NARILIS PhD student Sophie Van Heden receives a Young Investigator Award at the WCO-IOF-ESCEO Congress in Rome

NARILIS PhD student Sophie Van Heden receives a Young Investigator Award at the WCO-IOF-ESCEO Congress in Rome

After earning a Bachelor’s degree in Dietetics from the Institut Paul Lambin in Brussels, Sophie Van Heden pursued her academic journey with a Master’s degree in Public Health Sciences at the University of Liège. In 2024, she started her doctoral research at the University of Namur, within the Research Unit in Clinical Pharmacology and Toxicology (URPC).  Her PhD focuses on the methodology of interventional studies in sarcopenia, a condition characterized by a progressive loss of muscle mass and strength associated with ageing. Sarcopenia poses a major risk for frailty and loss of independence in older adults, making it an important public health concern. Sophie’s research is conducted under the supervision of Prof. Charlotte Beaudart, head of the Public Health Aging Research & Epidemiology (PHARE) Group at UNamur, and Dr. Dolores Sanchez-Rodriguez, geriatrician at the CHU Brugmann.

From April 10 to 13, 2025, Sophie participated in the World Congress on Osteoporosis, Osteoarthritis and Musculoskeletal Disease (WCO-IOF-ESCEO 2025) in Rome, where she delivered a short oral communication entitled Evaluation of the pragmatism of clinical trials in sarcopenia: a systematic review. She also presented two posters: 

  • Towards developing a Core Outcome Set (COS) for sarcopenia intervention studies (abstract)
  • Evaluating the pragmatism of sarcopenia clinical trials using PRECIS-2: a systematic review (abstract)

Her outstanding contributions to the field were recognized with a Young Investigator Award, presented by the International Osteoporosis Foundation (IOF) and the European Society for Clinical and Economic Aspects of Osteoporosis and Osteoarthritis (ESCEO).

Sophie Van Heden's participation in the congress was supported by funding from the UNamur FSR (Fonds Spécial de Recherche).

But that's not all! The PHARE team received another distinction during the same congress, with Prof. Charlotte Beaudart being awarded the 2025 ESCEO–Aging Clinical and Experimental Research Award.

Congratulations to the PHARE team!