How is a new drug designed? What can the DNA of ancient populations tell us? How do scientists study viruses or the changes that tumour cells undergo? These are some of the questions that scientific teams at the research centres of the Barcelona Biomedical Research Park (PRBB) ask themselves every day.
On Saturday 3 October, OpenPRBB will offer the chance to enter the spaces where this research takes place. For one morning, laboratories, scientific platforms and other areas of the Park will open to the public. Researchers, technical staff and other members of the PRBB community will explain their work and answer visitors’ questions. No knowledge of biology, genetics or medicine is needed. Just curiosity.
«Science and everyday life cannot and should not be separated.»
Rosalind Franklin
From what happens inside a cell to what our past can tell us
The guided tours will explore a large part of the research that takes place inside the building. Visitors will be able to discover how viruses, proteins and RNA are studied, what happens during cell division, how metabolism and epigenetics are involved in cancer, and how new molecules with therapeutic potential are identified.
The journey will also look much further back. Genomics, the study of human diversity and archaeogenomics make it possible to reconstruct the history of populations and better understand our evolution. Other teams work in areas such as embryonic development, cognition, cardiovascular health, global health, Alzheimer’s prevention and the study of cognitive changes associated with ageing.
Behind all this research, there are also proteomics, metabolomics, genomics and cytometry platforms, computational tools and an infrastructure that has to work every day. OpenPRBB will also offer the chance to discover this less visible side of the Park.
A different way to explore the PRBB
This year, the guided tours will be at the heart of the event. The routes will begin in the auditorium with a short introduction to the Park and, from there, each group will follow its own path through the building.
The scientific routes will have two formats:
- One-hour routes, with two visits to laboratories, services or research spaces.
- One-and-a-half-hour routes, with two visits and a third special or interactive stop.
There will also be an architectural route to look at the Park from another perspective and better understand a building that, for 20 years, has been part of Barcelona’s seafront skyline.
Departures will take place every 30 minutes between 10:00 and 13:00. More than 230 volunteers from the PRBB community will make the event possible by guiding the routes, sharing their work and supporting the different activities.
And outside the laboratories?
Not everything will happen behind a laboratory door. OpenPRBB will also include a scientific vermouth, moderated by biochemist and science communicator Pere Estupinyà, bringing together different voices from the Park to discuss the future of biomedicine.
In addition, on the first-floor terraces there will be a free-access route, with no prior booking required and open to all ages.
How to get your ticket
OpenPRBB will take place on Saturday 3 October, from 10:00 to 14:00, at the PRBB, Carrer del Doctor Aiguader, 88.
You do not need to have booked in advance to come to OpenPRBB. Tickets for the guided tours will be available on the day and will be assigned at the registration tent according to the routes and time slots available.
If you prefer to plan ahead and secure your place, you will be able to book your free ticket through Eventbrite from 23 September at 12:00.
The guided tours are open to adults and young people aged 12 and over. Under-18s must be accompanied by an adult. Younger children will be able to take part in the activities along the free-access route.
