The Biology Department strives to understand the living world in all its diversity, in the course of its evolution, from molecules to ecosystems, and to respond to complex societal problems such as biodiversity loss, infectious diseases, antibiotic resistance, etc. Biologists use an approach that integrates the laboratory, the field and computer tools.

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Biology is a modern science on the move. It responds to complex societal problems such as biodiversity loss, antibiotic resistance, adaptation to climate change, the fight against chronic or infectious diseases, food safety... In short, biology is present everywhere in society.

Biology uses a wide range of scientific and technological knowledge and approaches that enable it to address the living world in all its diversity (viruses, bacteria, fungi, plants, parasites, animals, humans), throughout its evolution and at all levels of organization (molecules, cells, tissues, individuals, super-organisms, populations, ecosystems).

From knowledge of fundamental processes to multiple applications, the 21st century biologist is a complete scientist, wielding the scientific approach, as much in the laboratory as when out in the field (in natural areas) or when using computer analysis methods (and processing high-throughput data).

Spotlight

News

A prestigious publication for an international microbiology research team

Biology
Immunology and microbiology

The team of professor Xavier De Bolle has just published an article in the prestigious EMBO Journal published by Springer Nature.  His discovery? A lipid transport channel through the cell membrane of Brucella, the bacteria responsible for Brucellosis in cattle. This finding could be used to generate attenuated strains of the bacteria; a process used in vaccine manufacturing. 

Boîte de Pétri en laboratoire

The study of Brucella is one of the areas of microbiology in which UNamur research teams have specialised for more than twenty years. This pathogenic bacteria infects livestock, causing Brucellosis, a disease that can be transmitted to humans through the consumption of unpasteurised dairy products, contact with infected animal tissue or inhalation. It is one of the most widespread zoonoses in the world.

A catalogue of weaknesses

Over the years of research, the team led by Professor Xavier De Bolle, Professor in the Department of Biology, member of the Microorganism Biology Research Unit (URBM) at the University of Namur and investigator at the WEL Research Institute, has been able to establish a kind of “catalogue” of Brucella's weaknesses. 

There are millions of species of bacteria.  It is therefore impossible to study them on a case-by-case basis.  However, they have similar behaviours and functions, which is why a specific bacterium is considered the model: Escherichia coli (or E. coli), an intestinal bacteria found in warm-blooded organisms.  Discovered in 1885, it has been the subject of numerous studies and has therefore become a reference in scientific literature. 

A bacterium such as E. coli or Brucella is like an onion with only two layers (inner and outer membrane) and a central element (the cytoplasm) in which the organism produces everything it needs. It also exports elements to the outside, particularly lipids.  However, these processes are still poorly understood, even for E. coli. Nevertheless, they represent an interesting avenue to explore to reach the heart of the pathogenic bacteria.

Mutants pave the way

During this research, which combined bacteriology and genetics, the researchers developed a technology that allows them to induce mutations in Brucella and also to identify where these mutations are located. They succeeded in creating a mutant that showed them the way to a veritable ‘lipid tunnel’, a passageway in the inner and outer membrane walls of the bacteria.  

Brucella

This provides valuable information about a new weakness in the pathogen and therefore provides information on how to combat it more effectively.

Image
Xavier De Bolle

Our research, funded by the FNRS and the WEL Research Institute, is fundamental. Of course, we are still in the very early stages of developing applied processes. But we are taking another step towards unlocking the secrets of Brucella's armour so that one day we can hope to control the disease with an effective vaccine

Xavier De Bolle Professor, Department of Biology, Microorganism Biology Research Unit (URBM)

An international research team

  • Adélie Lannoy (currently post-doc in Toulouse) and Xavier De Bolle (URBM, UNamur – Belgium)
  • Marc Dieu and Patsy Renard (UNamur, URBC - Belgium)
  • Antonia García Fernández (Centro de Metabolómica y Bioanálisis (CEMBIO), Facultad de Farmacia, Universidad San Pablo-CEU – Spain)
  • Raquel Condez-Alvarez (Department of Microbiology and Parasitology, Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria de Navarra (IdiSNA)University of Navarra – Spain)

The researchers would like to thank the FNRS and the WEL Research Institute for their support in this research. They would also like to thank the ‘Mass Spectrometry – MaSUN’ platform and the ‘Level 3 Biosafety Laboratory – BL3’ technology platform at UNamur for their cutting-edge equipment and expertise.

Xavier De Bolle - Mini CV

Xavier De Bolle presented his doctorate at UNamur (FUNDP at the time) in 1995. After 4 years of post-doc, including one at the University of Oxford, he joined URBM (Biology, Sciences), where he leads a research group. He has supervised 25 doctoral theses (including 4 in progress) and some of his former students have generated their own research team (at the UNamur, the UCLouvain, the VUB).

Professor Xavier De Bolle is a member of the URBM in the Department of Biology at the Faculty of Science of the University of Namur. He is a member of the Namur Research Institute for Life Sciences (Narilis). 

Since June 2024, he is also a researcher at the WEL Research Institute for the Welbio-Health programme in the field of ‘Microbiology and Infectious Diseases’.

This work illustrates the cutting-edge expertise developed at UNamur in the field of molecular microbiology, an area in which UNamur has decided to invest by organising a master's degree in molecular microbiology since September 2019. This is a unique master's degree in Europe, taught entirely in English and rooted in research.

Find out more

Namur researchers score highly in F.R.S.-FNRS "Grants and mandates" 2025 call for proposals

Price

On July 1, 2025, the F.R.S.-FNRS published the list of winners of the various doctoral and postdoctoral mandates, Télévie projects and co-financing with the Fonds de recherche du Québec. Among these, many UNamur researchers were awarded funding. UNamur's particularly high ranking rate demonstrates the quality and excellence of research on the Namur campus.

Logo FNRS

Four researchers obtained a mandat d'aspirant enabling them to start doctoral research:

  • Ludovic DUBOIS and Niccolò PARDINI from the Faculty of Philosophy and Letters,
  • Jordan ABRAS from the Faculty of Economics Management Communication sciencesPo (EMCP)
  • Noah DEVEAUX from the Faculty of Science.

Success is also on the cards for the postdoctoral researchers, nine of whom have been awarded a research fellowship for 3 years.

  • Audrey LEPRINCE, Ciska DE RUYVER, Dmytro STRILETS and Cinzia TOMASELLI from the Faculty of Sciences
  • Nicolas MICHEL, Sébastien VANDENITTE and Manon HOUTART from the Faculty of Philosophy and Letters
  • Pierre-Yves HUREL and Sebastian RONDEROS from the Faculty of Economics Management Communication sciencesPo (EMCP).

In addition, two new qualified researchers join our university.

  • Marie DELABY in the Biology Department of the Faculty of Science
  • Matthieu PIGNOT in the History Department of the Faculty of Philosophy and Letters

Three Namur researchers have also obtained funding from the Télévie call.

  • Marc HENNEQUART for research aimed at highlighting new metabolic biomarkers for better detection of pancreatic cancer
  • Carine MICHIELS for research into the resistance of glioblastoma to radiotherapy combined with chemotherapy
  • Anne-Catherine HEUSKIN for research into understanding the reprogramming of macrophage immune cells in the formation of the tumor microenvironment.

Frédéric SILVESTRE (Faculty of Science, Department of Biology, URBE) has also been awarded funding for a FNRS-FRQ collaborative project with ULiège and Quebec teams from the Université de Montréal and the Université du Québec à Montréal. The aims of this project are to develop a new method of age determination based on molecular modifications (epigenetic clock) in beluga whales (Delphinapterus leucas) from the St. Lawrence estuary in Quebec, and to understand the role of age on contaminant accumulation as well as on their stress levels and health status. This will enable better decisions to be made to improve the recovery of this endangered population. As part of this project, two doctoral theses (one in Namur and one in Montreal) are open. Candidates must be biologists (or degree deemed equivalent) with an interest in conservation and ecotoxicology issues, and with experience in molecular biology (omics) and bioinformatics.

Congratulations to them!

UNamur's Biology Department contributes its genetic expertise to saving a herd of mouflons

Biology
Sciences
Sustainable

An unusual piece of research recently mobilized teams from UNamur's Biology Department. Genetic analyses carried out by the Environmental and Evolutionary Biology Research Unit (URBE) were able to confirm the protected status of a herd of wild mouflons based in Gesves, and thus highlight the importance of saving them.

Mouflon

In recent months, the commune of Gesves, in the province of Namur, was confronted with the presence of a herd of mouflons, wild sheep recognizable by their impressive spiral horns. At the origin of this one: a male and a female probably escaped from a private hunt, who settled and reproduced in the meadows of this rural commune in 2019, until forming a full-fledged herd of 17 individuals in 2024.

While these sheep won the affection of the locals, local farmers deplored the damage caused to their crops. Their complaints led in August 2024 to a destruction authorization from the Department of Nature and Forestry (DNF). Several individuals were also shot during the hunting season.

Mouflons Gesves

A complex rescue operation

Touched by the fate of these animals, a handful of local residents have been carrying out a veritable rescue operation for the seven mouflons still present on the meadows since January. The maneuver promised to be complex, to say the least: on the one hand, it was necessary to gather the official authorizations required to capture and transport the mouflons to a suitable location, and on the other hand, to set up an infrastructure to capture them.

.

An enclosure equipped with a surveillance camera and an automated locking system was then installed by a specialist company. After months of patient, meticulous approach work, the mouflons were gently captured on May 24 and transferred to the Domaine des Grottes de Han, ready to welcome them.

Mouflons Gesves

The origin of mouflons: DNA to the rescue

Alongside this initiative, the mobilized local residents - including Nathalie Kirschvink, a veterinarian and professor at UNamur's Faculty of Medicine - called on the expertise of the laboratories of UNamur's Environmental and Evolutionary Biology Research Unit (URBE) to clarify a crucial question: the origin of the mouflons. Indeed, in our regions, mouflons are considered game and therefore huntable, while mouflons from certain lineages benefit from protection.

Nathalie Kirschvink therefore entrusted fresh samples made up of hair and dung to Alice Dennis, professor and researcher at the URBE. Sequencing the DNA contained in these samples enabled Alice Dennis and technician Jérôme Lambert to identify kinship links between the Gesves bighorn sheep and those from a Corsican lineage, whose genome had already been described in the scientific literature.

Image
Alice Dennis

This identification is based on phylogeny, a method used in the life sciences to reconstruct the evolutionary relationships between species by means of a phylogenetic tree, thus tracing their origins and family relationships.

Alice Dennis Professor and researcher at the Environmental and Evolutionary Biology Research Unit (URBE)

From cell to ecosystem: delving into the infinitely small to protect living things

This expertise lies at the heart of URBE's research, which uses the tools of molecular ecology to study both the physiology of organisms (such as snails for Alice Dennis) and their interactions with their environment. The methodology used can be applied to very concrete, local cases, such as that of the Gesves bighorn sheep, but, more broadly, serve to better understand genetic diversity between species with a view to safeguarding biodiversity.

.
Image
Portrait de Frédéric Silvestre

L'URBE is increasingly focusing on molecular ecology, a discipline that uses genetics to explore the capacity of species to adapt to environmental change. The more genetically diverse a population, the better its ability to adapt to environmental disturbances. These are essential questions in terms of species conservation, at a time when biodiversity is experiencing an unprecedented crisis.

Frédéric Silvestre Director of the Biology Department at UNamur and member of the Environmental and Evolutionary Biology Research Unit (URBE)

Find out more about the Environmental and Evolutionary Biology Research Unit

The Adrien Bauchau Fund rewards two researchers in biology

Biology
Sustainable

Professor Eli Thoré and Justine Bélik have just been honoured by the Adrien Bauchau Fund (FAB). Created in memory of the founder of the Biology Department at UNamur, the FAB has been promoting excellence in education and research in the life sciences since 1989.

Fonds Adrien Bauchau - Eli Thoré et Justine Bélik

The FAB's regular actions in the Belgian university context include awarding grants, prizes and subsidies, organizing a chair, contributing to the organization of colloquia, doctoral schools or study days. It collaborates with a network of Belgian and foreign partners: individuals, public and private associations, institutions and companies.

Financial support for a young academic or post-doctoral fellow

In consultation with the Department of Biology at the University of Namur, the Fonds Adrien Bauchau has awarded financial assistance for the first time in the amount of 25,000 euros to support a young professor or post-doctoral fellow in biology at the institution in the early stages of their professional career.

In May 2025, the FAB Board of Directors awarded this grant to Professor Eli Thoré, an academic in the Unité de Recherche Environnementale et Evolutive (URBE), for the development of his work.

His work focuses on:

  • "Investigating the individual and interactive effects of synthetic chemicals, artificial light, and increased temperature on the performance and wellbeing of fish"
  • "Ecological impacts of pharmaceutical and light pollution in Belgium and Sweden’s waters"
  • "Day-night impacts of drug mixtures on the threatened European eel"

Image caption: Eli Thoré and André Van den Bogaert, President of FAB.

 Eli Thoré recevant son prix des mains d’André Van den Bogaert, Président du Fonds Adrien Bauchau (mai 2025)

Bauchau grant Congress

The 2025 Scholarship has been awarded to Justine Bélik, whose thesis promoter is Professor Frédéric Silvestre, for her participation in the 3rd international EPIMAR 2025 "Epigenetics in marine and aquatic research" congress, organized at the end of May 2025 in Barcelona, Spain.

The grant is intended for a young researcher to enable his/her participation in a conference abroad. The amount awarded depends on the cost of this participation; it can be up to €750.

At a seminar organized by the ILEE Institute in June 2025, Justine Bélik also presented her ongoing research on epigenetic aging in Kryptolebias marmoratus, a vertebrate species characterized by self-fertilization.

Image caption: Justine Bélik, Séminaire ILEE

Justine Bélik, Séminaire ILEE (juin 2025)

UNamur and biological research

The Biology Department conducts cutting-edge international scientific research. This is divided between 5 research units tackling a variety of themes: cell biology (URBC), microbiology (URBM) or methodology and didactics (UMDB). The two award-winning researchers are part of the Environmental and Evolutionary Biology Research Unit (URBE) and are members of the Institute of Life, Earth and Environment (ILEE), which is committed to addressing pressing environmental issues.

Professor Frédéric Silvestre, Justine Bélik's thesis sponsor, heads the Laboratory of Evolutionary and Adaptive Physiology (LEAP). This laboratory studies the impacts of environmental change on aquatic organisms at different levels, from the perspective of integrative physiology.

Professor Eli Thoré heads the Adaptive Biodynamics Laboratory (LAB). He uses an integrative approach to understand how animals respond to environmental changes, particularly those induced by human activity in space and time.

Biology studies at UNamur

The Department of Biology at UNamur offers you a cutting-edge scientific education that's modern, diversified and open to the world. From the cell to the ecosystem, biology studies all forms of life. It is essential for understanding complex societal issues affecting the environment, health and sustainable development.

A prestigious publication for an international microbiology research team

Biology
Immunology and microbiology

The team of professor Xavier De Bolle has just published an article in the prestigious EMBO Journal published by Springer Nature.  His discovery? A lipid transport channel through the cell membrane of Brucella, the bacteria responsible for Brucellosis in cattle. This finding could be used to generate attenuated strains of the bacteria; a process used in vaccine manufacturing. 

Boîte de Pétri en laboratoire

The study of Brucella is one of the areas of microbiology in which UNamur research teams have specialised for more than twenty years. This pathogenic bacteria infects livestock, causing Brucellosis, a disease that can be transmitted to humans through the consumption of unpasteurised dairy products, contact with infected animal tissue or inhalation. It is one of the most widespread zoonoses in the world.

A catalogue of weaknesses

Over the years of research, the team led by Professor Xavier De Bolle, Professor in the Department of Biology, member of the Microorganism Biology Research Unit (URBM) at the University of Namur and investigator at the WEL Research Institute, has been able to establish a kind of “catalogue” of Brucella's weaknesses. 

There are millions of species of bacteria.  It is therefore impossible to study them on a case-by-case basis.  However, they have similar behaviours and functions, which is why a specific bacterium is considered the model: Escherichia coli (or E. coli), an intestinal bacteria found in warm-blooded organisms.  Discovered in 1885, it has been the subject of numerous studies and has therefore become a reference in scientific literature. 

A bacterium such as E. coli or Brucella is like an onion with only two layers (inner and outer membrane) and a central element (the cytoplasm) in which the organism produces everything it needs. It also exports elements to the outside, particularly lipids.  However, these processes are still poorly understood, even for E. coli. Nevertheless, they represent an interesting avenue to explore to reach the heart of the pathogenic bacteria.

Mutants pave the way

During this research, which combined bacteriology and genetics, the researchers developed a technology that allows them to induce mutations in Brucella and also to identify where these mutations are located. They succeeded in creating a mutant that showed them the way to a veritable ‘lipid tunnel’, a passageway in the inner and outer membrane walls of the bacteria.  

Brucella

This provides valuable information about a new weakness in the pathogen and therefore provides information on how to combat it more effectively.

Image
Xavier De Bolle

Our research, funded by the FNRS and the WEL Research Institute, is fundamental. Of course, we are still in the very early stages of developing applied processes. But we are taking another step towards unlocking the secrets of Brucella's armour so that one day we can hope to control the disease with an effective vaccine

Xavier De Bolle Professor, Department of Biology, Microorganism Biology Research Unit (URBM)

An international research team

  • Adélie Lannoy (currently post-doc in Toulouse) and Xavier De Bolle (URBM, UNamur – Belgium)
  • Marc Dieu and Patsy Renard (UNamur, URBC - Belgium)
  • Antonia García Fernández (Centro de Metabolómica y Bioanálisis (CEMBIO), Facultad de Farmacia, Universidad San Pablo-CEU – Spain)
  • Raquel Condez-Alvarez (Department of Microbiology and Parasitology, Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria de Navarra (IdiSNA)University of Navarra – Spain)

The researchers would like to thank the FNRS and the WEL Research Institute for their support in this research. They would also like to thank the ‘Mass Spectrometry – MaSUN’ platform and the ‘Level 3 Biosafety Laboratory – BL3’ technology platform at UNamur for their cutting-edge equipment and expertise.

Xavier De Bolle - Mini CV

Xavier De Bolle presented his doctorate at UNamur (FUNDP at the time) in 1995. After 4 years of post-doc, including one at the University of Oxford, he joined URBM (Biology, Sciences), where he leads a research group. He has supervised 25 doctoral theses (including 4 in progress) and some of his former students have generated their own research team (at the UNamur, the UCLouvain, the VUB).

Professor Xavier De Bolle is a member of the URBM in the Department of Biology at the Faculty of Science of the University of Namur. He is a member of the Namur Research Institute for Life Sciences (Narilis). 

Since June 2024, he is also a researcher at the WEL Research Institute for the Welbio-Health programme in the field of ‘Microbiology and Infectious Diseases’.

This work illustrates the cutting-edge expertise developed at UNamur in the field of molecular microbiology, an area in which UNamur has decided to invest by organising a master's degree in molecular microbiology since September 2019. This is a unique master's degree in Europe, taught entirely in English and rooted in research.

Find out more

Namur researchers score highly in F.R.S.-FNRS "Grants and mandates" 2025 call for proposals

Price

On July 1, 2025, the F.R.S.-FNRS published the list of winners of the various doctoral and postdoctoral mandates, Télévie projects and co-financing with the Fonds de recherche du Québec. Among these, many UNamur researchers were awarded funding. UNamur's particularly high ranking rate demonstrates the quality and excellence of research on the Namur campus.

Logo FNRS

Four researchers obtained a mandat d'aspirant enabling them to start doctoral research:

  • Ludovic DUBOIS and Niccolò PARDINI from the Faculty of Philosophy and Letters,
  • Jordan ABRAS from the Faculty of Economics Management Communication sciencesPo (EMCP)
  • Noah DEVEAUX from the Faculty of Science.

Success is also on the cards for the postdoctoral researchers, nine of whom have been awarded a research fellowship for 3 years.

  • Audrey LEPRINCE, Ciska DE RUYVER, Dmytro STRILETS and Cinzia TOMASELLI from the Faculty of Sciences
  • Nicolas MICHEL, Sébastien VANDENITTE and Manon HOUTART from the Faculty of Philosophy and Letters
  • Pierre-Yves HUREL and Sebastian RONDEROS from the Faculty of Economics Management Communication sciencesPo (EMCP).

In addition, two new qualified researchers join our university.

  • Marie DELABY in the Biology Department of the Faculty of Science
  • Matthieu PIGNOT in the History Department of the Faculty of Philosophy and Letters

Three Namur researchers have also obtained funding from the Télévie call.

  • Marc HENNEQUART for research aimed at highlighting new metabolic biomarkers for better detection of pancreatic cancer
  • Carine MICHIELS for research into the resistance of glioblastoma to radiotherapy combined with chemotherapy
  • Anne-Catherine HEUSKIN for research into understanding the reprogramming of macrophage immune cells in the formation of the tumor microenvironment.

Frédéric SILVESTRE (Faculty of Science, Department of Biology, URBE) has also been awarded funding for a FNRS-FRQ collaborative project with ULiège and Quebec teams from the Université de Montréal and the Université du Québec à Montréal. The aims of this project are to develop a new method of age determination based on molecular modifications (epigenetic clock) in beluga whales (Delphinapterus leucas) from the St. Lawrence estuary in Quebec, and to understand the role of age on contaminant accumulation as well as on their stress levels and health status. This will enable better decisions to be made to improve the recovery of this endangered population. As part of this project, two doctoral theses (one in Namur and one in Montreal) are open. Candidates must be biologists (or degree deemed equivalent) with an interest in conservation and ecotoxicology issues, and with experience in molecular biology (omics) and bioinformatics.

Congratulations to them!

UNamur's Biology Department contributes its genetic expertise to saving a herd of mouflons

Biology
Sciences
Sustainable

An unusual piece of research recently mobilized teams from UNamur's Biology Department. Genetic analyses carried out by the Environmental and Evolutionary Biology Research Unit (URBE) were able to confirm the protected status of a herd of wild mouflons based in Gesves, and thus highlight the importance of saving them.

Mouflon

In recent months, the commune of Gesves, in the province of Namur, was confronted with the presence of a herd of mouflons, wild sheep recognizable by their impressive spiral horns. At the origin of this one: a male and a female probably escaped from a private hunt, who settled and reproduced in the meadows of this rural commune in 2019, until forming a full-fledged herd of 17 individuals in 2024.

While these sheep won the affection of the locals, local farmers deplored the damage caused to their crops. Their complaints led in August 2024 to a destruction authorization from the Department of Nature and Forestry (DNF). Several individuals were also shot during the hunting season.

Mouflons Gesves

A complex rescue operation

Touched by the fate of these animals, a handful of local residents have been carrying out a veritable rescue operation for the seven mouflons still present on the meadows since January. The maneuver promised to be complex, to say the least: on the one hand, it was necessary to gather the official authorizations required to capture and transport the mouflons to a suitable location, and on the other hand, to set up an infrastructure to capture them.

.

An enclosure equipped with a surveillance camera and an automated locking system was then installed by a specialist company. After months of patient, meticulous approach work, the mouflons were gently captured on May 24 and transferred to the Domaine des Grottes de Han, ready to welcome them.

Mouflons Gesves

The origin of mouflons: DNA to the rescue

Alongside this initiative, the mobilized local residents - including Nathalie Kirschvink, a veterinarian and professor at UNamur's Faculty of Medicine - called on the expertise of the laboratories of UNamur's Environmental and Evolutionary Biology Research Unit (URBE) to clarify a crucial question: the origin of the mouflons. Indeed, in our regions, mouflons are considered game and therefore huntable, while mouflons from certain lineages benefit from protection.

Nathalie Kirschvink therefore entrusted fresh samples made up of hair and dung to Alice Dennis, professor and researcher at the URBE. Sequencing the DNA contained in these samples enabled Alice Dennis and technician Jérôme Lambert to identify kinship links between the Gesves bighorn sheep and those from a Corsican lineage, whose genome had already been described in the scientific literature.

Image
Alice Dennis

This identification is based on phylogeny, a method used in the life sciences to reconstruct the evolutionary relationships between species by means of a phylogenetic tree, thus tracing their origins and family relationships.

Alice Dennis Professor and researcher at the Environmental and Evolutionary Biology Research Unit (URBE)

From cell to ecosystem: delving into the infinitely small to protect living things

This expertise lies at the heart of URBE's research, which uses the tools of molecular ecology to study both the physiology of organisms (such as snails for Alice Dennis) and their interactions with their environment. The methodology used can be applied to very concrete, local cases, such as that of the Gesves bighorn sheep, but, more broadly, serve to better understand genetic diversity between species with a view to safeguarding biodiversity.

.
Image
Portrait de Frédéric Silvestre

L'URBE is increasingly focusing on molecular ecology, a discipline that uses genetics to explore the capacity of species to adapt to environmental change. The more genetically diverse a population, the better its ability to adapt to environmental disturbances. These are essential questions in terms of species conservation, at a time when biodiversity is experiencing an unprecedented crisis.

Frédéric Silvestre Director of the Biology Department at UNamur and member of the Environmental and Evolutionary Biology Research Unit (URBE)

Find out more about the Environmental and Evolutionary Biology Research Unit

The Adrien Bauchau Fund rewards two researchers in biology

Biology
Sustainable

Professor Eli Thoré and Justine Bélik have just been honoured by the Adrien Bauchau Fund (FAB). Created in memory of the founder of the Biology Department at UNamur, the FAB has been promoting excellence in education and research in the life sciences since 1989.

Fonds Adrien Bauchau - Eli Thoré et Justine Bélik

The FAB's regular actions in the Belgian university context include awarding grants, prizes and subsidies, organizing a chair, contributing to the organization of colloquia, doctoral schools or study days. It collaborates with a network of Belgian and foreign partners: individuals, public and private associations, institutions and companies.

Financial support for a young academic or post-doctoral fellow

In consultation with the Department of Biology at the University of Namur, the Fonds Adrien Bauchau has awarded financial assistance for the first time in the amount of 25,000 euros to support a young professor or post-doctoral fellow in biology at the institution in the early stages of their professional career.

In May 2025, the FAB Board of Directors awarded this grant to Professor Eli Thoré, an academic in the Unité de Recherche Environnementale et Evolutive (URBE), for the development of his work.

His work focuses on:

  • "Investigating the individual and interactive effects of synthetic chemicals, artificial light, and increased temperature on the performance and wellbeing of fish"
  • "Ecological impacts of pharmaceutical and light pollution in Belgium and Sweden’s waters"
  • "Day-night impacts of drug mixtures on the threatened European eel"

Image caption: Eli Thoré and André Van den Bogaert, President of FAB.

 Eli Thoré recevant son prix des mains d’André Van den Bogaert, Président du Fonds Adrien Bauchau (mai 2025)

Bauchau grant Congress

The 2025 Scholarship has been awarded to Justine Bélik, whose thesis promoter is Professor Frédéric Silvestre, for her participation in the 3rd international EPIMAR 2025 "Epigenetics in marine and aquatic research" congress, organized at the end of May 2025 in Barcelona, Spain.

The grant is intended for a young researcher to enable his/her participation in a conference abroad. The amount awarded depends on the cost of this participation; it can be up to €750.

At a seminar organized by the ILEE Institute in June 2025, Justine Bélik also presented her ongoing research on epigenetic aging in Kryptolebias marmoratus, a vertebrate species characterized by self-fertilization.

Image caption: Justine Bélik, Séminaire ILEE

Justine Bélik, Séminaire ILEE (juin 2025)

UNamur and biological research

The Biology Department conducts cutting-edge international scientific research. This is divided between 5 research units tackling a variety of themes: cell biology (URBC), microbiology (URBM) or methodology and didactics (UMDB). The two award-winning researchers are part of the Environmental and Evolutionary Biology Research Unit (URBE) and are members of the Institute of Life, Earth and Environment (ILEE), which is committed to addressing pressing environmental issues.

Professor Frédéric Silvestre, Justine Bélik's thesis sponsor, heads the Laboratory of Evolutionary and Adaptive Physiology (LEAP). This laboratory studies the impacts of environmental change on aquatic organisms at different levels, from the perspective of integrative physiology.

Professor Eli Thoré heads the Adaptive Biodynamics Laboratory (LAB). He uses an integrative approach to understand how animals respond to environmental changes, particularly those induced by human activity in space and time.

Biology studies at UNamur

The Department of Biology at UNamur offers you a cutting-edge scientific education that's modern, diversified and open to the world. From the cell to the ecosystem, biology studies all forms of life. It is essential for understanding complex societal issues affecting the environment, health and sustainable development.

All news

Agenda

  • 18
  • 12

Preparatory courses

Corporate event

A program for every discipline

During late August and early September, UNamur offers rheto students preparatory courses tailored to their future training.

These revision sessions are specially designed to support students in their transition to university. By reinforcing their foundations in the key subjects of their future discipline, they enable them to approach their first year with confidence.

These preparatory courses are also an excellent opportunity to discover the campus, meet future classmates and familiarize themselves with the learning methods specific to higher education.

Preparation for the medical entrance exam

For students wishing to begin studying medicine, two sessions are also organized according to a specific timetable to prepare for the entrance exam.

15

Academic year 2025-2026

Corporate event

Something for everyone

09:30 | Welcome ceremony for new students

11:00 | Back-to-school celebration at Saint-Aubain Cathedral (Place Saint-Aubain - 5000 Namur), followed by student welcome by the Cercles.

visuel rentrée étudiante
25

Official ceremony for the start of the academic year 2025-2026

Corporate event

Official ceremony for the start of the academic year 2025-2026

Institution
25
18:00 - 23:00
Université de Namur, Auditoire Pedro Arrupe (PA01) - Rue Joseph Grafé 2 (Faculté des Sciences) / rue Grangagnage, Sentier Thomas - 5000 Namur

Save the date!

All events

Management

Frédéric SILVESTRE

Director, Biology Department