Why do certain infectious diseases pose a greater risk in some regions than in others? What role do urbanization, climate change, and population movements play in their spread? These are the kinds of questions that interest Catherine Linard, a researcher in the Department of Geography at UNamur. 

A geographer by training, she works in the field of health geography, which studies the relationship between health and place. “I study health, but through the eyes of a geographer. I’m primarily interested in the landscape, and I try to understand the natural and social processes that shape health in a given place.”

Her research focuses specifically on vector-borne diseases—that is, diseases transmitted by organisms such as mosquitoes. These include, in particular, malaria and dengue fever. To better understand their geographic distribution, the researcher analyzes various factors that may influence their transmission. The environment obviously plays a role, since it determines, in particular, where mosquitoes can breed, but it is not enough on its own to explain the spread of a disease. 

 “I take a fairly systemic approach. We’ll look at the environment, but also at human behavior, mobility, and so on.” Part of her research thus focuses on the impact of rapid changes in our environments—such as the rapid urbanization of the African continent—on mosquito-borne diseases. 

 This work has now received significant recognition. Starting in September, Catherine Linard will hold a three-year grant from the Francqui Foundation. Her proposal was first selected by the UNamur Research Council before being approved by the Foundation. 

This appointment will allow the researcher to be relieved of most of her teaching duties so she can devote more time to her research. This is a particularly valuable opportunity given that her daily academic life is divided between teaching, supervising researchers and doctoral students, conducting research, and handling administrative tasks. 

However, there are no plans yet to establish a specific schedule for the next three years. Catherine Linard first wants to take advantage of this newfound availability to devote more time to her ongoing projects and to mentor several doctoral students who are nearing the completion of their dissertations.

The appointment should also enable her to strengthen her international collaborations. In particular, the researcher works with Cheick Anta Diop University in Dakar, Senegal, and plans to use these three years to deepen these exchanges and organize new fieldwork trips. In the longer term, she hopes above all to find time to explore new avenues and determine the future direction of her research. “Research is advancing at a breakneck pace. To stay abreast of everything happening in our field, we need to keep reading and following the work of other teams.” 

Catherine Linard also sees the Francqui Prize as recognition of the work she has carried out with her team and her many collaborators. She also sees it as recognition for the field of health geography, a discipline long overlooked by the general public, but whose importance was particularly highlighted during the COVID-19 pandemic, when understanding the geographic spread of an epidemic became a particularly critical issue. “I believe it is also recognition of the relevance of this research to society, of its ability to shed light on major and highly topical societal issues, as well as of the value of a resolutely interdisciplinary project.” 

The biodiversity crisis isn't just destroying nature: it's also threatening our societies, our well-being and our survival. Based on the scientific assessments and findings of the IPBES (Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services), this Francqui Chair will explore our toxic relationship with nature, the global failure to protect it, and the multiple values of living things.

Speaker: Sander Jacobs, Senior Researcher at INBO (Institute for Nature and Forestry), Nature & Society research group, Coordinator of the Urban Nature research program and Visiting Professor at Ghent University.

19/11/2025 - Inaugural lecture | Biodiversity crisis: causes, consequences, and how (not) to get out of it.

This Francqui Chair offers a fresh look at the advances but also the tensions that today characterize the way the law organizes society's relationship with the environment. If the ambition to protect the environment has indeed become a legal issue, how are its essential mainsprings evolving, whether in climate matters, in the relationship to human health, or in the status accorded to nature?

The organization of this Chair is fully integrated into the Law School's Fil Rouge 2025-2026 dedicated to this substratum essential to life that is the environment, nature, our earth: "Réenchanter la terre".

Orator: Delphine Misonne, Senior Research Fellow FNRS, Professor at UCLouvain, Director of CEDRE and member of the Royal Academy of Belgium.

27/11/2025 - Inaugural Lesson I Protecting the environment beyond politics

In early October, it was with their hands in the sand that Bac 2 and Bac 3 students from UNamur's Geography Department were able to gain a very concrete understanding of the flooding mechanism. "This activity was organized in partnership with the asbl Contrat de Rivière Ourthe," explains Sébastien Dujardin, teacher-researcher in the Geography Department. "Our students had the opportunity to use a 3D augmented reality sandbox, developed as part of the EXACT LAB project (Exploration 3D et Adaptation aux Conséquences des Changements Climatiques sur un Territoire)", he details.

During this activity, students modeled the relief by hand and simulated virtual rainfall to observe runoff on the ground, thanks to 3D Kinect technology. Various layers of geographic information, such as topographic maps, aerial photos and runoff maps, were then projected onto the relief to further the reflection.

Students were able to explore how rivers work, concepts related to flooding (return period, amount of precipitation, hydrometry, etc.), and analyze the territorial issues most at risk (schools, homes, roads). They also discussed and tested various planning measures, such as hedge planting, the creation of stormwater basins and ditches, taking into account natural and human constraints.

"This activity was an excellent opportunity for our students to develop their risk culture, essential in the face of the growing challenges of drought and flooding," Sébastien Dujardin points out again. "The topic of flooding is more topical than ever and represents a major societal challenge. It perfectly illustrates our educational approach: observe, understand and act to better harmonize human activities with an ever-changing environment," he concludes.

Alison Castremanne student in Bac 3 Geography

"This activity highlighted the importance of participatory planning and management involving the various stakeholders in the territory to deal with issues such as flooding. For example, we found that anti-flooding practices implemented upstream can have a significant impact on flows downstream. Modeling through this activity has enabled us to visualize in concrete terms the flows and preventive practices adapted to the geographical context (topography, location of villages in relation to slopes, budgetary constraints, etc.). What I particularly appreciate about UNamur is the dynamism of the training, which combines enriching practical activities (field days, workshops, group work) with high-quality theoretical teaching. What's more, the proximity and commitment of the professors and assistants offer attentive and enriching support for students."

Léo Raymond student in BAC3 geography

"The "sandbox" tool helped me understand that a territory is never uniform: development that is conceivable across a commune is not at all so 5 km away. From this point of view, it's very important to analyze what's around us and react accordingly to avoid too much damage."

What fascinates me about my studies in geography is the diversity of the subject we tackle. Whether it's environmental, anthropocentric or even economic, everything is tackled and this enables us to build up a very important knowledge base for the future."

Are you interested in studying geography? Find out more about our training courses!

The Confluent des Savoirs, local organizers of the event, wanted to focus on one of the societal missions of research: popularized communication to a wide audience.

Annick Castiaux, Rector of UNamur, introduced the competition with the rediscovery of a sequence from the 1998 program Matière Grise, in which she presented, in two minutes, the objective of her research in optical physics. Encouraging young researchers to learn how to communicate in lay terms, Annick Castiaux stressed the need to adapt codified scientific discourse to reduce the distance between university research and other players in society. Presented by Aline Wilmet of Confluent des Savoirs, the event was an opportunity to explore the history of the competition at UNamur and to exchange experiences with former candidates.

This year, 12 candidates took part in this local final: Manel Barkallah (computer science), Louis Rassinfosse (physics), Charline Focant (biology), Guillaume Nguyen (computer science), Yves Blanco Alvarez (biology), Alexandra Decloux (veterinary medicine), Adélie Lannoy (biology), Loris Chavée (physics), Yasmine Akaichi (computer science), Valentin Job (physics), Antoine Hubermont (computer science) and Camille Morlinghem (geography).

Their performances were enthusiastically received by the audience: 280 people gathered in the Rosalind Franklin auditorium to discover the latest in interdisciplinary research and its societal challenges. In order to prepare them optimally for the demands of the competition and those of their thesis or lecture defense, candidates benefited from training in popularized communication, the construction of a structured pitch, as well as appropriate speaking and body language.

The candidates' pitches were evaluated by a jury of professionals in the field of scientific communication and popularization: Géraldine Tran, editor-in-chief of Athena, SPW's science mag; Nathan Uyttendaele, statistician and web popularizer via his YouTube channel "Chat Sceptique"; Charlotte Benedetti, director of Pavillon (KIKK asbl) in Namur and François-Xavier Fiévez, pedagogue, didactician and improviser, Vice-Rector for Student and Social Affairs at UNamur.

The regional competition is the first step in the MT180 adventure. The three winners from Namur will represent UNamur at the national final to be held on May 16 at the Solbosch campus in Brussels. The winner will represent Belgium this autumn at the international final in Abidjan (Ivory Coast).

On May 16, 2024, we'll be celebrating 10 years of the MT180 competition at the national finals to be held on ULB's Solbosch campus in Brussels. At this event, 15 PhD students, including the 3 UNamur prizewinners, will take up the challenge of popularizing their thesis topic with clarity to captivate an uninformed audience, in 3 minutes flat!

The jury will be made up of 6 personalities from French-speaking universities, the press and the world of popular science. The winner will represent Belgium at the international competition to be held in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire, the week of November 18, 2024.