It is a Rendez-vous!

19 finalists
9 institutions across the Quebec Province
3 science communication challenges
1 scientific improvisation show from the LNI
1 conference blending art and science
And much more…
 

The provincial grand finale will be held on April 17 and 18, 2026, at the IRCM in Montreal. 

Initiated by the IRCM, Science POP is a Quebec-wide scientific communication competition that aims to promote the dialogue between science and society.

Would you like to attend the event to discover the many talents behind the scenes in Quebec? Are you curious to know more about science is invited to come and hear young scientists from Quebec tell their science stories in an accessible language. The provincial grand finale of the Science POP competition is free and open to everyone, upon registration.

Would you like to get involved as a volunteer in the organization, write to us at sciencepop@ircm.qc.ca

All the information about the competition in general is available on SciencePOP.ca

To attend the grand finale virtually, through the ZOOM platform: https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_BX6SmxlwQDC5tT_PPwieEQ

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PROGRAM (PROVISIONAL)

The competition is bilingual. A simultaneous translation service will be offered.

The competition will be hosted by Chantal Srivastava, a journalist, presenter and consultant.

FRIDAY, APRIL 17 – OUTREACH AND MEDIA CHALLENGES

10:00 – 10:30 Arrival of participants

10:30 – 11:00 Welcome speech

11:00 – 12:00 OUTREACH – Session 1/3

• Coralie Deslauriers (PhD, Psychology - research and intervention), Un infarctus pas comme les autres (FR)
• Cristopher Requejo Cier (PhD, Immunology), L’ADN, ce livre que l’on peut éditer (FR)
• Ivana Okaro (MSc, Neuroscience), The Unfamiliar Effect of a Familiar Drug: Viagra's Healing Power (ANG)

11:25 – 12:00 MEDIA – Session 1/2

• Sarah Alkhaldi (Niveau étude), Résistance au cisplatine dans le cancer de l’ovaire (FR)
• Margaux Rivière (PhD, Neuroscience), AVC : comprendre pour agir, 2 min pour sauver des vies (FR)
• Solène Huck (PhD, Chemistry), La chimie pour prendre soin de notre cœur (FR)

12:00 – 13:35 Lunch & Activities

13:35 – 14:25 OUTREACH – Session 2/3

• Émile Grenier (MSc, Cell biology), Le cancer a-t-il le pouce vert ? (FR)
• Maria Zimmermann (PhD, Neuroscience), Bridging the Gap Between Nature and Nurture: The Epigenome (ANG)
• Lucas Cervantes-Herrera (MSc, Molecular Biology), From kitchen pest to Nobel prize: The fruit fly (ANG)

14:25 – 14:30 End of the first day

14:30 – 14:45 Coffee & Snacks

14:45 – 16:15 SPECIAL CONFERENCE

 

SATURDAY, APRIL 18 – SUSTAINABLE HEALTH, OUTREACH AND MEDIA CHALLENGES 

9:30 – 10:30 Arrival of participants

10:30 – 10:40 Opening remarks 

10:40 – 11:50 SUSTAINABLE HEALTH

• Mélissa Thomas (Postdoctoral fellow, Oncology), Soapbox Science Québec : la science rendue accessible au grand public (FR)
• Ayichatou Sall (MSc, Bioinformatics), ARN : innover ne suffit pas, il faut convaincre (FR)
• Léa Ferreira (PhD, Health Biochemistry and Neuroscience), Bien vieillir, ça se partage (FR)
• Natasha Hassija (PhD, Rehabilitation Science), Walk-BEST: Walk BEtter, Faster, Longer and STronger through technology-enabled training (ANG)

11:50 – 12:00 TESTIMONIAL

12:00 – 13:35 Lunch & Activities

13:35 – 14:25 OUTREACH – Session 3/3

• Williman Saxon (PhD, Molecular medicine), Bookmarks of Life: Understanding Epigenetics (ANG)
• Diego Loggia (PhD, Pharmacology & Therapeutics), Learning to fix a broken heart with stem cells?  (ANG)
• Océane Goncalves (PhD, domaine d’étude), Désarmer la forteresse : comment vaincre la résistance aux antibiotiques ? (FR)

14:25 – 14:45 Coffee & Snacks

14:45 – 15:20 MEDIA – Session 2/2

• Zoey Chapman (MSc, Mental health), The Dark Side of Uncertainty (ANG)
• Maisha Maliha Promi (PhD, Neuroscience), Can we treat neurodegenerative diseases by targeting the aging process? (ANG)
• Marie-Ève Bergeron (MSc, Health Sciences), Dans l’ombre du post-partum : douleur périnéale et allaitement (FR)

15:20 – 15:30 End of the second day

15:30 – 16:00 Break

16:00 – 16:30 Award ceremony

16:30 – 17:30 SCIENTIFIC IMPROV SHOW - In partnership with the Théâtre de la Ligue nationale d'improvisation (LNI) 

17:30 – 19:00 Cocktail and 5@7

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HOST

Chantal Srivastava
Journalist, presenter and consultant

A seasoned science communicator, Chantal Srivastava worked for over 35 years as a journalist at Radio-Canada. Throughout her career, she has reported on a broad range of topics including consumer affairs, the economy, national and international news, as well as science, health, the environment, and agriculture. For a quarter of a century, she was assigned to the science news and popularization program Les années lumière, aired on Ici Première. Her work has been recognized with national and international awards, both on radio and in print. She is currently a visiting science journalist at the Faculty of Arts and Sciences at the Université de Montréal and writes the Science column for L'actualité magazine.

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Science POP is a Quebec-wide scientific communication initiative, introduced by IRCM, and supported by the Fonds de recherche du Québec (FRQ) and the NovaScience program of the Ministère de l'Économie, de l'Innovation et de l'Énergie, with the support of the IRCM Foundation.