Our collaborators

Antoine Nonclercq holds a M.Sc. degree in electrical engineering from the Université Libre de Bruxelles, (ULB) a M.Sc. degree in Control and Electrical Engineering from the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid and a Ph.D. in Applied Sciences from the ULB. He previously worked as a researcher at the Implanted Devices Group – University College London, United Kingdom and as a development engineer in a medtech company. He is now associate professor at Polytechnic school of Brussels (ULB). His research interests include active implantable devices, electrostimulation, physiological modeling and biomedical signal monitoring and processing

Marie Dawant earned her Master’s degree in Engineering, specializing in Biomechanics and Instrumentation, from the Université libre de Bruxelles (École Polytechnique de Bruxelles) in 2021. During her studies, she undertook an internship at Synergia Medical in 2020. In 2022, Marie began her PhD at the Université libre de Bruxelles, collaborating with the Epilepsy and Neuromodulation Lab. Her research focuses on collecting and analyzing P300 evoked potentials in patients with refractory epilepsy to identify potential biomarkers that could predict the effectiveness of Vagus Nerve Stimulation therapy.

Prof. Hermans, a permanent affiliate of the FNRS since 1998 (Research Director in 2009), is the head of Neuropharmacology (CEMO, IoNS).

The research group of Prof. Emmanuel Hermans (IONS/CEMO) has a long-standing expertise in the use of animal models to study the neuroinflammation and plastic changes of the central nervous system induced by neurotrauma, and its involvement in the development of neuropathic pain. His laboratory has experience in the production of animal models of neuropathic pain, the techniques used to study the pain behaviour of these animals, and the immune-histological techniques to characterize the glial activation and changes in nociceptive pathways at peripheral, spinal and supra-spinal level.

SSS/IONS — Institute Of NeuroScience (IONS)
SSS/IONS/NEUR — Clinical Neuroscience
Responsable opérationnel·le (NIMA)

Using non-invasive functional neuroimaging techniques such as electroencephalography (EEG) and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), combined with novel techniques to selectively activate specific classes of nociceptive afferents, the research performed by the team of André Mouraux (IONS/COSY) follows two main axes. First, to understand how the human brain processes nociceptive sensory input and how this leads to the perception of pain. Second, to understand the plastic changes in nociceptive pathways that occur after inflammation, injury or sustained nociceptive input that induce peripheral and central sensitization and may underlie the development of chronic pain in humans.

The main objective of my research is to characterize how transient and sustained pain are represented in the human brain, taking advantage of the high temporal and spatial resolution of intracerebral electroencephalography (iEEG). I am particularly interested in investigating the role of the human insula in nociception and pain perception, as several findings suggest that this brain region plays a crucial role in the integration of sensory, affective, and cognitive dimensions of pain.

Gilles Vandewalle is a researcher specializing in the brain mechanisms that regulate sleep and wakefulness in humans, with a focus on their impact on cognition and health. His work utilizes techniques like electrophysiology, neuroimaging (TMS-EEG, PET, MRI, and ultra-high-field 7 Tesla MRI), and neuropsychological testing to explore topics such as the non-visual effects of light on brain function, emotion processing, and sleep disorders. He also investigates how sleep regulation changes with aging and its links to Alzheimer’s disease. Since 2022, he has co-directed the GIGA-CRC In Vivo Imaging center.