Prof Simone P. NICLOU

Simone Niclou is a full professor and Vice-Rector for Research at the University of Luxembourg. Her portfolio of activities encompasses the research support department, the office of doctoral education and the Institute of Advanced Studies. In addition, she is coordinating the University strategy in medicine, life sciences and health professions.

Her research interests focus on the biology of malignant brain tumours, specifically addressing the molecular heterogeneity, plasticity and metabolism of malignant gliomas. Her lab has made major contributions to the establishment and characterization of advanced patient-derived glioma models, which are sought-after by numerous academic and private partners worldwide.

Prof. Niclou served on the Scientific and Executive Board of the European Association for Neuro-Oncology (EANO) and on the EANO Educational Committee. She is also a member of the EORTC Brain Tumor Group and of the ESMO Faculty on CNS tumors. She serves on the editorial board of and is associate editor of the sister journal . She is regularly sollicited for international evaluation committees and grant review panels.

Prof. Niclou has been the recipient of multiple research grants and was granted two large multi-institutional doctoral training units in cancer biology in close partnership with the University of Luxembourg. In 2007 Prof. Niclou received the FNR ‘Best Publication Award’ and in 2021, the FNR Award for ‘Outstanding Scientific Achievements’.

In 2005, Prof. Niclou joined the Luxembourg Institute of Health (LIH), where she led for many years a research group in neuro-oncology. In 2014, she was nominated adjunct professor at the University of Bergen in Norway, where she maintained a highly productive research cooperation. Between 2015-2019, she served as president of the Laboratoire national de santé and she is member of the executive panel of the National Cancer Plan under the auspices of the Luxembourg Ministry of Health. From 2019-2023, she was director of the Department of Cancer Research at LIH, with a strong focus on people development, institutional strategies and policies.

Prof. Niclou earned a diploma in biology from the University of Fribourg in Switzerland and a PhD in cellular biology from the Friedrich-Miescher Institute and the University of Basel, Switzerland. She trained as postdoctoral fellow in the Neuroscience Department of the Medical School at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia (US) and at the Netherlands Institute of Neuroscience in Amsterdam (Netherlands),