September 26, 2024
Congratulations to the VIVA Award winners!
On Wednesday, September 25, 2024, the Douglas was pleased to present its second edition of the VIVA Awards.
The VIVA Awards Mental Health Science POP is a competition that allows Douglas students and postdocs to gain experience in communicating their research topic to a wider audience. Since May, a dozen Douglas students have been preparing to take part in one of three challenges, and have received training and feedback from various stakeholders.
The competition was organized in partnership with the FRQS-IRCM’s SciencePop initiative: the finalists in each of the 3 categories will represent the Douglas at the SciencePOP grand final to be held in Montreal on November 21 and 22, 2024.
The VIVA Award SciencePOP event
For more than two hours, the students performed one after the other, depending on the category in which they were competing:
- Outreach challenge – 5-minute presentation using accessible language and slides as support (6 participants),
- Media challenge – 2-minute presentation of a research project and its short- and long-term benefits (2 participants),
- Sustainable Health Challenge – 7 minutes TEDx-style presentation on how their work supports sustainable health (2 participants)
Choice of finalists
All ten presentations were excellent, both in terms of the quality of their content and the fluidity of their presentation. The students’ commitment and involvement were palpable, and we congratulate them all on a job well done!
However, the 6-member jury had to come to a decision to select four winners. The multidisciplinary juries were made up of community members, CIUSSS-ODIM representatives and Douglas Research Centre researchers. The public also had the opportunity to vote for their favorite presentation. A total of 5 presentations were rewarded.
Outreach challenge
1st place (participation in the Science POP final) :
Dominique (Nikki) Lumley (team of Naguib Mechawar)
Unraveling the Mysteries of Perineuronal Nets
2nd place :
Kayleigh Casmey (team of Gustavo Turecki)
Right-brained? Left-brained?
Media challenge
1st place (participation in the Science POP final) :
Jana Totzek (team of Martin Lepage)
Le I de la schizophrénie : Tirer parti de la technologie pour une approche personnalisée de la maladie mentale
Sustainable Health Challenge
1st place (participation in the Science POP final) :
Sujata Sinha (team of Bruno Debruille)
Tech-Hack Your Brain with SuperMind Club
People’s Choice Award
Danae Penichet (teams of Nicolas Cermakian et Patricia Silveira)
Infections during pregnancy: ailments that last a lifetime? 
Congratulations once again to everyone who took part, and good luck to the finalists in the next stage of the competition!