The finals of the 8th National China Undergraduate Life Science Contest (CULSC) (Scientific Inquiry category) took place in Nanjing. The two participating teams from the College of Life Sciences of Nankai University won the first prizes.

The award-winning project “Application of Resveratrol Nanocomposites in Targeted Relief of Acute Kidney Injury in Mice” was completed by undergraduate students Liu Sunan, Song Jianwei, Cheng Shuhan and Su Yuchen under the guidance of postdoctoral fellow Dong Yunsheng and Professor Wang Shufang of the College of Life Sciences. Using the liposomes modified with hyaluronic acid as a carrier, the team prepared bio-safe resveratrol nanocomplexes for the treatment of acute kidney injury, which have resveratrol’s anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties, and can also overcome its weaknesses of poor water solubility and a low level of bioavailability.

The award-winning project “Research & Development and Application of Key Supporting Technologies for the Control of Foliar Pests Using Natural Enemy Nematodes” was completed by undergraduate students Ha Bingjun, Guo Jinxuan, Qing Hui and Lu Peiyu under the guidance of Lecturer Wei Xianqin and Professor Ruan Weibin of the College of Life Sciences. The stress factor of entomopathogenic nematodes in the control of foliar pests is the core issue in the project. It effectively reduces the impact of ultraviolet rays on the survival rate and insecticidal efficacy of nematodes by screening green ultraviolet protectants, and combines ultraviolet protectants with humectants to form foliar application formulas. It has effectively improved the foliar application effect of entomopathogenic nematodes.

Moreover, the projects “HA/ε-PLL Composite Hydrogels Loaded with PRP for the Repair of Chronic Refractory Skin Wounds”, “Construction and Application of Drosophila Deficiency Library for Chimera Analysis” and “Tumor Targeting Effect Mediated by Nano-medicine Ligand Density” won the third prizes.

The China Undergraduate Life Science Contest is a contest on the list of national discipline competitions for university students recognized by the Ministry of Education. The contest drew 12,069 teams from 562 universities across the country.

（Edited and translated by Nankai News Team.)