Develop and patent a drug for the specific treatment of Diamond-Blackfan Anaemia

Johan Flygare

Diamond-Blackfan anaemia (DBA) is an inherited chronic disease in which patients suffer from severe anaemia. There is at present no treatment that specifically corrects the cause of the anaemia. Instead, patients are treated from infancy with blood transfusions or corticosteroids, which over time, leads to serious side effects and premature death. The goal of the project is therefore to develop a specific drug that corrects the underlying problem for this group of patients.

Endodrill II

Charles Walther

The aim is to develop a new instrument and a method for taking samples of all types of cancer suspected abnormalities detected by endoscope (a flexible tube with camera equipment). The most commonly studied systems and survey areas are the stomach, the intestines and the respiratory system. An instrument that can take samples of all kinds of changes, both superficial and deep, would greatly benefit both the individual patient and the healthcare system.

Automated ECG Analysis Software for Screening and Decision Support

Martin Stridh, Cardiolund Research AB

Cardiolund Research is a small software company based in Lund. We develop specialised algorithms for analysing the electrical activity in the heart, ECG signals. Our software reduces the physical strain associated with screening for the critical heart condition “atrial fibrillation” by almost 90%, making broad screening initiatives feasible. This reduces the number of strokes, resulting in massive benefits to public health, and the impact on the lives of many individuals.

Analysis of mycobacterial strains with whole genome sequencing

Gabriela Godaly

Tuberculosis (TB) is a disease that obligates the tracing of the contagion which is transmittable among both children and adults. Quick detection of the disease, including forms which are resistant to one or more major antibiotics, is essential for the proper management and efficient tracing of the contagion. The primary objective is to compare the “whole genome sequencing” (WGS) with results from traditional genotypic analysis in order to study whether WGS provides new information about the evolution of M. tuberculosis during an outbreak of the disease, and to show whether WGS can be used in future gene-based molecular epidemiological studies.

The acoustic fingerprints of a cell

Per Augustsson

Numerous tests are conducted in hospitals based on cell analysis. It may be counting blood cells to assess a patient’s general condition, or examining blood samples from cancer patients to monitor the presence of tumour cells, which indicates that a tumour has metastasized. I want to develop and apply a new ultrasound based method that allows antibody and size independent sorting of cells. By mapping a cell’s acoustic properties, I can find out under what conditions the iso-acoustophoresis is sufficient cell-specific for identifying and sorting cells of different types. If so, the separations will be performed with high purity, high velocity and minimal impact on the cells.

New sampling instrument for prostate biopsies

Andreas Forsvall

Prostate cancer is a very common form of cancer in the western world, where prevalence in Sweden is among the highest in the world. In order to make a diagnosis biopsies of the prostate are required. The main objective of the project is to reduce the number of infections associated with prostate biopsies. A secondary effect resulting from safe biopsies can be a more liberal attitude to biopsying and the earlier detection of prostate cancer. The technique should also reduce bleeding after biopsying.

Evaluation of thin membranes as a model of the blood-brain barrier

Maria Tenje

This project aims to develop a revolutionary in vitro model of the blood-brain barrier to allow studies of active transport mechanisms in the brain, without having to resort to animal testing to the same extent as today. In this project the aim is to evaluate the hypothesis of the importance of using very thin cell culture membranes in these systems.