On May 28, 2026, the WIT program celebrated an important milestone: Alisson García-Herrera succesfully defended her PhD thesis at the Public University of Navarra (Upna), earning the highest distinction of Cum Laude with the International Mention. Arriving from Ecuador in May 2023, she has become the first predoctoral researcher of WIT achieving her doctorate, paving a succesful way for the researchers who will follow. 

Dr. García-Herrera, an engineer and transport expert, dedicated three years to research in the group of Logistics and Transportation-Operations Research (GILT-OR) of the Institute of Smart Cities, under the guidance of Dr. Javier Faulín and Dr. Adrián Serrano-Hernández, focused on mathematical optimization applied to crowdshipping. Her work developed innovative models to coordinate occasional drivers for last-mile devileries in urban environments. The research effectively addresses key decissions such as routing, compensation and acceptance by the drivers, making a significant contribution to urban logistics and the collaborative econonomy.

Beyond her outstanding academic results—which include several peer-reviewed journal publications and awards as the Best Oral Communication at DCE 2025 (Portugal) and Best Presentation at I3M 2025 (Morocco) conferences —Alisson has highlighted the immense value of the doctoral journey itself and has encouraged to keep going to other students even if it sometimes seems a hard path. She expressed that while a PhD is challenging, she thoroughly enjoyed every step of the process, driven by her passion for research, programming, and continuous learning.

This philosophy aligns perfectly with our program's mission. We firmly believe that the doctoral experience must be a rewarding personal and professional journey. Throughout these years, she has not only proven her high technical capabilities but also her exceptional qualities as a person, earning the highest praise and admiration from her supervisors.

As coordinators, we extend our warmest congratulations to Alisson on this milestone. Given her proven talent, dedication, and track record, we are absolutely convinced that her next professional chapter will be filled with remarkable achievements.

Another year, another edition of the Pint of Science festival has arrived to Pamplona, successfully bringing science closer to the general public. Held in the relaxed atmosphere of local bars, this year's event decoded complex research into engaging stories, covering diverse topics such research on diabetes, immunotherapy and how astrocytes act as stars guiding our neurons, nanomedicine, cancer behaviour or conservation of European mink.

This initiative perfectly aligns with our core mission. WIT is deeply reinforcing the commitment to scientific outreach, community engagement, and actively supporting the causes and events our fellows are passionately involved in. For this reason, the WIT has participated as an official sponsor of this edition.

This collaboration was made possible through the proactive management of one of our outstanding predoctoral fellows, Sara Lorenzoni, who serves as an active member of the event's local organizing committee. 

Science for Everyone: Events like Pint of Science play a key role in making complex research accessible, fun, and engaging for the general public. By taking science out of the labs and into local bars, this initiative fosters meaningful dialogue between researchers and the community.

WIT program and the Public University of Navarra-Upna achieved strong representation at the 20th European Conference on Antennas and Propagation (EuCAP 2026), held in Dublin, Ireland, 19-24 April.

Three of our doctoral candidates, Junaid Ahmed Uqaili, Daniyal Ali Sehrai and Syed Nazim Shah, together with some other colleagues, travelled to the prestigious international forum to present their latest research findings to global experts:

• Junaid Ahmed Uqaili presented ‘Polarization Diversity Antenna with a Reconfigurable Y-Shaped Feed Based on Inverted Microstrip Gap Waveguide Technology’, exploring a simple reconfigurable antenna design capable of switching polarization to enable more flexible mmWave antenna systems.
• Daniyal Ali Sehrai delivered a session on 'Two-Port EIT-Based Millimeter-Wave Permittivity Sensor', presenting a simple two-port sensor with high sensitivity to minor changes. Due to its simple structure, compact design and high sensitivity, the proposed sensor can find significant applications in quality inspection.
• Syed Nazim Shah showcased the work titled 'A self-Triplexing Circularly Polarized MIMO Antenna Enabling Transcranial Wireless Powering and Telemetry for IoMT Brain Implants', presenting a very small implantable antenna for future brain implants, that can simultaneously support wireless power transfer and bidirectional data communication. Reliability, higher data capacity and longer battery life in a tiny device.

Beyond the presentations, what made the experience truly valuable was to share this experience with friends, and the chance to exchange ideas, have meaningful discussions, and connect with researchers from across the world.

Following the successful participation of 9 of the WIT fellows in the MSCA COFUND Networking Event, we take a closer look at the specific contributions of some of them who shared their latest breakthroughs in Madrid:

• Junaid Ahmed Uqaili (Antenas & 6G): Presented his work on a circularly polarized antenna based on inverted microstrip gap waveguide technology at 30 GHz, aimed at next-generation 5G and 6G communications.
• Sara Lorenzoni (Nanomedicina & Neuroblastoma): Showcased her research on targeted nanomedicines for neuroblastoma, focusing on improving drug delivery and therapeutic efficacy while reducing side effects in pediatric oncology.
• Asheem Garwa (Energía & Descarbonización): Shared a scenario-based analysis showing how combining BESS and Pumped Hydro can reduce fossil generation in the Spanish electricity system to a near-zero 0.035%.

In addition to these presentations, our fellows Niloufar Hosseini, Lorea Jordana, Ismail El Hamzaoui, Haseeb Shaikh, Deborah Liguori and Aline Risson were there too presenting their projects and making the most of the event. All of them actively engaged in workshops and networking sessions to support researchers in their professional development after completing the PhD and career planing, gaining valuable professional insights and exchanging ideas with many postdoctoral researchers across the MSCA community.

Overall, it has been an enriching experience for our delegation, showcasing the multidisciplinary talent of the WIT fellows in such a collaborative environment.

👉 Discover all the fellows and their research projecto here: PhD students

Nine of our Early Stage Researchers and their Project Manager are attending the MSCA COFUND Fellow Networking Event in Madrid, 4-5 March, 2026, at the Instituto de Salud Carlos III. Organized by FECYT (Spanish Foundation for Science and Technology), ARISTOS Program (CIBER) and MCAA-Marie Curie Alumni Association, the meeting brings together researchers from various COFUND programmes to foster professional growth and interdisciplinary collaboration.

During this two-day event, our fellows are participating in specialized sessions focused on:

• Career Development: Exploring the researcher career path in Spain and career planning.
• Funding & Proposals: Keys to successful applications for ERC and EIC programmes.
• Future Skills: The use of AI in proposal preparation and resources within the MCAA network.

A highlight of the meeting is the thematic panels, where our researchers are presenting their projects and results, fostering collaboration with peers from other COFUND programmes.

We are grateful to the organizers for providing such a valuable platform for our fellows to broaden their scientific horizons and build lasting professional connections.

Sara Lorenzoni has made the most of the autumn season: a productive research stay at the Laboratory for Vascular Translational Science-LVTS in Paris (FR), several presentations of her work and the chance to explore such a vibrant city.

During her time at the research team led by Dr. Teresa Simón-Yarza, Sara made significant progress on her doctoral research and enhanced her skills in experimental design, statistical analysis, and critical thinking. Specifically, Sara developed and characterized biomimetic 3D neuroblastoma tumoroid models and evaluated RGD-functionalized lipid nanoparticles loaded with etoposide, studying their penetration and cytotoxicity in 2D and 3D models.

She also presented her findings at Paris-based events like the nanoCARE PhD Symposium, Journée des Jeunes Chercheurs Bichat-Beaujon, and Innovation Day 2025: Joining Forces event.

Back in Pamplona, she participated in NabirraCiencia 2026 to raise awareness about nanomedicine treatments for Neuroblastoma.

Currently, Sara is also part of the EUFEPS Young Section Committee, supporting the training and promotion of young pharmaceutical researchers.

Asheem Garwa started this academic course performing a 3-months research stay at the Thermodynamics Laboratory (University of Liège, Belgium). The experience as a visiting researcher has been enriching both professionally and personally, and a step forward in his PhD at INGEPER-Upna on modeling and management of the power grid of the future, in order to optimize grid integration of renewables using real-world data and open-source tools.

'During my research stay at the Thermodynamics Laboratory, I worked on the Dispa-SET electricity dispatch model to deepen my understanding of large-scale power system optimisation. My work involved analysing the model structure, exploring flexibility options, and contributing to ongoing developments in sector coupling and hydropower and storage representation. I also carried out a comparative assessment between Dispa-SET and my own optimisation framework, which helped strengthen the methodological foundations of my PhD research.'

Beyond modelling work, Asheem actively participated in the group's research discussions and the team-building activity held at Adventure Valley, Durby.

Halfway through his stay, he travelled to Malta to present his work 'Complementing Hydroelectric Power with Batteries for the Spanish Electric Systems' at the IEEE PES ISGT Europe 2025 conference.

It has been an intense term, taking advantage of the experiences, to connect with researchers across Europe, enhance skills, and make big progress. Great work, Asheem!

Niloufar Hosseini Giv has attended the II International SENESCEL Conference held in Barcelona (November 6-7, 2025), where she presented her work on cellular senescence in cancer biology as a poster entitled: "Long noncoding RNAs to identify and target therapy-induced senescence in ovarian cancer". An inspiring experience to share their findings, learn from outstanding scientists, and exchange ideas on senescence and cancer research.

In this work, different senescence inducers across various cancer types are explored, to identify specific molecular markers, focusing on lncRNAs involved in therapy-induced senescence (TIS) in ovarian cancer. 

Promissing scientific advances being carried out at the Non-Coding RNA and Cancer Genome Group-CIMA, where Niloufar is working hard in her Phd under the supervision and support of Dr. Maite Huarte and Dr. Marta Montes.

Congratulations Niloufar! Looking forward for future outcomes! 

September is being a month full of scientific contributions, a new award and great experiences for Alisson García Herrera:

📌 She attended the I3M 2025 Congress (the 22nd International Multidisciplinary Modeling & Simulation Multiconference), held in Fes (Morocco), where she...

• Presented the work 'Multi-Criteria Modeling and Heuristic Optimization of Collaborative Economy Solutions in Sustainable Urban Delivery Systems'. 

• Received the Best Presentation Award in the International PhD BOOST Contest within the I3M, together with other PhD students, for the work 'Crowdshipping over Metro: Simulation & Optimization of Locker-to-Locker Parcel Distribution'.

• And beyond the academic activities, discovered Morocco's spectacular landscapes— an unforgettable complement to the scientific exchange.

📌 Earlier in the month, a research within her PhD project titled 'A bi-objective approach to crowdshipping for reward and travel cost optimization' was also presented by her supervisor, Dr. Javier Faulín, in the EWGT 2025 (27th Euro Working Group on Transportation), held in Edinburgh (UK).

📌And to close out the month, she participated at PamplonaTech 2025: Artificial Intelligence & Optimization in Transport and Mobility, hosted at Upna, where she presented the work 'Optimization Models and Collaborative Economy Approaches for Sustainable Last-Mile Distribution', in the predoctoral session of the event shared with other predoctoral researchers from the Upna.

Keep up doing such a great work, Alisson!!

Syed Nazim Shah presented his scientific contribution on biomedical implantable antennas and their applications in wireless capsule endoscopy, at the International IEEE ELMAR-2025 Conference (Zadar, Croatia): "An Ultracompact Triple-Band Circularly Polarized MIMO Model for Wireless Capsule Endoscopy and Midfield Power Transfer".

Upon his return, he shared with WIT that the experience had been very enriching, with the opportunity to interact and connect with many colleagues, professors and researchers working in areas closely realted to his research field, such as implantable antennas, as well as others focusing on radar and communication technologies.

He highlighted that the meaningful academic exchanges and insightful discussions provided him with new perspectives and valuable feedback to continue making strong progress.

Beyond the scientific experience, Nazim also enjoyed exploring the beautiful historic city of Zadar, which added a memorable dimension to the event.

Congratulations on your presentation and contribution!! Keep up the great work!!

Ismail El Hamzaoui has been in the ECCE Europe 2025, held in Birmingham (UK) from August 31 to September 4, 2025, where he performed an oral presentation of his ongoing research: 'Robust Tuning of Cascaded PI Controllers for a Grid-Forming DFIG Wind Turbine'.

This conference is among the three most relevant worldwide in the field of power electronics, and brings together the international community of electrical engineers specialized in this area. It attracks not only leading researchers and PhD students, but also industry experts and a wide representation of leading companies.

Ismail highlights that this conference has been an important catalyst for his career, reinforcing both his motivation and direction. During his presentation and interactions, he received very positive feedback on his work, took part in productive discussions and established valuable connections with international research teams for further collaborations. He now faces this new academic year full of challenges, while preparing for the incoming international stay and future conferences.

Big congratulations Ismail!!

Junaid Uqaili attended the META 2025 - 15th International Conference on Metamaterials, Photonic Crystals and Plasmonics in Málaga (Spain, 22-25 July, 2025) where he received the Best Poster Award for the presentation of the work: 'Liquid Crystal-Based Asterisk-Shaped Millimeter-Wave Reflectarray for Reconfigurable Intelligent Surfaces'.

Junaid is currently conducting his PhD research with the Antenna Group at Upna under the supervision of Dr. Miguel Beruete. This research investigates the use of liquid crystal materials in mmWave applications, and demonstrates a simulated 1D beam-steering reflectarray, contributing to advancements in metasurfaces, reconfigurable antennas, and future communicating technologies.

This award not only acknowledges excellence in poster presentation, but also recognizes creativity, scientific rigor, and promotes emerging voices driving the future of sustainable science and technology.

Congratulations Junaid! Very well-deserved award!!

Sara Lorenzoni has attended the 2025 International Summer School BIOMAT-France held in Cergy-Paris, from 7 to 11 July, before starting a well-deserved vacation after an intense course. The chosen theme this time has been 'Entering a New Era in Regenerative Medicine: Challenges and Strategies of Tissue Engineering'.

Along with attending expert lectures, tech sessions, interactive discussions, and workshops, young researchers had the opportunity to present their research to the expert audience. Sara presented her work: 'Integrin-targeted delivery of etoposide via RGD-functionalized solid lipid nanoparticles for high-risk neuroblastoma', a promissing approach of the use of nanoparticles to enhance tumor selectivity and therapeutic efficacy, while mitigating the adverse side-effects associated with conventional chemotherapy.

Sara describes the experience as an exciting and enriching week, surrounded by passionate people, thought-provoking ideas, and cutting-edge science that reaffirms her vocation.

Junaid Uqaili had the opportunity to join the one-week course organized by the European School of Antennas (ESoA) about Millimeter Wave Antennas Design and Technologies in the IETR - University of Rennes (France). This experience enabled Junaid to deepen his expertise while engaging with leading experts and other fellow researchers, opening pathways for future collaboration and knowledge exchange in the antenna technologies.

The program provided a thorough overview of millimeter-wave antenna technologies, combining lectures on both fundamental principles and advanced applications with practical laboratory sessions. Training highlights included free-space material characterization, S-parameter measurements using waveguides and VDI extenders, and VNA calibration techniques. Participants also had the opportunity to explore IETR’s state-of-the-art facilities, including the anechoic chamber.

In addition to the academic challenges, other highlights were the social dinner, where they enjoyed delicious traditional food and great company, and some free time to discover the beauty of Rennes.

The Symposium on Transport Systems and Mobility was held in Porto (Portugal) on June 30 and July 1, 2025, as part of the 6th Doctoral Congress in Engineering (DCE25). Alisson presented the research 'Collaborative logistics and heuristic optimization for sustainable last-mile urban distribution' among brilliant peers, that was already a reward.

This recognition as the Best Oral Communication is a brilliant way to round off these past months of intense work during her second research stay at the Universidade do Porto, as part of her PhD research that continues to progress impressively. 

Her achievements speak for themselves, and this particular recognition highlights a skill that will support her wherever her path leads: the ability to communicate cleary, convincingly and with purpose.

Hughe congratulations Alisson!! Very well done!!

Lorea Jordana is in the last weeks of the 4-months international stay that she is carrying out since April at the Tissue Engineering group-University of Basel (Switzerland), for the last research stage of her doctoral thesis in Molecular mechanisms governing CAR T cell response in MM patients at Cima-Universidad de Navarra.

And to know how well is she doing, nothing better than her own words:

'During my research stay with the Tissue Engineering group at the University of Basel, I am developing a 3D model of human multiple myeloma (MM) using a perfusion bioreactor system. This innovative model aims to better replicate the tumor microenvironment and will be used to evaluate the effectiveness of CAR T cell therapy—an advanced form of immunotherapy. The project involves:

• Build a bone marrow-like structure.
• Assess how well CAR T cells can eliminate cancer cells within it.
• Study how the CAR T cells function in this complex setting.

Ultimately, this research could help pave the way toward more personalized and effective treatments for MM patients'.

A great experience in an expert group in tissue engineering with challenging applications. Among many others, they mimic complex tissue environments to further the study of key biological processes involved in tissues repair or behaviour against tumors or other diseases. A really innovative and promissing field, combining interdisciplinary approaches across cell biology, engineering technologies and material science.

To mark the end of June after an academic year full of research and training, and just before the city of Pamplona bursts into crazy celebration with the San Fermín festival, the WIT fellows took a well-earned day to explore the rich Medieval heritage of Navarra. Last Saturday, a group of fellows, together with some family and friends, braved the heat and went to visit:

• Olite’s royal castle and the town’s well-preserved medieval streets.
• Ujué’s impressive Santa María church-fortress & picturesque cobbled streets and stone houses.
• Traditional lunch in Ujué, to taste typical products, rest and get strenght for the afternoon activities.
• Monastery of Leyre, a beautifull place full of calm and medieval art.
• A walk throught the natural beauty of Lumbier's Gorge-Foz de Lumbier, a Nature Reserve known for its rugged walls and for being one of the largest sanctuary for birds of prey of Navarra.

📢 As one fellow shared: 'The trip was really great. Everything was well planned and the timing of each stop was perfect. It's true that the weather wasn't on our side, but it was lovely to visit new places that are so close to us and learn more about the region's history. We enjoyed a lot and the food was very nice.' 😊 

✍ A very interesting proposal, for anyone who wants to deepen in Navarra's cultural and architectural heritage. The downside, the extreme heat, but the weather is not in our hands 😅.

Now that the academic year comes to a close, we are proud to share that the WIT ESR Alisson García Herrera is finishing remarkable progress on her thesis focused on the development of sustainable and efficient transportation systems for urban areas, using agile algorithms to provide high-quality solutions in the urban last mile distribution.

• She is currently wrapping up her second international stay, this time at INESC TEC in Porto, working under the guidance of Dr. Jorge Pinho de Sousa, a renowned expert in transportation and logistics. This experience is providing her with an excellent opportunity to gain valuable insights to make great performance and progress in her PhD research and expand her academic network.
• Earlier this month (June 10–13), she presented a research work titled 'Integrating the Team Orienteering Problem and Occasional Drivers for a Bi-objective Crowdshipping Last-Mile Optimization Model' at the SEIO 2025 conference in Lleida, engaging with the broader statistics and operations research community.
• And to cap off this exciting period, the article 'Understanding the dynamics of crowdshipping in last-mile distribution within urban mobility: A comprehensive framework' has been published in the Q1 journal Socio-Economic Planning Sciences. Alisson is the main author of this article that is result of the excellent work carried out in the GILT-OR Group together with the Dr. Adrián Serrano Hernández and Alisson's supervisor Prof. Javier Faulin.

🚀 Excellent work Alisson!! A promising end to the academic year, and an even more promising path ahead!! 👏

The work presented by Junaid was selected within one of the best poster presented at Upna to be a representative of the university at the 12th Doctoral Conference of G-9, that was held in June 11-13, 2025, at University of Extremadura (Spain), the host venue for this year edition.

Junaid who is currently working with the Antenna Group at Upna under the supervision of Dr. Miguel Beruete, presented his research on 'Liquid Crystals in Reconfigurable Intelligent Surfaces for Sub-Millimeter Wave Applications', shedding light on the transformative potential of Liquid Crystals in Reconfigurable Intelligent Surfaces (RIS) and performing a promising approach for next-generation wireless communication and sensing technologies.

The Doctoral Conference is a gathering of more than 70 PhD students from different areas of knowledge of the universities that are part of G-9 group. This annual meeting, with conferences and workshops with a strong commitment to research and scientific dissemination, highlights the importance of the doctorate as a driver of innovation, and is a platform to disseminate research activity through poster presentations and a contest for the best presentations.

Juanid, you did a great job!! Congratulations to the winners!!

An intense and inspiring week at the 18th ENII Summer School on Immunology (Alghero, Sardinia) for Aline Risson Belinovski, our Brazilian PhD student in Immunology at Cima research centre. In addition to taking in all the experiences of the Summer School, Aline presented a poster with the research done these months about 'Intraperitoneal administration of recombinant artLCMV exerts potent antitumor effects on tumor models of peritoneal carcinomatosis'. This experience in Alghero few weeks ago was nothing short of amazing!!

Learning and enjoying, a constant throughout the week of the meeting of young researchers in Immunology:
✍ The week was packed with expert lectures, interactive poster sessions, and a fantastic workshop on oral communication where participants trained in breathing, posture and public speaking. The 1-minute poster teasers were a great and challenging way to put those skills into action!
👉 Beyond the intense academic schedule, there was also time to connect with peers, exchange ideas, and enjoy moments of fun—from a boat trip and beach outing to a lively closing party. 🌊🎉

📢 Read how Aline describes her participation in this summer school:
'I recently had the unique opportunity to attend the 18th ENII Summer School on Advanced Immunology in Alghero, Sardinia. It was an intensive and enriching week, bringing together leading experts and early-career researchers from around the world. The program offered deep dives into both fundamental and translational aspects of immunology, sparking thought T cell therapies, cancer immunotherapy, systems immunology, vaccines and more. Beyond the lectures, the collaborative atmosphere fostered meaningful connections, inspiring conversations, and new perspectives on current challenges in the field. I’m truly grateful to have been part of such an enriching environment!'

Thank you Aline for sharing your experience with us 🙂 We are very proud of your commintment, courage and strength to learn and keep going. Very well done!!