On 2 October 2026, Maud Fertig, PhD student at the NGERE laboratory, represented the lab at the Night of Science, held at the Agora in Metz.
For this second edition, researchers and science communicators met with the general public through a variety of activities, experiments and discussions designed to make science accessible to everyone.
🧠“Toxic Relationship”: when our environment influences the brain
Through her activity “Toxic Relationship – When the environment makes us anxious”, Maud invited visitors to discover her research in a fun and accessible way. Using a variety of interactive materials and games, she encouraged the public to explore a particularly sensitive period of our development: pregnancy.
How can the environment we are exposed to even before birth influence our future health? What effects can vitamin B9 deficiency, combined with exposure to certain environmental pollutants, have on development and behaviour? These questions provided an opportunity for Maud to engage directly with visitors of all ages and explain sometimes complex scientific mechanisms in an accessible way.
🎠When research meets improvisational theatre!
The evening continued on stage with a particularly original science communication exercise: the Improvisation Laboratory.
After presenting her research, Maud handed it over to the performers from the Crache-Texte theatre company, who were challenged to take inspiration from her work and transform it into… theatrical improvisation!
It was another way of talking about science, creating dialogue with the public and showing that research can also step outside the laboratory to be shared, told and reimagined.
Congratulations to Maud for her commitment and for representing NGERE during this wonderful evening dedicated to bringing science and society closer together! 🔬🌙
