CMP3VdA organizes an afternoon of educational games in collaboration with PLUS and the Aosta Iacta Est Association
To mark the anniversary of the DNA structure discovery, the Center for Preventive, Predictive and Personalized Medicine (CMP3VdA) celebrates Genomics Day for the fourth consecutive year with a free educational gaming event open to the public, particularly aimed at high school students. The program features five board games covering genome study methods, a forensic genomics case, viral pandemic management, and protein production mechanisms in cells. The center organized the initiative in collaboration with PLUS, a project of the municipality of Aosta, and the Aosta Iacta Est association, with participation from the Department of Life Sciences and Systems Biology at the University of Turin. Genomics Day 2025 takes place Thursday, June 19 from 2:30 PM at PLUS, via Garibaldi 7, Aosta. Entry is free but requires registration on the 5000genomi@VdA project website – https://5000genomivda.it/it/eventi/genomics-day-25
Genomics Day celebrates two historic milestones that revolutionized medicine and biology. On April 25, 1953, researchers published the article describing DNA’s structure for the first time, result of work by Rosalind Franklin, James Watson, Francis Crick, Maurice Wilkins and Raymond Gosling. On April 14, 2003, scientists announced the completion of the Human Genome Project (HGP), a public project resulting from a 13-year international collaboration.
The CMP3VdA initiative in Aosta uses educational games to bring the public closer to genomic research and biotechnology, combining board games with scientific information. Following the gamification approach, which uses elements from games in non-gaming contexts, in science communication, CMP3VdA engages participants by making them active players in the research experience.
Gaming activities begin at 3 PM, following brief remarks from Stefano Gustincich, Director of CMP3VdA and IIT’s Central RNA Lab, and Fabiola Megna, President of PLUS.
The five games will run in PLUS’s EXPO space, with 4 gaming rounds of half an hour each at 5 different tables, hosting 4 to 6 participants per game.
In “Scova la variante,” players investigate the effects of mutations on genes that can influence disease onset. In “Nei panni dell’algoritmo”, players replicate in simplified form the computational calculation that organizes big data from genomic sequencing into useful information. In “Il delitto al Bar La Pausetta,” players become detectives at a crime scene and identify the culprit using fingerprints and genetic data. In “Ribosome Game,” designed by Professor Francesca Valetti of the University of Turin, participants use cards to familiarize with the genetic code and protein synthesis process. Finally with Pandemic, provided by the Aosta Iacta Est association, players take on roles as experts managing a viral pandemic.
Event access is free. Participants must reserve each table and game session through the registration form available on the CMP3VdA website: https://5000genomivda.it/it/eventi/genomics-day-25
CMP3VdA emerged from the 5000genomi@VdA project, which resulted from work by a research consortium that IIT-Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia leads, composed of the University of Valle d’Aosta, Città della Salute e della Scienza in Turin, the Clément Fillietroz-ONLUS Foundation Astronomical Observatory of the Autonomous Region of Valle d’Aosta, and Engineering D.HUB. The Autonomous Region of Valle d’Aosta supports the project with European Union structural funds (ERDF and ESF) and regional funds for a total of 12.2 million euros over 5 years, plus 9.7 million euros in co-financing from the consortium. CMP3VdA integrates with the regional health system and works with local hospitals to develop tools for early diagnosis and personalized therapies. During 2025, it will become a Center of the Italian Institute of Technology and will continue research activities, confirming Valle d’Aosta among Europe’s leading regions in precision medicine.
