Doctoral student Alba Ortega to represent the UB in the Coimbra Group ‘3-Minute Thesis’ contest

Alba Ortega, doctoral Student of the program on Biomedicine, will represent the University of Barcelona in the Coimbra Group contest “3-Minute Thesis”. The student was chosen out of several researchers in an event on Monday, March 28, where Elisabeth Martinez, from the program on Engineering and Applied Sciences, was among the finalists.

Alba Ortega, member of the Institute of Neurosciences of the UB (UBneuro) summarizes her research: “I study the role of a protein called neural cell adhesion molecule 2 (NCAM2) in the molecular mechanisms of neuronal plasticity. These are the mechanisms that make memory and learning possible during life, and they include the synaptic plasticity, which would be the changes in connections between neurons, and adult neurogenesis, which is the formation of neurons over the course of life”. A better understanding of the adult neurogenesis mechanisms will contribute to promote the advances in the field of cognitive learning, memory and the fight against neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s.

The “3-Minute Thesis” contest challenges doctoral students to explain their research in English, and in three minutes, to a general audience. It supports the doctoral students’ findings and it encourages them to talk about the research they carry out and explain its importance to the community. The Doctoral School will soon open two calls to represent the UB in tow more contests: the “4-Minute Thesis” by the Catalan Foundation for Research and Innovation, and “Your Doctoral Thesis in a Twitter Thread: #HiloTesis” by CRUE Spanish Universities. The University of Barcelona is the only institution in Spain to take part in the three contests. All the information about the contests is available on the La UB Divulga site.