Photo credit: Edward Duca
A scientific breakthrough recently occurred here in Malta. The research team, led by Professor Alex Felice, identified the gene that causes foetal haemoglobin to switch to adult haemoglobin during the early stages of life. This discovery was a milestone on the road to developing a cure for Thalassaemia, a blood disease which affects the lives of many Maltese people and other populations around the Mediterranean.
This significant research has now been made into a documentary, the first in a series, Lab to Life, to be produced jointly between the University of Malta and the Public Broadcasting Services Ltd aimed at highlighting the world-class research projects currently undertaken in the various departments of the University. This series, the first of its kind in Malta, is the result of an agreement reached between Public Broadcasting Services Ltd and the University of Malta earlier this year, with which the organisations will be collaborating to showcase the research that is happening at the University, through the media platforms of the national broadcaster.
The first of the series, focusing on Thalassaemia, was launched on Thursday at the Aula Magna of the Valletta Campus. Cav. Dr Tonio Portugese, Chairman of PBS, speaking at the launch, explained that the public broadcaster is proud to be serving as a channel to bring this local excellence to the public. He explained that PBS Ltd, through its international links, intends to disseminate the documentaries amongst foreign broadcasting houses, something which will continue to give an international dimension to Maltese research projects.
Professor Richard Muscat, Pro-Rector for Research and Innovation illustrated through a brief presentation, that this series provides a taster of the myriad excellent research projects that are on going at the University of Malta. He spoke about the strong collaboration with top research institutions around Europe and elsewhere and how Maltese researchers regularly publish their work in top academic journals, something that needs to be continuously supported by the state and by the community. He also said that this collaboration was part of the University’s strategy to communicate its research, both scientific and humanistic, so that society in Malta and abroad can be more aware of the important work of its researchers. THINK magazine, he said, has proved to be a great success both in hard copy and on the internet and this collaboration is a needed extension of this strategy into the visual media.
Other areas of study planned for the series range from cancer research to marine archaeology, research in brain function, studies in diabetes, avionics, linguistics and super materials, just to name a few.