BioWin labelled
Labelled, BioWin has formed a non-profit making association and will soon recruit its operational unit located at the Point Centre.[more]

DNAVision is moving
Since the 1st September, DNAVision has integrated its new facility situated 200 meters from its current location.[more]

IBMM : European project "CancerImmunotherapy"
The Immunology laboratory of the IBMM takes part in the European project CancerImmunotherapy.[more]

IMI and surrounding technical institutes
The IMI liaises with technical training of the Hainaut Province. [more]

IBMM : European project "EURATools"
The Developmental Biology Laboratory of the IBMM takes part in the European project EURATools.[more]

IMI and IBMM at Paris
The IMI and the IBMM take part in the Joint Meeting of European National Societies of Immunology at Paris.[more]

IMI : recent awards
Two young members of the IMI have been awarded.[more]

Point Centre : change and continuity
The Biopole ULB Charleroi has acquired the Point Centre.[more]

BioWin labelled

In July the Walloon Government recognized the "poles of competitiveness". BioWin is the one of these dedicated to the health. BioWin has formed a non-profit making association at the Point Centre, in Charleroi where its registered office is located. During the following weeks, the operational unit will be recruited. Located at the Point Centre, this unit will be directed by Pierre Nokin (ex-Euroscreen) and certainly composed by three persons - scientific responsible, communication responsible, secretary -.

More information on www.biowin.org

DNAVision is moving

Since the 1st September, DNAVision has integrated its new facility situated 200 meters from its current location. This facility is part of the IPG building (Institute of Pathology and Genetic, one of the founder and shareholder institution of DNAVision) and consists in 600 square meters of research laboratories and workspaces.

DNAVision has been consulted for the development of the building project and has participated to the design of its laboratories in order that the infrastructure fits its particular needs for its service activities. For example space separation of pre- and post-PCR activities/room have been put in place (one direction sample circulation, airlock…), each with dedicated resources, allowing to significantly prevent and reduce contamination risks and again to ensure the best quality for its customers' experiments.

DNAVision will also take benefit of state-of-the-art infrastructures, set up by the IPG, to store its biobanks and the samples or biobanks of its customers. Finally besides the infrastructures, both institutions will enjoy sharing knowledge and expertise, promoting synergies to improve quality and service for their customers.

IBMM : European project "CancerImmunotherapy"

On the 5th and 6th October the starting meeting for European project CancerImmunotherapy will take place. This integrated project includes clinic studies (comparison between various vaccines and analyse of immune response for treated patients) and a more fundamental study about immunity anti-tumoral and mechanisms of evasion of tumours.

This project is coordinated by Prof. Thierry Boon (ICP, Belgium) and gathers 23 partners. It's supported by the European Community for 18 millions euros. Besides the UCL, the project includes two other Belgian partners : Kris Thielemans (VUB, Jette) and Muriel Moser (ULB, IBMM-Immunology Laboratory, Charleroi).

IMI and surrounding technical institutes

Since its installation on the Aeropole, the IMI has opened its doors to several technical institutes of the Hainaut Province to visit the laboratories and present ongoing research activities. This has namely led to applications for training courses within IMI research teams with the objective to achieve final study dissertations.

Recently Hafsa Boukamir from the Provincial Institute for Physiotherapy and Nursing of Charleroi, has performed a 6 weeks training in Arnaud Marchant research group under the direction of Nathalie Vanderheyde to prepare her dissertation on the "Characterisation of the response of lymphocytes T CD4+ to CMV infection". This collaboration is all the more encouraging that the student has been awarded the price of the best dissertation of the year.

IBMM : European project "EURATools"

The European Commission has awarded 11 million Euro from the Framework 6th Programme to fund a research project that will develop tools to allow scientists to use the rat as a model organism to better understand how genetic variation can lead to disease in humans. The European Rat Tools for Functional Genomics (EURATools) project will involve scientists from a consortium of 17 research institutes in Europe and China. Together they aim to develop genomic tools and nuclear transfer procedures for use in research.

The four-year project began in March 2006. Coordinated by the Medical Research Council Clinical Sciences Centre (London), this project involves 1 Belgian team, the Developmental Biology Laboratory at the IBMM.

IMI and IBMM at Paris

The IMI and the IBMM take part in the Joint Meeting of European National Societies of Immunology at Paris. The first meeting of European National Societies of Immunology gathers 400 delegates in Paris from September 6-9. The programme includes invited lectures by Fabienne Willems on "Denditric cells in human newborns" and Florence Roufosse on "Novel therapies of hypereosinophilic syndromes" as well as a poster presentation by Fabrice Moore (team of Véronique Flamand) on a novel pathway of NF-kB activation and Joelle Renneson (team of Arnaud Marchant) on dendritic cell responses to congenital human cytomegalovirus infection. The Immunology Laboratory of the IBMM is also involved in this meeting. Muriel Moser chairs a session devoted to dendritic cells, while Fabienne Andris (Immunology Laboratory) has been invited to give a lecture on "CD4+ T cells promoting tumoral responses in mice". Frédéric Van Gool presents a poster describing novel anti-inflammatory approaches using NAD derivatives.

IMI : recent awards

Chloé Spilleboudt, student in 4th doctorate in medicine-ULB received the award of the best student's research for her study on the control of graft-versus-host disease by regulatory T cells, a work that she conducted under the supervision of Alain Le Moine.

Also active in the team of Alain le Moine, ZhanZhuo Li, MD, PhD, a transplant research physician supported by the programme "First Elite" of the Walloon Region and the Nakos Foundation (USA) received a Young Investigator Award during the first World Transplant Congress in Boston (July 2006) for his work on the induction of tolerance to limb allograft in mice.

Point Centre : change and continuity

The Biopole ULB Charleroi has acquired the Point Centre. This building contains an auditorium (220 seats), several rooms (from 4 to 80 people), a hall to organize receptions and a cafeteria. The new management of this cafeteria proposes different dishes at the restaurant but also delivers sandwiches or dishes in surrounding enterprises.

You can rent rooms or organize events, congresses, workshops, seminars, etc. (internal or external ULB) at the Point Centre, with the help of professionals.

More information : Patrick Deprit, 071 91 98 70, patrick.deprit@biopole.be.