On Thursday, about 30 students from CP Ermitagaña School visited the headquarters of Navarrabiomed and attended the presentation of "¡La medicina personalizada y el mundial de fútbol!" (Personalised Medicine and FIFA World Cup!), the third volume of the popular science series published by the Economic Development Department in an effort to arouse interest in science and technology among primary school children.

The event was attended by Manu Ayerdi, Deputy Minister of Economic Development, who highlighted the importance of encouraging the pursuit of scientific careers by popularising biomedical research and bringing schoolchildren into contact with real-life scientists and research centres.

Personalised medicine

At the event, Angel Alonso, a specialist from the Medical Genetics Research Unit at the Navarra Hospital Complex (CHN) and one of the contributors to ¡La medicina personalizada y el mundial de fútbol!, talked to the children.

Dr Alonso explained how personalised medicine intends to find clues to a variety of illnesses by analysing the genetic codes of individuals and offering more accurate diagnoses, new treatments and specialised therapies.

Dr Alonso’s talk was followed by a workshop on neuroscience, conducted by professionals from the Navarrabiomed Biobank. The children, equipped like real scientists, did hands-on experiments and learned a few facts about the functions of the brain and donation post-mortem for scientific research, thus coming into contact with complex subjects in ways they can understand.