Nadège Nziza finalist in "Ma thèse en 180 secondes" (My thesis in 180 seconds)
Adopted by Montpellier, Nadège Nziza is a doctoral student at the UM in physiopathology. Meeting with a young woman who is just as passionate as she is fascinating, national finalist of “ My thesis in 180 seconds ” 2018.
" The goal of my thesis is as simple as a game of Cluedo: I have to discover which cell destroys which joint with which weapon! " explains Nadège NZIZA in a cheerful tone. Comparing her very serious thesis on juvenile arthritis to a board game was daring. A bold move that won over the national jury of " My thesis in 180 seconds " 2018 - gathered on April 6 in Paris for the semi-final - and which earned this bubbly young woman a place in the final of the prestigious oral thesis presentation tournament on Wednesday, June 13. A tournament open to doctoral students from 20 French-speaking countries.
From Lulumbashi (DRC) to the doctoral school of Montpellier
" I have been intrigued by the functioning of the human body since I was very young. This is precisely what led me, first to study animal biology, then molecular and cellular biochemistry, " explains Nadège NZIZA. Rwandan, born in Lulumbashi in Congo, it was in 2009 that the young woman, then barely an adult, arrived in Europe, in Namur, to continue her studies. " The culture shock was immense. At that time, I had lost all my bearings! " remembers, moved, the young woman who is now 26 years old. A bachelor's degree then a master's degree validated with honors later, Nadège NZIZA landed in Montpellier as an intern under the supervision of Edouard Tuaillon, lecturer at the University of Montpellier. " These three months of work on the hepatitis C virus allowed me to fully live out my passion for immunology," explains Nadège, who, during the following summer holidays, flew to Kigali (Rwanda) to complete a practical internship in the field at a research center. Two months during which the young woman devoted herself body and soul to improving the diagnosis of hepatitis B and C and – above all – malaria, the leading cause of death in her home country. " It was at this precise moment that I became aware of my need to work as closely as possible with patients and of my attraction to clinical work, far removed from basic research ," explains Nadège NZIZA, who, following this experience, enrolled in the UM doctoral school .
Juvenile arthritis
Two years later, it was within Unit 1183-INSERM (Stem cells, cellular plasticity, regenerative medicine and immunotherapies) that Nadège completed her research project on juvenile arthritis, an autoimmune disease causing growth retardation and malformations. " My goal today is to improve diagnostic techniques for joint inflammation in young patients. This is to be able to offer them the treatment best suited to their pathology in the future ," she explains.
For tomorrow, Nadège NZIZA already has plans in mind: to do one or two years as a "post-doc" in the United States or, why not, in Canada, before returning permanently to the country to work, once again, on immunology: " Rwanda has all the necessary infrastructure to successfully conduct clinical trials and develop large-scale research projects. All that is missing is cutting-edge equipment and researchers and practitioners specialized in the field," explains the young woman who, through the development of Franco-Rwandan research programs, is already dreaming, in the not-so-distant future, of eradicating malaria. A disease that requires considerable care and whose spread in Rwanda still seems out of control, particularly due to local climatic conditions.
My thesis in 180 seconds (MT180)
Organized each year by the CNRS in partnership with university presidents, "Ma thèse en 180 secondes" (My Thesis in 180 Seconds ) is an opportunity for doctoral students to present their research topic, in French and in simple terms, to a lay and diverse audience. In three minutes, each doctoral student has to give a clear, concise yet convincing presentation of his or her research project. With just one slide! The competition is inspired by the Three minute thesis (3MT®), developed at the University of Queensland in Australia. The concept was taken up in Quebec in 2012 by the Association francophone pour le savoir (Acfas), which wanted to extend it to 20 French-speaking countries.