On October 27 the Lviv Polytechnic University Department of Technology of Biologically Active Substances, Pharmacy and Biotechnology held its 78th Student Scientific Conference online. The event was dedicated to Prof. Volodymyr Novikov, department head and respected scientist and teacher, who passed away several days before.

Bachelor's and master's degree students presented reports in three categories: theory, experimentation and research.

The conference committee gave top honors to Anna Tsvetkovska for her report "Development of a new drug to quit smoking during the COVID-19 pandemic." Anna will present her work at the second stage of the university conference. (Update: Anna won second place in the university science competition on November 6. Congratulations, Anna!)

Three other students received honorable mentions:
1. "In vitro cultivation of plants and determination of metabolites in biomass" - Kateryna Kniazeva
2. "The use of keratin biopolymer to create hydrogels for biomedical purposes" - Khrystyna Haniak
3. "Comparison, advantages and precautions of stem cell technologies and CRISPR genetic scissor technique" - Volodymyr Boichuk

The four students received gift certificates to an online bookstore from the US-Ukraine Foundation.