Under the motto Let's Talk about Science, the Research Day of the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Lisbon (FMUL) was celebrated on 11 December 2019. It was organized by the Office for Support to Scientific and Technological Research and Innovation (GAPIC), in partnership with the Students Association of the Faculty of Medicine of Lisbon (AEFML).
This year’s programme privileged direct contact between undergraduate students, doctors, with a particular focus on early-stage doctors, researchers and lecturers.
The opening session was attended by representatives of the three institutions that make up the CAML (from FMUL, Professor Fausto Pinto, Director, and Professor João Eurico da Fonseca, Vice-President of the Scientific Council; from the iMM, Professor Carmo Fonseca, President, and Professor Maria Mota, Executive Director; from the HSM/CHULN, Dr. Luís Pinheiro, Clinical Director), as well as the president of the AEFML (student José Rodrigues) and the coordinator of the GAPIC (Professor Ana Espada de Sousa).
This session was marked by the importance of celebrating Science and the 30 years of activity of the GAPIC, as well as by the relevance of the CAML as a new level in the development and modernization of the historical model of medical schools, the teaching of medicine and the training of health professionals, namely through the creation of synergies that make it possible to meet the priority needs of medical education and research, making them compatible with the development of the assistance mission.
In this session, the End of Course Works/MIM Theses awarded the GAPIC David-Ferreira 2017/2018 Prize and honourable mentions were disclosed and presented by Professor João Ferreira:
- Prize– Catarina Micaelo Fernandes, "Identification of novel potential therapeutic targets for T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukaemia";
- First Honourable Mention – Alexandre Manuel Calçada, "Prognostic Role of Mean Platelet Volume in Acute Ischemic Stroke Patients”;
- Second Honourable Mention – Bárbara Rodrigues, “Influenza vaccination reduces all-cause mortality in patients with heart failure: a systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies”.
As usual, this was followed by the Poster Session, which was divided into 6 sessions that took place simultaneously, during which the 43 students involved in the 22nd “Education through Science” programme| CHULN/FMUL grants presented and discussed the results of the 35 papers produced throughout 2019. The moderators chose the 12 best papers to be presented at the Oral Presentation Session, of which the following were awarded the AEFML Research Day Awards:
- 1st place – Guilherme Vilhais, “Tackling the mystery of the “small xenografts”: RANK-pathway activation in RANK overexpressing breast cancer xenografts in an immune deficient mouse host”, Luís Costa Lab;
- 2nd place – Francisco Alexandrino, “Unravelling the role of CASZ1 in T-cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia”, João Barata Lab;
- 3rd place – Mickael Bartikian, “Cranioplasty implants and 3D printing: a perfect fit”, Anatomy Institute
The Research Paths Session - Early career physician scientists, one of the highlights of the day, was presented by three GAPIC alumni, early-stage doctors - Arlindo Ferreira (HSM/CHULN, Champalimaud Foundation), Patrícia Costa Reis (HSM/CHULN, FMUL, iMM) and Pedro N. Alves (HSM/CHULN, FMUL) - who shared their academic and professional experience as doctors and researchers in the fields of Oncology, Paediatrics and Neurology, respectively. Their realistic and enthusiastic testimonial was undoubtedly inspiring for everyone present at the event (see article “… being a clinician and researcher are two complementary roles…”. The testimonial of a former GAPIC student [link to article]).
In this edition of Research Day, a Lunch with researchers was held for the first time. In this session, three iMM researchers, Edgar Gomes, Luísa Figueiredo and Luísa Lopes were available to satisfy the participants' curiosity in a relaxed and informal atmosphere.
When listening to Research Day participants (see article “What is the opinion on Research Day?” [link to article]), it turned out that this new activity was evaluated very positively. Edgar Gomes highlighted the fact that it was possible to “interact with students in a casual way. We had the opportunity to talk about the role of medical students and graduates in medical research, what a Ph.D. is, and how the process that leads to knowledge creation works”. The students who participated in the session with Luísa Figueiredo said that they enjoyed visiting this researcher's laboratory.
In the AstraZeneca Foundation/FMUL Research Fellowship session, the work carried out by Doctor Pedro N. Nascimento was presented, within the scope of the 13th Scholarship, entitled “Cognition and brain amyloid deposition in transthyretin-related familial amyloid polyneuropathy”, and the session was chaired by Professor José António Machado Lopes, Director of the Medical Internship at HSM/CHULN.
The Research Day ended with a session promoted by the AEFML, where Maria Viegas and Professor Tato Marinho, from AMP Student, presented the topic AMP Student: Who are we? How to publish your article? This session also included the students who organize the AIMS Meeting Research Competition.
The balance of another edition of Research Day was very positive, with the 2020 edition already scheduled for 9 December. Save the Date!
Office for the Support to Scientific and Technological Research and Innovation (GAPIC)
