A new drug that minimises nerve damage was awarded the UI Science and Innovation Prize

The drug, which activates cooling mechanisms in human cells, won the 2023 Science and Innovation Competition at the University of Iceland. The prize was presented at a formal ceremony at the University of Iceland this morning. Prizes were also awarded to three other projects by UI students and staff on the development of more sustainable batteries, teaching material to boost the vocabulary and reading comprehension of children in Iceland, and dressings that monitor wound healing with smart technology.

The University of Iceland Science and Innovation Competition has been held annually for the past 25 years, under various different names, and has sparked many promising ideas and start-up companies in a very wide range of areas. 

This year, there were 40 entries from across all UI schools.  The selection committee looked in particular for novelty and originality, implementation, societal impact (e.g. in terms of the UN Sustainable Development Goals), and projects that were consistent with the University's strategy and supported its mission. Prizes were awarded for the best ideas in four categories: Health and wellbeing, Technology and progress, Society and the Motivational Prize. An overall winner was also selected from the winners in the above categories. 

The winner in the Health and wellbeing category, and the overall winner, was the project Harnessing the body's cooling response to treat and prevent nerve damage. The team behind the project received prize money of ISK 2.5 million. They are Hans Tómas Björnsson, professor at the Faculty of Medicine, and Salvör Rafnsdóttir and Kijin Jang, PhD students at the same Faculty.

ICU doctors frequently lower patients' core body temperature in order to minimise nerve damage after serious trauma (foetal hypoxia, cardiac arrest, drowning), but this treatment is very difficult to carry out and often comes with serious side effects. There are currently no drugs available to minimise nerve damage associated with foetal hypoxia or cardiac arrest, but this project aims to change that by developing a drug for seriously ill patients. Recent research indicates that activating the cooling mechanisms in cells provides the protective effects of cooling on the nervous system. The team behind this project have identified a drug that activates the body's cooling mechanisms and it is believed that this could be beneficial to patients. The drug could probably also be used for less seriously ill patients suffering from chronic pain, which is sometimes caused by nerve damage.

The winner of the Technology and progress category, awarded a prize of ISK 1.5 million, was the project Development of aluminium ion batteries. This project is by Rúnar Unnþórsson, professor and head of the Faculty of Industrial Engineering, Mechanical Engineering and Computer Science, and Nasim Saber, PhD student at the same Faculty. They have been working in close collaboration with the company Alor and multiple stakeholders, including Neyðarlínan, Landsnet and atNorth.

The project is about developing a more efficient and sustainable battery as an alternative to the traditional lead-acid battery. Lead-acid batteries have long been the most popular form of stationary battery, like the kind that are used in vehicles. There is growing demand for a better option. For example, lead-acid batteries have been exempt from EU restrictions on the use of lead since 2003 due to the lack of viable alternatives. This project aims to develop a more sustainable solution that can realistically replace the lead-acid battery.

The prize of ISK 1.5 million in the Society category went to the project Icelandic academic vocabulary and incremental increases in syntactic diversity: Systematic teaching methods in compulsory and upper secondary schools. This project is the work of Sigríður Ólafsdóttir and Auður Pálsdóttir, senior lecturers at the Faculty of Subject Teacher Education, and Hanna Óladóttir, lecturer at the same Faculty. The team are collaborating with academics at the Árni Magnússon Institute for Icelandic Studies, the UI School of Humanities, and experts at the Directorate of Education. 

The project aims to respond to declining levels of reading comprehension in Icelandic schoolchildren and the educational challenges faced by pupils who speak Icelandic as a second language. It is based on a new list of Icelandic academic vocabulary. Knowledge of this kind of vocabulary is essential if students are to understand and discuss the topics they are learning about. The project also involves producing quality texts with academic vocabulary and teaching guidelines for pupils in compulsory and upper secondary school learning Icelandic as a second language. The guidelines are based on incremental increases in syntactic diversity, reading comprehension, and discussion and writing skills; together, these form an essential foundation for academic progress. Part of the project is an Icelandic vocabulary, the first of its kind here in Iceland, which will create the opportunity to map the Icelandic vocabulary of compulsory school pupils.

The Motivational Prize, ISK 500,000, went to the project Wound healing sensors based on 3D double-network scaffolds. Behind the project are Angel Andres Castro Ruiz, postdoctoral researcher, and Sigríður Guðrún Suman, professor at the Faculty of Physical Sciences. They are collaborating with Dr Gissur Örlygsson at IceTec and Lorenzo Moroni, professor at Maastricht University in the Netherlands.

Chronic wounds are a common problem associated with age-related diseases, particularly in patients living with diabetes, pressure ulcers, obesity and vascular diseases. Daily monitoring is essential, particularly for patients who are hospitalised or have limited mobility. Currently, subjective variables are used to assess the condition of the wound. Treatment procedures are therefore often qualitative, which leads to variability and inconsistent results. This project is about developing dressings that monitor wound healing using something called chemotaxis. A smart phone app allows healthcare professionals to observe this in real time, making it possible to objectively assess wounds and healing. The dressing under development features two layers of scaffold made from polyester and poly(ester-b-carbonate) copolymers, with the basic units taken from biomass. The polymers are biocompatible and biodegradable. Using copolymers from biomass also has the benefit of transforming waste streams into biodegradable polymers, in this case for valuable medical application.

The competition for the University of Iceland Science and Innovation Prizes is run as a collaboration between the University of Iceland, Árnason|Faktor and the Technology Transfer Office Iceland.