Great scientific breadth as Uppsala's pharmacy students presented degree projects
Antibiotic development, Immunotherapy against cancer and Antidepressants were some of the topics in focus as Uppsala University's pharmacy students presented their degree projects at the well-attended Project Symposium 2023. "We are extremely impressed by the students' presentations, which are all of a very high standard," states Jörgen Bengtsson, Chair of the Programme Committee, and Anja Sandström, Deputy Dean of First and second cycle education.
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Friday 12 January, the Faculty of Pharmacy invited to the Master of Science Programme in Pharmacy 's annual Project Symposium where the students present the results of their degree projects for families, friends and teachers. New for this year were the minute-long presentations where everyone got the opportunity to pitch their research before the accompanying poster session in front of a well-filled auditorium.
“I am extremely impressed by the students' presentations, all of which are of a very high standard and clearly visualize the great scientific breadth of their work. It is also inspiring to see so many visitors on site for the symposium, states Jörgen Bengtsson, University Lecturer and Chair of the Programme Committee.
Throughout the autumn semester, the students have conducted their projects at universities, authorities and companies within and outside Sweden's borders, but several have carried out their work at the Faculty of Pharmacy's research environments. Among them is Julia Lidar, who at the Department of Medicinal Chemistry has designed and synthesized siderophores and antibiotics conjugates aiming to penetrate the outer membrane of gram-negative bacteria.
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“We have succeeded in developing a functional conjugate that looks promising, but further biological data is needed before we can determine whether it is worth proceeding with. Looking back, it has been a very rewarding semester and I can definitely imagine a future career within an academic research environment, says Julia, who will next travel to Dalarna for an internship at Apoteket Falu hospital.
At Karolinska Institutet, Mielat Beyene has explored Delta 1 T cells as a potential basis for a development of a new treatment against cancer. Through the analysis of blood samples from healthy persons, Mielat has shown that this variant of T cells indeed has tumor-inhibiting effects and in the long term – via laboratory production and injection into cancer patients – may provide a future tool in immunotherapy against cancer.
“These are undoubtedly exciting results, but of course significantly more tests are required to fully determine their real value, says Mielat, who is looking forward to a spring semester at Apotek Hjärtat at Odenplan, but has also booked a two-week internship at a hospital pharmacy in Scotland.
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Interesting results were also delivered by Vanessa Hadoub, who in a register-based time series study has analyzed the use of antidepressants before and after the covid outbreak in March 2020. Her statistics show that during the first month of the pandemic, the use of antidepressants among first-time users over the age of 18 decreased by almost 25 percent – only to later increase again among women. Observations that Vanessa considers might be explained by the initially increased pressure on healthcare, accompanied by the increased stress many experienced during the pandemic, not least in the female-dominated care professions.
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“Walking around the poster hall, I am truly impressed by all the fantastic work and skillful presentations. I would also like to highlight the work that the Program committee, led by Jörgen Bengtsson and Lisa Fredriksson Carreras, have carried out around the symposium, giving every student the opportunity to step forward in front of family and friends. An effort that further solidifies the Student Symposium's position among the absolute highlights of the academic year, says Anja Sandström , Deputy Dean of First and second cycle education at the Faculty of Pharmacy.
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CONTACT
(Image removed) Jörgen Bengtsson, Chair of Committee
Master of Science Programme in Pharmacy
Jorgen.Bengtsson@farmaci.uu.se
(Image removed) Lisa Fredriksson Carreras, Coordinator, Committee
Master of Science Programme in Pharmacy
Lisa.Fredriksson@farmbio.uu.se
(Image removed) Anja Sandström, Deputy Dean
First and second cycle education
anja.sandstrom@ilk.uu.se
Text: Magnus Alsne, photo: Ida Renström m fl