Hypothesis Prize (2022 Winners announced)
$ 20,000incentive
What is the most promising but underappreciated or obscure area of longevity science we should pursue?
Over a century ago, many questionable experiments and surgical procedures were performed – heterochronic parabiosis (HCP) being one of them. This technique was revived by Irina Conboy at Stanford/Berkeley in the 200’s. Today, it’s one of the hottest (and most difficult to perform) models of aging research.
Over a century of all the world’s biological knowledge is available to anyone taking the time to read the literature. There are cases where key discoveries are made in the past, but forgotten for long periods of time – only to be rediscovered. The hypothesis prize aims to resurface such discoveries and research areas, focusing our attention on the most promising directions. — Sebastian Brunemeier, Hypothesis Prize Initiator
Prize incentives
$20k prize money for the first place. Remaining submissions are awarded prize money corresponding to how many points the judges gave you.
Finalists will be invited to present their proposal to the judges. This is helpful for raising awareness for your research.
Excellent proposals will have an opportunity to be shared with the broader community, where they might gather interest for follow-on funding (e.g. through ±250k of financing as a Sponsored Research Agreement by VitaDAO). If you do not win in this cycle, but were close, you may be asked to re-apply.
Winners
🥇Carlos Galicia (Buck Institute) proposes studying rejuvenation during embryogenesis as a way to combat age-related decline.
🥈Rakhan Aimbetov (Hack-Age) explores proteostasis disruption in aging and how methylglyoxal affects protein function. The research aims to extend healthy life by understanding these mechanisms.
🥉Shahaf Peleg (FBN_Germany) investigates mitochondrial dysfunction in aging and proposes a novel approach called external energy replacement using mtON technology to attenuate human aging
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💡Honourable mention: Peter Hollands of Qigenix for researching human very small embryonic-like stem cells (hVSEL) in platelet-rich plasma (PRP). Activating these stem cells may have significant rejuvenation effects.
💡Honorable mention: Christian Schafmeister (Temple University) recognized for his hypothesis on spiroligozymes breaking down advanced glycation end-products (AGEs) to potentially reverse aging signs like wrinkles, skin elasticity, and joint mobility.
💡Honorable mention: James Wordsworth (Uni of Newcastle) for his "Selective Destruction Theory" of aging, suggesting aging results from cell communication & competition, not just damage accumulation. Slow cells can hinder or kill fast cells, preventing takeover.
Congratulations to all winners, and thanks to our donors from Gitcoin, Vitalik Buterin, VitaDAO and Stefan George.