Driving ageing research forward: a Collen-Francqui Start-up Grant awarded to Prof. Charlotte Beaudart

Charlotte Beaudart, Professor of Clinical Research at UNamur and head of the Public Health Ageing Research & Epidemiology (PHARE) Group within NARILIS, has been awarded a Collen-Francqui Start-Up Grant. This prestigious award from the Francqui Foundation provides financial stability to promising early-career academics, enabling them to expand their research programs.

Charlotte Beaudart employs clinical research methods to better understand the aging process and its link to osteoarticular and musculoskeletal disorders. She is particularly interested in sarcopenia, an age-related condition that can emerge from the age of 50, leading to reduced physical performance, mobility issues, and an increased risk of frailty in older adults.

The three-year Collen-Francqui mandate (2025-2028) will enable her to expand her involvement in international and interdisciplinary collaborations, as well as to explore new avenues of research, including osteosarcopenia, which is defined as the coexistence of osteoporosis and sarcopenia. Her approach emphasizes patient-centered research, taking patient’s preferences into account to improve treatment initiation and adherence.

The grant will also support further development of her team’s expertise in biostatistics and meta-analysis. These skills that can be applied across multiple research areas, opening up opportunities for internal collaborations at NARILIS and partnerships with clinicians at Namur hospitals.

Congratulations to Charlotte on this award, which will give a significant boost to research on ageing at UNamur!