Meritorious recognition for psychology project

The work was recognized at the 24th National and 18th International Meeting of Research Seedbeds of REDCOLSI. “This project was the result of collaborative work with students Ingrid Geraldine Zamora Cañón and Johana Catherin Prado Capera, with external advisor Hernán Tique, a systems engineer. Together, we created a prototype for olfactory measurement, which we presented at the regional meeting covering Cundinamarca and Bogotá. We obtained a score of ninety and thus advanced to the national meeting,” explains Rafael Orlando Cortes Lugo, a professor in the Psychology program at Facatativá and one of the leaders of the Neurpsidec research seedbed.

At the national level, they presented their work again before a demanding jury, achieving an excellent result. “In that stage, we scored ninety-five points, earning us well-deserved recognition. Now we want to find out if this achievement qualifies us to participate in another event, this time an international one, which would be fantastic.”.

This proposal aims to measure olfactory sensitivity using liquid essences in a gaseous state in men and women, who then rate their intensity as high or low. “We conducted tests with people, which yielded very interesting results that we shared in the two meetings, leading us to these exciting developments.”.

Several studies indicate that Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, and other neurodegenerative diseases affect the sense of smell. "This prototype would allow us to accurately measure the degree of loss.".

But the potential of this interesting work doesn't end there. With the COVID-19 pandemic, this research takes on great importance since anosmia—loss of smell—which is associated with this disease, is one of its symptoms. "In fact, we had volunteers who had had the virus, and physiological alterations were found.".

For Geraldine Zamora Cañon, who was a student at the time, this recognition has been very important. “It is very motivating for me to have achieved this recognition, and we want to continue with a pilot phase in Cundinamarca to gather more data that will help us have a very precise measurement tool.”.

And that love for research instilled in her by UCundinamarca through its research groups that promote science, technology, research, and innovation within the framework of the Transmodern Digital Educational Model (MEDIT) has already planted in her the desire to complete the project. “Hopefully, all this effort will culminate in us being able to patent it in the future and thus help humanity.”.

Meanwhile, for her colleague Johana Catherin Prado Capera, this distinction is a fundamental achievement for both her and the institution. “We have brought honor to our university among others that submitted projects, including the University of Los Andes and Konrad Lorenz University.”.

Regarding the prototype, Johana says she wants to explore the latest technology. “We would like to incorporate artificial intelligence so that it works on its own and not manually, as it does now.”.

In this way, UCundinamarca promoted in these two young women, who have already graduated, what is called a dialogical and formative construction stance, which is the basis for building knowledge and learning in the student, with a view to a personal transformation that influences society.

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