Research conducted within the Stress and AGEing (SAGE) research group at the UNamur NARILIS Institute has already shown that exposure of normal human cells to oxidative stress and/or DNA damage induced the premature appearance of the senescent phenotype in these cells, a concept known as Stress Induced Premature Senescence (SIPS).
As the skin is an ideal model for studying the impact of environmental stress on its ageing, in vitro experiments are being carried out on human skin cells exposed to UV rays. The SAGE group is therefore working closely with Prof. Yves Poumay's research group, which is developing in vitro reconstructed skin models.
Two young researchers from the SAGE team recently presented their results at two scientific meetings and received several awards!
Best poster and best poster pitch at the "Senescence in Ageing and Pathology (SenAP)" symposium
This one-day symposium was held on 9 June 2023 at UHasselt. Hélène Marlier was awarded the prize for best poster. Enrolled in a joint thesis at UNamur (Prof. F. Chainiaux) and UMons (Prof. A-E Declèves), she is studying the impact of metabolic disturbances on kidney senescence. Her poster presented the development of a model of renal cell senescence.
Photo caption: Hélène Marlier (UMons/UNamur) on the left and Inès Bouriez (UNamur) on the right, at the SenAP symposium.
Inès Bouriez was awarded the prize for best poster pitch. Her research, co-supervised by Professors Florence Chainiaux and Yves Poumay, aims to study the impact of keratinocytes undergoing UVB-induced senescence on skin cancer cells.
This first SenAP symposium was organised by doctoral students from UHasselt, including Joline Millen, who is doing her doctorate as part of a collaboration between UHasselt (Prof. T. Nawrot) and UNamur (Prof. F. Chainiaux).
Best oral communication at the Annual Congress of Dermatological Research (CARD)
The CARD is an annual event at which researchers and clinicians share their latest advances in cutaneous biology and research into skin diseases. Organised by the French Society for Dermatological Research (SRD), the 38th CARD was held in Namur on 30 June and 1 July 2022. The 39th CARD was held in Brest on 15 and 16 June 2023. At this meeting, Inès Bouriez was awarded the prize for best oral communication by the jury for her excellent presentation!
Photo caption: Inès Bouriez (UNamur) on the right, at the CARD 2023 conference.
These prizes awarded to these promising doctoral students underline the exceptional contributions made by the SAGE research group in the field of ageing. Congratulations to the SAGE team and all its collaborators!
Contact: Prof. Florence Chainiaux
Email : florence.chainiaux@unamur.be
