Pôle Santé Interfaculty PhD Day 2026

The Pôle Santé is pleased to announce its Interfaculty PhD Day, which will take place on Wednesday, May 6, 2026. This event aims to federate the ULB Health research ecosystem by bringing together PhD candidates working on health-related topics, as well as Master’s students interested in stepping into research. It offers a unique platform to connect with the broader ULB Health research community, learn about the latest research activities conducted by PhD students, and engage in cross-disciplinary discussions.

Throughout the day, participants will attend keynote lectures, oral presentations by PhD candidates, poster sessions, explore posters from ULB Technology platforms, and take part in interactive workshops.

PhD candidates are encouraged to submit an abstract for an oral communication or poster. Scientific awards will be given for the best oral and poster presentations. PhD training credits can be validated by attending this day.

Don’t miss this event to participate, present your work, gain visibility and connect with the ULB Health research community.

Information

Program

MORNING SESSION 

• 8:15 - 8:45 Registration & Coffee 
• 8:45 - 09:00 Introduction & Institutional remarks
  • Prof. Nicolas MAVROUDAKIS (Academic Coordinator Pôle Santé)
  • Prof. Marius GILBERT (Vice Rector of Research & Valorisation)
• 09:00 - 09:30 Keynote
  • Alain DELCHAMBRE (Ecole Polytechnique de Bruxelles)
    From the bench to the bed: an exciting journey through medical device development 
• 09:30 - 10:20 Session 1 - PhD Essentials
  • Joffrey BANETON (Research and Innovation Support Dept)
    The doctoral pathway
  • Delphine LAUWERS (Communication & External Relations Dept)
    Internationalization funding for PhD students
  • Yves BETTIGNIES CARI (Ecole Polytechnique de Bruxelles)
    The PhD & PostDoc Society: Why become a member?
• 10:20 - 10:50 Coffee break & Poster session
• 10:50 - 12:00 Session 2 - Oral Communications (2 parallel sessions)   
  • OC1 to OC 12 
• 12:00 - 13:00 Lunch & Poster Session 

AFTERNOON SESSION (13:30 - 17:00) 

• 13:00 - 13:40 Keynote
  • Cédric BLANPAIN (Faculty of Medecine, ULB)
    Stem cells and cancer
• 13:50 - 14:45 Session 3 - Oral Communications (2 parallel sessions)
  • OC13 to OC20
• 14:45 - 15:15 Coffee break
• 15:15 - 16:45 Session 4 (2 parallel sessions) 
  • Workshop 1 "Beyond rules: understanding ethics in your research project" 
  • Workshop 2 "Making your research proposal fundable" 
• 16:45 - 17:00 Awards & Closing remarks 
  • Awards for best oral and poster presentations
    Prof. Nicolas MAVROUDAKIS (Academic Coordinator Pôle Santé)

Keynote lectures

The keynote lectures of the PhD Day will explore the journeys behind successful research careers, by highlighting the challenges, opportunities, and choices that shape scientific paths. With insights on mentorship, funding, research development, or interdiciplinary collaborations, these talks seek to inspire students as they explore their own path in research.

Keynote speakers:

• Cédric BLANPAIN (Faculty of Medicine, Laboratory of stem cells and cancer, ULB)
  Stem cells and cancer
• Alain DELCHAMBRE (Ecole Polytechnique de Bruxelles, ULB)
  From the bench to the bed: an exciting journey through medical device development

Oral communication

10:50 - 12:00

Session 2A 

• 10:50  OC1 The CD27 costimulatory pathway regulates hepatic cytotoxic T cells exhaustion and tissue residency in an Eomes-dependent manner
  Solange Dejolier - Faculty of Sciences (Supervisor F. Andris) 
• 11:00  OC2 Maternal IL-17A Response in GBS Colonization: A Marker of Neonatal Risk
  Narjis Amar - Faculty of Medicine (Supervisor M. Chamekh)
• 11:10  OC3 Using 3D multicellular tumor spheroids to better understand human Tumor-associated macrophages polarization 
  Florian Van Horenbeke - Faculty of Sciences (Supervisor S. Goriely)  
• 11:20  OC4 Evaluation of sperm capacitation as a parameter of male infertility diagnosis and impact of the cryopreservation process
  David Pening Faculty of Medicine (Supervisors P. Lybaert & I. Demeestere) 
• 11:30  OC5 Progressive Renal Alterations Precede the Onset of HFpEF in a Rat Model of Metabolic Syndrome
  Umair Sheikh Mohammad - Faculty of Medicine (Supervisor D. Laurence)
• 11:40  OC6 Perinatal exposure to probiotics shapes neonatal cDC1 function through maternal IgG transfer
  Jeanne Pauwels - Faculty of Medicine (Supervisor V. Flamand) 

Session 2B

• 10:50  OC7 Tunable BRAF^V600E activation in human organoids uncovers early events in thyroid cancer initiation
  Tientcheu Ivan, IRIBHM, Faculty of Medicine (Supervisor S. Costagliola) 
• 11:00  OC8 Label-Free Coreset Selection with Foundation Models for Efficient Annotation in Computational Pathology
  Tuo Yin - Faculty of Medicine (Supervisor J. Dhont) 
• 11:10  OC9 Spatial Transcriptomics Reveals Clinically Relevant Microenvironmental Subtypes in HR+ HER2- Breast Cancer of No Special Type 
  Bengisu Karakose - Institut Jules Bordet, Faculty of Medicine (Supervisors F. Rothé & C. Sotiriou) 
• 11:20  OC10 Life after Informal Caregiving? Mental health trajectories when spousal caregiving ends
  Rakofsky Carine - School of Public Health (Supervisors B. Vanhoutte & C. Mahieu) 
• 11:30  OC11 Clinical implication of m6A-5mC crosstalk in AML
  Louis Van der Linden - Faculty of Medicine (Supervisors F. Fuks & R. Deplus) 
• 11:40  OC12 Potential of microRNA therapy to preserve growing mice follicles during the chemotherapy exposure
  Camille Pavoncelli - Faculty of Medicine (Supervisor I. Demeestere) 

12:00 - 13:00 LUNCH


13:50 - 14:45 

Session 3A

• 13:50  OC13 Protective properties of Enn surface proteins against Group A Streptococcus
  Cyprien Widomski - European Plotkin Institute for Vaccinology, Faculty of Medicine (Supervisor A. Botteaux) 
• 14:00  OC14 CellCousin2: An Optimized System for Partial Ablation and Tracing of Regenerative Lineages
  Gabriel Garnik Hovhannisyan - Faculty of Medicine (Supervisors E. Gurzov et S. P. Singh) 
• 14:10  OC15 Exploring the host Immune system - Gut Microbiota interActions in healthy individuals (ENIGMA)
  Louison Toris - Faculty of Medicine (Supervisors D. Franchimont & C. Liefferinckx) 
• 14:20  OC16 A common genetic variation in hematopoietic stem cells regulates the development of human γδ T cells
  Isoline Verdebout - Faculty of Pharmacy (Supervisor D. Vermijlen) 

Session 3B

• 13:50  OC17 TRMT10A deficiency and tRNA fragmentation disrupt human pancreatic β-cell identity and insulin maturation
  Khadija Benabdallah - Faculty of Medicine (Supervisor M. Igoillo-Esteve) 
• 14:00  OC18 Maternal anti-Escherichia coli IgG and plasma levels of IL-6 are associated with neonatal infectious disease
  Azeddine Chakroun - Faculty of Medicine (Supervisor M. Chamekh) 
• 14:10  OC19 Vascular Remodeling Enhances High-Flow Muscle Oxygen Delivery Following Aerobic Exercise Training
  Emilie Maufroy - Faculty of Human Movement Science (Supervisor G. Deboeck) 
• 14:20  OC20 Study of Bacteriophage A25 Adsorption to Group A Streptococcus Cell Wall Carbohydrates
  Jenny Steinmetz - European Plotkin Institute for Vaccinology, Faculty of Medicine (Supervisor A. Botteaux) 

Workshops

Workshop 1 "Beyond rules: understanding ethics in your research project"
This workshop aims to identify and address ethical issues from the very start of a research project design. Using case studies and a round table discussion, it encourages critical reflection and provides practical tools to analyse and address complex ethical challenges.
This workshop will be held in French, with presentation slides in English.

Academia: 

• Franck DEVAUX (Ethicist, Member of the Belgian Advisory Committee on Bioethics, Vice President of the Comité Ethique Hospitalo-facultaire Erasme ULB)
• Hélène FRANCOIS (Member of the Comité Ethique Hospitalo-facultaire Erasme ULB)
• Virgine PIRARD (President of the Belgian Advisory Committee on Bioethics, Responsible Research and COARA supporting actions, Research Department, ULB) 

Industry:

• Alexandre STOUFFS (Clinical Research Physician – Principal Investigator, Pfizer Clinical Research Unit Brussels)

Workshop 2 "Making your research proposal fundable" 
This workshop aims to understand funders' expectations and the key requirements for doctoral research projects. Participants will learn how to make a scientifically relevant project fundable, gaining insights from formal FNRS jury members and successful laureates. Through interactive discussions and a round table, the workshop provides practical guidance to strengthen research proposals and maximise their chances of funding.
This workshop will be held entirely in English. 

• Baptiste DETHIER (Observatory of Research & Scientific Careers, FNRS) 
• Rocco GIORDANO (FNRS FRIA Fellow, Faculty of Medicine)
• Mariana IGOILLO ESTEVE (Associate Prof. at the Center for Diabetes research, ULB Faculty of Medicine)
• Maxime MELCHIOR (FNRS FRIA Fellow, Faculty of Medicine)
• Romano REGAZZI (Prof. Emeritus at the University of Lausanne & Scientific collaborator at ULB)
• Dimitri RENMANS (Assistant Prof. at the ULB School of Public Health)
• Chantal RUFFER (FNRS FRIA Fellow, Faculty of Medicine)

Practical information

Where ? 
Route de Lennik, 808 - 1070 Brussels 
Building W - Erasme Campus 

When ? 
Wednesday 6 May 2026 
9:00 - 17:30