"You are outside but in"

With his novel and patented method to fabricate a membrane electrode assembly, Robin Dürr, a PhD student in physical chemistry, hopes to accelerate the use of electrochemical cells and hence the transition to renewable energy sources. UU Innovation has asked him a few questions about his invention and the plan for getting it out into practical use.

Adib Ahrari and Ali Jumaa have started the company Datana together with five fellow students from Uppsala University and KTH Royal Institute of Technology. They aim to reduce thefts from shops using smart technology that helps store staff to work preventively.

Are there more effective ways to detect diseases in biological samples than the standard ones today? A new method developed at Uppsala University seems promising. Daniel Globisch, an associate professor and former SciLifeLab fellow at Uppsala University, believes his method will be a tool for future clinical use.

Treating severe infections with a combination of antibiotics has long been standard practice in Swedish medicine. Despite this, at present there is no clinical test to prove how well it actually works. Researcher Nikos Fatsis-Kavalopoulos wants to change that.

Radiopharmaceuticals that fight cancer are on the rise and Marika Nestor is doing everything she can to contribute to their development. An antibody from her lab offers hope for a future treatment for those affected by anaplastic thyroid cancer, a currently incurable form of cancer.

Historical recipes and cookbooks abound to teach us about past foods and dietary. Less is known about the people who actually wrote them. A historical documentation project based in Uppsala University is trying to change that.

Hello there Susanne and Ingrid, business advisors at Uppsala University, who work in the field of utilisation and play a supportive role with both students and researchers.

UU Innovation recognises research-based innovation projects that have engaged funders, investors and customers for further development and exploitation. Six new projects have been honoured with the Attractive Innovation Project award.

The Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences (IVA) has announced its 100 List 2022. The theme for the list is technology in the service of humankind and the chosen projects are all deemed to be ready for utilisation in the immediate future. Eight of the 70 projects on the list are being conducted at Uppsala University.

Anders Ajaxon Persson, a researcher in space technology at Uppsala University and co-founder of the company Fourth State Systems, is one of the ten innovative entrepreneurs in Sweden to be awarded the ÅForsk Entrepreneurial Grant for 2022. He is being recognised for his drive to equip the healthcare sector with a new solution for monitoring the health of premature babies.

The UU Innovation’s mentor programme offers extra support for those looking to develop an idea towards innovation. The application deadline for the autumn semester is 30 April. One of the researchers currently in the programme is Daniel Camsund, who has a technical idea that could speed up the development of biologic drugs.

Research, innovation and communication are close to her heart. Frida Henningson Johnson has now switched back to academia after several years in the business world, joining the UU Innovation team as a new business advisor on 1 April 2022.

Se inspelningen från UU Innovations digitala seminarium 8 mars 2022 om inkluderande innovation, som nu finns tillgänglig med undertexter på både svenska och engelska.

Hello there Liza Löf, researcher at the Department of Immunology, Genetics and Pathology. You are one of the researchers participating in the UU Innovation mentor programme, which is once again open for applications. What do you consider the best thing about the programme?

Hello there… Jens Carlsson, Senior Lecturer at the Department of Cell and Molecular Biology and one of the researchers behind a promising new molecule for a drug to combat coronavirus.

The “Hjärnäpplet” Innovation Prize was first developed to reward materials researchers with sustainable business ideas. Now it rewards all kinds of innovation at Uppsala University, and does so with plenty of built-in symbolism. Former researcher Richard Karmhag is responsible for the design.

Applications are now being accepted for the UU Innovation Mentor Programme for doctoral students and researchers interested in getting an extra boost in their utilisation projects. Apply by 30 April for the opportunity to be awarded a place in the programme for the autumn semester 2022.

Three questions to Arindam De Tarafder, PhD student in the Department of Cell and Molecular Biology who took UU Innovation’s postgraduate course on intellectual property in research in the fall of 2021. A new round of the course is currently ongoing.

Hello there... Håkan Engqvist, Professor of Materials Science at Uppsala University and co-founder of Psilox, the company bringing new biomaterials to the dental market. Psilox has now launched its first product under the brand name Caposal.

During the corona pandemic, most people who had a choice steered away from travelling by bus. We have been urged to avoid and not contribute to congestion on board. New technology for air purification in buses offers hope for safe public transport even in times of pandemic.

The course on intellectual property in research is now open for registration. Learn about useful strategies and practices in this course that is aimed for doctoral students and researchers and provided by UU Innovation in collaboration with the Swedish Patent and Registration Office, PRV.   

The UU Innovation mentor program of spring 2022 is now up and running. At the kick off on 24 January, all participating researchers met their mentors on Zoom, marking the beginning of a six-month collaboration. 

Increase the publicity around your research, your contacts with the business community and the innovation readiness of your research results. Apply to IVA's 100 list 2022.

ÅForsk’s Entrepreneurial Scholarship is for entrepreneurs who are connected to a university environment, either as a student, a doctoral student, a researcher or as teacher. Sweden's 10 most innovative entrepreneurs will be awarded SEK 200,000 each. The application period is open.

Impact Planning Canvas is a tool for identifying the possible impact and planning for how you can achieve it in the best way. In January and February, UU Innovation will host a workshop where you will have the opportunity to learn about the tool, and also apply it to your own project.

Fast, sensitive, and reliable technology for detecting rare mutations. This is the invention behind Rarity Bioscience, a spin-out company from Uppsala University.

Hello there Ana Belen Iglesias Gonzalez, PhD student at the Department of Neuroscience, who recently filed a patent application for a new type of box for handling test tubes.

No more piles of papers for rounds and decisions in healthcare. That is the goal of RoundBit, a company founded by two doctors who see the need to develop healthcare from within.

Hello there… Mamduh Halawa, a student in the Psychology Programme at Uppsala University, who developed the Zeeds app and is now being honoured with the “SKAPA-talang” innovation award for young innovators in the national finals. 

As of 1 November, Ingrid Ajaxon is the new business advisor at UU Innovation. She joins the team from Uppsala-based Disruptive Materials, which brought the groundbreaking material Upsalite to market.

This year’s new initiative at UU Innovation has paid off. The number of ideas submitted by researchers and doctoral students this year reached the same level as 2020 as a whole – after just the first nine months. The previous year’s skewed influx of ideas has been straightened out, and a larger number of women are among the idea owners seeking support to test the potential of their ideas.

Each year, nearly 8,000 Swedes die of sepsis, commonly known as blood poisoning. Inger Persson and her team have developed the NAVOY Sepsis algorithm to aid healthcare professionals by enabling the early detection and treatment of sepsis, a disease that is difficult to diagnose and often progresses very quickly. The goal: to save more lives.

Eradicating cervical cancer is the driving force behind the self-sampling and testing concept developed by a research group at the Department of Immunology, Genetics and Pathology. After extensive studies, the HPVir concept is ready to be used on a larger scale.

The UU Innovation Mentor Program matches researchers (including doctoral students) with experienced people working outside of academia. They contribute their knowledge and contacts to ensure that research results find an actual use in society. Applications for a place in the program for spring semester 2022 are now being accepted.

Which of your research results have the potential to solve a problem in a new way? Take UU Innovation’s self-test to see whether what you are developing in your research has the potential to create value for others as well.

Learn how to identify, protect and make use of your intellectual assets. Sign up for the postgraduate course Intellectual property in research: strategies and practices, which starts in September. The course is provided by UU Innovation in collaboration with the Swedish Patent and Registration Office.

Nominate your candidate between 22 March and 25 April 2021. All Uppsala university employees may nominate and contribute to the process of appointing this year's winner of the Uppsala University Innovation Prize - Hjärnäpplet.

The Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences, IVA, calls for research in engineering and economic sciences focused on sustainable preparedness for future crises to go on its 100 List 2021. The last day to apply is 21 March.

On 8 March, Uppsala University Innovation in collaboration with Junior Faculty and the Society for Women Researchers in Uppsala invite you to an online event focussing on women's opportunities to fully engage in solving future challenges.

Five new projects have received funding within the framework of Uppsala University's Verification for collaboration program, VFS. The projects concern for example virtual learning and museums and the implementation of the Philani Mentor Mother Model in socially deprived communities.

UU Innovation invites doctoral students, postdocs and researchers to sign up for a new round of the course on intellectual property and commercialisation (3 ECTS). The course runs in March and is now open for registration.

Den 1 januari 2021 gjordes en uppdelning av UU Innovations verksamhet och två nya enheter bildades med placering under rektor: UU Innovation respektive UU Samverkan. Syftet är att stärka universitetets gemensamma innovations- och samverkansarbete i enlighet med UU Mål och strategier.

"We are all one humanity, so how do we use technology to communicate that?" asks Anna Foka in this short talk. The question clearly captures her focus and drive as a researcher.

As a professor of social medicine, she has the entire population as her patient. Anna Sarkadi's research concerns societal interventions to prevent child and parent mental health problems and promote wellbeing. She sees her research group as a resource that can have an influence on the national arena and she firmly claims that it is simply not enough to publish scientifically, not if you, like her, work with applied research. As a researcher, she thinks it is important to work to ensure that the knowledge that is produced is also implemented. Even so, she knows from her own experience, which includes parental support in preschool environments and methods in child health care, that implementing research is not easy.

“Implementing evidence-based practice is a huge challenge for our welfare society,” says Anna in this interview.

Which people are interested in using peaceful methods and which are prone to resorting to violence to accomplish something? And how can we measure risk indicators for extreme behaviors? These are questions of great interest to Nazar Akrami, associate professor of psychology, in his research on prejudice and attitudes linked to personality. Together with research colleagues at his own department and the Swedish Defense Research Agency, FOI, he has developed a tool that, with the help of algorithms, will help find potential perpetrators of violence, as well as terrorists. The tool can automatically and quickly analyze large amounts of text online based on a range of psychological variables and focuses on assessing the risks of violent and terrorist acts. The tool has aroused great interest among analysts at police authorities around the world and is now being tested by the FBI.

“The interest is there and it comes from different places so there is probably a need, we absolutely believe so,” says Nazar Akrami in this interview.

The tool has been named Dechefr, which is a clear flirtation with the word "decipher" and is now being developed commercially within a company that the researchers started for that purpose.

Louise von Essen is a professor of caring science and program director for U-CARE - a strategic research initiative for psychological care via the Internet. At U-CARE, Louise and her research team are developing innovative treatment programs to improve the mental health of people suffering from diseases such as cancer, dementia and heart problems, for both patients and their loved ones. Involving those affected by the research is a natural course of action for Louise and her colleagues and something she thinks more people could be better at. The knowledge that researchers at U-CARE have now built up over 10 years also includes how to design studies to be able to conduct valuable and relevant research. Presently, her thoughts are occupied with how the knowledge of conducting relevant clinical research can be packaged and disseminated to others.

She has experience from working as a researcher within academia and the pharmaceutical industry, and she has built a company from the ground up. Now she is looking forward to helping other researchers make use of their results outside academia. Uppsala University Innovation welcomes Susanne Bredenberg as a new business advisor.

Scaleout Systems är ett uppstartsbolag med fokus på att hjälpa organisationer att ta avancerad maskininlärning till produktion. Företaget, en avknoppning från Uppsala universitet, är på frammarsch och har nyligen blivit både partner till den nationella satsningen AI Sweden och tagit sig in på listan över framstående startups inom AI och datavetenskap.

His projects always start in some practical problem that arouses his interest. And they always end up with him wanting to see how the solution actually works. The step to application comes naturally to Alexander Medvedev, Professor of Control Engineering at the Department of Information Technology, Uppsala University. Rarely does he need to look for problems to study and solve, they are always there. One that affects us all right now is Covid-19 and he is part of the Crush Covid project which is a collaboration between Uppsala University and the Uppsala Region.

“If you want to overcome an epidemic, you have to use automatic control,” says Alexander in this interview.

Medical challenges are particularly interesting to Alexander and one of his goals is to be able to contribute to a solution that has a major impact.

Åsa Cajander embraces the great breadth of her field of research with great enthusiasm. She is a professor of Human Computer Interaction at the Department of Information Technology, Uppsala University, and has explored the area in many different settings, not least within healthcare. Collaboration runs as a common thread through both her research and teaching. It becomes a means of creating new ideas and driving improvements that can make a real difference for both organisations and individuals.

“I’m into trying to rescue the world. That’s my mission,” Åsa says in this interview.