Soon it is time for the national final of Sweden’s largest presentation competition for researchers – Researchers’ Grand Prix. From Chalmers, researcher Martina Olsson will take part. But how does one actually compete in research? We asked Martina four quick questions.
Four minutes – that is how long the five contestants in Researchers’ Grand Prix have to present their research. The competition has been organised by Vetenskap & Allmänhet since 2012, and the national final of 2025 will take place at Kulturhuset (House of Culture) in Stockholm on 18 November.
Martina Olsson, researcher at the Department of Physics at Chalmers, qualified for the final from the regional competition held in April this year during the International Science Festival in Gothenburg.
Congratulations, Martina! You are competing in this year’s Forskar Grand Prix final. Can you tell us a bit more about the topic you will be competing with?
“Thank you! It feels fantastic to represent Chalmers in this year’s final.”
“I will be talking about how X-ray techniques can help us develop better medicines. A medicine does not only consist of the active substance, but also of different excipients that affect how quickly and where in the body the drug is released. These processes are controlled by the choice of materials and the internal structures in the pharmaceutical formulation. By using advanced X-ray imaging, we can study these structures in detail, understand the release mechanisms, and thereby guide the development of more precise and effective medicines.”
How do you prepare for a competition like this?
“The competition is about explaining your research in a way that everyone can understand, without losing the content! I started by thinking about the core of my research: why is this important and why should the audience care? Then I try to build a story around it, so that it also becomes engaging to listen to.”
What do you hope the audience will take away from your presentation?
“I hope they take away that X-ray light is an incredibly powerful tool in materials research, and that they feel inspired to see research as exciting and not necessarily complicated.”
What does participating in the competition give you as a researcher?
“Of course, it has given me new tips for delivering good presentations, but above all, it has made me think about my research in a new way! When you boil your research down to four minutes, you focus only on the most important aspects and the purpose behind the projects. This makes you take a step back and gain new perspectives. It has given me both new ideas and new inspiration for what would be interesting to explore in the future.”
When you boil your research down to four minutes, you focus only on the most important aspects. This makes you take a step back and gain new perspectives.
More about Martina Olsson’s research
Martina Olsson develops X-ray-based measurement strategies and analysis methods for studying heterogeneous materials. Her work often involves optimising and designing the entire chain of an experiment – from developing sample holders and environments suitable for X-ray imaging to creating algorithms for data processing and direct analysis.
The main application area of her research is solid pharmaceutical formulations, that is, the material used in tablets and capsules. The goal is to understand how the internal structure of the material affects drug release, which can help design more precise medicines and improve the release and efficacy of poorly soluble substances.
Read an article about Martina Olsson’s research here:
X-ray technology enhances understanding of drug formulation
Researchers at Chalmers University of Technology, the Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI), and EPFL have, for the first time, utilised powerful X-ray imaging techniques to investigate drug formulations.“Nobody has previously employed these synchrotron-based techniques in this context, and we find the results fascinating. This method could be directly applied in the development and research of drug formulations,” says Professor Aleksandar Matic.
---
Update, Nov 19 2025: Martina Olsson won third place in the final.