The PhasAGE team was present in the European Researcher’s Night 2021 event organized by the collaborating partners with the REGGAE (Researchers for European Green Growth And Education) theme. The i3S – Instituto de Investigação e Inovação em Saúde, University of Porto – hosted part of the activities right in the center of Asprela University Campus (Porto, Porugal).
We took this opportunity to introduce some new concepts about intrinsically disorders proteins, protein aggregation and phase separation to the audience with 5 up to 70 years old. Through hands-on activities and simple demonstrations using protein models, the visitors explored how the protein sequence determines its folding into a 3D native structure and how specific sequence regions are involved in protein aggregation behavior and phase separation. We also explored why protein disorder is essential for brain function while it also contributes to age-related disorders.
The PhasAGE team: Tiago Gião (PhD student), Rita Vilaça (Communication Manager), Sandra Ribeiro (Project Coordinator).
It was such a great night and we hope everyone who visited our spot enjoyed speaking with us about protein structure and function. It is amazing and very rewarding to see how people are so curious about our research and how science impacts society in general.
Information about the event
The European Researcher’s Night is a yearly scientific literacy event that aims to celebrate science and bring closer scientists and society. This initiative is funded by the European Commission, through Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions and it takes place across EU Member States and Horizon Europe Associated Countries and aims to:
- contribute to promoting excellence research projects across Europe and beyond
- increase awareness among the general public of the importance and benefits of research and innovation and showcase its concrete impact on citizens’ daily life
- heighten young people’s interest in science and research careers
The public get access to a combination of science education with entertainment, hands-on experiments, quizzes, science shows and more.