Search Results for The Science Olympiads

Grant category: Research Grants in open competition

Year: 2017

Geography: Canada

A number of chronic skin conditions have peeling of the skin as the dominant expression; akin to skin peeling following severe sunburns. In the chronic conditions, peeling is cyclical or continuous, often affecting hands, feet, or the body. Today, there is no effective treatment for these conditions, leaving patients subjected to trial and error with a variety of non-effective and often also expensive therapies.

A number of abnormal gene variants have been found to disrupt the normal maturation of the skin. Using a gene manipulation tool known as CRISPR, the team led by Dr Hull will build understanding of the role of four known genes causing skin peeling syndromes. This will be done by replicating the diseases in cell cultures grown into full thickness skin and studying the cellular and biochemical changes caused by the induced gene modifications.

Of particular interest is cathepsin B, an enzyme that has been found to play an important role in peeling associated with the skin disorder, keratolytic winter erythema.

The team’s hypothesis is that there is an important and dynamic interplay and balance between a number of enzymes in the outer layers of the skin and that if this balance favours the activity of cathepsin B, peeling results.

If this is shown, it may be clinically very relevant as there are a number of known compounds that inhibits cathepsin B and which then could be used to treat patients with chronic peeling as a consequence of their skin disorder.

Grant category: Education and Awareness Grants

Year: 2018

Geography: Denmark

Bloom – at the core:

Bloom is an innovative festival about science and nature, which enlighten us on the Universe, the World and Ourselves. Framed in the lush Søndermarken at Frederiksberg in the heart of the capital city of Denmark, where some of the World’s greatest scientists, poets and philosophers have found inspiration through history, Bloom emerges each Spring as a sensual, experimental and thought-provoking festival version of natural sciences.

Prepared and communicated by some of the brightest scientists, thinkers, and artists of our time from here and abroad. By uniting the best from the world of festivals with the best from the scientific world, Bloom arm wrestles with Life’s greatest questions and over two days invite the audience to debates, talks, laboratories, conversations and nature walks under open skies.

Grant category: LEO Foundation Awards

Year: 2009

Geography: Denmark

Presented to Danish dermatology researcher and dermatologist Dr. Christian Vestergaard, Department of Dermatology at Aarhus University Hospital in Denmark.

Dr. Vestergaard is a young talented scientist with an outstanding record of internationally recognised publications, and innovative ongoing research projects within the frontier fields of skin immunology and skin cancer. The award supports and acknowledges his work, and recognises his important role – linking basic science to the understanding of clinical questions.

Grant category: Education and Awareness Grants

Year: 2022

Geography: Denmark

Lex.dk is an association formed by the Danish Universities, Gyldendal A/S, G.E.C. Gad’s Foundation and the Danish Society for Language and Literature, which was originally established around the online version of ‘Den Store Danske’, Gyldendal’s well-renowned encyclopedia. The encyclopedia focuses on nature, culture, science, and society with a national point of departure and a global outlook.  

Lex.dk has become the go-to resource for dissemination of validated research information from many areas of expertise and is written by researchers and experts. The encyclopedia serves as an important source to the broader public, but rather importantly, also to pupils in elementary school and A-level students when compiling information for assignments and reports.  

Lex.dk is unique in that there is no other encyclopedia source in Danish that provides a broad perspective on health and health sciences through focused articles. This grant supports updating and significantly expanding content on health and health research through collaboration with the Norwegian counterpart. This means that newly revised and well-researched information on will become available to the general Danish public online. 

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Grant category: LEO Foundation Awards

Year: 2010

Geography: Denmark

Presented to young Danish dermatology researcher and MD Jacob Pontoppidan Thyssen for his important contributions to the field of skin disease and contact allergy science.

Dr. Thyssen’s research provides conclusive evidence that the Danish initiative to regulate nickel exposure, started in 1990, has succeeded in decreasing the prevalence of nickel allergy in Danish women. His findings, published in The New England Journal of Medicine last year, hold global relevance and may contribute to interventions in other nations, including the US.