University of Malta

Staff from the University of Malta’s TargetMI project hosted their partners Prof. Frits Rosendaal, Chair of the Department of Clinical Epidemiology, Dr Bart van Vlijmen from the Section of Thrombosis and Haemostasis of the Department of Internal Medicine, Prof. Astrid van Hylckama Vlieg from the Department of Clinical Epidemiology, and Ms Britte van der Vliet from Leiden University Medical Center (LUMC) in April 2024 for the first Consortium meeting. The teams met in person and presented updates on the work being carried out. This led to some interesting discussions, and meetings with UM Director of the Centre for Molecular Medicine and Biobanking (CMMB), Prof. Richard Muscat, as well as Ms Christina Camenzuli from the Project Support Office. TargetMI: A Multi-Omics Approach for Novel Drug Targets, Biomarkers and Risk Algorithms for Myocardial Infarction is a 5-year €4 million project funded by Horizon Europe’s European Innovation Council’s Pathfinder Programme. The project kicked off in October 2023 and is coordinated by Prof. Stephanie Bezzina Wettinger from the Department of Applied Biomedical Science, Faculty of Health Sciences and the CMMB, University of Malta (UM), and the team from LUMC is led by Prof. Frits Rosendaal. Members of the BioGeMT project, led by Dr Panagiotis Alexiou, also from the CMMB and the Faculty of Health Sciences (UM), are also assisting with the project. Cardiovascular disease is a major cause of death and morbidity worldwide, with highly complex causes that involve genetic, lifestyle, and environmental factors. The goal of TargetMI is to combat coronary heart disease by developing biomarkers & risk algorithms to identify people at risk and applying a data-driven high throughput multi-omic approach for the rapid discovery of novel drug targets. More information is available online. Project Happenings can be followed online.

Dr Huw Groucutt, lecturer in Mediterranean prehistory in the Department of Classics and Archaeology, has co-authored a paper published in the journal PloS ONE. The study reports the discovery of evidence for human occupations in a lavatube in northwest Saudi Arabia, extending back ten thousand years. Dr Groucutt led the research team in the field, and the findings were then studied by a large international team of researchers working closely with the Saudi Heritage Commission and the Saudi Geological Survey. Lava tubes form when flowing lava cools on the surface but keeps flowing underground. In the right geological conditions, the underground lava can then flow out and create a cave-like tunnel. Periodic collapses of the roof provide entrances into the passages. In this case, the researchers surveyed and excavated the Umm Jirsan lavatube, the longest lavatube in Arabia with over one kilometre of passages. Dr Groucutt has been studying the archaeology and past climate of Saudi Arabia for fifteen years, with previous work focussing on places like ancient lakes (see for example this article online). One of the problems of open-air sites is that the harsh climate means very little organic material remains. At Umm Jirsan lavatube, the researchers found evidence for both human occupations and huge accumulations of bones, animal and human, which had been dragged underground by hyenas. Indeed, just a few years ago explorers of the lavatube reported growling sounds and shining eyes! The lavatube offers excellent conditions for preserving the remains, including ancient DNA, and various further studies are ongoing. Humans used the lavatube for shelter, as they engaged in hunting, gathering, and pastoralism in the region. To contextualise their findings, Dr Groucutt and colleagues conducted surveys of the wider region and found ancient rock art engraved into cliffs showing animals such as cattle which were engraved in the Neolithic period. They also found obsidian on the sides of volcanoes, which were used by early humans to make their stone tools. The research has been attracting considerable media interest, such as in the New York Times , the Independent, and New Scientist. A video of Umm Jirsan made by our Saudi collaborators can be seen online.

Between 2015 and 2019, the Department of Public Policy (FEMA) produced 4 radio series on Campus 103.7, the radio station of L-Universitá ta’ Malta. These productions featured the influence of politics in literature, music, the visual arts and cinematography. Eventually, this media output morphed into peer-reviewed publications that were launched on Friday 12 April 2024 at the Sir Robert Samut Hall, Floriana. The twin books “The Different Faces of Politics in Literature and Music” and “The Different Faces of Politics in the Visual and Performative Arts”, edited by Prof. Mario Thomas Vassallo and Mr André P. DeBattista and published by Routledge. The books attempt to bring together different contributions from the fields of the visual arts, literature, cinematography, dance, and music to demonstrate the other side to politics which is often overlooked in the field of political science. The audience was addressed by the two co-editors; Prof. Mario Thomas Vassallo spoke about the nine-year process which led to these publication and Mr André P. DeBattista spoke about the different themes discussed in the book. These speeches were followed by Prof. Joe Friggieri's erudite exposition on politics and the arts. The evening ended with a panel discussion on "The beauty of transdisciplinarity in the study of politics and the arts". The panel was moderated by Dr Marie Louise Mangion and consisted of Prof. Emanuel Said, Prof. Mark Harwood, Dr Charles Xuereb, and Dr Myrna Azzopardi. The evening also included different musical interludes by vocalist Louise Varming Rothe and pianist Steve Buttigieg, students from the School of Performing Arts at the University of Malta, who presented "Songs from Strait Street".

Event: Children of the Wicker Man Date: Sunday 5 May 2024 Time: 18:30 Venue: University of Malta, Valletta Campus Theatre, Valletta   Following its world premiere screening in Porto Alegre at the “Fantaspoa” festival, the M.A. in Film Studies at the University of Malta is excited to announce the second-ever showing of Children of the Wicker Man, a documentary directed by Justin Hardy, Dominic Hardy (Université du Québec à Montréal), and Chris Nunn (University of Birmingham), and produced by Alison Palmer. The 1973 cult film The Wicker Man, hailed by Christopher Lee as the best film he ever starred in, not only endured a troubled production but also suffered as a box-office flop upon its initial release, tragically impacting the life of its director, Robin Hardy, and his family. Five decades after the making of The Wicker Man, Robin Hardy’s lost papers from the years 1970-1974 came into the possession of his son Justin, thanks to the kindness of a stranger. These papers shed new light on the various phases of the film’s production and provided Justin and his half-brother Dominic with a deeper understanding of their father, with whom they shared an emotionally intense yet strained relationship. What sets this documentary apart is Robin Hardy’s perspective, as conveyed through his sons. While previous sources have primarily focused on the viewpoint of The Wicker Man’s renowned scriptwriter, Anthony Shaffer, or other contributors who often portrayed Hardy unfavourably, Children of the Wicker Man offers a glimpse into the director’s own experiences during the film’s creation, a crucial aspect that had previously been overlooked. In 2016, Robin Hardy made his last public appearance in Malta, where he delivered a mesmerising masterclass and engaged in a lively Q&A session following the screening of the “final cut” of The Wicker Man. Both events were organised by the Faculty of Arts’ M.A. in Film Studies. For Hardy, this was not just a routine trip; it was a moment of acknowledgment. Despite knowing that his days were numbered, he was determined to visit Malta and present his masterpiece one final time. Therefore, his children Justin and Dominic, along with Chris Nunn, chose to film the documentary’s concluding segment in Malta, retracing the footsteps of their late father. Children of the Wicker Man will be screened on Sunday 5 May 2024 at the University of Malta’s Valletta Campus Theatre (St Paul’s Street, Valletta) at 18.30. A Q&A session with the directors and the producer will follow the screening. The general public is warmly invited to attend, and admission is free. The M.A. in Film Studies offered by the Faculty of Arts is an evening course supported by the Malta Film Commission. This part-time programme integrates theoretical teachings with hands-on experience, allowing students to collaborate on the entire filmmaking process, from scriptwriting to postproduction, by planning and shooting short films collectively. Further information may be obtained online.