Groundbreaking Breast Cancer Treatment Wins 2024 Create the Future Design Contest

NEW YORK, NY, UNITED STATES, December 4, 2024 /EINPresswire.com/ -- The Grand Prize in the 2024 Create the Future Design Contest was awarded to Sam Currier and Priyan Weerrappuli from the University of Michigan for their novel injectable therapeutic, NETrolyze, which directly targets metastasis in triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC). The $25,000 prize was presented during a live event in New York City on November 15, where seven finalists pitched their transformative designs to an esteemed panel of judges.

TNBC is a particularly aggressive form of breast cancer, with limited treatment options and a high rate of metastasis. NETrolyze is a first-in-class immunotherapy designed to prevent cancer cells from spreading while preserving the immune system’s integrity. This therapeutic, delivered via a slow-release gel, offers a promising alternative to the traditional standard of care, such as toxic chemotherapy.

“Given how innovative and accomplished the other finalists and their projects were, it is humbling for us simply to be considered alongside them,” said NETrolyze team member Priyan Weerrappuli. “As someone who grew up reading Tech Briefs, winning this Grand Prize feels amazing — and very much like a 'full circle' moment. The prize itself will go a long way toward supporting two pre-clinical studies we are conducting to further advance our therapeutic, NETrolyze” he added.

The Create the Future Design Contest, now in its 22nd year, celebrates engineering innovations that benefit humanity, the environment, and the economy. Supported by primary sponsors COMSOL (https://www.comsol.com) and Mouser Electronics (https://www.mouser.com), the contest continues to inspire forward-thinking ideas.

Finalists in seven categories — aerospace & defense, automotive and transportation, electronics, manufacturing and materials, medical, robotics and automation, and sustainable technology — were selected from over 600 entries submitted by participants across 50 countries. Winners in each category received workstation computers courtesy of HP, while the NETrolyze team secured the $25,000 grand prize.

“Congratulations to the team from the University of Michigan on winning the Grand Prize for NETrolyze and bringing hope of a treatment to patients suffering from triple negative breast cancer. They are a truly impressive grand prize winner with a much needed, life-saving innovation,” said Bernt Nilsson, president of COMSOL. “Congratulations also to all category winners and their brilliant design ideas. COMSOL is thrilled to sponsor the Create the Future Design Contest and its commitment to recognize design innovators and their important work.”

"Mouser congratulates the 2024 Create the Future Contest winners, and we thank all of the participants for entering their creative ideas. Part of our mission is empowering innovation, so we are excited to support this global design contest that spotlights technical ingenuity," said Kevin Hess, Mouser's Senior Vice President of Marketing. "The world is seeing amazing advancements in electronic design thanks to forward-thinking engineers and innovators like these."

In addition to the grand prize, first-place winners were named in seven categories and received workstation computers courtesy of HP and NVIDIA.

Category Winners

Aerospace & Defense
AlchLight, Laser-Generated Anti-Icing and Anti-Fogging Transparent Materials

Automotive & Transportation
Transensys Multi-Modal Traffic Detection System

Electronics
Thin-Film Thermoelectric Cooling Device

Manufacturing & Materials
RHOBARR™ Barrier Dispersions Platform

Robotics & Automation
AstroAnt: A Miniature Symbiotic Robotic Serving on the Outside Surfaces of Spacecraft, Rovers, and Landers for Inspection and Diagnostic Tasks

Medical
A Smart Contact Lens for Glaucoma Management

Sustainable Technology
Cosmetic Silica Upcycled from Rice Husk as Natural Alternative to Microplastic Powders

For more information about the Create the Future Design Contest, visit www.createthefuturecontest.com.

About COMSOL
COMSOL (https://www.comsol.com/) is a global provider of simulation software for product design and research to technical enterprises, research labs, and universities. Its COMSOL Multiphysics^® product is an integrated software environment for creating physics-based models and simulation apps. A particular strength is its ability to account for coupled or multiphysics phenomena. Add-on products expand the simulation platform for electromagnetics, structural, acoustics, fluid flow, heat transfer, and chemical applications. Interfacing tools enable the integration of COMSOL Multiphysics simulations with all major technical computing and CAD tools on the CAE market. Simulation experts rely on COMSOL Compiler™ and COMSOL Server™ to deploy applications to their design teams, manufacturing departments, test laboratories, and customers throughout the world. Founded in 1986, COMSOL has 16 offices worldwide and extends its reach with a network of distributors.

About Mouser Electronics
Mouser Electronics is an authorized semiconductor and electronic component distributor focused on New Product Introductions from its leading manufacturer partners. Serving the global electronic design engineer and buyer community, the global distributor's website, mouser.com, is available in multiple languages and currencies and features more than 6.8 million products from over 1,200 manufacturer brands. Mouser offers 28 support locations worldwide to provide best-in-class customer service in local language, currency and time zone. The distributor ships to over 650,000 customers in 223 countries/territories from its 1 million-square-foot, state-of-the-art distribution facilities in the Dallas, Texas, metro area. For more information, visit https://www.mouser.com/.

About the Create the Future Design Contest
The Create the Future Design Contest was launched in 2002 by the publishers of Tech Briefs magazine to help stimulate and reward engineering innovation. The annual event has attracted more than 15,000 product design ideas from engineers, entrepreneurs, and students in 100+ countries worldwide. The contest is produced by SAE Media Group (https://saemediagroup.com).

Kaitlyn Sommer
SAE Media Group
kaitlyn.sommer@saemediagroup.com