The Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences (IVA) has released its list of ongoing Swedish research projects with the potential to create societal benefit, dubbed the "100 list". This year, nine projects from Lund University were included.
IVA's '100 list' was launched in conjunction with its 100th anniversary in 2019. The selection committee consists of over 60 qualified individuals from academia, business, and the public sector.
This year, the Academy highlights a variety of research projects from Swedish universities, under the theme 'Technology in the service of humanity - innovation through interdisciplinary science'. In total, 103 projects from 22 different universities and research institutes in Sweden were selected. Lund University had the third-highest number of projects after KTH Royal Institute of Technology and Chalmers University of Technology.
"This demonstrates our continued ability to conduct research with great potential for utilisation. We are incredibly proud of Lund's extensive research capacity and our ability to transform it into concrete societal benefits and commercial opportunities," says Niclas Nilsson, Director of Innovation at Lund University's innovation office.
The selected Lund University projects cover a wide range of challenges, from availability of semiconductors and improved stroke diagnostics to better forensic analysis in police work.
For example, Hanna Isaksson and her colleagues have developed a new method to calculate bone strength and fracture risk by combining 2D diagnostics with 3D reconstruction of hips. The goal of the project is to implement the technology clinically for early risk identification. Sweden currently has the world's highest frequency of osteoporosis-related hip fractures, costing more than 2 billion annually and leading to a tripled risk of mortality.
Another project is led by Sang Hyun Pyo, who has developed bio-based surfactants from birch bark which is used, for example, in cleaning products and cosmetics. Birch bark is a natural resource and by-product of the Swedish pulp and forest industry.
Emma Hammarlund leads a research team, which includes members from Chalmers and Johns Hopkins University, which has developed a prototype for early cancer diagnosis through hair strand analysis. The technique combines geological methods used to trace long-ago event in Earth's history with machine learning. Cancer cells' higher metabolism means that different elements are metabolised faster than in other cells. According to Emma Hammarlund's hypothesis, this will be visible as chemical imprints in the hair strands.
"A cancer detected early reduces mortality and suffering - and saves society a lot of money," says Emma Hammarlund.
All nine projects from Lund on IVA's list 2024
Nine innovative research projects at Lund University have received recognition for their groundbreaking nature and potential to create significant advancements in their respective fields. They span across several scientific disciplines. The IVA list is compiled through an open application process for researchers and research teams in technical and economic sciences in Sweden. The process aims to identify projects with great potential for societal benefit and innovation.
- Prediction of osteoporotic hip fracture risk using engineering concepts - Hanna Isaksson, Lorenzo Grassi, Sami Vänäänen
- AI-enhanced forensic speech analysis - Evidence-based speaker comparison in Swedish - Susanna Whitling, Greta Öhlund Wistbacka, Andreas Jakobsson
- The Wide Bandgap Semiconductors (WBG) Pilot Line - Vanya Darakchieva, Mikael Östling, Erik Lind, Niklas Rorsman, Peter Modh, Per-Erik Hellström, Nerijus Armakavicius, Gerda Rentschler
- From hair to health - Non-invasive test for early cancer detection - Emma Hammarlund (Lund University), Kazi Uddin (Lund University), Per Malmberg (Chalmers), Kenneth Pienta (Johns Hopkins University
- Packaging Design and Development for Supply Chain Efficiency - Developing plant-based edible coating to replace plastic packaging - Vahid Sohrabpour, Arash Fayyazi, Pirjo Wiena, Lars Nilsson, Federico Gomez, Annika Olsson
- Novel ultrasound-based method to improve risk assessment of strokes and heart attacks - Tobias Erlöv, Isabel Goncalves, Magnus Cinthio
- Betensid - Biobased surfactants from birch bark - Sang Hyun Pyo, Leif Nilsson, Yoonsun Pyo
- Revolutionizing rAAV Gene Therapy - Breakthrough Technologies in Boosting Titers, Optimizing Packaging, and Scaling Purification for Market Readiness - Alex Evilevitch
- Ossigel: Bioengineering human mini-bones as a personalized therapeutic-testing platform platform - Dimitra Zacharaki, Alejandro Garcia Garcia, Paul Bourgine
IVA's 100 list: current research with potential for utilisation - iva.se (in Swedish)
