20 students, PhD students, young researchers and innovators from all over Poland participated in the final of the Falling Walls Lab Warsaw competition, which took place on last Thursday at the Warsaw University of Technology. Early detection of water pollutants, the search for new methods for the initial diagnosis of diseases or the challenges resulting from climate change are the topics that dominated the competition for young scientists. 20 representatives of the academic world presented their ideas on how to repair the world around us. Everyone had only three minutes to play. The international jury awarded the first place ex aequo to two female scientists. Agnieszka Żuchowska from the Warsaw University of Technology interested the audience in a new model of early disease detection. Kiranmai Uppuluri, representing the Institute of Microelectronics and Photonics of the Łukasiewicz Research Network, presented an idea for a tool to control the level of pollution in water bodies.
It only takes three minutes to explain your idea to break down the existing wall – in the technology industry, the economy, society or in science – and join the network of over 1,000 extraordinary minds from around the world. (fallingwallslab.pl)
The winners of Falling Walls Lab Warsaw:
First place ex aequo: Agnieszka Żuchowska (Warsaw University of Technology) and Kiranmai Uppuluri (Łukasiewicz – Institute of Microelectronics and Photonics, Łukasiewicz)
Second place: Sada Raza (Institute of Physical Chemistry of the Polish Academy of Sciences / Institute of Physical Chemistry of the PAS, Polish Academy of Sciences)
Third place: Mikołaj Więckowski (Warsaw University of Technology)
Audience Award: Kiranmai Uppuluri
The work of Agnieszka Żuchowska concerns the improvement of preclinical research of candidates for new drugs. Defining the problem, she noted that there is currently a lack of appropriate methods for assessing substances that are developed in the preclinical stage of searching for new therapies and drugs. As a solution, Żuchowska proposes to develop a multi-Organ-on-Chip microplatform, i.e. – to put it simply – a combination of tissues and organs on a chip, as well as a drug candidate dosing system adapted to them. Such a system would allow the effectiveness of new drugs to be tested before they are approved for testing in animals and humans. This solution will increase the reliability of results obtained in preclinical studies.
“Pre-clinical research is a very important element in the development of new therapies. The idea presented by Agnieszka Żuchowska has enormous innovative potential and may increase the effectiveness of preclinical research, accelerating the process of developing new drugs” – explained the jury of the competition.
The second winner, Kiranmai Uppuluri, addressed the problem of water quality. As she noted, the water-related crisis is global, and the problem is the lack of up-to-date data and the high cost of laboratory equipment needed for monitoring. This, in turn, makes it difficult for authorities to make water protection decisions and worsens people’s access to safe water.
As a solution to the problem, Uppuluri proposed a tool to control the level of contamination in water bodies. It is a real-time, portable water testing system that transmits test data remotely. The system is cheaper, simpler and faster than the laboratory analysis currently used. It contains sensors made of commonly available, cheap and ecological materials. They were created as part of the wider AQUASENSE project, involving 14 teams from 9 European countries.
“The topic presented by the winner shows how to improve our security in such an important area as access to clean water. Technology helps to solve this problem, including solutions in the field of electronics, sensors or IT. the problem – and what is the importance of a quick response – we have also observed in Poland in recent weeks “(in connection with the ecological disaster on the Odra River – PAP) – the jury noted in the justification.
Kiranmai Uppuluri also won an audience award for her performance.
The second place went to Sada Raza from the Polish Academy of Sciences, the third – to Mikołaj Więckowski from the Warsaw University of Technology.
Over 60 candidates applied for this year’s edition of the competition. “We have carried out one of the most effective recruitments for Falling Walls Lab in the world – 60 competitions have been organized this year.
“The topic presented by the winner shows how to improve our security in such an important area as access to clean water. Technology helps to solve this problem, including solutions in the field of electronics, sensors or IT. the problem – and what is the importance of a quick response – we have also observed in Poland in recent weeks “(in connection with the ecological disaster on the Odra River – PAP) – the jury noted in the justification.
Kiranmai Uppuluri also won an audience award for her performance.
The second place went to Sada Raza from the Polish Academy of Sciences, the third – to Mikołaj Więckowski from the Warsaw University of Technology.
Over 60 candidates applied for this year’s edition of the competition. “We have carried out one of the most effective recruitments for Falling Walls Lab in the world – 60 competitions have been organized this year. We are among the TOP5 organizers in terms of recruitment” – the founder of the “pro science” company that organizes the competition, Natalia Osica said.