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.
Dr. Yusuph Kafula – Postdoctoral researcher (2025–present)
Yusuph investigates 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. Focusing on temporary ponds, his research combines controlled exposure experiments using fairy shrimp and killifish to understand both short- and long-term consequences of multiple stressors on aquatic biodiversity and ecosystem functioning. Through this work, Yusuph aims to inform context-specific ecological risk assessments and strengthen environmental policy frameworks in Tanzania and beyond. He is a lecturer at Mwalimu Julius K. Nyerere University of Agriculture and Technology (MJNUAT, Tanzania) and works as a postdoctoral researcher in our lab to advance inclusive, locally relevant ecotoxicological research.
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).
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.
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.
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.
Benjamin Lapiere – Master student (Feb 2025–present)
Benjamin is in a Master program at UNamur and conducts his thesis research in the LAB, supervised together with Prof. Alice Dennis within our research unit. Using Daphnia galeata waterfleas, Benjamin is studying potential behavioural adaptation to historical eutrophication events.
Héloïse Defêche – Master student (Feb 2025–present)
Héloïse is in a Master program at UNamur and conducts her thesis research in the LAB. She is working together with Noémie Buratto to study (behavioural) responses of Hydra viridissima—small, symbiotic freshwater cnidarians—to environmental pollution.
Laurie Differding – Master student (Feb 2025–present)
Laurie is in a Master program at UNamur and conducts her thesis research in the LAB. Guided by Theresia Kimario, she is studying how activity patterns of Daphnia magna waterfleas are influenced by chemical pollution.
Lamyae Saffour – Master student (Feb 2025–present)
Lamyae is 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 is studying the growth of the endosymbiotic dinoflagellates of the upside-down jellyfish and how it responds to various scenarios of environmental pollution.
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.
Interested?
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 – I’m always happy to discuss how we could work together.