News

Dear,

On Saturday September 19th, the Young Belgian Society for Microbiology is celebrating the fourth Belgian edition of “International Microorganism Day” (https://www.internationalmicroorganismday.org/)! On this day, microbiologists from all over the world commemorate the discovery of microbes by Antonie van Leeuwenhoek in 1676.

For this occasion, we are organizing an exciting event at the Museum of Natural Sciences in Brussels (https://www.naturalsciences.be/en/museum/home). This event will contain lots of microbiology, fun facts and hands-on activities for the public. The previous editions of this event were a huge success, with more than 4000 participants in total.

To help us host this event, we are looking for volunteers. Are you a microbiologist interested in science outreach? Can you enthusiastically explain microbiology to children and the general public? Do you like agar art, microscopy, kombucha, …? Are you available on Saturday September 19th? Then we would love to have you at International Microorganism Day 2026!

You can register as a volunteer here. We will be in touch!

FYI, for PhD students, all volunteers will get an official certificate of participation that might be recognized by your doctoral school and could count for your doctoral training. Get in touch with your doctoral school or your accompanying committee to check if this is the case.

For any additional information, don’t hesitate to contact us!

Best wishes,

YBSM 

Dear Colleague,

The National Committee for Microbiology (NaCoMi) and the Belgian Co-ordinated Collections of Micro-organisms (BCCM) are proud and happy to invite you to the second Tiny Titans Talks  to be held on Monday September 7, 2026, at the Palace of Academies, Brussels:

MICROBES AT THE FRONTIERS OF MICROBIOLOGY

This edition takes you to the frontiers of Microbiology where microbes are unexpected, unexplored and often…unbelievable. From strange adaptations to unseen interactions, our speakers will share the passion behind their discoveries – not just what they found, but why it matters and how it changed their perspectives. The panel of presentations will cover a large panel of unusual microbes, spanning from Bdelloid rotifers to Giant viruses, and everything in between !

A special highlight will bridge science and creativity, offering a unique perspective on microbes as both exciting subjects of study and invaluable sources of inspiration. The Tiny Titans Talks are not just about results, data, or methodologies. They are about curiosity, discovery, and the moments that redefine a field.

You can register on our website (https://belnacomi.eu/), or by clicking this link:

For 50 Euros, you will be able to enjoy the following one-day programme: 

Monday, September 7, 2026
8:30	Registration
9:00	Welcome address
The bright side of the invisible realm 1 – Chair: BCCM
9:10	A drop in the ocean: diatom diversity through the lense of genomicsEveline Pinseel – Laboratory of Protistology & Aquatic Ecology, UGent
9:40	The hypho-sphere of Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi: a microbial hub for plant nutrition, health, and pathogen controlStephan Declerck – Laboratory of Mycology, UCLouvain, Louvain-la-Neuve
10:10	Komagataella phaffii (Pichia pastoris) YeastKatrien Claes – Center for Medical Biotechnology, VIB-UGent
10:40	Coffee break
The bright side of the invisible realm 2 – Chair: Stephan Declerck
11:00	CyanobacteriaDail Laughinghouse – University of Florida, Davie West, Davie, Florida, USA
11:30	Microbiology in SpaceNatalie Leys – Microbial Biotechnology Research Unit, SCK-CEN, Mol
12:00	Bio-Art: Making art with microorganismsMatthijs De Block – Independent artist / Lecturer & researcher at LUCA School of Arts Ghent
12:30	Lunch & Group picture
On the edge of Microbiology – Chairs: Paul Cos & Annick Wilmotte
14:00	Evolving without males, while having adapted to extreme stressesKarine Van Doninck  – Laboratory of Molecular Biology & Evolution, ULB, Brussels
14:30	Chytridiomycosis, a fungal disease driving global loss of amphibian diversityFrank Pasmans – Laboratory of Veterinary Bacteriology and Mycology, UGent
15:00	Twenty years of research on giant virusesChantal Abergel – Information Génomique & Structurale, Aix-Marseille University, Marseille, France
15:30	Coffee Break
15:50	PVC bacteria: microbiology’s Platypus, divergent biology and the Tree of LifeDamien Devos – Institut Pasteur Lille, Univ. Lille, France
16:20	ArchaeaEveline Peeters – VUB, Brussels, Belgium
16:50	Concluding remarks

So, don’t wait to register to the conference, and don’t hesitate to invite your friends and colleagues to do the same !

Thanks for your support.

We wish you a pleasant day, and we are looking forward to hearing from you soon.

Yours sincerely,

Jacques Mahillon (NaCoMi) & Annick Wilmotte (BCCM)

The National Committee for Microbiology, in collaboration with the BCCM, is proud and happy to invite you to the first NaCoMi Tiny Titans Talk to be held on May 26, at the Palace of Academies, Brussels.

This is not just another scientific meeting. It’s a deep dive into the invisible world that made us who we are. The conference starts with an exceptional keynote by Renaud Piarroux — pediatrician, infectious‑disease specialist (notably cholera), biologist, and author of the acclaimed “Sapiens and Microbes” (CNRS Editions, 2025).  The opening presentation will usher the audience into a fascinating journey into the ways microbial forces have shaped human evolution, ecosystems, and global health — followed by three compelling presentations that further reveal their profound impact on:
how microbes have driven major evolutionary transitions, how they shape our health and the health of animals today and how understanding them can change tomorrow’s medicine.

You can register on the new NaCoMi website (https://belnacomi.eu/) or here.

A new FNRS contact group on “Antimicrobial Drug Discovery” favoring multidisciplinary scientific discussions and collaborations between researchers working in Belgium on antimicrobial drug discovery, covering either chemical synthesis or natural product screening, antimicrobial assays, mechanistic modes of action of the drugs, preclinical studies (PK&PD). Clinical evaluation or epidemiology will be out of scope. The first meeting will be soon, on the 13^th March 2026 (Campus Plaine, 1050 Bruxelles). The preliminary program includes oral presentations by Dr. Jayanta Haldar (JNCASR, India), Dr. Anil Koul (Johnson & Johnson and LSHTM),  Dr. Gilles Darcis (ULiège), Dr. Valentin Job (UNamur), Dr. Charles van der Henst (VIB-VUB). Registration is free but mandatory though the link https://forms.gle/ikSUSUGicoWDPPrA7. Participations of PhD students for oral or poster presentations will be highly appreciated.

The organizers Dr.Carine van Lint (ULB) and  Dr. Véronique Fontaine (ULB) »

“Targeting ubiquitin and autophagy networks”

The lecture will take place on Thursday, March 26th at 5:30 PM, in the auditorium A (Lacroix) on the UCLouvain Health Sciences campus in Brussels. It will be followed by a reception.

Professor Ivan Đikić is a molecular biologist and a leading expert in the fields of ubiquitin biology and autophagy. He was trained as a medical doctor in Zagreb, Croatia, and obtained a PhD degree and a postdoctoral tenure at the New York University. He was then appointed a Group Leader at the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research in Uppsala, Sweden. Since 2003 he is a Professor of Biochemistry at the Institute of Biochemistry II at the Goethe University in Frankfurt. He became the Director of the Institute in 2009, and a Fellow at the Max Planck Institute for Biophysics in 2018.

Ivan Đikić’s research focuses on deciphering molecular mechanisms of cellular signaling pathways, which have a high relevance to human diseases such as cancer, neurodegenerative disorders, infections and inflammation. He uses multidisciplinary approaches to study complex biological problems relating to ubiquitin, a small protein that is covalently attached to thousands of cellular proteins. He also studies autophagy in the context of immune responses, bacterial infections and crosstalk with endoplasmic reticulum. Ivan Đikić recently established the large research consortium PROXIDRUGS, a cluster of academic and industry partners dedicated to proximity-inducing drug discovery and preclinical development. A key goal is to develop proximity-inducing therapeutics that drive the ubiquitin-dependent degradation of disease-relevant targets, including proteins, nucleic acids, and organelles.

His scientific work has garnered international recognition, with prestigious awards including the Jung Prize for Medicine and the Leibniz Award, the highest scientific honor in Germany. In 2023, he received the Louis-Jeantet Prize for Medicine. He is an elected member of several academies including EMBO, the German Academy Leopoldina and the European Academy, as well as an honorary member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Ivan Đikić is committed to the education of the next generations of scientists globally. His efforts to popularize science in the public were recognized by the highest civilian state honor of Croatia.

Here are some recent publications:

Phosphoribosyl ubiquitination of SNARE proteins regulates autophagy during Legionella infection. Mukherjee R, Bhattacharya A, Tomaskovic I, (…), Dikic I. EMBO J. 2025;44:4252-79.

Pathogenic proteotoxicity of cryptic splicing is alleviated by ubiquitination and ER-phagy. Prieto-Garcia C, Matkovic V, Mosler T, (…), Dikic I. Science. 2024;386:768-76.

IRGQ-mediated autophagy in MHC class I quality control promotes tumor immune evasion. Herhaus L, Gestal-Mato U, Eapen VV, (…), Dikic I. Cell. 2024;187:7285-02.e29.

Ubiquitination regulates ER-phagy and remodelling of endoplasmic reticulum. González A, Covarrubias-Pinto A, Bhaskara RM, (…), Dikić I. Nature. 2023;618:394-401.

A lysosome membrane regeneration pathway depends on TBC1D15 and autophagic lysosomal reformation proteins. Bhattacharya A, Mukherjee R, Kuncha SK, (…), Dikic I. Nat Cell Biol. 2023;25:685-98.

For security and organisational reasons, registration before March 16th is mandatory, through the registration page or the QR code below.

With best wishes,

Jean-François Collet, Jean-Baptiste Demoulin, Nisha Limaye, Benoit Van den Eynde & Miikka Vikkula

Coordination Committee, de Duve Institute

This PhD project aims to develop modular bacteriophage-based nanocarriers for targeted radioligand therapy (RLT), which constitutes a cornerstone of modern precision oncology, employing ionizing radiation emitted from radionuclide decay to selectively damage tumor cell DNA and achieve cytotoxic eradication. Cancer remains a global health challenge and currently available delivery systems often suffer from limited specificity and off-target toxicity. Engineered bacteriophages, viruses that infect bacteria, offer unique advantages for drug and radionuclide delivery due to their biocompatibility, structural regularity and capacity for precise genetic modification. By integrating tumor-targeting ligands, radiometal chelators and bio-orthogonal functional groups, phages can be transformed into modular, programmable carriers for radiotherapeutic payloads. The project combines modern genetic engineering, chemical bioconjugation and radiochemistry tools to rigorously evaluate the therapeutic potential of phage-based vectors. Over the four-year timeline, the research will advance from molecular design and phage production to preclinical validation in relevant tumor models. The work will accelerate the development and availability of life-saving nuclear therapies and will contribute to driving cancer research and care forward in a powerful way.

Apply there : https://www.sckcen.be/en/thesis-and-internship-topics/modular-phage-based-nanocarriers-radioligand-therapy-5634