans le Département « Health Service Research ».

Cérémonie de remise des prix

Le Fonds pour la recherche scientifique (F.R.S.-FNRS), la Fondation pour la recherche en Flandre (FWO) et la Fondation AstraZeneca organisent une cérémonie annuelle de remise des prix pour la recherche scientifique belge.

Trois scientifiques belges, désignés par le FNRS et la FWO, reçoivent un prix de 25.000€ pour soutenir leur recherche scientifique innovante.

La Fondation AstraZeneca confie la sélection de trois lauréats à des jurys indépendants nommés par le Fonds National de la Recherche Scientifique (FNRS) et le Fonds voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek (FWO).

«L’attribution de ces Prix témoigne à nouveau du soutien de la Fondation AstraZeneca à la recherche de qualité dans des domaines à fort impact sociétal, comme la santé au travail, le vieillissement, ainsi que dans l’application de techniques de pointe à des traitements personnalisés. Par cela, la Fondation s’engage clairement dans des voies porteuses d’amélioration de la santé pour les générations présentes et futures », déclare le Pr. Jean-Luc Balligand, Président de la Fondation.
 
Depuis 1993, au travers des prix remis aux chercheurs, la Fondation AstraZeneca a déjà consacré 5 750 000 € au soutien de la recherche en Belgique.

Les sciences biomédicales à l’UNamur

Un chercheur en sciences biomédicales

Des masters diplômants enseignés en anglais

4 finalités sont proposées :

Ces programmes diplômants vous conduiront, par le biais de la recherche dans le domaine des sciences de la vie, à travers chaque étape du développement de nouvelles molécules thérapeutiques, de biomarqueurs et de tests diagnostiques.

Deux spécialisations en recherche clinique sont également proposées et conduisent à des métiers tels qu’attaché de recherche clinique, chef de projet clinique, assistant d'essais cliniques ou data manager. Ces métiers impliquent la mise en place et le suivi des essais cliniques, la qualité des données recueillies, le respect de la réglementation en vigueur, ainsi que la gestion du traitement des données.

Les études en sciences biomédicales vous intéressent ?  Découvrez le Département des sciences biomédicales et les formations proposées !

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Agenda

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Contacts du Département des sciences biomédicales

Direction

Jean-Pierre Gillet

Secrétariat

Manon CHATILLON