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The 2nd Thesis Dissemination Conference, organised by the Doctoral School of the University of Valencia (UV), took place on Friday 26 September at the headquarters of the ADEIT University-Business Foundation of the academic institution. María del Mar Luna Manteca, a doctoral student in Biodiversity and Evolutionary Biology, was the winner and will participate in the final of the thesis dissemination competition for early-stage predoctoral researchers from all FORTHEM partner universities.
“A thesis represents years of research and effort, and there is always a team behind it. Every doctoral student makes an original contribution through their thesis, engaging with current scientific and cultural debates and generating research that must be shared with, known by and valued by society”, emphasised Mavi Mestre, rector of the University of Valencia, during the opening.
María del Mar Luna’s thesis is supervised by Juan Monrós, professor in the Department of Microbiology and Ecology at the UV, and by Morena Mills, from the Centre for Environmental Policy at Imperial College London. The title of her presentation was “Recognising what already exists: the silent struggle of local communities to conserve our biodiversity”. In addition to representing the UV, this work received a cash prize of €300.
“To represent the UV in the Forthem Grand Prix in Dijon is a great honour and a unique opportunity to share my research. This experience is a boost to my academic and professional career, allows me to give visibility to my work, learn from other international researchers and benefit from the training provided by the university for this event”, highlighted María del Mar Luna Manteca.
The researcher is strongly committed to science communication through environmental education, “which allows me to go one step further in learning about communication and how to convey important messages. In this case, I am particularly excited because it also gives visibility to local communities that manage land communally and need to be recognised and valued as they deserve”.
The 2nd Thesis Dissemination Conference also awarded prizes to Eva María Navarro Ortega for her thesis “The retina, a radar alerting us to health”, in the field of Optometry and Vision Sciences; and to Lola Giner Pérez for her thesis “From gut to brain: how microbiota modulation reverses cognitive decline”, in the field of Biomedicine and Biotechnology. Their theses won second and third prize in the competition, receiving awards of €250 and €200, respectively.
The FORTHEM Researchers Grand Prix 2025 will take place on 6 November at the Université Bourgogne Europe in Dijon (France). The University of Valencia, through the Office of the Vice-Rector for Internationalisation and Cooperation, will provide training to the selected researcher – who must defend her thesis in four minutes and in English – and will cover her travel expenses to Dijon for the final.
The jury on 26 September was made up of María Amparo Tórtola Baixauli, director of the Doctoral School of the University of Valencia (Department of Theoretical Physics); Rafael Castelló Cogollos (Department of Sociology and Social Anthropology); Gianni Gallello (Department of Prehistory, Archaeology and Ancient History); Carlos Romá Mateo (Department of Physiology); and Julia Suso López (Department of Financial Economics and Accounting).
The order of presentations on 26 September at ADEIT was as follows: Gabriela Musterova (Psychogerontology), Eva María Navarro Ortega (Optometry and Vision Sciences), Paola Palomino Flores (Communication and Interculturality), Reiner Fuentes (Psychology Research), Geraldine Sánchez Duéñez (Sustainable Chemistry), José Luis Sanz Aleixandre (Medicine) and María Serra Soriano (Finance and Qualitative Economics). Also presenting were Encarnación María Torres Ferrer (Communication and Interculturality), Ana Florencia Alanis (Food Science), Eva Buades Martínez (Gender Studies and Equality Policies), Laura Garrido Rey (Electronic Engineering), Lola Giner Pérez (Biomedicine and Biotechnology), María del Mar Luna Manteca (Biodiversity and Evolutionary Biology) and Iona-Felicia Marín (Social Sciences).
The day opened with introductions from 9:30 to 10:00; between 10:00 and 11:00, half of the theses were presented; from 11:00 to 11:30 there was a break; from 11:30 to 12:30 the second block of theses were presented; and from 12:30 to 13:30, while the jury deliberated, Anabel Forte, researcher in the Department of Statistics and Operational Research (UV), delivered the lecture “Dissemination as a means of survival” in which she analysed the role of science communication as a barrier against misinformation, as well as a key communication tool in today’s world. At 13:30 the three winners were announced, who received prizes of €300, €250 and €200.
The 2nd Thesis Dissemination Conference is supported by the Spanish Foundation for Science and Technology (FECyT) of the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities, the Forthem Alliance and the Science Culture Unit of the University of Valencia.
More information on the Workshop (bases), clicking here.
