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Science in the City 2022 Science in the City 2022
  • About Us
    • Our Team
    • Mission & Values
    • Frequently Asked Questions
    • Privacy Policy
  • Events
    • Pre-Festival Events
    • Street Festival
    • Performance Festival
    • Satellite Events
    • Virtual Festival
    • Virtual Escape Room
    • Explore the Arches
  • Get Involved
    • Internships
    • Job Opportunities
    • Sponsorships
    • Volunteers
    • Organisations, Artists & Researchers
  • Partners
  • Getting There
  • Contact
2022 Programme
Science in the City 2022

Explore the Arches - How the Health!

University of Malta BioBank

Festival Area: How the health!

Organisation Description:

The University of Malta BioBank (UM-BioBank) provides population based biomolecular tools to promote biomedical research both in Malta and in collaboration with other Euro-Mediterranean countries so as to improve healthcare. Many Academic and Corporate centers seek access to well organised collections of human biological materials and data to support discovery in pharmaceuticals and diagnostics.

The University of Malta BioBank provides a resource for hypothesis driven population biobanking, discovery with large informative families and the basis for genomics in the Mediterranean basin. It is a national archive of blood and DNA together with associated health data and now curates over 100K samples. Known as the Malta Biobank, it has developed over the years with various European and private / public and institutional funding and includes specific disease collections and datasets that are fundamental for biobank-led research.

One of the goals of the biobank is to sequence one percent of the Maltese population for Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms (SNPs) and Copy Number Variations (CNVs). It is foreseen that this will lead to the discovery of genes and biomarkers to predict, detect and monitor disease together with the development of new pharmaceuticals/biotherapeutics (Theranostix). This will facilitate translational research and bridge the gap from bench to bedside.

The Principal Investigator of the UM-BioBank, Professor Alex Felice is a co-founder of EuroBioBank, the first European Network of Rare Disease Biobanks and the Biobanking and Biomolecular resources Research Infrastructure, European Research Infrastructure Consortium (BBMRI-ERIC). BBMRI-ERIC is the largest Health Research Infrastructure of the European Union. There are now good prospects to host a Euro-Mediterranean Hub/BBMRI Expert Center at the University of Malta (UM).

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Biobank Game

Aims of the game:
– To take the player through the whole biobanking process,
– To create public awareness about the biobank,
– To generate interest in participating in biobank-led research,
– Public engagement at European Researchers’ Night.
The game focuses on a young girl ‘Emma’ who suffers from a rare disease. Emma visits the doctor with her parents, a nurse takes her blood sample, the DNA is extracted and analysed in the laboratory of molecular genetics at University. Then the sample is stored in the biobank and the genetic analysis reveals the cause of Emma’s disease.
Instructions to play: It is a point and click game – hover the mouse over the arrow to change page.
Play The Game Here
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Privacy Policy

Science in the City is part of the EU-wide celebration, European Researchers’ Night. It is co-funded by the European Union’s Horizon Europe Research and Innovation Programme, under grant agreement No 101061120, the Arts Council Malta (ACM), Esplora STEM Engagement fund and a number of corporate sponsors. It is recognised by Europe for Festivals and Festivals for Europe (EFFE). 

The Science in the City consortium is led by the University of Malta and the Malta Chamber of Scientists, in partnership with the Ministry for Education, Sport, Youth, Research and Innovation, Trust Stamp Ltd, MCAST, Qualia Analytics, Esplora, tech.mt, BPC International, SEM, PBS, Spazju Kreattiv, Aquabiotech, Valletta Design Cluster, Valletta Cultural Agency, Transport Malta, The Environment Resource Agency, WasteServ, Heritage Malta and More or Less Theatre. 

This communication reflects the author’s view and the European Commission is not responsible for any information it contains. 

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