Fourth annual Dr Uroš Seljak Prizes and Commendations for the best scientific publications by students

Dr Uroš Seljak, professor in the Department of Physics at the University of California, Berkeley, University of Ljubljana alumnus and ASEF mentor, received a prestigious Gruber Prize in 2021, awarded by the Gruber Foundation at Yale University, for his important contributions to cosmology research. Using his prize money of $150,000, Dr Seljak established a charitable prize fund for first- and second-cycle students. The prizes, worth $10,000 in total, are awarded every year to the best academic papers by Slovenian students from any educational institution in the country.

This year’s prizes went to Jovana Videnović (Faculty of Computer and Information Science, UL FRI) for her publication A Distractor-Aware Memory for Visual Object Tracking with SAM2, and Martin Justin (Faculty of Arts, University of Ljubljana, and Faculty of Arts, University of Maribor – UL FF and UM FF) for his publication More Hope for Conciliationism.

Commendations were awarded to Tina Šaula (Biotechnical Faculty, UL BF) for Enrichment of the Nutritional Value of Pea Flour Milling Fractions Through Fermentation, Vita Movrin (Jožef Stefan Institute, IJS) for Initiation of Epithelial Wound Closure by an Active Instability at the Purse String, and Vladimir Smrkolj and Aljoša Škorjanc (Faculty of Medicine, UL MF) for GOReverseLookup: A Gene Ontology Reverse Lookup Tool. 

The awards ceremony was attended by Dr Uroš Seljak himself, who used his address to express concern about the current social climate and the challenges faced by science: “Various forces and pressures have led to a situation where science is undervalued and, in some cases, outright denied. We must resist these trends. I hope this prize serves as a symbolic attempt to push back – to say that scientific thinking, critical reasoning and the use of scientific methods are the only way forward, the only path to progress. There are no alternatives. That’s why I believe it’s especially important right now to encourage scientific thinking and research among young people. Research typically begins at the doctoral level, but I believe we must start earlier, at the undergraduate level, so that students become familiar with scientific methods as soon as possible and see their value.”

The Rector of the University of Ljubljana, Prof. Dr Gregor Majdič, encouraged the prize recipients to continue their research for the benefit of society: “You young people are the driving force of a knowledge-based society – those who understand problems, create new knowledge and apply it for the benefit of humanity. With curiosity as your guide and knowledge as your tool, you can open paths that were unimaginable just yesterday. At the same time, we must not forget the mentors. You are the ones who share your experience, guide young people and stand by them as they grow into responsible members of society. Without your support and dedication, we would not be celebrating these achievements today.”

Dr Rok Sekirnik, Director of the American Slovenian Education Foundation (ASEF), also addressed the audience, highlighting the role of the Dr Uroš Seljak Prizes in connecting Slovenian science with the global academic community: “Since its inception over eleven years ago, ASEF’s goal has remained the same; to foster young Slovenian talent and enable them to build a bridge between the Slovenian and international academic spheres. I am extremely happy and proud that, with this award, we encourage students from Slovenian universities to engage in science early in their careers and participate in research in their fields even during their undergraduate studies. In doing so, we are nurturing a community of young intellectuals who strive for academic excellence and contribute not only to Slovenian science but also to the broader development of society. These are the core values that guide our work at ASEF.”

The committee chair Prof. Dr Simon Horvat also spoke on behalf of the expert committee for the Dr Uroš Seljak Award, emphasising the importance of reason and consensus in a polarised world: “Today, the Enlightenment principle of reason is increasingly being questioned, which narrows the space for constructive public debate. Ambitious and dedicated young scientists, with bold ideas and strong ethical foundations, will be ever more essential in the future, particularly in a world that sometimes doubts the importance of science for the well-being of humanity and the planet. A fine example of this spirit is Martin Justin’s award-winning article, which shows that differences between equal interlocutors are not a weakness of reason, but rather an opportunity for deeper insight and the pursuit of consensus – a sign that faith in the power of reason and science remains very much alive.”

In addition to Prof. Dr Horvat, the committee is composed of Dr Uroš Seljak (University of California, Berkeley), Dr Klementina Fon Tacer (Texas Tech University), Dr Veronika Fikfak (University College London), Dr Andrej Košmrlj (Princeton University), Dr Marta Verginella (Faculty of Arts, University of Ljubljana) and Dr Maruša Bradač (Faculty of Mathematics and Physics, University of Ljubljana). This year, the committee reviewed 12 applications, eight of which were submitted by female candidates.

Jovana Videnović’s (UL FRI) research work focuses on the problem of visual object tracking where an algorithm has to recognise and segment the same object throughout an entire video recording based solely on one marked image. Modern algorithms have trouble doing this, particularly in the presence of similar objects (distractors), which disrupt tracking, or when the target temporarily disappears from the field of vision.

Videnović has developed the DAM4SAM method, which is based on an analysis of Meta’s SAM2 model and features an advanced memory system and a mechanism for updating the visual model of an object. She has also designed a new database for analysing tracking algorithms in complex conditions. The DAM4SAM method outperformed existing trackers in ten standard databases and has potential for wider application. Videnović’s research is an important contribution to the development of artificial intelligence, and can provide the basis for new applications in navigation, biomedicine, video production and surveillance systems.

Martin Justin’s (UL FF and UM FF) research work focuses on the philosophical question of how to act when we disagree with someone who has the same knowledge or outlook as us. In the paper “More Hope for Conciliationism”, which was published in the prestigious journal Episteme, he defends the conciliatory principle, which proposes that we reduce trust in our own viewpoints in the event of disagreement.

He showed that many of the criticisms of this principle are based on a confusion between the problem of disagreement and the more general issue of higher-order evidence. His analysis reaffirms validity of the conciliatory principle and is an important contribution to modern epistemology. It opens up space for a more rational treatment of disagreements in science, philosophy and wider society.

Tina Šaula (UL BF) is working on improving the nutritional value of milling fractions of pea flour using lactic acid fermentation. Her interdisciplinary study analysed the impact of the preparation of milling fractions at industrial scale, and of fermentation conditions on nutrient content, anti-nutrients, gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), polyamines and biogenic amines.

Her research has shown that milling fractions with smaller particles contain more proteins, minerals and polyamines, while starch-rich fractions with larger particles contain fewer phytates, which increases the biological availability of iron. Fermentation using the Lactiplantibacillus plantarum bacterium resulted in reduced levels of anti-nutrients, such as phytic acid and histamine, and in increased levels of GABA, while spontaneous fermentation led to the formation of nutritionally undesirable biogenic amines.

The project resulted from successful collaboration between the academic sphere and industry, and is an important contribution to circular economy goals. Its scientific excellence was confirmed by publication in the journal Food Chemistry (IF 9,8), where the candidate was lead author.

Vita Movrin’s (IJS) research work focuses on a theoretical analysis of the process of wound closure in epithelial tissue. As the outer lining of organs throughout the body, epithelial tissue provides crucial protection against external influences. The existing models assumed that wounds healed because of increased mechanical tension at the edges. Vita Movrin has, however, developed an entirely new theoretical approach. Her model treats the epithelium as a dynamic autonomous system in which healing is triggered spontaneously as a result of a feedback loop between the deformation of cells and the formation of active tension at points of intercellular contact.

Through an analysis of stability and numerical simulations, she shows that a wound can be the result of dynamic instability and not of pre-assumed forces. This is the first model of its type to open up new possibilities for understanding the mechanical response of tissue, and makes an important contribution to theoretical biology and the development of biomechanical approaches in medicine.

Vladimir Smrkolj and Aljoša Škorjanc have collaborated on developing a new bioinformation tool, GOReverseLookup, which is a conceptual breakthrough in gene analysis. Instead of starting with a known list of genes, researchers can now proceed from a biological phenomenon, such as inflammation or cancer, with the tool then calculating which genes are statistically linked to it. This approach is particularly valuable in the early stages of research, and facilitates the analysis even in the case of rare diseases and less well-researched conditions. The tool incorporates data from several bioinformation databases, and supports the translation of findings between any organisms.

GOReverseLookup has been successfully tested with rheumatoid arthritis, chronic inflammation and tumorigenesis. The tool enables research to be conducted on the from phenomenon to gene principle, includes the advanced configuration of analyses and incorporates orthologous genes from model organisms. With its open access and practical utility, the tool is an important contribution to the development of modern bioinformatics and functional genomics.