News

6

December

2017

Winning project of the DCA 2017 focuses on new perspectives for cancer treatment

On 4-5 December 2017, the finale of the international scientific contest Dream Chemistry Award was held in Prague, organized by the leading chemistry institutes of the Czech and Polish Academy of Sciences.

The winner of the competition is Dr. Jessica R. Kramer from the University of Utah (USA), with a research project investigating the protective saccharide coat of cell membranes (glycocalyx) as a tool to design new cancer therapeutics.

The Dream Chemistry Award recognizes visionary projects in the field of chemistry and related disciplines that have the ambition and potential to make the world a better place. The competition is open to young scientists under 37 years of age, who have been nominated by respected senior researchers. The competition was established in 2013 by the Institute of Physical Chemistry of the Polish Academy of Sciences in Warsaw (IPC PAS) and runs every other year. In 2017, the Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the Czech Academy of Sciences (IOCB Prague) stepped in the organization of the contest.

This year's competition has seen the record number of nominations of promising scientific talents from around the world. Five young researchers were invited to present the most remarkable projects to the international scientific committee during the finale of the competition in Prague.

We received 35 applications from best universities worldwide. It was very hard to pick the winner and in my view all five finalists are the winners of this year's contest,” says Prof. Pavel Jungwirth (IOCB Prague). “We heard fantastic lectures covering subjects ranging from targeting the surface of tissue cancer cells, engineering the microbiome in the gut as a tool for metabolism applications, developing microelectronics based on metal organic frameworks, or optimizing electron transfer reactions, to ending mercury pollution in gold mining.

The laureate of the Dream Chemistry Award 2017 became Dr. Jessica R. Kramer from the University of Utah, USA, nominated by Prof. Hamid Ghandehari. She presented a project "Glycocalyx engineering to probe the role of mucins in cancer". It focuses on the idea of establishing new methods and tools for the research of a protective sugar (oligosaccharide) coat of the cells, the so-called glycocalyx. Glycocalyx is found on the surface of almost all cells, but its function is not well understood. Changes in its structure correlate with tumor growth in tissues. The ultimate aim of the project is to design specific cancer therapeutics based on an artificially synthesized glycocalyx. Apart from the recognition by the scientific committee and The Dream Chemistry Award statuette, the laureate receives also a financial reward of 10,000 EUR.

The laureate of the Dream Chemistry Award 2017 became Dr. Jessica R. Kramer of the University of Utah, USA.

We want to give young scientists who are at the beginning of their independent career an opportunity to share their boldest ideas and dreams of solving important scientific puzzles or problems of the present world,” says Prof. Robert Holyst (IPC PAS). “I am very happy, that every year we get more and more top applications that deserve international attention. And Dr. Kramer’s project on glycocalyx engineering is the best example of such dreams that can lead to important discoveries and innovations changing entire fields of study and ultimately our lives as well.

The other finalists were Dr. Rob Ameloot (KU Leuven, Belgium) with a project "Self-Assembling a Smarter World: The Hole Story", Dr. Nathan Crook (Washington University in St. Louis, USA) with a project "Expanding Human Metabolism by Engineering Our Commensal Microbes", Dr. Justin M. Chalker (Flinders University, Australia) with a project "Ending Mercury Pollution from Artisanal Gold Mining", and Dr. Yogesh Surendranath (MIT, USA) with a project "A Molecular Theory of Interfacial Inner-Sphere Electron Transfer".

Finalists of the DCA 2018. From the left: Dr. Yogesh Surendranath, Dr. Justin M. Chalker, Dr. Nathan Crook, Dr. Rob Ameloot, Jessica R. Kramer

See full photo gallery.

Archive

5

December

2023

Prague

This year's winner of the Dream Chemistry Award competition is organic chemist Mark Levin with his vision for revolutionizing the synthesis of functional molecules

The Dream Chemistry Award, a unique competition that does not count scientific articles in prestigious journals or affiliations with renowned universities, knows its winner for this year. Its contestants are young scientists within seven years of having received their doctorate. To be true to its name, it rewards ideas so novel that their realization is akin to fulfilling a bold human dream. The 2023 award has been given to Mark Levin from the University of Chicago, whose aim is to simplify the design of pharmaceutically active substances.

Continue

10

October

2023

Prague

Finalists of the Dream Chemistry Award 2023 selected

The DCA Scientific Committee selected top projects from this year’s submissions. Five finalists are invited to present their projects in person during the contest’s final, which will be held at IOCB Prague on 4–5 December 2023.

Continue

23

March

2023

Prague

Call for Dream Chemistry Award 2023 nominations

We accept nominations for the Dream Chemistry Award 2023. Nominators must hold a PhD and have at least ten years of experience since the publication of their first scientific paper. The nominations are open until June 30.

Continue

6

December

2022

Warsaw

From capturing energy to capturing the Dream Chemistry Award 2022

Today is a big day for science. Young minds were awarded in the contest like no other. The scientists, visionaries, and dreamers, not hesitating to ask "What if?" achieved the prizes in the Dream Chemistry Award competition in Warsaw, Poland. This award is not about scientific achievements but about vision. This unique international contest promotes young researchers who want to step forward with innovative dreams. The Dream Chemistry Award was established in 2013 by Robert Hołyst from the Institute of Physical Chemistry of the Polish Academy of Sciences (ICF), Warsaw, Poland. Since 2017 the contest has been co-organized with the Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the Czech Academy of Sciences (IOCB Prague), Prague, Czech Republic.

Continue

21

November

2022

Warsaw

Dream Chemistry Award 2022 is coming

Nothing is better than dreaming about progress, innovation, and the future. All scientists have a dream, but not everyone dares to dream loudly, crossing schematic boundaries and jumping into the deep water. There are many grants supporting research and awards appreciating curious minds; however, there is only one unique award worldwide for visionary research projects in chemistry or a chemistry-related discipline. It is the Dream Chemistry Award.

Continue

15

November

2022

Warsaw

Dream Chemistry Award 2022 Final – Schedule

Five finalists, selected by the DCA Scientific Committee were invited to present their dream projects and compete for the Dream Chemistry Award 2022. The final will take place on 5–6 December at the Institute of Physical Chemistry of the Polish Academy of Sciences in Warsaw.

Continue

27

September

2022

Warsaw

Finalists of the Dream Chemistry Award 2022 selected

The DCA Scientific Committee selected top projects from this year’s submissions. Five finalists are invited to present their projects in person during the contest’s final, which will be held on December 5–6 in Warsaw, Poland.

Continue

22

December

2021

Prague

The organizers and the winner on the Dream Chemistry Award 2021

We asked Jarad Mason, the winner of the 2021 Dream Chemistry Award, about his impressions of the competition and his future research plans; as well as the main organizers of the Dream Chemistry Award, Pavel Jungwirth and Robert Hołyst, what they think about this year's competition and its development in recent years.

Continue

7

December

2021

Prague

Treating hypoxia with microporous water – the 2021 Dream Chemistry Award goes to Jarad Mason of Harvard University

The winners of the 2021 Dream Chemistry Award and the TOP 5 Prize have been decided. This year’s Dream Chemistry Award and the financial prize of EUR 10,000 goes to Jarad Mason of Harvard University for his project on treating hypoxia with microporous water.

Continue

1

December

2021

Prague

Dream Chemistry Award 2021 Final – Live stream

The final of the Dream Chemistry Award 2021, which takes place on 6–7 December 2021 in Prague, will see five finalists who will present their dream projects.

Continue

1

October

2021

Prague

Finalists of Dream Chemistry Award 2021 selected

The DCA Scientific Committee selected top projects from this year’s submissions. Five finalists are invited to present their projects in person during the contest’s final, which will be held at IOCB Prague on 6–7 December 2021.

Continue

8

December

2020

Warsaw

Dreaming big about the smallest things: Dream Chemistry Award 2020

On the 1 December, the jury has announced the winner of this year's Dream Chemistry Award. Because of the pandemic restrictions, the whole event has been carried online.

Continue

1

February

2020

Emiliano Cortés: “To have big dreams you need to imagine that things can be different and that you can contribute towards that.”

An interview with Emiliano Cortés (Ludwig Maximilian University in Munich, Germany), the TOP 5 finalist of the Dream Chemistry Award 2019 with the project “Lighting Up Chemical Reaction Pathways”.

Continue

1

February

2020

Jeffrey Martell: “We need to think expansively to identify research goals that others haven't thought of.”

An interview with Jeffrey D. Martell (University of Wisconsin-Madison, USA), the TOP 5 finalist of the Dream Chemistry Award 2019 with the project “DNA Nano-Scaffolds for Rapid Discovery of Enzyme-Mimicking Catalysts”.

Continue

1

February

2020

Yoeri van de Burgt: “Imagination and the ability to dream is essential. Most other logical and reasonable ideas have already been tried.”

An interview with Yoeri van de Burgt (Eindhoven University of Technology, Netherlands), the TOP 5 finalist of the Dream Chemistry Award 2019 with the project “Brain-Inspired Organic Modular Lab-on-a-Chip for Cell Classification”.

Continue

1

February

2020

Hannes Mikula: “The Dream Chemistry Award was an amazing experience.”

An interview with Hannes Mikula (Vienna University of Technology, Austria), the TOP 5 finalist of the Dream Chemistry Award 2019 with the project “Double-targeted In Vivo Synthesis of Drugs at the Site of Disease”.

Continue

1

February

2020

Yujia Qing: “The DCA gave me a unique opportunity to distill my abstract thoughts, which emerged during daily research, into a systematic plan.”

An interview with Yujia Qing (University of Oxford, UK), the winner of the Dream Chemistry Award 2019 with the project “Sequencing Life”.

Continue

5

December

2019

Prague

Dream Chemistry Award 2019 goes to Yujia Qing of University of Oxford

Yujia Qing of University of Oxford has won the 2019 Dream Chemistry Award, an international competition for young scientists that took place on 2-3 December 2019, at the Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the Czech Academy of Sciences (IOCB Prague). In addition to the Dream Chemistry Award statuette, the winner also received two monetary prizes totaling €11,000.

Continue

4

December

2018

Warsaw

Dr. Eric Daniel Glowacki with the Dream Chemistry Award 2018

The winner of the global Dream Chemistry Award competition this year is Dr. Eric Daniel Glowacki from the Linköping University. The Scientific Committee awarding the prize praised the laureate's project on catalysts for the production of clean energy from the hydrogen peroxide.

Continue

10

October

2018

Warsaw

Dream Chemistry Award 2018 knows its Finalists

This year’s edition of the Dream Chemistry Award knows its finalists. The Scientific Committee selected top 5 candidates and their projects and invited the authors to Warsaw, Poland, to the finale of the contest which will be held on 3-4 December 2018.

Continue

6

December

2017

Prague

Winning project of the DCA 2017 focuses on new perspectives for cancer treatment

On 4-5 December 2017, the finale of the international scientific contest Dream Chemistry Award was held in Prague, organized by the leading chemistry institutes of the Czech and Polish Academy of Sciences.

Continue