The result of the announcement of the funds the University of Oslo (UiO) has earmarked for early-phase support for innovation projects is ready. UiO received in total 53 applications. The applications have been evaluated based on innovaton potential, social benefit and feasibility as stated in the call.
10 projects receive NOK 400,000 each for the test and further development phase, while 18 projects receive NOK 50,000 each for the idea and concept phase. Researchers from five faculties – Mathematics and Natural Sciences, Medicine, Educational Sciences, Social Sciences and Law – have been awarded funding.
See the overview of projects that have been granted funding at the bottom of the article.
– Gratifying to see the breadth and quality of the projects
The application process has been managed by the internal innovation unit at UiO, the UiO Growth House. All applicants are now offered follow-up from the UiO Growth House in the form of guidance that can help them further with the innovation idea.
We have asked Vice-Rector for Life Sciences and Health, Jens Petter Berg, how innovation funds like this, in combination with guidance from the UiO Growth House, contribute to more knowledge from research at UiO being put to use?
– UiO aims for our research to benefit society. These funds are an important tool to achieve this by giving researchers the opportunity to test ideas, further develop promising results and build bridges between basic research and concrete solutions for patients, users, administration and business. It is particularly gratifying to see the breadth and quality of the projects, which show that the innovation potential at UiO is great across disciplines and research environments, says Berg.
– I would like to congratulate all the project managers and their staff on the awards. At the same time, I would like to encourage even more researchers to use the innovation services of the UiO Growth House and I am grateful for the close follow-up and guidance provided to give researchers even better conditions to mature their ideas and develop good and innovative solutions.
The projects that have been granted support in 2026
The test and further development phase – 10 projects of NOK 400,000 each, total of NOK 4 million
6 projects from The Faculty of Medicine (MED), 3 from The Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences (MN) and from 1 The Faculty of Law (JUS).
Title of project, project leader, faculty, and department, sorted alphabetically by the first name of the project leader:
- 3-IMP: a novel metabolite that predict disease severity
Annika Elisabet Michelsen, MED, Institute of Clinical Medicine - VASCALM: Vascular-Selective EGFR Modulator to prevent Arterial Calcification
Bente Halvorsen, MED, Institute of Clinical Medicine - Identification and validation of small molecule drugs for prostate cancer treatment
Fahri Saatcioglu, MN, Department of Biosciences - Bispecific targeting of liver fibrosis
Guttorm Haraldsen, MED, Institute of Clinical Medicine - Universal Off-the-Shelf Decidual Stromal Cells for Autoimmune and Inflammatory Diseases
Hanne Scholz, MED, Institute of Basic Medical Sciences - IcyRelief – A novel localized pain relief system
Ingunn Tho, MN, Department of Pharmacy - A CAR-T–delivered BiTE platform targeting tumour heterogeneity
Jon Amund Kyte, MED, Institute of Clinical Medicine - Development of a succinate analogue suitable for therapeutic applications
Lorena Arranz, MED, Institute of Clinical Medicine - S2-Data Dommerportal
Malcolm Langford, JUS, Department of Public and International Law - Chip-to-world interface for inline measurement of drug metabolism in microphysiological systems
Steven Wilson, MN, Department of Chemistry
The idea and concept phase – 18 projects of NOK 50,000 each, total of NOK 0,9 million
12 projects from The Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences (MN), 4 from The Faculty of Medicine (MED), 1 from The Faculty of Social Sciences (SV) and 1 from The Faculty of Educational Sciences (UV).
Title of project, project leader, faculty, and department, sorted alphabetically by the first name of the project leader:
- Beyond Antibiotics: Host-Directed Bacterial Clearance
Amalie Føreid Reinertsen, MN, Department of Pharmacy - Transcriptomic profiling of IPF-RC-induced fibrogenesis for translational assay development
Anders Åsberg, MN, Department of Pharmacy - LabInfraMetric
Anuj Pokle, MN, Fysisk institutt - Beyond Blood Pressure: can antihypertensive drugs protect arteries from atherosclerosis?
Camilla Huse, MED, Institute of Clinical Medicine - SmaSh-Quant 3
Christina Johannsen, MN, Department of Pharmacy - Dual Resolution Agonists: Prevention Of Cardiovascular Disease
Daniel Haga Hasselstrøm, MN, Department of Pharmacy - Improving first-line diagnostics in inflammatory bowel disease
Erna Davydova, MN, Department of Biosciences - The m6A epitranscriptome: a sensor for personalized metabolism
Evandro Fei Fang-Stavem, MED, Institute of Clinical Medicine - Optogenetic rescue of cognitive functions in the aging brain
Hua Hu, MED, Institute of Basic Medical Sciences - Linea: Automatic conversion of raw data for social network analysis
Kristina Torine Litherland, UV. Department of Education - RGaps
Linda Nyanchoka, SV, Department of Psychology - Characterization of new compounds for the treatment of resistant hypertension
Lise Román Moltzau, MN, Department of Pharmacy - Development of a Stimuli-Responsive Liposomal Oral Delivery Platform with Application in Dry Mouth
Marianne Hiorth, MN, Department of Pharmacy - Ccure
Martin Valldor, MN, Department of Chemistry - A New Method for Neuroprotection
Rafal Ciosk, MN, Department of Biosciences - ONCOFAST; Intermittent fasting during chemotherapy – a randomized feasibility study
Sonja H. Brunvoll MED, Institute of Basic Medical Sciences - Exploring tuberculosis drugs with a novel mechanism of action
Ute Krengel, MN, Department of Chemistry - Konfidensbasert Læring, Analyse og Responsvurdering (KLAR): et smartere vurderingsformat
Yngvar Berg, MN, Department of Informatics