The Vall d’Hebron Research Institute (VHIR) has participated in GIMM Festival 2026, held from 17 to 19 September at the Pavilhão de Portugal in Lisbon. Organised by the Gulbenkian Institute for Molecular Medicine (GIMM), this year’s festival has focused on microbes as its central theme and has brought together researchers, professionals from different fields and members of the public to reflect on some of the major scientific and social challenges related to this field.

The event has combined two days aimed primarily at the scientific community with a third day open to the general public. On the latter, held on 19 September, VHIR contributed to the programme with two outreach activities aimed especially at younger audiences.

Clinical trials through a role-playing game

One of the activities presented by VHIR was the workshop ‘Clinical trial: In search of new treatments - How is a new medicine developed?’, led by Vanessa Casares and Anna Casas, from the Intensive Care Department at Vall d’Hebron University Hospital and the SODIR group at VHIR.

During the workshop, children were able to simulate a clinical trial to discover how the evaluation process for a new drug is carried out. The participants were divided into groups and took on different roles, such as doctor, nurse or patient, to follow the main steps of a clinical study.

Through this hands-on experience, the participants discovered why clinical trials are essential to ensure that new treatments are safe and effective before reaching patients, and they were able to learn in a participatory way about some of the processes behind the development of a new medicine.

Investigating an outbreak like an epidemiologist

VHIR also participated in the festival with the interactive activity ‘Investigate like an epidemiologist!’, organised by the Epidemiology and Public Health Group.

The activity invited participants to become epidemiologists and investigate different disease outbreaks. Based on the clues they obtained after completing several challenges, they had to deduce which disease the protagonist of each case was suffering from, identify where the infection had occurred and determine the route of transmission.

Finally, the participants had to select the most appropriate prevention measures to control each situation. The activity also allowed them to learn about some key figures in the history of microbiology and public health and understand the importance of preventing infectious diseases.

The original idea for the activity came from María López Berral, César Llorente Parrado and Eva del Amo Moran, from the Epidemiology and Public Health Group, with the collaboration of Distrauma and Bimedica.

Scientific communication takes centre stage in the debate on the future

Vall d’Hebron’s participation in GIMM Festival also included a perspective on the relationship between science and society. Fran Garcia, Director of Communication, Corporate Strategy and Citizen Services at Vall d’Hebron, participated in the round table ‘Questions of the Future: Micro: Society’, held on 18 September.

The session also brought together Rita Sá Machado, Director-General of Health of Portugal; António Roldão, from iBET; and Marta Entradas, from ISCTE-IUL and the London School of Economics. The debate, moderated by Miguel Prudêncio, from GIMM and the Lisbon School of Medicine, addressed future challenges related to microorganisms and their relationship with society, from scientific, healthcare and social perspectives.

Fran Garcia’s participation brought the perspective of scientific and institutional communication to the debate, as well as the role that research and healthcare institutions play in connecting scientific knowledge with citizens.

Participation as part of the collaboration with GIMM CARE

VHIR’s participation in GIMM Festival is part of its collaboration with GIMM CARE, the branch of the Gulbenkian Institute for Molecular Medicine dedicated to applying scientific knowledge to improve health and quality of life.

GIMM CARE aims to promote a people-centred, data-driven model of clinical and translational research, connecting researchers, healthcare professionals, patients, citizens, companies and public administrations to address the main health challenges and accelerate the transfer of research results into clinical practice.

VHIR is a partner of GIMM CARE and contributes to this initiative with its expertise in biomedical, clinical and translational research. The collaboration between the two institutions seeks to strengthen research capacities, facilitate the generation and application of new knowledge and promote innovative solutions to health challenges.

GIMM CARE is supported by the European Teaming for Excellence programme – Boosting Clinical Research for the Benefit of Society, which aims to contribute to the development of a centre of excellence in clinical and translational research in Portugal.