NARILIS research on “Stress and Ageing” earned remarkable recognition at two scientific conferences!

The Stress and AGEing (SAGE) research group, led by Prof. Florence Chainiaux (UNamur, URBC), aims at understanding the biological processes that govern ageing, focusing on the interconnection between stress and cellular senescence. Their research previously showed the impact of oxidative stress and DNA-damaging agents, such as H2O2, t-BHP, UVB..., on the premature appearance of the senescent phenotype in human cells, a concept called "Stress Induced Premature Senescence (SIPS)". As the skin represents an ideal model to study the impact of environmental stress on its ageing, in vitro experiments are carried out on human skin cells. The SAGE group works therefore in close collaboration with the research group of Prof. Yves Poumay (UNamur,URPhyM), which develops in vitro skin models of senescence.

Young researchers from the SAGE team recently presented their findings in two scientific meetings and received several awards!

These prizes awarded to our promising PhD students highlight the SAGE research group exceptional contributions to the field of ageing. Congratulations to the SAGE team and all their collaborators!

Contact : Prof. Florence Chainiaux – florence.chainiaux@unamur.be

Senescence in Ageing and Pathology (SenAP) symposium

This one-day symposium was held on the 9th of June 2023 at UHasselt. On this occasion, Hélène Marlier received the best poster prize! Enrolled in a joint PhD at UNamur (Prof. F. Chainiaux) and UMons (Prof. A-E Declèves), she is studying the roles of senescence in kidney, and more specifically, the underlying metabolic dysfunctions in proximal tubular epithelial cells. Her poster presented her progress on the development of a model of renal cell senescence. Inès Bouriez was awarded the best poster pitch. Her research, co-supervised by Prof. Florence Chainiaux and Prof. Yves Poumay, aims at studying the impact of UVB-induced keratinocytes on skin cancer cells. Her work shows a pro-migratory effect of senescent keratinocytes secretome on different cancer cell lines.

This first SenAP symposium was organized by doctoral students from UHasselt, among whom Joline Millen. Joline is conducting a PhD in the framework of a collaboration between UHasselt (Prof. T. Nawrot) and UNamur (Prof. F. Chainiaux).

https://www.uhasselt.be/en/aparte-sites-partner-en/senap-symposium

Hélène Marlier (UMons/UNamur) on the left and Inès Bouriez (UNamur) on the right, at the SenAP symposium

Congrès Annuel de Recherche Dermatologique (CARD)

CARD is an annual appointment for researchers and clinicians to share their latest advances in cutaneous biology and skin disease research. Organized by the French association of dermatological research (SRD), the 39th edition of CARD took place in Brest on 15-16 June 2023. During this meeting, Inès Bouriez had the opportunity to give an oral presentation. She presented her recent work towards the characterization of the composition and regulation of senescent keratinocytes secretome. Inès was granted a best oral communication award by the jury for her excellent talk!

https://card2023-brest.sciencesconf.org/

Inès Bouriez (UNamur) on the right, at the CARD congress