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The fight against disease is both a science and an art. Knowledge of the human body, diseases, and medications is the key to fighting disease. But the essence of the medical art is practiced through interaction with patients who seek a doctor who is thorough, with solid knowledge and sound reasoning, but also deeply warm and compassionate. 

In response to the growing shortage of general practitioners in rural areas, the University of Namur is launching a groundbreaking initiative to encourage future practitioners to explore these regions. This year, nine rural placement centers have been established in the provinces of Namur, Hainaut, and Luxembourg, enabling 26 students in the Master’s program specializing in general practice (a joint UNamur-UCLouvain degree) to complete an internship under conditions that facilitate their immersion. Designed to address barriers related to housing, transportation, and isolation, this pilot program has found a particularly promising first implementation in Chevetogne, in partnership with the Province of Namur and several municipalities.

JuryProf. Joseph WINKIN (UNamur), ChairProf. Timoteo CARLETTI (UNamur), SecretaryProf. Alexandre MAUROY (UNamur)Prof. Malbor ASLLANI (Florida State University)Dr. Maxime LUCAS (UNamur)Dr. Riccardo MUOLO (RIKEN Institute)AbstractSynchronization is a ubiquitous phenomenon in the world around us. It is a crucial feature that ensures the proper functioning of many complex systems. The various generators in a power grid must produce alternating current at a common frequency, and the brain’s cortical regions synchronize their activities to enable the brain to control the human body. These systems can be modeled as coupled oscillators, as in the famous Kuramoto model, where entities interact in pairs so that they synchronize globally.However, synchronization can also pose a problem. For instance, excessive synchronization of brain dynamics leads to pathological states such as epileptic seizures. It is therefore necessary to develop methods that reduce global synchronization by locally controlling the dynamics of certain oscillators. In particular, a control scheme based on a Hamiltonian framework has been designed to effectively desynchronize the Kuramoto model.Nevertheless, some limitations remain. First, the controlled nodes are selected at random without considering their specific characteristics. Second, this method is designed to control systems with a network structure—that is, with pairwise coupling—whereas many recent studies have demonstrated the importance of higher-order networks, i.e., group interactions, in modeling such systems.In this Ph.D. thesis, we aim to address these gaps through several studies. We explore the optimal method for selecting controlled nodes to maximize control efficiency, investigate the method’s ability to desynchronize systems with higher-order interactions, and develop a new control method tailored to this framework.Our results not only improve these control techniques but also offer novel perspectives on the synchronization of complex systems. They allow us to better understand the influence of each local entity on collective behavior and the role played by interactions of different orders. Among other things, they shed light on the non-monotonic relationship between synchronization capacity and the strength of higher-order interactions.

September 14, 2026 | Program for Everyone 9:00 a.m. | Welcome at Pedro Arrupe (Rue de Bruxelles, 67 - 5000 Namur).11:00 a.m. | Back-to-school celebration at Saint-Loup Church—to be confirmed, rue du Collège, 5000 Namur—followed by a welcome for students by the student clubs. September 15, 2026 | Faculty of Science Welcome Sessions Hosted by the Faculty in S01 (Dean and Associate Dean)Sessions 1: Biology and Veterinary Science from 8:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m.Block 1: Math, Physics, Chemistry, and Geo² (Geology and Geography) from 10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m.Welcome sessions hosted by the departmentsMathematics: at 11:00 a.m. in Room S09, followed by a complimentary lunch in the ground-floor lobby of the Faculty of SciencesPhysicists: starting at 2:00 PM in S05Chemists: starting at 11:15 a.m. in CH12, followed by lunch (location to be confirmed / usually in the CH12 lobby)Geo²: starting at 11:00 a.m. in the Sciences Academic Room—5th floor of the Sciences buildingBiology: 9:35 a.m. – Tour of the lab rooms, departing from the Medicine Courtyard; lunch break – Sandwiches provided by the Biology Department in the Medicine Courtyard; 2:00–3:30 p.m. – Welcome by the Chair of the Biology Department in CH01VT: Starting at 9:30 a.m., welcome session hosted by the department: Information is available on the WebCampus pages SC2026 and SVET B002, as well as on the Department of Veterinary Medicine’s Facebook page.Please note that these welcome sessions are for first-year student newcomers.Separate orientation sessions for returning students are also scheduled at other times.  Some courses will begin as early as Tuesday, September 15. Schedules are currently being finalized and will be available as soon as possible on WebCampus - SCIEINFO, the primary platform for disseminating administrative information within the Faculty of Sciences.  And before school starts? Give yourself the best possible chance—enroll in preparatory courses!Preparatory courses allow you to get a taste of university-level education by reviewing the subjects essential to your future program of study.Designed exclusively for students graduating in 2026, these preparatory courses—scheduled between mid-August and early September—are tailored to each university program.Learn more about the schedules for the different sessions and register for the preparatory courses...  To make the most of your first semester at the university, be sure to attend the orientation days!The orientation days will take place on September 10 and 11, 2026.On the agenda: a tour of the campus and the city, a student housing fair (KàPs), themed workshops (student rights, digital tools, budgeting, student engagement, sports, and more), a barbecue, and a super-enthusiastic team ready to help you discover life on campus!Thursday, September 10: 7:30 a.m. – Student check-in; 8:30 a.m.–12:40 p.m. - Workshops for students; 12:40 p.m. – Lunch – Barbecue available by registration (€3.60 per sausage sandwich / falafel sandwich) and a bar run by the AGE; 2:00–6:00 p.m. - Project-based student housing fair; 8:30 p.m.–1:00 a.m. – Bunker reserved for first-year studentsFriday, the 11th: 8:30 a.m.–12:30 p.m. - Workshops for students; 12:30 p.m. - Lunch; 2:00 p.m. - Depending on the faculty: organized by the faculty or open to all.Reserved for new students - Information will be sent after registration at UNamur.   

On June 23, 2026, the F.R.S.-FNRS published the list of recipients of various doctoral and postdoctoral fellowships and Télévie projects (cancer-focused research). Among them, numerous researchers from UNamur received funding.

Recognized as a leading research conference in the field of organic electroluminescence and light-emitting devices, the ICEL conferences have generally been held every two years since their inception in Fukuoka, Japan, in 1997, by Professor Tetsuo Tsutsui. A look back at ICEL2026, the 15th conference of its kind, held at UNamur. 

September 15, 2025 A program for all09h00 | Welcome at Pedro Arrupe (Rue de Bruxelles, 67 - 5000 Namur).11h00 | Back-to-school celebration at Saint-Aubain Cathedral (Place Saint-Aubain - 5000 Namur) then welcome students by the Cercles. First year bachelor Monday, September 15 - 2pm-3pm - VAUBAN auditorium : Welcome address Introduction to the various departments of the faculty Bachelor of Medicine 3pm - VAUBAN auditorium : Information session for students of the 1st Bachelor of Medicine by the Director of the Department of Medicine, Pr. Grégoire Wieërs. Bachelor in Pharmaceutical Sciences 3pm - auditorium PA01 (Pedro Arrupe) : Information session for students of the 1st Bachelor in Pharmaceutical Sciences by the pedagogical coordinator in Pharmaceutical Sciences, Mr. Romain Siriez. Bachelor in Biomedical Sciences 3pm - auditorium PA02 (Pedro Arrupe) : Information session for students of the 1st Bachelor in Biomedical Sciences by the Department Director in Biomedical Sciences, Prof. Jean-Pierre Gillet. Attendance at these sessions is compulsory. A student guide will be available on the Bureau Virtuel de l'Etudiant (BVE). From (date to be confirmed), classes resume according to a specific timetable (the 1st quadrimester timetable will be posted at the valves on September 9). Practical work (TP/TD) does not start for 2 weeks, timetables and groups will be posted in due course.All information concerning course timetables, TP/TD, EAP configuration, exemption requests, registration for isolated courses can be found on the Webcampus. Via the MEDINFO course (search in "All courses")Course salesA course sales schedule will be available on your Virtual Student Office (VSO): bookstores will be open to all from the start of the school year. Deux sessions pour vous préparer au concours L’accès aux études de médecine est notamment conditionné au classement en ordre utile  lors du concours d’entrée unique pour l’ensemble des universités de la Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles. Ces sessions sont ouvertes à tous, mais s'adressent en particulier aux élèves qui ont fait le choix d'un programme de sciences générales dans l'enseignement secondaire. Elles constituent une aide précieuse dans la préparation des différentes matières inscrites au programme du concours, mais nécessitent un réel investissement personnel.En savoir plus sur les cours préparatoires au concours d'entrée en médecine...Pharmacie et en Sciences biomédicalesMettez tous les atouts de votre côté !  Cours préparatoires en août 2026 (dates à confirmer).En savoir plus sur les horaires des différentes sessions et s'inscrire aux cours préparatoires... And before school starts? Give yourself the best possible chance—enroll in preparatory courses!Preparatory courses allow you to get a taste of university-level education by reviewing the subjects essential to your future program of study.Designed exclusively for students graduating in 2026, these preparatory courses—scheduled between mid-August and early September—are tailored to each university program.Learn more about the schedules for the different sessions and register for the preparatory courses...  To make the most of your first semester at the university, be sure to attend the orientation days!The orientation days will take place on September 10 and 11, 2026.On the agenda: a tour of the campus and the city, a student housing fair (KàPs), themed workshops (student rights, digital tools, budgeting, student engagement, sports, and more), a barbecue, and a super-enthusiastic team ready to help you discover life on campus!Thursday, September 10: 7:30 a.m. – Student check-in; 8:30 a.m.–12:40 p.m. - Workshops for students; 12:40 p.m. – Lunch – Barbecue available by registration (€3.60 per sausage sandwich / falafel sandwich) and a bar run by the AGE; 2:00–6:00 p.m. - Project-based student housing fair; 8:30 p.m.–1:00 a.m. – Bunker reserved for first-year studentsFriday, the 11th: 8:30 a.m.–12:30 p.m. - Workshops for students; 12:30 p.m. - Lunch; 2:00 p.m. - Depending on the faculty: organized by the faculty or open to all.Reserved for new students - Information will be sent after registration at UNamur.   

Program Overview This event will take place over two exciting days, featuring a diverse program designed to offer a dynamic and interactive experience for all participants. The entire symposium will be conducted in English.On Wednesday, December 9, and Thursday, December 10, two days of scientific and technical sessions will be dedicated to the topics of alternative proteins, the microbiome, and functional ingredients.On Wednesday, December 9, there will be a public lecture (in English) presented by Dr. Patrice Cani on the topic “Nourishing Your Gut: Nutrition, Microbiota, and Health.”For experienced researchers and group leaders, we are organizing a third day on December 11 dedicated to international collaboration, including laboratory visits and a workshop focused on establishing structured collaborative projects. Separate registration is requiredOverview of the ThemesThis symposium is structured around the three projects in the FoodWal portfolio, while pushing their boundaries and framing them within a “One Health” approach.The session titled “Building Sustainable Value Chains for Alternative Proteins: from protein sources to the development of healthy food products” will provide an opportunity to present scientific and technological advances in the creation and characterization of alternative protein sources and products, as well as socioeconomic perspectives on the development, maintenance, and growth of sustainable value chains for alternative proteins.The session titled “Research on the Microbiome and Microbiotics: Innovation in Nutrition for Better Health” will present scientific advances in the characterization, understanding, and modulation of the microbiome, as well as cutting-edge technologies aimed at developing innovative microbiotics.Finally, the session titled “Functional Ingredients and Bioactive Compounds: Food Science and Biotechnology for Health” will focus on scientific advances in the identification, characterization, and understanding of the mechanisms of action of functional ingredients, as well as cutting-edge technologies designed to develop and produce innovative functional ingredients. More information on the FoodWal website Je m'inscris

In human societies as well as in ecosystems, opportunistic behaviour does not always prevail. The scientific article, fruit of the collaboration between research teams in India, Slovenia and Belgium, has just been published in the prestigious PNAS journal.

The PDID symposium is finally back in 2026! Organized every two years by the Belgian Biophysical Society (BBS) and the Laboratoire de Chimie Physique des Biomolécules (CPB), the PDID symposium is an intimate and friendly event for exchanging new ideas and meeting leading experts in the field in the quintessentially Belgian city of Namur, the capital of Wallonia, located at the confluence of the Meuse and Sambre rivers.We welcome participants from any scientific background who are particularly interested in delving into the world of biomolecular dynamics and exploring their unique behaviors, including structural transitions, interaction networks, protein-ligand interactions, self-assembly, amyloid fibrillation, condensation, phase separation, and phase transitions. Through the lens of biophysics, biochemistry, bioinformatics, and molecular biology, the program aims to cover both experimental and computational approaches for characterizing such intricate and elusive systems in health-related, biotechnological, and biomaterial contexts. Detailed program and registration here

JuryProf. Steve LANNERS (UNamur), ChairProf. Johan WOUTERS (UNamur), SecretaryProf. Pierre FRANCOTTE (ULiège)Dr. Marie HAUFROID (UCB)Prof. Lionel POCHET (UNamur)AbstractCurrently, Mycobacterium tuberculosis remains the second deadliest infectious agent in the world, responsible for 1.6 million deaths in 2021. The burden and cost of current treatment (6 months and 4,000 euros), coupled with the alarming emergence of antibiotic-resistant strains, underscore the absolute urgency of developing new therapeutic molecules. This study focuses on the Mycobacterium tuberculosis phosphoserine phosphatase (MtSerB2), an enzyme essential for serine biosynthesis and vital to the pathogen’s survival. Furthermore, this protein plays a key role in host invasion (through its interactions with the NF-κB factor and the cellular cytoskeleton), making MtSerB2 a prime therapeutic target for the development of new, potent anti-tuberculosis drugs.One of the innovative strategies explored in this thesis is based on destabilizing the protein’s structure (disruption of protein structure). The goal is to design a molecule capable of disrupting the enzyme’s conformation, thereby causing it to lose its catalytic activity. This new class of molecules is expected to exhibit significantly higher selectivity for MtSerB2 compared to its human homolog, human phosphoserine phosphatase (hPSP).To this end, the Mycobacterium avium phosphoserine phosphatase (MaSerB) was initially used as a model system, justified by its 83% sequence identity with MtSerB2 and its propensity to crystallize rapidly. Initially, a virtual screening of drugs already available on the market was conducted to identify potential inhibitors of MaSerB. Enzymatic assays based on malachite green detectionwere then performed to evaluate the inhibitory activity of the various candidates. The results demonstrated increased selectivity of these compounds for dimeric proteins (MtSerB2 and MaSerB) compared to the human enzyme hPSP.Notably, subsequent enzymatic assays conducted directly on MtSerB2 revealed response profiles that differed from those observed with the MaSerB model. To elucidate the molecular basis of these differences, the structure of the protein in its ligand-bound state is currently being investigated. To this end, protein-inhibitor complexes have been crystallized and will be analyzed by X-ray diffraction.

JuryProf. Carine MICHIELS (UNamur), ChairProf. Anne-Catherine HEUSKIN (UNamur), SecretaryProf. Stéphane LUCAS (UNamur)Dr. Rudi LABARBE (IBA)Prof. Joao SECO (German Cancer Research Center)Prof. Simon GALAS (University of Montpellier)AbstractRadiotherapy is one of the most widely used treatments for cancer and plays a central role in modern oncology. While technological advances have greatly improved the precision of radiation delivery, damage to healthy tissues surrounding the tumor remains a major limitation. In recent years, an innovative approach known as FLASH radiotherapy has attracted considerable attention. Unlike conventional radiotherapy, FLASH delivers the therapeutic radiation dose within a fraction of a second using ultra-high dose rates. A growing body of evidence suggests that this approach may reduce radiation-induced side effects in healthy tissues while maintaining the ability to control tumours. However, the biological mechanisms responsible for this protective effect remain poorly understood.This thesis addressed two key challenges in FLASH research. The first was the development and characterization of an experimental platform capable of generating ultra-high dose rate irradiations using the ALTAÏS accelerator at the University of Namur. This work involved designing irradiation systems, validating beam dosimetry, and establishing robust experimental protocols to ensure accurate and reproducible exposure conditions. The second objective was to introduce a new biological model for FLASH investigations: the microscopic nematode Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans). This organism offers several advantages, including a short life cycle, ease of handling, low cost, and the conservation of many fundamental biological processes shared with higher organisms. These characteristics make it an attractive complementary model for studying radiation responses and exploring the mechanisms underlying the FLASH effect.This thesis demonstrated the suitability of C. elegans as a model for investigating biological responses to ultra-high dose rate irradiation. Studies of developmental and neurobiological endpoints across multiple irradiation conditions highlighted its potential for mechanistic FLASH research. Together, these findings provide valuable tools to advance our understanding of the FLASH effect. More broadly, they contribute to the development of safer radiotherapy strategies aimed at reducing treatment-related toxicity and improving patient quality of life.