Team
Asst. Prof. Eli Thoré – Principal investigator
I am an integrative biologist passionate about understanding how organisms live and interact within the complexity of natural and anthropogenically altered land- and timescapes. I value personal growth and encourage all our members to pursue their passions and ideas, within a supportive, collaborative, and open-minded team.
I lead the Zoology section of the Editorial Preprint team of Proceedings B, serve on the Editorial Board of Aquatic Toxicology, and act as secretary of the Royal Belgian Zoological Society. I am also associated with TRANSfarm, the pilot aquaculture facility of KU Leuven (Belgium), and the Department of Wildlife, Fish, and Environmental Studies at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (Sweden).
Dr. Omayma Missawi – Postdoctoral researcher (2025–present)
Omayma is an ecotoxicologist with expertise in microplastic pollution, microbial stressors, and their impact on animal physiology across diverse aquatic species and systems. In our lab, she is advancing our understanding of multiple stressor impacts using the Meuse River basin as a study system. Her research focuses on molecular, physiological, and behavioral responses to environmental stressors—including chemical pollution—in sentinel fish species like Atlantic salmon, combining in situ field deployments with controlled laboratory experiments and biomarker analyses. Omayma’s work contributes to a deeper understanding and more accurate ecological diagnostics of aquatic ecosystems under the cumulative impacts of human activity.
Nicole Goede – PhD student (2023–present)
Nicole focuses on how temperature influences the development of aquatic ectotherms. She uses African clawed frogs, zebrafish, and annual killifish as her study species, and employs live imaging, advanced image analysis, and machine learning to investigate how temperature shapes early embryonic development and how chemical pollutants may disrupt these processes. Her work not only tackles a fundamental question in biology but also provides valuable insights into how species might respond to the challenges of a changing climate. Nicole is in a dual PhD program between UNamur and KU Leuven, the latter in which she is supervised by Prof. Lendert Gelens and co-supervised by Prof. Luc Brendonck.
Nichole Donough – PhD student (2023–present)
Co-supervised together with Prof. Luc Brendonck (KU Leuven, Belgium), Prof. Nico Smit, and Prof. Victor Wepener (North-West University, South Africa), Nichole explores the complexities of multi-stressor environments, focusing on Nothobranchius killifish. Her research investigates how these species navigate the unique challenges of temporary pool systems across aridity gradients in southeast Africa. Nichole specifically focuses on the interplay between hydrological variation, parasite infestations, and chemical pollutants, examining their effects on killifish behaviour, reproduction, and survival, as well as their broader ecological implications.
Lomarie Janse van Rensburg – PhD student (2023–present)
Co-supervised together with Prof. Luc Brendonck (KU Leuven, Belgium), Prof. Victor Wepener, and Prof. Nico Smit (North-West University, South Africa), Lomarie’s research focuses on the intricate dynamics of temporary pond ecosystems. Her work explores the interactions between Nothobranchius furzeri, fairy shrimps, and other inhabitants of these ephemeral habitats, investigating how species relationships shift across climate-related gradients in southeast Africa. Lomarie seeks to elevate the ecological relevance of N. furzeri as a model system in ecotoxicology and chemical risk assessment, contributing to sustainable waterway management in South Africa.
Noémie Buratto – PhD student, teaching assistant (2024–present)
Noémie studies the impacts of chemical and microplastic pollution on mangrove ecosystems in the Caribbean, specifically focusing on the upside-down jellyfish Cassiopea xamachana. This species is unique in that it can grow both heterotrophically and autotrophically through its endosymbiotic relationship with photosynthetic dinoflagellates. Noémie investigates how pollution affects Cassiopea‘s symbiosis-driven development, behaviour, and performance during the polyp and medusa stages. Her work contributes to a broader understanding of how pollution interacts with symbioses and how it disrupts mangrove ecosystems and their inhabitants. Noémie is also guided by her co-supervisor Dr. Omayma Missawi from UNamur.
Theresia Kimario – PhD student (2025–present)
Joining us from Tanzania, Theresia investigates the individual and combined effects of escalating anthropogenic disturbances—such as chemical pollution, artificial light exposure, and rising temperatures—on fish behaviour and performance. Using turquoise killifish, Trinidad guppy, or brown trout as model species, she explores how phenotypic variation among individuals might influence differential behavioural responses to these stressors across the day-night cycle. Ultimately, Theresia aims to contribute to the development of conservation strategies and sustainable aquaculture practices to maintain healthy fish populations in increasingly altered environments.
Kiên Kiều Trung – PhD student (2025–present)
Kiên explores the potential of medicinal plant extracts as sustainable health-promoting additives in aquaculture, focusing on promising plant species used in traditional Vietnamese medicine. By combining bioactivity screening in zebrafish with mechanistic analyses and feeding trials in commercial fish species, his research aims to develop functional aquafeeds that improve fish health and performance while reducing reliance on synthetic chemicals. Kiên’s project is co-supervised by Prof. Dr. Patrick Kestemont (University of Namur, Belgium) and Prof. Dr. Phạm Thế Hả (Vietnam National University, Vietnam).
Armelle Tomasevszky – PhD student (2026–present)
Armelle investigates how environmental disturbances affect biological rhythms and the behaviour of freshwater organisms. Focusing on artificial light at night and pharmaceutical pollution, her research explores how these stressors influence the daily activity patterns of fish and the potential consequences for their interactions with other species. Using zebrafish and water fleas as model organisms, her work aims to improve our understanding of how pollution disrupts biological timing and how these effects may extend to ecological processes in freshwater ecosystems. Armelle is also guided by her co-supervisor Dr. Charlotte Theys (KU Leuven, Belgium).
Prajna Bandyopadhyay – PhD student (2026–present)
Prajna investigates how environmental stressors affect rest–activity patterns and behavioural flexibility in aquatic organisms. Using the upside-down jellyfish (Cassiopea xamachana) as a model species, she explores how artificial light at night and pharmaceutical pollution influence the organisation of rest, the ability to adapt behaviour through experience, and the recovery of biological rhythms following environmental change. Her research aims to better understand how disruptions to internal biological organisation may influence the resilience of aquatic organisms in increasingly disturbed environments. Prajna is co-supervised by Prof. Lendert Gelens (KU Leuven, Belgium).
Benjamin Lapiere – Research technician (2026–present)
Benjamin contributes to the ORION project, which investigates the impacts of environmental pollution on freshwater fish in natural environments. He focuses on fieldwork involving the deployment and monitoring of salmon in river enclosures, and on assessing the biological responses of fish exposed to environmental stressors. By supporting the collection and analysis of a range of biomarkers, his work contributes to understanding how pollution affects fish health and helps inform freshwater ecosystem monitoring and conservation.
Estelle Lechat – Master student (2026–present)
Estelle is in a Master program at UC-Louvain and UNamur, conducting her thesis research in the LAB and under co-supervision of Prof. Frederik De Laender. She is working to better understand how multiple stressors—both of natural and human origin—affect daily behavioural rhythms and population dynamics in cladoceran zooplankton. Recently, she has also taken an interest in how stress affects the endosymbiont dinoflagellates of upside-down jellyfish.
Amélie Pujol – Intern (2025)
Amélie was in a Master program at the Université de Toulon (France) and joined the LAB for an internship. She was working together with Noémie Buratto to study the growth of the endosymbiotic dinoflagellates of the upside-down jellyfish.
Manon Verneuil – Intern (2025)
Manon was in a Master program at Le Mans University (France) and did her internship in the LAB. She worked together with Theresia Kimario to study how small freshwater crustaceans, notably Daphnia magna waterfleas, respond behaviourally to chemical and light pollution.
Benjamin Lapiere – Master student (2025–2026)
Benjamin was in a Master program at UNamur and conducted his thesis research in the LAB, supervised together with Prof. Alice Dennis within our research unit. Using Daphnia galeata waterfleas, Benjamin looked into their phototactic responses and how they may—or may not—be affected by artificial light at night.
Héloïse Defêche – Master student (2025–2026)
Héloïse was in a Master program at UNamur and conducted her thesis research in the LAB. She was working together with Noémie Buratto to study the impacts of separate and combined exposure to pesticides and artificial light at night using Daphnia magna as model organisms.
Lamyae Saffour – Master student (2025–2026)
Lamyae was in a Master program at the University of Louvain-La-Neuve and UNamur, conducting her thesis research under guidance of Noémie Buratto in the LAB. Lamyae was studying the growth of the endosymbiotic dinoflagellates of the upside-down jellyfish and how it responds to various scenarios of environmental pollution.
Florian Sartre – MSc intern (2026)
Florian was in a Master program at the Sorbonne University (France), and conducted his internship and thesis research in the LAB, working together with Noémie Buratto. He focused on the endosymbiotic dinoflagellates of upside-down jellyfish, researching how these may be affected by exposure to novel entities.
Hugo Defrance – MSc intern (2026)
Hugo was in a Master program at the University of Caen Normandy (France), and conducted his internship and thesis research in the LAB, guided by Dr. Omayma Missawi. He worked with Atlantic salmon to uncover how they are affected by chemical pollution in the Meuse river system.
Laurie Differding – Master student (2025–2026)
Laurie was in a Master program at UNamur and conducted her thesis research in the LAB. Guided by Theresia Kimario, she was studying how activity patterns of Daphnia magna waterfleas are influenced by chemical pollution.
Laura Ostolaza Perez-Cruz – PhD intern (2026)
Laura is doing her PhD at the University of South Bohemia (Czech Republic), and had joined the LAB for an internship, working together with Theresia Kimario. Laura investigated how different environmental conditions influence the behaviour and daily activity patterns of turquoise killifish and brine shrimp.
Arthur Fasse – MSc intern (2026)
Arthur was in a Master program at the University of Caen Normandy (France), and conducted his internship and thesis research in the LAB, working together with Noémie Buratto. He focused on the dinoflagellate Symbiodinium microadriaticum—an endosymbiotic microalga of the upside-down jellyfish and corals—and how they are affected by exposure to human-induced stress.
Dr. Yusuph Kafula – Postdoctoral researcher (2025–2026)
Yusuph investigated how freshwater ecosystems are affected by the interactive impacts of rising temperatures, chemical pollution, and artificial light at night—threats that are intensifying across Sub-Saharan Africa. Through this work, he aimed to inform context-specific ecological risk assessments and strengthen environmental policy frameworks in Tanzania and beyond. Yusuph is lecturer at Mwalimu Julius K. Nyerere University of Agriculture and Technology (Tanzania).
Samantha Van Aarde – Visiting researcher (2026)
Samantha Van Aarde is a Master’s student in Environmental Sciences at North-West University, South Africa, with research interests in freshwater ecology and ecotoxicology. During her visit to our lab, she worked alongside Theresia Kimario to gain hands-on experience in the culture and husbandry of turquoise killifish, learning the practical techniques involved in maintaining this model species for ecological and ecotoxicological research.
Do you want to join us?
Are you a student or colleague who enjoys exploring new ideas and is curious about working together? I would love to hear from you! Please share a short note about your interests and how they connect to what we do – we’re always happy to discuss how we could work together.