KARACHI: With an eye on physical, mental and environmental health, the day-long ‘Science Fair 3.0: The Health Nexus’ showcased some 173 innovative and informative projects by the university’s Pharmacy students.

The event was organised by the Karachi University Pharmacy Science Club (KUPScC) in the Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences at the University of Karachi on Thursday.

The Science Fair was spread over three buildings. Whereas in one building of the department you had projects focusing on environmental, physical and mental health, another had functional prototypes while yet another had conceptual models, posters and even a gaming zone.

In the Chemistry Building, second-year students Wafa Adnan, Maryam Rizvi and Zainab Tahir had come up with an antiseptic film-forming spray which when sprayed on the skin in case of the presence of infection, changed colour.

Fourth-year students Salman Ahmed and Fatima Javed had developed a UV Derm Trishield, which was an air purifying face mask that provided its wearer ultraviolet protection, air filtration, an automatic fan and microclimate regulation.

At another stall, final-year students, Khanum Saiba and Khatija Sultan had prepared great tasting chewy gummies that offered good fiber for gut health.

Things turned more serious on the first floor of the Pharmacology Building, which had projects dedicated to cancer awareness and prevention.

With lavender colour ribbons pinned on their lab coats, fourth-year students Nabiha Fatima and Amna Hasan were spreading awareness about cervical cancer and its preventative vaccine.

“Awareness leads to prevention and a healthy future,” said Nabiha, while telling about their proposed informative website, which, besides sharing facts about the preventative vaccine for cervical cancer to be administered during nine to 26 years of age, also provides other information about the disease.

Meanwhile, Amna informed that their proposed website, which was in English, also carried Urdu and Sindhi translation options to reach a wider range of people.

A six-member team of fourth-year students — Fizzah Ashfaque, Ezma Siddiqui, Aynaa Arshad, Asifa Kiran, Areeba Arshad and Manal Siddiqui — had a mattress model with sensors to prevent bedsores.

“The sensors detect humidity and temperature to flag unfavourable conditions and automatically adjust support to prevent pressure injuries,” Fizzah explained.

One more noteworthy project was the ‘Oncova’, an affordable scalp cooling cap for cancer patients designed by another group of senior students, namely, Hadiya Shahid, Simra Tariq, Maria Siddiqui, Kainat Mubarak, Saquib Nazeer and Anas Chaudhary.

“Research has shown that scalp cooling can help reduce chemotherapy induced hair loss and that hair has meaningful psychological and quality of life impacts. Our low-cost cap aims to provide an affordable and sustainable practical solution that can make scalp cooling more accessible to more patients,” said Hadiya.

Published in Dawn, September 5th, 2026