The 6th edition of Research Day has once again aroused the interest of the FMUL community, with a strong participation. On this day there were several initiatives to disseminate the scientific activity developed by FMUL students, and prizes were awarded to several works. Taking the opportunity, the GAPIC promoted its new project "Find the researcher you are looking for," whose main objective is to strengthen relations among the scientific community.
Research Day, organized by the GAPIC and the AEFML, took place on December 13, arousing the interest of the FMUL community and achieving the widest adherence ever, with more than a hundred participants among students, researchers and teachers, who, in general, were satisfied with the event, namely with its programme contents.
The opening session of Research Day was attended, not only by the GAPIC coordinator, Professor Ana Espada de Sousa, but also by the Deputy Director of the FMUL, Professor Ana Sebastião, the President of the Scientific Council, Professor Melo Cristino, representing the IMM, Professor Bruno Silva Santos, representing the HSM-CHLN, Professor João Eurico da Fonseca, and the President of AEFML, the student Teresa Valido, all of whom praised the initiative.
The event began with the presentation of the video made by the GAPIC on the occasion marking its 28th anniversary, with an emphasis on the project "Find the researcher you are looking for," presented by Professor Susana Fernandes from the GAPIC team. "Find the researcher you are looking for" aims to facilitate and promote the contact between researchers and medical students and, in this way, create a network which can extend across the CAML, forging closer ties among the scientific community.
Also in the opening session, Professor Ricardo Fernandes, also from the GAPIC, presented the first ideas for the GAPIC Alummi/Prepit project, which will be the office's next challenge.
As usual, the highlight of the day are the students' research works. In this edition, 28 research projects developed during the 2016/2017 academic year by 37 FMUL students were presented as posters, as part of the 20th "Education for Science" | CHLN/FMUL Scholarships Programme. The panel, composed of professors and researchers from the FMUL and the iMM, selected 8 of these works to be presented as oral communications, among which the following were awarded:
1st Prize– "The value of YB-1 Protein secreted in patients with breast cancer," Ana Rita Bello and José Vicente Rocha (Luis Costa Lab, IMM);
2nd Prize - “Correction of Sickle-Cell Anaemia using CRISPR," Beatriz Lopes Draiblate (Carmo Fonseca Lab, iMM);
3rd Prize - “Deep Brain Stimulation for Dystonia", David Alexandre Prescott (Laboratory of Clinical and Therapeutic Pharmacology).
On this day, and for the second consecutive year, some of the final papers/theses of the MIM developed in the 2016/2017 academic year were also presented as posters. They were candidates for the GAPIC David-Ferreira Award,, as they stood out for their scientific quality, and the awarded works were presented as oral communications:
1st Prize - “Quantitative analysis of the single-tumor-cell-lineage dynamics that underpin relapse of acute myelogenous leukaemia”, Diogo Maia e Silva;
1st Honourable Mention – “Unravelling the role of the long noncoding RNA NORAD in breast cancer”, Catarina Alves do Vale;
2nd Honourable Mention (ex aequo) - “Trypanosoma brucei distribution in the male reproductive system," Sílvia Maria de Jesus Pimenta Teixeira da Silva;
“Nocebo effect in Parkinson’s disease: a systematic review and meta-analysis", Miguel Leal Rato.
One of the posters that stood out, also as part of the David-Ferreira GAPIC Award, was the one by David Berhanu, which shows the research work he started as an exchange student in the United States.
One of the most anticipated moments was the Session Research Paths, “Choosing to be a Clinician Scientist to improve our understanding of food allergy," presented by Professor Alexandra Santos, Senior Clinical lecturer & MRC Clinician Scientist at King's College London. Another session awaited with expectation was Research Tools "IBM Watson: Big Data, Cognitive Computing and Personalized Medicine," with the participation of a representative of IBM in Portugal, Frederico Muñoz, Chief Architect.
With a view to promoting Research Day and encouraging the student participation, the AEFML organized, as in the previous edition, a pedagogical and playful moment with the "Research Day Quiz" initiative, with questions about the various sessions, inviting the participants to fill out their card/passport with the appropriate answers. At the end of the day there was a drawing of lots and the students with the right answers were awarded prizes offered by the AEFML.
During the day, participants also had the opportunity to visit the exhibition space, where, in addition to posters related to the activities of the GAPIC, there was information about initiatives developed by various entities: AIMS, Biobanco-iMM, FMUL Library, Clinical Research Centre of the CAML, Medical Education Department of the FMUL, Advanced Training Institute of the FMUL, Institute of Molecular Medicine.
Research Day was supported/sponsored by Caixa Geral de Depósitos, the AIMS Meeting, Corrida Saúde Solidária and the Acta Médica Portuguesa Student.
More information on Research Day at: www.medicina.ulisboa.pt/diainvestigacao
Testimonials
"Scientific thought is a key component in the training of physicians. The GAPIC is proud to have been supporting the development of annual research projects by FMUL students uninterruptedly for 21 years, and thus making an important contribution to the development of scientific research and its integration into the clinical practice."
Ana Espada de Sousa, Coordinator of the GAPIC
"Last December, the GAPIC, in close collaboration with the Training and Science Department of the AEFML, organized the 6th edition of Research Day. This event, which has been consolidated over the years, is extremely important to a large number of students of our faculty who are interested in this area, as they are given the opportunity to learn from speakers who work in research, as well as with colleagues who have chosen to pursue this career. They can also find out how they can enter the world of research within the FMUL. Once again, the close collaboration between the GAPIC and the AEFML proved to be extremely positive and fruitful in organizing this event, combining the means, knowledge and experience of the GAPIC with the proximity of the AEFML to students and its knowledge of what is interesting and important for them. I hope this partnership, focused on sharing ideas and opinions, will last for many years and that our faculty's students will continue to set Research Day as a milestone on their calendars!"
Lourenço Saldanha, 4th-year medical student and Member of the Board of the Student Association of the Faculty of Medicine of Lisbon, involved in organizing Research Day
"This type of initiative exists in very few faculties. Establishing a connection between the clinical practice of Medicine and laboratory research is mandatory for future physicians, so, attracting them from the beginning is surely an added value.
The quality of the projects depends not only on the students themselves, but also on the guidelines they receive, on having time slots available for them in the laboratories. "I see clear differences and heterogeneity among the students. There are students who are only focused on a specific technique; in fact, they end up not being involved in the design of the project and its origin, in the way they are going to pose and approach the question, in the way they intend to respond to and overcome problems. There are laboratories that do not invest much in the educational component and so these students are not faced with major challenges. Then there are laboratories in which the students are involved in the design, technical implementation and possible clinical application of the projects, and in these groups the students are very well trained."
This day is always a great achievement, with an excellent and persistent exposure"
Sérgio Dias, Professor at FMUL and GAPIC tutor
"Having a support tool is key for anything we want to develop and expand! Right from the start, our faculty fosters a very close and privileged relationship with research. If we know what interests us, we will certainly find someone close to us who is exploring the same area. Moreover, the GAPIC, in addition to the incentive, in addition to the opportunities, fits perfectly into the course as a bridge for the final master's thesis.
This experience was undoubtedly enriching, and it was very rewarding to receive an award for our work. On this research day we were able to see many other high-quality works. Medical students are very interested in research and, in our opinion, participating in these projects is a crucial aspect for training future physicians, so it is essential to have programs that foster this involvement. We sincerely hope that research will continue to have a place in our future and that we will be able to combine it with our clinical practice."
Ana Rita Bello and José Rocha, 1st Prize - Education for Science
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GAPIC - Gabinete de Apoio á Investigação Científica, Tecnológica e Inovação e em colaboração com a equipa da Newsletter
gapicmail@medicina.ulisboa.pt
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