Outstanding performance by three NARILIS PhD students at “Ma Thèse en 180 Secondes”

On March 28, 2025, the UNamur organized the 11^th edition of Ma Thèse en 180 secondes (MT180), a competition that challenges PhD students to present their research in just three minutes. Three NARILIS PhD students, Margaux Mignolet, Petra Manja and Thomas Rouma, stood out among the ten participants and were selected to represent the UNamur at the next stage of the competition: the Belgian final in Mons on May 21, 2025.

Margaux Mignolet, from the lab of Prof. Charles Nicaise, works on identifying pathogenic autoantibodies in patients suffering from post-acute neurological sequelae of COVID-19 and unravelling the mechanisms behind the production of neuronal neoantigens. Her pitch at MT180 entitled: 🎬 « Le monde de Dory l’anticorps ».

Petra Manja from the research group of Prof. Régis Hallez, explores the role of (p)ppGpp in regulating bacterial persistence in the uropathogen coli (UPEC) UTI89. Her talk at MT180 entitled: 🎬 « Dormir pour ne pas mourir »

Thomas Rouma, whose PhD thesis is co-supervised by Prof. Eric Muraille and Prof. Xavier De Bolle, is investigating the protective immune response against pulmonary infections caused by Acinetobacter baumannii in mice. His presentation was entitled: 🎬 “Comment se débarrasser d'un pique-assiette ?!“

At the national final in Mons, their strong performances continued to impress:

🥇 Margaux Mignolet won the first prize of the jury with« Le monde de Dory l’anticorps »
🥈 Petra Manja earned the second prize from the jury with « Dormir pour ne pas mourir »

Congratulations to Margaux, Petra, Thomas, and to all the talented PhD students who took up the challenge of presenting their thesis in 180 seconds!