Résultats de recherche

Dans la lignée de ses prédécesseurs, l'ICEL 2026 offrira une excellente occasion d'échanges intellectuels et sociaux qui permettent à notre communauté de rester étroitement liée. Il réunira des participants du monde entier impliqués dans la recherche, le développement et la fabrication de matériaux émetteurs. Un large éventail de sujets sera exploré, offrant une perspective globale sur les avancées contemporaines dans ces domaines. Nous vous invitons chaleureusement à venir présenter les dernières avancées dans les domaines concernés, en mettant particulièrement l'accent sur la participation active de jeunes chercheurs motivés.Nous espérons notamment aborder les thèmes suivants :•    Émetteurs à fluorescence retardée activée thermiquement•    Émetteurs radicaux•    Complexes organométalliques•    Pérovskites•    Lasers•    Luminescence polarisée circulairement•    Émission de lumière à partir d'exciplexes•    Green- et biophotonique•    Modélisation computationnelle des matériaux émettant de la lumièreToutes les informations pratiques (inscriptions, dépôts d'abstract et logements) sont disponible sur le site internet d'ICEL2026. Accéder au site internet

Nos conférenciers principaux pour 2026 sont la professeure Roosmarijn Vandenbroucke (Université de Gand) et la professeure Nelly Litvak (Université technologique d'Eindhoven). Plus d'infos sur le site "Women in science"

Deadlines Opening of abstract submissions and registrations: 15 September 2025Deadline to submit indicative title and summary: 30 November 2025Deadline for final abstract submissions: 01 May 2026Early bird registration deadline: 01 March 2026 More information on the website

Two talks will be held:Renato OLARTE HERNANDEZ from UNamur will talk about: "Second Quantization in Quantum Chemistry".He will be followed by the talk of Prof. Marc de WERGIFOSSE (UCLouvain) entitled "Natural Response Orbitals and the RespA Procedure". 

JuryProf. Eli THORÉ (UNamur), PrésidentProf. Patrick KESTEMONT (UNamur), SecrétaireProf. Ranjàna RANDRIANARIVO (Université d’Antananarivo)Dr Valérie CORNET (UNamur)Dr Omayma MISSAWI (UNamur)Prof. Catherine MOUNEYRAC (Université Catholique de l’Ouest)Prof. Gauthier EPPE (ULiège)RésuméThe widespread production and use of plastics have led to their continuous release into the environment. Microplastics (MPs) are now ubiquitous in aquatic ecosystems, where their bioavailability to organisms and potential entry into the food web raise serious environmental and public health concerns. Substantial progress has been made in understanding MP toxicity, and their hazardous potential is now widely acknowledged. However, MP toxicity studies remain complex, as multiple particle characteristics, such as size, shape, polymer type, and sorbed contaminants might influence both bioavailabilityTo bridge this gap, the present thesis adopted a dual, complementary approach: (i) characterizing the environmental occurrence and bioavailability of MPs, and (ii) assessing the ecological relevance of using environmentally derived MPs in in vivo toxicity experiments.Overall, this thesis provides insights into the reproductive and transgenerational effects of environmentally relevant MPs while underscoring the importance of considering particle–pollutant interactions. By combining in situ field data with in vivo laboratory experiments, it demonstrates that the use of environmentally derived MPs represents a more realistic and ecologically meaningful approach to hazard characterization. Further studies should be carried out in this same perspective to generate robust, exploitable data and contribute to establishing a comprehensive MP risk characterization.

JuryProf. Nicolas DENDONCKER (UNamur), PrésidentProf. Sabine HENRY (UNamur), SecrétaireDr Sébastien DUJARDIN (UNamur)Prof. Pierre OZER (ULiège)Prof. Emmanuel TWARABAMENYE (Université du Rwanda)Prof. Caroline MICHELLIER (MRAC et UCLouvain)AbstractThis research investigates community vulnerability to landslides and floods in Northwestern Rwanda, hazards that frequently interact to produce compound disasters. The research focused on understanding the institutional, social, and structural factors that shape vulnerability and adaptive capacity in this disaster-prone region. Using a mixed-methods approach at local-scale, including institutional analysis, household surveys (n = 904), and field observations, the research highlights how vulnerability is shaped by socio-economic conditions, weak institutional coordination, and limited adaptive capacity. A Contextualized Vulnerability Index (CoVI) was developed to map vulnerability patterns, revealing particularly high vulnerability in landslide-prone and dual-hazard zones. The analysis of adaptive capacity showed that while awareness of hazards is high due to lived experiences, financial constraints, and limited technical knowledge hinder communities’ ability to adapt effectively. The study contributes to the literature on social vulnerability and disaster risk reduction by emphasizing the importance of locally grounded, evidence-based strategies to strengthen community resilience in hazard-prone regions.

Charting the DNA methylome landscape in cancer, chronic disease and phenotype Abstract: Our team has developed some of the first pipelines for genome-scale DNA methylation analysis. Our work has revealed aberrant methylation and expression patterns in several cancer types and revealed new mechanism of epigenetic regulation in cancer cells. We are now applying cutting-edge whole genome scale DNA methylation analysis in tissues as well as well as in cell free DNA (epigenetic liquid biopsy) and epigenetic editing platforms to investigate clinically relevant biomedical questions in cancer (for example, methylation map of colorectal, prostate, lung cancer and pancreatic cancer patients). Our work in epigenetic editing has implication in revealing causal function and new epigenetic regulation. In this talk, I will present the key findings from some of our works over the years and also elaborate on some recent and future directions in understanding the role of DNA methylation events in cancer metastasis, early detection, and treatment monitoring in solid cancers and also in chronic diseases and phenotype. More information on the ILEE website

High-Sensitivity Birefringence Mapping Using Near-Circularly Polarized Light I will describe several techniques for mapping a two-dimensional birefringence distribution, which can be classified according to the optical schemes and principles of work:Illumination geometry (transmitted light/reflected light)Image acquisition (sequential acquisition/simultaneous acquisition)Polarization control (electrically controlled variable retardance/mechanical rotation).This classification facilitates a comparative analysis of the capabilities and limitations in these methods for birefringence characterization. Polychromatic polarizing microscopy (PPM) provides unique capabilities to alternative methods. It leverages vector interference to generate vivid, full-spectrum colors at extremely low retardances, down to < 10 nm. PPM is a significant departure from conventional polarizing microscopes that rely on Newton interference, which requires retardances above 400 nm for color formation. Furthermore, PPM's color output directly reflects the orientation of the birefringent material, a feature absent in conventional microscopy where color is solely determined by retardance.Joint seminar of ILEE & NISM!Le séminaire est accessible à des personnes externes également, pas besoin de s'inscrire. Plus d'infos

Abstract Radiotherapy is a cornerstone of cancer treatment and is currently administered to approximately half of all cancer patients. However, the cytotoxic effects of ionizing radiation on normal tissues represent a major limitation, as they restrict the dose that can be safely delivered to patients and, consequently, reduce the likelihood of effective tumor control. In this context, delivering radiation at ultra-high dose rates (UHDR, > 40 Gy/s) is gaining increasing attention due to its potential to spare healthy tissues surrounding the tumor and to prevent radiation-induced side effects, as compared to conventional dose rates (CONV, on the order of Gy/min).The mechanism underlying this protective effect—termed the FLASH effect—remains elusive, driving intensive research to elucidate the biological processes triggered by this type of irradiation.In vitro models offer a valuable tool to support this research, allowing for the efficient screening of various beam parameters and biological responses in a time- and cost-effective manner. In this study, multicellular tumor spheroids and normal cells were exposed to proton irradiation at UHDR to evaluate its effectiveness in controlling tumor growth and its cytotoxic impact on healthy tissues, respectively.We report that UHDR and CONV irradiation induced a comparable growth delay in 3D tumor spheroids, suggesting similar efficacy in tumor control. In normal cells, both dose rates induced similar levels of senescence; however, UHDR irradiation led to lower apoptosis induction at clinically relevant doses and early time points post-irradiation.Taken together, these findings further highlight the potential of UHDR irradiation to modulate the response of normal tissues while maintaining comparable tumor control.JuryProf. Thomas BALLIGAND (UNamur), PrésidentProf. Stéphane LUCAS (UNamur), SecrétaireProf. Carine MICHIELS (UNamur)Dr Sébastien PENNINCKX (Hôpital Universitaire de Bruxelles)Prof. Cristian FERNANDEZ (Université de Bern)Dr Rudi LABARBE (IBA)

Abstract Due to their unique chemical, physical and photophysical properties, organoboron compounds and in particular triarylboranes play a central role in chemistry and in catalysis. Trivalent neutral boron Lewis acids, which are planar trigonal species, have been shown to exhibit enhanced Lewis acidity and electrophilicities when constrained in a pyramidal trigonal environment. Within the context of the emerging area of geometrically constrained main-group elements, the fundamental experimental and computational investigations of the impact of structural deformation on the physicochemical properties and reactivity of borane derivatives is of interest. This thesis will explore successively the development of geometrically constrained intramolecular FLP and of cationic boron Lewis superacid based on the aza-boratriptycene scaffold, then the synthesis of pyramidalyzed electron-deficient borenium cation with tethered pyridine and NHC ligands embedded in the triptycene scaffold and will finally focus on chiral borenium cations as new Lewis acids. A collaborative work dealing with the combination of the strong 9-sulfonium-10-boratriptycene with hindered Lewis bases is finally performed for developing latent FLP. This work deepens our understanding of the synthesis of constrained boron Lewis acids species, a key step to develop new pyramidal boron Lewis superacids, deblocking new kinds of reactivity in main-group chemistry. For instance, electrophilic Csp2–H borylation reactions of electron-poor aromatics were observed, new unusual binding mode at weakly coordinating anions were discovered and encouraging steps were initiated for reaching new chiral boron-based Lewis acids, opening the path toward new horizons in main-group chemistry.JuryProf. Benoît CHAMPAGNE (UNamur), PrésidentProf. Guillaume BERIONNI (UNamur), SecrétaireProf. Olivier CHUZEL (Aix-Marseille Université)Prof. Raphaël ROBIETTE (UCLouvain)Prof. Stéphane VINCENT (UNamur)

Bienvenue à la 1ʳᵉ conférence MG-ERC Cette conférence, en lien avec les thématiques de recherche du département de chimie, a pour objectif de rassembler une centaine de chercheurs travaillant dans les domaines de la chimie des hétéroatomes, de la chimie de coordination, de la catalyse, et de la chimie inorganique. Elle présente une réelle nouveauté en Belgique en termes des domaines couverts, et va permettre aux participants de découvrir des nouveaux concepts, idées et tendances dans ces domaines de recherche récents en chimie. Voici la liste des conférenciers, qui sont des experts mondiaux dans leurs domainesDr. Daniël Broere (Utrecht University, Netherlands)Prof. Agnieszka Nowak-Król (Universität Würzburg, Germany)Dr. Antoine Simonneau (Université Paul-Sabatier, Toulouse, France)Prof. Dr. Sebastian Riedel (Freie Universität, Berlin, Germany)Dr. Arnaud Voituriez (Université Paris-Saclay, France)Prof. Dr. Alessandro Bismuto (Universität Bonn, Germany)Dr. Christian Hering-Junghans (Leibniz-Institut für Katalyse, Germany)Prof. Connie Lu (Universität Bonn, Germany)Prof. Simon Aldridge (University of Oxford, UK)Dr. Ghenwa Bouhadir (Université Paul-Sabatier, Toulouse, France)Prof. Dr. Viktoria Däschlein-Gessner (Ruhr-University of Bochum, Germany)    Dr. Jennifer A. Garden (University of Edinburgh, UK)Prof. Muriel Hissler (Université de Rennes, France)Prof. Jean-François Paquin (Université de Laval, Canada) Plus d’informations et inscription

JuryProf. Max COLLINET (UNamur), présidentProf. Johan YANS (UNamur), secrétaireProf. Flavien CHOULET (Université Marie et Louis Pasteur)Dr Alexandre FELTEN (UNamur)Prof. Mohammed BOUABDELLAH (Université Mohammed IV Polytechnique)Prof. Nadine MATTIELLI (Université libre de Bruxelles)Dr Augustin DEKONINCK (UMons)RésuméSupergene processes are responsible for the redistribution of metals near the surface and can form economically significant mineral deposits. This PhD thesis investigates the evolution (genesis and timing) of supergene mineralization in polymetallic systems from Morocco (Anti-Atlas and Atlas) and France (Provence). The study combines field observations, petrography, geochemistry, stable isotopes analyses and experimental oxidation to provide a multiscale understanding from microscopic characterization to the regional geological evolution.Stable Cu and Fe isotopes show singular fractionation in each deposit, which primarily depends on the primary ore isotopic composition. In addition, specific minerals (i.e., arsenates) may strongly impact Cu fractionation of later formed minerals (i.e., malachite), which can lead to extremely variable Cu isotope compositions across deposits. Hence, Cu and Fe isotopes must be considered as site specific. Experimental investigations complete geological data by quantifying oxidation rates of pyrite and galena under various conditions. These results highlight that the timing of weathering is reproductible and fit with natural examples studied in this thesis via (U–Th)/He and K–Ar geochronology. However, pyrite oxidation (4.3 µm/year) is faster than galena, which may have a catalytic effect  on other sulfides in polymetallic deposits.Overall, supergene mineralization reflects combined controls from mineralogy, host rocks, fluids, climate and tectonics. This work refines genetic models and provides new tools to describe and constrain secondary mineralization, and their potential impact on metallurgical processes.