Research, inquisitiveness and a thirst for knowledge are things which our students carry inside them, in the way that they approach their studies and in their own characters. But when we link these qualities to Caring as a value, it results in totally supportive students who are moreover, confident about applying reseach in order to help others.
This was proven in May at the latest presentation about the advances made by the AVCS-BIOOR oncology research. The beneficiaries of this grant were able, collectively, to explain the importance of the BIOOR project, which for the last 15 years has supported oncology research. In this way, our students were able to appreciate that research is something which begins at our School and must then be continued and developed further.
Dr. Marta Puyol, the Biomedicine Director at the Spanish Association Against Cancer (AECC), reviewed the projects funded by AVCS-BIOOR and explained to our Year 10 students the importance of research. This is something which by Year 12, our students understand well, as part of their own efforts in scientific research when they themselves apply for the Duperier grant.
On her part Dr. Inmaculada Camacho, our first researcher from 2003 to 2005, and Dr. Luis Miguel Alonso, our researcher from 2014 to 2016, spoke in a very personal way about their own experiences, their research, and what their links with AVCS-BIOOR has meant for them.
Other researchers such as Dr. María Vila and Dr. Lucas Kraunel who could not be at the commemorative event in person, told of their experiences on video. Our Duperier Prize winning students for 2016 and 2017 were also able to take the stage and talk about the research opportunities offered to them at School as well as providing a brief overview of their own prize-winning thesis and the research fields they have been working on.
Students, parents, teachers and grant beneficiaries all paid tribute to this great project which has, since 2002, been such an important part of the School community, and which has, to date, raised more than €400,000 in research funds, in the fight against cancer.