By Marina Caillet, project manager - GO
Unistem Day is a one-day event aimed at high school students and has been organized throughout Europe for over 15 years now. Primarily dedicated to the dissemination and scientific mediation of stem cell research, this unique event aims to encourage young high school students to develop their knowledge of science, and to stimulate their curiosity by sharing new scientific discoveries with them. Partner of this initiative, the LabEx Revive organized a scientific conference at the Institut Pasteur, offering high school students from Notre Dame les Oiseaux (78), Molière (75016) and Honoré de Balzac (75017) the opportunity to explore the world of research by stepping into the shoes of researchers for an immersive day dedicated to science.
After an inspiring speech by Prof. Yasmine Belkaid, Director of the Institut Pasteur, highlighting the importance of scientific exploration, the students met their European counterparts in Berlin, Warsaw and Toulouse, broadening their scientific horizons.
The lectures captivated the audience with a variety of fascinating topics, ranging from research into retinopathies by Walter Habeler (researcher at I-Stem, a partner of the LabEx Revive) to the genetics of autism presented by Thomas Rolland (Researcher in the "human genetics and cognitive functions" unit) and Sophie Dauzet (Manager R2D2-MH project), through the medical applications of extracellular vesicles presented by Kelly Aubertin (Université Paris Cité).
The high school students then took the floor by presenting scientific reviews through oral presentations or posters, assessed by a panel of experts chaired by Frank Yates (SupBiotech engineering school), with the participation of Sandie Munier, Stéphane Frémont, Marie-Emilie Terret (Collège de France), Michel Cohen-Tannoudji, David Bikard, Tara Fournier, Arantxa Rojas, André Cronemberger (Université Paris Cité), Isma Bennabi, Philippe Afonso and Stéphanie Lebreton. This immersive day also gave them the chance to discover the diversity of jobs in a research institute during a 'speed-meeting' with various research players (Sara Ortica, Christophe Thomas, Sebastien Mella, Audrey Salles, François Bontems, Elric Esposito, Nicolas Gangneux, Mireille Noakowski, Mathilde Chouly, Nastassia Tvardik, Natalia Pietrosemoli, Flora Crozet, Marion Le Foll, Serge Ibo, Adrián Villalba Felipe (Institut Cochin, UPC), Morgan Gazzola (I-Stem), Laurent Dacheux, Marcel Hollenstein).
Many thanks to all the speakers, teachers, and students for their remarkable involvement in this enriching experience.
This year, UNISTEM DAY 2024 brought together more than 30,000 high school students from 97 universities and research institutes in Australia, Denmark, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Serbia, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom. Coordinated by LabEx Revive, this event was supported by the SupBiotech school, the Institut Pasteur and the DIM ELICIT and Institut Convergence INCEPTION projects.
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