Unibo Edition 2024
Lorenzo Margotti, 2024 Winner
Title of the pitch: "What We Can't See Can Save Our Lives". Exploring the unseen world of radiation, this research reveals how advancements in materials science are making medical treatments safer. It introduces perovskite-based dosimeters, which are efficient, low-cost, and designed for precise radiation detection. Tested in hadron-therapy facilities, these devices promise to enhance cancer therapy, nuclear safety, and more by monitoring radiation exposure in real-time.
Rebecca Rosetti, 1st Runner Up
Title of the pitch: "Multidimensional Resilience as an Indicator for Mobility Hubs Location". This study proposes a novel resilience-based approach to select locations for urban mobility hubs, addressing the needs of densely populated and underdeveloped areas alike. By prioritizing resilience, the research aims to foster sustainable, adaptable urban transport systems, encouraging policymakers to integrate resilient transport modes for enhanced community well-being and environmental impact.
Lorenzo Sforni, 2nd Runner Up
Title of the pitch: "Buy Our Products to Save Your Environment". Autonomous systems, from cars to robots, are reshaping industries, but true autonomy demands efficiency and safety. This research develops advanced algorithms that enable autonomous systems to optimize decisions based on real-world data, even in complex, multi-agent scenarios like robotic fleets. The findings support a future of more intelligent, efficient, and adaptable autonomous solutions.
Rafael Jamie William Salas Carretero
Title of the pitch: "How to Break Up with Illness-Centred Infrastructures?" Cancer centres often cater to the disease, not the patient. This project combines architecture, urban planning, and service design to optimise the treatment experience. By analysing how spatial elements affect patients’ outcomes, it identifies improvements for more comforting, effective environments, reshaping cancer care infrastructure towards patient well-being.
Fardeen Dodo
Title of the pitch: "When Does a Medicine Become a Poison? Unveiling the Faces of Entrepreneurship in Understudied Contexts". This research investigates how entrepreneurship development can have unintended consequences. In Nigeria’s formal mining sector, conflicting goals among policymakers have led to growth in both formal and illegal activities, raising ethical concerns. The study highlights that, without cohesive planning, entrepreneurship can have both positive and destructive effects on society.
Valentina Giunchi
Title of the pitch: "Unravelling the Toll of an Over-Medicalized Anthropocene: Are We Still in Time to Reach a Balance Between Human Health and Planetary Health?" Pharmaceuticals enhance health but pollute water ecosystems. This research leverages existing data to assess and prioritize water sampling for pharmaceuticals, aiming to mitigate their impact. By highlighting key pollutants like antibiotics and contraceptives, the study advocates for sustainable health practices that consider ecological well-being in tandem with human health.
Marina Lotti
Title of the pitch: "Revolutionizing Connectivity: Exploring Smart Radio Environments through Metasurfaces". This study reimagines wireless systems by integrating metasurfaces—smart, low-energy surfaces that enhance communication and enable localization without direct sight. The research lays the groundwork for efficient, green communication networks, with metasurfaces transforming connectivity into an intelligent, sustainable ecosystem suitable for today’s environmental demands.
Sara Milioni
Title of the pitch: "Targeting Mitochondrial Metabolism as a Strategy to Counteract Tumour Progression". Mitochondria fuel cancer cell growth and targeting them has shown promise. Focusing on respiratory complex I, this study reveals adaptive stress responses in cancer cells that hinder full eradication. By understanding these mechanisms, the research aims to develop treatments that disrupt these responses, potentially reducing cancer aggressiveness.
Amirdhavarshini Padmanabhan
Title of the pitch: "Say Goodbye to Painful Joints". Focused on healing damaged entheses, this project introduces a gradient material that mimics the natural transition from soft tendon to hard bone. Coated in hydroxyapatite, the scaffold fosters cell organization for effective self-repair, potentially revolutionising joint treatmen
Maria Giulia Prado
Title of the pitch: "Two Drugs for the Price of One: Combination Therapy for Alzheimer's Disease". Exploring possible combination therapies for Alzheimer’s, this research employs network analysis to identify drug pairs with minimal negative interactions, using drugs already on the market. This approach promises a more effective treatment strategy by leveraging known safety profiles and targeting key mechanisms in the disease’s progression.
