It was great to have the opportunity to sit down with Dr. Kathleen Mommaerts, who works at the Integrated BioBank of Luxembourg, an institution affiliated with the Luxembourg Institute of Health (LIH). Our conversation revolved around sample preparation, storage, variability, and, of course, the fact that Kathleen received the Rosalind Franklin Society Award, a recognition of her contribution to the field of bio-banking.

USEFUL LINKS

More about Kathleen on LIH Website: https://researchportal.lih.lu/en/persons/kathleen-mommaerts

Kathleen’s 3-minute thesis: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DFbG8ZwgXZc&t=1s

More about Kathleen receiving the Rosalind Franklin Society Award: https://www.lih.lu/en/rosalind-franklin-society-award-bestowed-to-lih-researcher/

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Ever wondered how mentorship worked in academia? We did for sure, and that's why for the first episode of the new season we invited two experienced mentors: Prof. Simone Niclou, the Vice-Rector for Research at the University of Luxembourg and Prof. Andreas Fickers, the Director of the Luxembourg Centre for Contemporary and Digital History (C2DH). Simone and Andreas not only defined mentorship for us, talked about the starting point and their own experiences as mentees, they also shared some surprising questions and comments they encountered on their paths as mentors. 

Exceptionally we went so deep into the subject that we found no time for the pub quiz question. But worry not, it's coming back in the next episode!

USEFUL LINKS

University of Luxembourg - https://www.uni.lu/en/
C2DH - https://www.c2dh.uni.lu/
More about ADVANCE mentoring programme - https://www.uni.lu/en/about/gender-equality/advance-mentoring-programme/
Luxembourg Charter on Mentorship in Academia - https://www.researchluxembourg.org/en/mentorship-charter/
Outstanding Mentor Award - FNR Awards - https://www.fnr.lu/fnr-awards-new/

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Gear up for another SciLux Original! In order to record this special episode (last one of season 3) we went to the Museum of Natural History where we talked to Eric Buttini - the Head of the Department of Geo- and Astrophysics at the museum. Eric’s research interests revolve around asteroids and he’s now busily working on a new temporary exhibition coming to the museum on 10th November 2023 - Asteroid Mission.

Besides talking about the preparations, we had a chance to discuss the mobile planetarium and Eric’s cooperation with Matt Dawson on the LUCID (Luxembourg Comet Identification and Discovery) project.

USEFUL LINKS

Asteroid Mission: https://www.mnhn.lu/de/visit/asteroid-mission/
3D Tour of the Museum: https://my.matterport.com/show/?m=8GLBYf7u3aS
Museum Night: https://museumsmile.lu/en/nuit-des-musees

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Social science genetics is basically genetics and economics combined and that's the expertise of our guest Giorgia Menta, a postdoctoral researcher in economics at LISER. Giorgia used genetics to see the influence of maternal mental health on children’s well-being and school outcomes. She has also studied the development of depression among women influenced by the UK pension reform and even conducted an online experiment to look for buyer bias on the housing market in Luxembourg.

Enjoy this interdisciplinary episode and the clear explanations Giorgia provides!

USEFUL LINKS

Giorgia Menta's Website: https://sites.google.com/view/giorgiamenta/home-page
Giorgia on LISER's Website: https://liser.elsevierpure.com/en/persons/giorgia-menta
The Guardian article Giorgia mentions: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/mar/08/black-couple-house-value-discrimination-lawsuit

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If, like us, you thought that the only way to stargaze is to use a standard telescope, you definitely should listen to this. In our 24th episode Oliver Parisot from LIST uncovers the simpler world of Electronically Assisted Astronomy (EAA) and tells us a little about writing algorithms to process the images. We’re pretty sure that after listening to the show, you will be itching to try it yourself.

USEFUL LINKS

Olivier's Website: http://doopyon.org/
MILAN project and its data: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352340923002524
Olivier's photo that got him a prize in the FNR Science Image Competition: https://www.fnr.lu/research-with-impact-fnr-highlight/fnr-science-image-competition-telescope/
Forunr App: https://www.forunr.com/

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Explore the world of banking research, financial regulation, stress testing, and maintaining financial stability. In a truly SciLux fashion, we break down the complex world of central banks trying to be understood even by those who don’t know the jargon!

Our guest, Prof. Diane Pierret from the University of Luxembourg, shares invaluable insights that will leave you thinking about the financial landscape in a whole new light. And what a surprising pub quiz question did she prepare!

USEFUL LINKS

Diane Pierret's Website - https://www.dianepierret.com/
Faculty of Law, Economics and Finance at University of Luxembourg - https://www.uni.lu/fdef-en/

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Unravelling the Mysteries: Journey into the World of Forensic Science!

Ready to embark on an extraordinary adventure into the captivating realm of forensic science and fingerprint analysis? Don't miss our latest podcast episode that delves into the secrets hidden within fingerprints!

Join us as we explore the science, techniques, and challenges behind this remarkable field with the fingerprint expert Valérie Ries from the Police Grand-Ducale Luxembourg.

USEFUL LINKS

Police Website: https://police.public.lu/fr.html

More about Forensic Science: https://www.forensicsciencesimplified.org/index.htm

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We all know that the gut plays a way more important role in our health than we originally thought. But what if we could find a way to connect its health with the onset of for example Parkinson's disease? Our guest, Dr. Catherine Sedrani, tried to work with the LCSB's Gut-on-a-Chip model (the HuMiX) to check what the relationship between bacterial cells and enteric neurons was. But first she had to establish them in one of the cell chambers of the model. Listen to the full episode to find out how it all worked out.

USEFUL LINKS

FNR Series: Spotlight on Young Researchers: https://www.fnr.lu/research-with-impact-fnr-highlight/spotlight-on-young-researchers-the-human-gut-microbiome-and-the-clues-it-holds/

Catherine Sedrani on RTL: https://www.rtl.lu/news/national/a/2028674.html

More about Prof. Paul Wilmes's research: https://www.uni.lu/lcsb-fr/news/the-expobiome-map-exploring-the-role-of-microbiome-derived-molecules/

More on LUX:plorations, the comic book series: https://www.uni.lu/en/news/luxplorations-new-science-comics-made-in-luxembourg/

Science Festival 2023: https://www.science-festival.lu/en/

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Luxembourg is at the forefront of exploration and utilisation of space resources. This time we invited Lari Cujko, Start-up Support Lead at European Space Resources Innovations Centre (ESRIC) and Marek Wilgucki, the CEO of Four Point, the first incubated start-up, to tell us about the unique environment for start-ups in the field of space resources. There was also a chance to learn more about the expertise of Four Point, analysing satellite data and supporting open-cast mines.

USEFUL LINKS

ESRIC - https://www.esric.lu/
Four Point - https://www.fourpoint.com.pl/
ESRIC Start-up Support Programme - Introduction - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jwLgY08pcyM
Space Resources Initiative - https://www.spaceresources.lu

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Our guest Bruno Teheux knows that people are often scared of maths and he's found numerous ways to convince them that it can be real fun. Listen to the episode to find out for yourself!

USEFUL LINKS

Bruno's Webpage: http://math.uni.lu/teheux
ReCreate project in Dubai: https://math.uni.lu/outreach/recreate/
The Simplicity of Complexity in Dubai: https://math.uni.lu/outreach/dubai/
The Sound of Data: https://www.thesoundofdata.lu/ and a recent article on Science.lu: https://science.lu/de/data-sonification/wie-klingen-wissenschaftliche-daten-ergebnisse-des-esch2022-projekts-sound-data
Science Comics: https://sciencecomics.uni.lu/fr/home/
A DMATH Video about Math: https://youtu.be/luKqXqErqUU
Outreach page of DMATH: https://math.uni.lu/outreach/

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