i3S at the University of Porto exhibit 2024

The gates of Pavilhão Multiusos in Gondomar reopened for four days, from April 11th to the 14th, to welcome thousands of visitors from all over the country who came to the 21st Mostra da Universidade do Porto. Between various activities, lectures, and a lot of music, students and families were able to learn about the University of Porto and everything that the academy has to offer. As in previous years, i3S was present with a stand and many activities. The priority was to promote the Institute, reinforcing the position of i3S as the largest research institute of the University of Porto.

The Educational Program team coordinated the institute’s presence at Mostra, organized interactive activities and prepared scientific demonstrations in collaboration with research groups. A team of 38 volunteer researchers participated in the demonstrations.

In the last edition, i3S presented activities dedicated to Neurosciences; this time around, the topic was infectious diseases, which falls into the i3S research area “Infection, Immunity and Regeneration”. In total, i3S studies about 20 different types of infection, but the focus was on leishmaniasis, malaria, tuberculosis, and neosporosis. The transmission routes and hosts are different, but these infections allow us to show that the body’s health is not dependent only on itself, but also on its surroundings.

To show the research work carried out at i3S, the stand displayed paraffin blocks, microscopes and slides of infected blood, preserved vectors (mosquitos), fluorescence microscopy images, and some games and interactive activities.