Two UNamur researchers win prizes in Ma thèse en 180 secondes competition

"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!