Unravelling the secrets of health research: University of Coimbra hosts science exhibition on Friday
Free and open to all ages, the initiative includes four activities: An Escape Room game, cyclotron visits, virtual reality and neurofeedback sessions, and a debate on mental health.
Next Friday, the 19th of July between 6 pm and 12 am, the UC Institute for Nuclear Sciences Applied to Health (ICNAS) and the Coimbra Institute for Biomedical Imaging and Translational Research (CIBIT) will open their doors to the public for the first edition of the event “À Noite no ICNAS: Segredos da Ciência e da Saúde” / ICNAS by Night: Secrets of Science and Health.
Free and open to all ages, the initiative includes four activities: An Escape Room game, cyclotron visits, virtual reality and neurofeedback sessions, and a debate on mental health. The main objective is to promote the research carried out at the UC, bringing it closer to society and facilitating its understanding, particularly in the health field, through activities and informal talks that simplify scientific concepts and methods. It is also an opportunity to get to know the UC's infrastructure, such as cyclotrons - state-of-the-art equipment used to produce radiopharmaceuticals for oncology, cardiology, and neuroscience diagnostics.
Running in multiple shifts until midnight, the Escape Room game challenges teams of up to five people to solve scientific puzzles related to health research. Advance registration is required and available here.
The thirty-minute cyclotron tours are available from 6 to 9 pm and must be booked in advance here. These tours offer a rare opportunity to see a particle accelerator up close. The cyclotron produces innovative radiopharmaceuticals such as GalliUC, which is made from gallium-68 using a UC-patented process.
Virtual reality and neurofeedback sessions will be held between 6 p.m. and midnight, offering the opportunity to interact with cutting-edge technology and understand how the brain works.
The debate Os Desafios da Saúde Mental nos Jovens [Challenges of mental health in young people] will start at 9 p.m., featuring journalist Helena Bento (co-author of a podcast on mental health), Fernanda Duarte (clinical psychologist at the Coimbra Local Health Unit - ULS Coimbra), Sofia Morais (psychiatrist at ULS Coimbra and the University Student Psychiatry Clinic, and researcher at CIBIT), and António Costa (student at the UC Faculty of Medicine and president of the Medical Student Group of the Coimbra Academic Association - AAC)."
The event is organised with the support of the Dana Foundation and the Federation of European Neuroscience Societies (FENS). For more information about the programme and to register for activities, please visit www.uc.pt/icnas/eventos/a-noite-no-icnas/.