Seven awards across four categories recognise doctoral research, scientific achievement, public engagement and mentorship

The Luxembourg National Research Fund (FNR) presented seven FNR Awards on Thursday, 22 October, at the Maison des Arts et des Étudiants in Esch-Belval. The 2026 recipients include researchers investigating brain cancer and Luxembourg’s post-war history, a team developing new ways to activate immunity against disease, two science-engagement initiatives and two outstanding mentors.

At her first FNR Awards as Secretary General, Isabelle Mossong highlighted the curiosity, resilience and patience behind research, and the supportive conditions researchers need to succeed.
“Outstanding research is never the result of a single breakthrough. It is built through years of curiosity, resilience and collaboration. The achievements we celebrate tonight remind us what is possible when talent is given the opportunity to thrive,” said Isabelle Mossong, Secretary General of the FNR.

Minister for Higher Education and Research Stéphanie Obertin attended the ceremony and congratulated the recipients. “Tonight, we celebrate scientific excellence. But above all, we celebrate the people behind it,” she said.

The Awardees at a Glance
Outstanding PhD Thesis	Pilar Maria Moreno Sanchez
	Félix Streicher
Outstanding Scientific Achievement	Carole Seguin-Devaux and team
Outstanding Promotion of Science to the Public	Anna Bordus and Oana Nicolae
	Christina Siry, Sara Wilmes, Kerstin te Heesen and Sergei Glotov
Outstanding Mentor	Christophe Ley
	Gunnar Dittmar

Outstanding PhD Thesis
Pilar Maria Moreno Sanchez, Luxembourg Institute of Health / University of Luxembourg
Why has immunotherapy transformed treatment for several cancers but struggled against glioblastoma, an aggressive brain tumour? That question drove Pilar Maria Moreno Sanchez’s thesis, “Precision medicine for Glioblastoma patients: a patient-based pre-clinical platform for immuno-oncology”, supervised by Dr Anna Golebiewska.

She developed humanised mouse models combining a patient’s tumour with a human immune system to reflect more closely the conditions found in people. Her work also reproduced the lack of benefit seen with an immunotherapy that failed in clinical trials, demonstrating the models’ potential to help identify ineffective treatments earlier. The aim is to improve how therapies are evaluated before they reach patients. Moreno Sanchez now works in medical affairs in Madrid.
Félix Streicher, Maastricht University
After the Second World War, Luxembourg moved from being an occupied country to becoming an occupying power in two German districts for ten years. Félix Streicher examined this largely forgotten chapter in “The Forgotten Occupation: Politics, Everyday Life, and Gender in the Luxembourg Occupation Zone in Germany, 1945–55”, supervised by Prof. Dr Georgi Verbeeck and Dr Camilo Erlichman.
Drawing on archives from six countries and interviews with witnesses, he explored how occupation shaped daily life, including acts of revenge and tensions around intimate relationships between Luxembourg soldiers and German women. His research shows how anger, guilt and shame influenced encounters between occupiers and the occupied. Streicher is now a postdoctoral researcher at the Centre for History at Sciences Po in Paris.
Outstanding Scientific Achievement
Multimeric complexes to unlock the therapeutic potential of innate immunity
Carole Seguin-Devaux, Jacques Zimmer, Aubin Pitiot, Camille Rolin, Gilles Iserentant, Jean-Yves Servais, Xavier Dervillez, Rafaela Schober and Bianca Brandus of the Luxembourg Institute of Health received the award for “Multimeric complexes to unlock the therapeutic potential of innate immunity”.
The multidisciplinary team developed and tested new drug candidates designed to stimulate the innate immune system, the body’s first line of defence, against cancer and infectious diseases. The approach aims to help immune cells identify harmful cells and focus their attack. The work remains at an early stage; its potential for future treatments requires further investigation.
Outstanding Promotion of Science to the Public
Asteroid Day Luxembourg 2025
What would you do if an asteroid were heading towards Earth? Asteroid Day Luxembourg 2025 gave secondary-school students a chance to tackle a simulated impact scenario, applying physics and mathematics while considering mission strategy, public communication and international decision-making.
Anna Bordus and Oana Nicolae of the Asteroid Foundation received the award for a programme that brought space science to audiences over several months. Through Space Connectors, around 700 pupils met scientists and astronauts in their classrooms. The Asteroid Day Festival welcomed around 1,500 visitors for expert talks, workshops, virtual reality, games and a pop-up planetarium.
SciTeach Center
Christina Siry, Sara Wilmes, Kerstin te Heesen and Sergei Glotov received the award for the SciTeach Center, which celebrates its tenth anniversary in 2026. The centre helps primary-school teachers bring science into their classrooms through teaching materials, resources and training.
Activities are developed, tested and refined with teachers and children. Support begins during initial teacher education and continues throughout teachers’ careers, including through partnerships with schools across Luxembourg. This connects research on science teaching with the practical needs of classrooms.
Outstanding Mentor
Christophe Ley
Gunnar Dittmar
Christophe Ley, Professor of Mathematics and Applied Statistics at the University of Luxembourg, and Gunnar Dittmar, Group Leader for Proteomics of Cellular Signaling at the Luxembourg Institute of Health, each received an Outstanding Mentor award.
Ley’s mentees highlighted his willingness to share lessons from his own successes, mistakes and career detours, alongside a team culture built on mutual respect. Dittmar’s mentees described support for their independence, wellbeing and work–life balance. One former mentee explained how that support helped them take on greater responsibility and eventually become a group leader.
The people behind research
The FNR Awards highlight the many forms research excellence can take. Alongside scientific results, the 2026 laureates’ work reflects curiosity, collaboration, perseverance and a commitment to sharing knowledge.
The ceremony was hosted by Lisa Burke and the FNR’s Michèle Weber and concluded with closing remarks by Martine Reicherts, President of the FNR Board.