A Peruvian research project, which seeks to detect SARS-CoV-2 variants using mobile technologies and artificial intelligence, was selected among 700 proposals for the
Google Latin American Research Awards (LARA) in the ninth edition.
This remarkable work has been conducted by Peruvian researchers Mario Salguedo and Mirko Zimic.
For a year, the team has been developing a new technique, which uses a smartphone and image analysis with the help of computational algorithms.
The research seeks to analyze the micro-agglutination pattern of the salmonella that has been genetically modified by Farvet Laboratory, which exposes S1 protein of the Wuhan strain, to detect SARS-CoV-2 variant infections and make treatments more effective.
LARA Awards
Google's Latin America Research Awards (LARA) on Thursday announced the 24 research projects of PhD and Master's students, among whom the award of US$500,000 will be distributed.
In addition to the Peruvian project, Google has recognized the work of researchers from Mexico (2), Chile (3), Argentina (3), Uruguay (1), and Brazil (11).
According to the organizers, the LARA Awards were created to promote innovation and scientific research in the region, stimulate the entrepreneurial spirit, and strengthen the relationship between Google and academia.
"The past 2 years clearly showed that humanity still has enormous challenges to overcome. At Google, we are happy to support those who, with their work and research, are looking today for answers to tomorrow's challenges," said Adriana Noreña, Vice-President for Google Spanish Speaking Latin America.
(END) NDP/KCP/SPV/RMB/MVB
Published: 2/11/2022