PINT OF SCIENCE FESTIVAL
13-15 MAY 2024
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The wonders of molecular medicine
You may not make it to the gym as often as you’d like, but your body is still a wonderful machine! Our researchers will show you how nanomachines in your body can be used to develop better medications, how our body copes with creepy invading parasites and how we can use our immune system to fight cancer.
Tailor-made medicines.
Stuart Maudsley
University of Antwerp, Faculty of Pharmaceutical, Biomedical and Veterinary Sciences
Almost half of the medicines used today target a fantastic group of proteins called G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs). These important receptors allow you to sense everything in your environment and enable your internal organs to communicate with each other. We are learning more every day about how to use these amazing molecules to create medicines tailor made to you and the illnesses you may have. GPCRs may be the most important proteins in nature – come and learn more about these wonderful ‘nanomachines’ present throughout your body!
Creepy parasites: tales of the unexpected.
Idzi Potters
Institute of Tropical Medicine
A walk through the wonderful world of parasitology. Get ready to be spooked out by some extraordinary parasites that are closer to us than you would think!
Using our own immune system to fight cancer.
Jinthe Van Loenhout & Laurie Freire Boullosa (University of Antwerp, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences)
The cells in our bodies all have certain jobs to do. Normal cells die when they are worn out or damaged. Then, they are cleared away by our body’s immune system and new cells take their place. Cancer cells are smart and can escape our immune system. They will start to grow out of control and crowd out normal cells. We, as cancer researchers, want to boost the natural power of the body’s immune system to work harder and smarter to attack cancer cells. Come and find out how we do this!