29 April 2024
Sophie Amalie Krog Nyenstad, Zana Ibrahim, and Nikolai Paaske Sandberg are this year’s winners of the LEO Foundation’s Rising Star Prize – an award that honors young, curious talents who might be the research stars of tomorrow.
The LEO Foundation Rising Star Prize is an award to strengthen the pipeline of future researchers. The award was presented at the Young Scientists (Unge Forskere) competition in Denmark last week.
This year’s deserving winners, Sophie Amalie Krog Nyenstad, Zana Ibrahim, and Nikolai Paaske Sandberg, are all students from Horsens Gymnasium & HF.
The trio impressed the jury with their project, which presents potential solutions to the increasing global health challenge of microbial antibiotic resistance through both innovative and robust methods. Their work focuses on exploring natural substances as alternatives to conventional antibiotics, specifically testing their effectiveness in inhibiting or killing E. coli bacteria in a well-designed experimental setup.
Future stars
The young scientists scored highly on their curiosity and the ongoing development of their idea. The judges were particularly impressed by their ability to communicate about a complex project in a way that ensured both its relevance and engagement with the audience.
The judges are very confident that not only the project but also the three scientists themselves hold great potential for the future.
The LEO Foundation Rising Star Prize was presented by Anne-Marie Engel, Chief Scientific Officer at the LEO Foundation, at an award ceremony in Copenhagen on 23 April.
“The future of research looks bright, based on this year’s Young Scientists competition. The competition showcased a great amount of curious talent, addressing important questions with scientific rigor and huge engagement from the young participants.”
Anne-Marie Engel, Chief Scientific Officer, the LEO Foundation
Read more about Unge Forskere and all the winners of the competition here.