Medical solution for cancer treatment wins major science competition in Finland

A team led by a Chinese scholar has shared the top prize of a major science competition in Finland for its idea of optimizing medical treatment for cancer patients.

According to a press release from the University of Helsinki received by Xinhua on Saturday, Team iCombine led by Chinese scholar Jing Tang works on a database, which will enable doctors to conveniently search for the best possible personalized treatment for cancer patients.

The science competition, Helsinki Challenge, was organized by the University of Helsinki in cooperation with a number of other Finnish universities.

Tang is a group leader in biometry at the Institute for Molecular Medicine of the University of Helsinki. The other members are ten researchers from the University of Helsinki, University of Turku and Helsinki University Central Hospital.

Their solution will shorten the process of finding the most effective treatment and thus lower the costs of treatment, said the release.

The other winner team HeatStock has developed a new kind of composite material, which will allow for the long-term storage and controlled release of heat energy. With such material, heat collected during the summer could be used in winter, said the university.

HeatStock is led by Ari Sepala, senior scientist at the Department of Mechanical Engineering of the Aalto University. The other team members are from different Finnish universities and an energy company.

The two teams have evenly shared the prize totaling 375,000 euros for implementing their solutions.

Held for the first time in 2015, Helsinki Challenge is a science-based idea competition where scientists from ten Finnish universities work on solutions that help reach the UN Sustainable Development Goals.