This year marks the 6th edition of the Barcelona International Youth Science Challenge (BIYSC), an international programme by the Catalunya La Pedrera Foundation that brings together in Barcelona pre-university students from all over the world to develop scientific and technological research projects in leading centres. One of these is the Bellvitge University Hospital (HUB), which holds the project "The medicine behind organ transplantation".
Nine students from Catalonia, Switzerland, United Arab Emirates, Brazil and Spain participating in the BIYSC will spend 4 to 15 July at the HUB. Before starting their university studies in the field of Health Sciences, Biomedicine, Biology or Chemistry, they will have the unique opportunity to experience the current challenges and opportunities in renal transplantation from a reference centre such as the HUB.
In a very practical way, a team of experts from the HUB, coordinated by Josep M. Cruzado, Francesc Vigués and Sergi Codina, is providing the students with the clues to a successful transplant. During their stay, these youngsters are learning about the crucial steps in the transplant process, from organ procurement and robotic surgery to modern immunosuppression and new advances in the field of xenotransplantation.
BIYSC participants will also be introduced to the concepts and methodologies used in the laboratory, and will even conduct experiments with renal progenitor cells. This year's BIYSC has up to 131 participants from 30 countries, participating in 13 research projects in a wide range of disciplines (medicine, biology, chemistry, architecture, engineering, biotechnology, mathematics, genetics and physics).