PhD student Laurie Marchal and plastic surgeon Dr. Christine Deconinck at the Lipedema World Congress in Rome

Lipedema is an adipose tissue disorder characterized by a disproportionate accumulation of subcutaneous fat in the lower body, sparing hands, feet and the abdominal region. This medical condition mostly affects women and typically arises during periods of hormonal change such as puberty, pregnancy or menopause. Hormones, and specifically estrogens, are suspected to play a role in the development of lipedema, together with genetic predispositions and inflammation.

Since 2021, the research group led by Prof. Thierry Arnould and Prof. Patsy Renard at UNamur is interested in the pathophysiology of this disease. In collaboration with Dr. Christine Deconinck, plastic surgeon at the CHU UCL Namur, the team has launched an original and ambitious project to explore the role of estrogen signaling in the onset and progression of lipedema. As a first step during the Master thesis of Laurie Marchal, the researchers set up a protocol to isolate adipose-derived stem cells and differentiated adipocytes from tissue samples obtained from lipedema-affected patients, thereby building an invaluable collection. This initial work was supported by NARILIS.

Since October 2024, the project has taken a major step forward with the start of Laurie Marchal’s PhD thesis, funded by a FRIA-FNRS grant. Her work focuses on a comparative analysis of the proteome and secretome of adipose-derived stem cells and primary adipocytes from lipedema patients.

This research is made possible thanks to the support of Dr. Morgane Canonne, head of the research laboratory at the CHU UCL Namur and Dr. Fabienne George, coordinator of the Biobank.

Early November 2025, Laurie Marchal attended, alongside Dr. Christine Deconinck, the Lipedema World Congress in Rome. This international event gathers experts, patients and researchers from around the world. The congress was described by Laurie as intense, truly inspiring and enriching. Their appearance side by side highlights the strong collaboration between UNamur and CHU UCL Namur and reflects their shared commitment to improve the understanding and treatment of lipedema. It also shows NARILIS’ dedication to fostering collaborations that translate scientific discovery into meaningful benefits for patients.

Laurie already looks forward to returning in two years, hopefully with new findings to share with the medical and scientific community.

Dr. Christine Deconinck (on the left) and Laurie Marchal (on the right)