During 2024, the MELIS Department orchestrated a broad range of community outreach initiatives. By partnering with numerous institutions, we developed an annual series of events that meaningfully connected with diverse groups, including children, high school students, and the broader public.
Activities aimed at the general public
“Visions of Science” series organized in collaboration with the Barcelona City Council Library Network
This series brought basic biomedical research projects currently underway at MELIS to the public. These projects could form the basis of future investigations that will impact human and planetary health in the coming years.
MELIS PI Gema Revuelta, front row in a white jacket
Gema Revuelta and Vladimir de Semir Receive the Jury’s Special Prisma Award for 30 Years of the Master’s in Science Communication
At the 2024 Prismas Casa de las Ciencias Awards, the Jury’s Special Award went to Gema Revuelta and Vladimir de Semir, in recognition of the 30 years of the Master’s in Science Medical, and Environmental Communication (MCCMA) at the UPF Barcelona School of Management.
Festa de la Ciència
The “Festa de la Ciència” (Barcelona Science Festival) celebrated its 17th edition at the Born Center for Culture and Memory and Plaça Comercial with outreach activities for all audiences. MELIS participated on June 8 and 9 with three workshops: a board game led by Marta Vila from the communication office; a workshop on marine microorganisms to prevent ship corrosion, led by Maria Artigues Lleixa and Lorena Viviana Toloza from the Translational Synthetic Biology laboratory; and a workshop on artificial intelligence and ethics, led by Núria Saladié, Paulina Naranjo, and Barbara Sinigaglia from the UPF Science, Communication and Society Studies Center. Around 20,000 people attended the festival.
Research talk at a library
Andrés Ozaíta, a principal investigator and professor at MELIS, gave a talk at the Francesc Boix library in Poble-sec about his research on the effects of cannabis on individuals with intellectual disabilities.
Humanistic Dialogues UPF 2024
Every year, the UPF Department of Humanities organizes the Humanistic Dialogues, a forum for both the university community and society at large, promoting dissemination and debate centered on the humanistic field.
This year, Alfonso Martinez Arias, an ICREA researcher at MELIS, and Núria Montserrat, a principal researcher at IBEC, discussed the limits of science in embryology and organ regeneration.
Carla Lancelotti, a professor and researcher at the UPF Department of Humanities, and Ricard Solé, an ICREA researcher at MELIS, explored the importance of water in sustaining life and the ecological richness of arid areas.
Mireia Vallès Colomer, a researcher and professor at MELIS, and Tomàs Marquès Bonet, a professor and ICREA researcher at MELIS, discussed biodiversity and the importance of preserving it, taking a journey to understand the planet’s biodiversity from primates to the microbiome.
8M – Women in science, a world of possibilities
To commemorate International Women’s Day, the PRBB Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion Committee, in which MELIS participates, hosted a roundtable discussion featuring six women with diverse professional profiles in scientific research. Maruxa Martínez-Campos, the Committee coordinator and scientific communicator, moderated the discussion, which included Sira Mogas, CEO of the UPF spin-off KOA biotech; Joana Porcel, project manager at ISGlobal; Marta Román, group leader at the Hospital del Mar Research Institute; Heura Cardona, technician at EMBL Barcelona; Berta Fusté, head of the CRG genomics service; and Elena Bosch, MELIS professor and researcher.
Thirty years working in science and gender. Since the pioneering publication of Dona i ciència in Quaderns de la Igualtat in 1995, members—past and present—of the Center for Studies in Science, Communication, and Society at Pompeu Fabra University (CCS-UPF) have been dedicated to raising awareness, providing training, and integrating a gender perspective into research and academic programs. In commemoration of International Women’s Day (8M), CCS-UPF shared a selection of significant milestones on its X account (@ccupf).
“La Facultat al Barri” (The faculty in the neighborhood)
Throughout the academic year, professors from the Faculty of Medicine and Life Sciences opened their classrooms, allowing citizens from the Barceloneta neighborhood and the wider city to attend master classes. Jordi Mir, Paco Muñoz, and Olga Valverde shared their knowledge with students and the public in five different sessions.
Open day of the PRBB
Every first Saturday of October, the Barcelona Biomedical Research Park (PRBB) opens its doors for an event that allows people to visit the facilities and experience science firsthand. The event was held on Saturday, October 5. Approximately 1,200 people attended the Open Day, with the help of 250 volunteers.
PRBB Podcasts
The Barcelona Biomedical Research Park has produced a series of scientific podcasts to explain the research being carried out at PRBB centers. In 2024, MELIS researcher Alfonso Martinez Arias participated in the episode “Unravelling the living cell: what are we missing?” of the “Science With a View” podcast.
Activities aimed at high school students
Barcelona International Youth Science Challenge (BIYSC) – Cutting-Edge science for talented pre-college students
In recent years, the Translational Synthetic Biology group, led by Carles Bayod, has collaborated with the international BIYSC Program, aimed at young people from all over the world with a passion for science and technology. BIYSC aims to stimulate the talent of young people and promote their vocation for scientific and technological research. At MELIS, participants have the opportunity to experiment firsthand with molecular and synthetic biology.
“Joves i Ciència”
For eleven years, Roger Anglada from the UPF Genomics Service has been participating in the course “Discovering biodiversity and evolution: from fieldwork to current genetics through bioinformatics” as part of the “Joves i Ciència” (Youth and Science) program of the Fundació Catalunya la Pedrera. In the idyllic setting of Món Natura Pirineus, he teaches young people how to extract DNA and sequence samples taken from nature to study the biodiversity that surrounds us.
Brain Week
“Science Tuesdays” is a series of online talks, organized by the PRBB, aimed at high school students. As part of Brain Week, Inés Gallego, a doctoral student in the Behavioral Neurobiology Research Group, gave a talk on the biology of addiction.
PRBB Award
Every year, the PRBB Award is granted to the best research work in health and life sciences by high school students from all over Catalonia. This initiative is a collaboration between the PRBB and the Faculty of Medicine and Life Sciences of the UPF. In 2024, Paula Cebollada (doctoral student in the Laboratory of Virology of Infection), Altair C. Hernández (doctoral student in the Laboratory of Higher-Order Molecular Mechanisms in Cell Growth), Fernando Giráldez (PI in Developmental Biology), Francesc Calafell (PI at the IBE in the Laboratory of Genomics of Individuality), and Jacob Smith (postdoctoral researcher in the Cell Biology Laboratory), participated as jury members in the different selection phases.
The award ceremony was attended by professors Paco Muñoz, Francesc Calafell, and Jordi Camí. Núria Bonet, Roger Aglada, and Mireia Altadill opened the doors of their laboratories to the finalist students and their families.
Biology Olympics
The PRBB was the venue for the final of the Biology Olympics, which brought together 17 high school finalists. The students visited the UPF Genomics unit and enjoyed a talk on the study of the primate genome by MELIS professor and researcher Tomàs Marquès.
Activities aimed at primary school students
Recerkids
Recerkids is an educational program promoted by the Department of Research and Universities of the Generalitat de Catalunya that aims to introduce scientific activity to children in 5th and 6th grade of primary school. To conclude this cycle, more than two hundred students gathered at the UPF Ciutadella Campus, where they presented their research work. The students also attended two scientific workshops: the microscopy workshop, organized by MELIS and taught by Xavier Sanjuan, Mireia Altadill, Nahuel Pérez, and Paulina Brena; and an archaeology workshop taught by the UPF Department of Humanities.
Visit of 6th grade schoolers from Sant Esteve de Palautordera
With the aim of bringing science closer to schoolchildren, the MELIS scientific community hosted a visit from 6th grade students from the Vallmanya school in Sant Esteve de Palautordera. The MELIS researchers who participated were Tomàs Marquès Bonet, Roger Anglada, Eduard Sabidó, Cristina Chiva, Lídia Altimiras, Núria Bonet, and Xavier Sanjuan.
Workshop on animal experimentation
The PRBB animal facility, in collaboration with researchers from MELIS, the Hospital del Mar Research Institute, and EMBL, organizes a workshop to help high school students understand the importance and procedures of working with experimental animals. The workshop was held three times during the 2023-2024 academic year.
Scientific journalists “Face to Face”
The Barcelona Institute of Culture conducted a pilot test with the PRBB by re-issuing the scientific journalists’ activity, which invites primary school students to interview a researcher from the PRBB. Marc Talló, a professor at MELIS and researcher at the UPF spin-off, Nocturna Therapeutics, participated in the in-person activity of this pilot test.
11F – International Day of Girls and Women in Science
We celebrate the International Day of Girls and Women in Science by sharing with new generations what women do in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. MELIS researchers Lorena Galera, Selma Serra, Mireia Rumbo, Elvira Luna, Nora Pérez, Dulce Real, Laura Ortet, Etna Abad, Marta Puig, and Paula Cebollada talked about their work in different areas of science in talks at schools and high schools in various municipalities in Catalonia.
