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Supported by the SPW Research’s Win4SpinOff program and led by the University of Liège through its Mass Spectrometry Laboratory (MSLab, Faculty of Science) and the University of Namur through its Laboratory of Molecular Cancer Biology, (NARILIS, LBMC, Faculty of Medicine), the VENOM2 project explores the potential of peptides derived from animal venoms to develop new diagnostic and therapeutic solutions in oncology.

The discovery of nuclear energy marked a turning point in human history. Today, alongside debates about its role in energy production and its destructive potential, nuclear energy continues to be used in a wide range of fields, such as medical research and cancer therapies. At UNamur, nuclear energy is thus at the heart of the work of biologists, physicists, and art historians.

The University of Namur and STÛV, a Namur-based company specializing in wood and pellet heating solutions, are celebrating ten years of fruitful collaboration. This partnership illustrates the importance of synergies between academia and industry to improve competitiveness and meet environmental challenges.

At the University of Namur, a thesis led by Fabian Delhalle, with support from SPW Research as part of the Win4Doc program, is exploring an innovative approach to producing proteins of therapeutic interest. In collaboration with Bio-Sourcing and the Walloon Center for Agricultural Research, this project aims to better understand the mechanisms of lactation in goats in order to optimize biopharmaceutical production that is more accessible, more flexible, and more environmentally friendly.

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. 

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

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.

Jointly founded by the University of Namur and UCLouvain, the spin-off Intercept Bio aims to take a new step forward in the prevention of viral respiratory infections. Stemming from research conducted by the teams of Professor Stéphane Vincent at the UNamur Bio-Organic Chemistry Laboratory and Professor David Alsteens at the Louvain Institute of Biomolecular Science and Technology at UCLouvain, and a researcher at the WEL Research Institute, the start-up is developing a nasal spray designed to act right at the entry point for respiratory viruses: the nasal passages.