News
Welcome back to the ACADI Newsletter. As autumn moves into winter, here are some of our latest updates.
Publications
Dr Pauline Duquenne published a paper entitled “Prediction model development in older patients with cancer: Practical guidance and key vigilance points” in the Journal of Geriatric Oncology. This paper, as a companion piece to her work published in the Lancet Healthy Longevity earlier this year, can be found here: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/42945623/
Dr Sophie Pilleron co-authored a paper titled « Incidence and Mortality of Breast Cancer Among Adolescent and Young Adult Women Worldwide in 2022 and Projections for 2040: Implications for Surgery », alongside first author Prof Freddy Gnangnon. The paper, published in The Breast can be found here: https://www.thebreastonline.com/article/S0960-9776(26)00263-8/fulltext
Dr Pilleron also led a piece published in the influential journal Nature Reviews Clinical Oncology, alongside co-authors Enrique Soto-Perez-de-Celis & Nicolò Matteo Luca Battisti. The piece, titled “No cancer research without older adults, from prevention to end of life: a manifesto” can be accessed here: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41571-026-01220-4
Milestones
On the 15th of October, visiting researcher Dr Lisa Zangarini defended her end-of-specialisation thesis. She presented findings from a qualitative study carried out during her research stay with the team, which examined how general practitioners perceive the use of smartwatches in supporting the health of older adults in general practice. Her work was supervised by Prof. Jean-François Michel (University of Luxembourg) and Dr Sophie Pilleron, with methodological support from Dr India Pinker.
We are so proud of you, Lisa! We can’t wait to see what you do next.
Presentations
On the 14th of October, Dr Lingming Chen represented ACADI at the annual instalment of the Luxembourg National Research Fund’s (FNR) PEARL-ATTRACT conference. Dr Chen joined interdisciplinary discussions throughout the conference, ideating where the expertise of the diverse groups represented may overlap to foster collaboration and innovative research.
On the 17th of October, Dr Clémence Bafei gave a presentation entitled “Personnes âgées et cancer” at Roeser Commune’s health day in Luxembourg. The presentation represents ongoing efforts the team is making to engage with the public and ensure our research is relevant and accessible.
From the 19th – 21st of October, Marie Haubrich presented her poster “Comparative analysis of cancer patterns between adults targeted by screening programs and older adults in Europe” at the International Conference on Cancer Prevention in Heidelberg, Germany. This work underpinned her recently completed master’s programme, after which she rejoined the team as a research assistant. Congratulations Marie!
Dr Pauline Duquenne was invited to present her work “40 years of research on cancer in older adults: A bibliometric analysis” at the International Society of Geriatric Oncology’s (SIOG) annual conference, hosted in Valencia, Spain on the 7th of November. Her presentation featured in the Young SIOG Poster walk, showcasing some of the exciting research done by early-career members of the society.
International Relationships
For the month of October, Dr Sophie Pilleron was hosted by Dr Li Juan from Xiangya School of Nursing in Changsha, China. As part of this stay, Dr Pilleron presented ongoing work from Luxembourg and met with faculty and students to exchange ideas about culture, academic research and healthcare systems. This stay ended with a presentation at the 13th Xiangya International Nursing Academic conference in Changsha, showcasing ACADI’s ongoing work on the use of real-world data to provide the necessary evidence to guide and develop geriatric oncology practice. We look forward to the future of this new and exciting international collaboration.
Meet the Team
We are happy to introduce two new members of the team! This month we welcomed Anmol Nasir and Anna Davidovitch.
Anmol Nasir will be undertaking a 2-month internship with the team, under the supervision of Gladys Langue.
“Originally from Pakistan and currently based in Germany, I am pursuing my third Master’s degree at the University of Luxembourg. My academic journey began with a background in Zoology in Pakistan, followed by a Master’s in Neuroscience in Germany, and has now led me towards the computational aspects of health research. I am particularly fascinated by how ageing, lifestyle and everyday environmental factors influence health and cancer outcomes, and how research can contribute to better understanding and improving people’s lives. I am excited to learn, contribute and further develop my career at the intersection of public health and computational research.”
Anna Davidovitch is joining us as a visiting researcher. Anna is currently specialising in oncology, as a student of the Diplôme d’Études Spécialisées (DES) in Medical Oncology at the University of Luxembourg. Outside of her studies she is a co-opted member of the association for doctors undergoing specialist training (Association Luxembourgeoise des Médecins en Voie de Spécialisation; ALMEVS) and is a keen dancer!
To develop her research profile, she will be undertaking a research stay with our team. Her project will involve an overview of frailty in older people with cancer receiving treatment at the CHL.
We warmly welcome you to the team and look forward to working with you!
Until next time, keep well!
ACADI Team