Monthly Archives: August 2023

CCBIO906 Cancer Genomics, 2023

This 3 ECTS course will provide a broad understanding of aspects related to the cancer genome. Methods for analyzing DNA and RNA will be covered, including next generation sequencing (NGS) technologies. Focus will be on mutations, copy-number alterations, chromatin structures and RNA transcriptome and expression patterns. Further, ethical, legal aspects, and hereditary predispositions in relation to investigations of the cancer genome will be taught.

More info:
https://www.uib.no/en/ccbio/163441/ccbio906-cancer-genomics-2023
https://www.uib.no/emne/CCBIO906

Course in basic microscopy 2023

The Molecular Imaging Center (MIC) will arrange a Course in basic microscopy 19.-21. September 2023. This is a compact course aimed at new beginners in the field of microscopy, and at those with some experience in search of a better understanding of the principles. The course introduces mainly techniques that involve samples with fluorescent markers, but also regular bright field imaging will be covered.
Microscopy is very technology driven and there is a huge range of technologies/systems that can be used for many different applications that involve both simple and advanced imaging experiments. In this course the focus will be on the most basic (= most common) applications on a selection of different microscopy systems.  These systems are all accessible to students/scientists through MIC, and hopefully the course will equip the students with more knowledge on which system to choose over another in future imaging experiments.
During the course there will be demos on five different systems. Students will still need additional training on the microscopes they want to start using, but after such a course their basic understanding of these powerful tools will be at a different level, and hopefully help them perform imaging experiments with higher quality from the beginning.
Descriptive images can be useful, but in most cases image processing and analysis will become necessary. It is important to understand which information microscopy images contains and how to handle them. It is a great benefit to start using image analysis software early in an imaging career, so a brief introduction will be given of the two most commonly used, Fiji (ImageJ) and QuPath. Both are developed by and for scientists, and free to download.
For more information and registration: Course in basic microscopy 2023 | Molecular Imaging Center (MIC) | UiB
BBB, 3rd floor Histologisal 2, 19.-21. September 2023

Editorial

Vestlandslegen is born

Last Tuesday the opening of Vestlandslegen was officially marked at Stavanger University Hospital (SUS). Vestlandslegen is now the name of The Medeical School at UiB, where some of the students receive their main clinical training in Stavanger.

Vestlandslegen’s father Professor Steinar Hunskår gave us an interesting introduction to the motivation for and the history behind Vestlandslegen. The idea is that the entire country must be used in medical education in order to increase the capacity and create connection to the region where the education takes place. The work Hunskår and his colleagues have done will not only have significance for the Western Norway, the Vestlandslegen is also a template for similar decentralized education at the other universities in Norway, emphasized by Martin Fredheim who congratulated on behalf of the Ministry of Education.

The first group consists of 7 students, but the number will quickly be increased to 20. Further expansion of the program in Stavanger and later in Haugesund and Førde will depend on funding from the Ministry of Education. It is therefore important that the Vestlandslegen is successful and there is every reason to believe that it will be. Dean Per Bakke and Hospital director Helle Schøyen at SUS emphasized the good cooperation during the pregnancy of Vestlandslegen.

Hunskår also took the opportunity to say thank you and passed the baton to Professor Simon Dankel as project manager for the Vestlandslegen. We are convinced this will ensure the newborn Vestlandslegen good nutrition so that it can grow well.

Vestlandslegen is also important in a larger perspective. The program will help spread and increase medical expertise at SUS and the rest of Western Norway, which was emphasized by Helse Vest’s director Bjørn-Egil Vikse. Vestlandslegen will contribute to bringing the region of Western Norway together even more. Can we imagine that the Universities of Stavanger and Bergen could merge, possibly also with the University College of Western Norway? Western Norway must become stronger so that we can win in competition with UiO and NTNU and not compete with each other for limited funds.

With this, we wish Vestlandslegen success, the best medical education in Norway.

Eystein Husebye
Deputy director K2

Advanced Therapies Medicinal Products (ATMP) lunch meeting 31st of August

EATRIS ATMP platform offers over 44 state ­of­ the ­art European Centres, covering the entire ATMP production and development pipeline. Norway, Sweden and Finland are considering building a Nordic EATRIS ATMP hub with the aim to accelerate the translation of ATMPs into patient benefits by connecting the Nordic capacities and capabilities in the ATMP development process.

Together with Anita Kavlie, EATRIS national coordinator of Norway, we are happy to announce that 31st of August the first capacities mapping event at UiB for MED and HUS researchers, having interest on ATMPs, will be held. Expected outcomes of the event are opportunities to showcase research and innovation in ATMP, expanded network of contacts, common events, and potential research projects in the future. Participating here gives you a unique possibility to have an impact from the start.

The meeting will take place at AAH boardroom at 4 floors from 11 to 13, including lunch. Please register your interest in ATMPs topics and/or participation in the lunch meeting here by 28th of August.

CodeRefinery Workshop Announcement

CodeRefinery invites everyone interested in improving their software practice skills to join the CodeRefinery workshop September 19-21 and 26-28, 2023, for free and online. 

The workshop covers good coding practices, reproducible research principles, and using Git for collaboration. It offers breakout room exercises with team leaders, and you can register as a team or volunteer as a team leader. But you can also follow on your own if you prefer.  

 Register and find more information at https://coderefinery.github.io/2023-09-19-workshop/. 

Shape Health in Bergen!

Healthcare has been selected among top three export industries as Norway is transitioning its economy from the oil & gas.

Could we develop a robust healthcare industry in Bergen region? Can innovation from Bergen not only strengthen the local economy and Norway’s healthcare but also contribute to better global health?

Together with Bergen’s Chamber of Commerce, EY, and other partners, we at Eitri strive to build health innovation ecosystem in the region. To achieve this goal, we need your insight – not as a representative of an organization but as an individual and citizen with valuable opinions.

Please, give us your feedback by clicking here.

It is anonymous and only takes a few minutes. We hope to hear from you by August 20.

Also, share the survey with your colleagues, friends, and network! Together we can make a significant difference to our city!

Safety zone

K2 has a new safe zone on the 5th floor of the laboratory building, KK and Glassblokkene. Here you will find procedures including requisition forms for cuts and puncture injuries with risk of exposure to biological factors, fire blanket, extra first aid kit for major injuries and portable O2 meter (lab building only). The zone is marked with a large poster with useful information such as emergency numbers, fire instructions and first aid.

Courses offered at the Medical library, Autumn 2023

  • Introduction to Endnote
  • Searching in PubMed and Embase
  • Introduction to systematic reviews
  • Literature studies for Bachelor and Master students (in Norwegian)

The courses are planned as a hybrid solution, with the option of attending either physically or online through Zoom. The courses are mainly for employees and PhD candidates at the Faculty of Medicine and for employees at Helse Bergen. Courses for students are normally given as a part of their study program. If that isn’t the case, they can attend these courses as well. The courses are free of charge, but registration is necessary for our planning.

Dates, registration and more information can be found on the library’s web pages:

Courses in English: https://www.uib.no/en/ub/128609/courses-and-guidance#courses-requiring-registration

Overview of all courses (Norwegian or English): https://www.uib.no/ub/126018/kurs-og-veiledning#kurs-med-p-melding

Short description:
Introduction to EndNote: EndNote is a tool for managing references. The course covers how to build your own EndNote library, how to use references from EndNote in the writing process with Word, formatting the text and generating literature lists.. Other functionalities like manually adding references, grouping, removing duplicates, and importing full text will also be covered.

Searching in PubMed and Embase: Everyone can use PubMed. However, with some extra knowledge you can search more efficiently. In the course we demonstrate the use of subject headings MeSH, and the use of filters for quick limiting to clinical queries (like diagnostic studies, or intervention studies). Embase is another important medical database which covers a number of different journals than PubMed/Medline. Therefore, Embase is a valuable supplement to PubMed, if you want to get a better overview over the literature within your field.

Introduction to systematic reviews: The course gives an introduction to systematic reviews. The library presents several databases for finding systematic reviews, and gives an overview over the process of doing your own systematic review: write a protocol, prepare the search, data management, quality appraisal, and guidelines for reporting. We will also inform about the role of the library in the different phases of the work with a systematic review.

Literature studies for Bachelor and Master students (in Norwegian): This course is for students who chose literature study as their bachelor- or master thesis, and have not yet be offered a course as part of their study program. We teach about the process in a literature study. The course covers preparational work before literature searching, how to manage and work with the search results, and how to document the methods used.

NFR call for proposals

Three-year Researcher Project with International Mobility (FRIPRO)
https://www.forskningsradet.no/en/call-for-proposals/2023/three-year-researcher-project-international-mobility-fripro/

Researcher Project for Experienced Scientists (FRIPRO)
https://www.forskningsradet.no/en/call-for-proposals/2023/researcher-project-experienced-scientists-fripro/

Researcher Project for Early Career Scientists (FRIPRO)
https://www.forskningsradet.no/en/call-for-proposals/2023/researcher-project-early-career-fripro/

The new UiBdoc board is from the medical faculty

The 2022-2023 UiBdoc board has finished its term and we are happy to introduce the members of the newly elected board:
Muntequa Ishtiaq Siraji, Department of Biomedicine, President
Valentyn Oksenych, Department of Clinical Science, Vice President
Natalia Fiesco Arango, Department of Clinical Dentistry, Newsletter/social media manager
Robin Mzati Sinsamala, Department of Global Public Health and Primary Care, Treasurer

After summer we will announce fun and social activities arranged by UiBdoc.
This is a great opportunity to network with friends and experience Bergen with fellow PhDs from all of UiB.
UiBdoc | Bergen | Facebook

 

Proof-of-Concept – Research Commercialisation from Publicly Funded Research 2023

Application type Commercialisation Project
Application deadline18 October 2023
Funding scale NOK 1 000 000-5 000 000
Project duration 12-36 months

The purpose of Commercialisation Projects is to contribute to increase commercial exploitation of publicly funded research.

The purpose of a Proof-of-Concept Project is to reduce the project’s uncertainty relating to technology and the market. The goal of a Proof-of-Concept Project is to address the most critical questions, so that the next stage of the commercialisation process can begin.

You can find practical information, frequently asked questions, examples of projects etc. on our Commercialisation Project information page.

TMex@Berlin 2023 – Translational Medicine Explained 5 day winter school

Interested in discovering the landscape of Translational Medicine? Want to learn about the job profiles of scientists in Industry and other sectors? Then join the 2023 TMex@Berlin winter school !

The TMex – Translational Medicine Explained – Winter School consists of an introductory e-learning element (~12 hours student investment time) followed by a 5-day face-to-face workshop on 13-17 November 2023. The course is intended for PhD/MD students in the second half of their PhD and postdocs who are involved in biomedical research.

The course is co-organised with the Enlight-ten+ project and kindly supported by Bayer, and will be hosted on Bayer’s premises in vibrant Berlin!

The course covers a variety of activities, including a drug discovery game, elevator pitches, group work and lectures. Experts from academia and industry will be addressing essential elements of the translational pipeline such as target product profiles, research and development of biologics, clinical trials, regulatory support, science communication, patient-driven research and personalised medicine. Several innovation sessions will take place, covering novel drug delivery methods and academia-biotech-industry collaboration. A tour of Bayer’s facility will also be offered to participants.

COST Open call

Participants are invited to submit COST Action proposals contributing to the scientific, technological, economic, cultural or societal knowledge advancement and development of Europe. Multi- and interdisciplinary proposals are encouraged.

The Open Call Action proposal submission, evaluation, selection and approval (SESA) procedure is fully science and technology-driven and will ensure a simple, transparent and competitive proposal evaluation and selection process, reflecting the bottom-up, open and inclusive principles of COST.

Participants planning to submit a proposal for a COST Action will need to refer to the SESA guidelines and to the Open Call Announcement available on the Documents and Guidelines page.

Research Day at the Faculty of Medicine

On September 26th, the Faculty of Medicine invites everyone to a joint research day. We want to dedicate the day to showcasing research at the Faculty, featuring contributions from different research environments, leading scientists, and young talents. The program is now finalized, and registration is open. All employees, PhD candidates, and postdoctoral researchers are warmly welcome!

The program includes:

  • Eystein Jansen from the European Research Council (ERC)
  • Ole Johan Borge from the Research Council of Norway
  • Research improv – a new experimental concept where young researchers present new ideas for interdisciplinary collaboration
  • The new Center for Excellent Research BCEPS
  • Overview of the Bioinformatics and Women’s Health thematic areas
  • Poster competition for PhD candidates

Read more and sign up here: Research Day at the Faculty of Medicine | Faculty of Medicine | UiB

Long-Term Consequences of the COVID-19 Pandemic for Society

The Pandemic Centre invites to its third conference with the title “Long-Term Consequences of the COVID-19 Pandemic for Society” on the 27th of October 2023 in Bergen, Norway.

More info here.

We are happy to share with you that we received confirmation from the first two key-not speakers:

  • Dr. Sylvie Briand, Director of the Pandemic and Epidemic diseases Department, WHO Director of the Global Infectious Hazard Preparedness (GIH), WHO Emergency Preparedness (WPE) at the WHO
  • Dr. Erica Charters, Professor of the Global History of Medicine, University of Oxford, UK

Dr. Briand will be holding a talk on “Lesson learnt from COVID-19 for better preparedness for long health crisis” and Dr. Charters on “What can we learn from the end of a pandemic?”.

We have now launched the portal where researchers and contributors can send in their abstracts: https://www.uib.no/pandemi/163375/call-abstracts-long-term-consequences-covid-19-pandemic-society

The deadline for abstract submission is 21st August.

We also have a teasing page for the overall conference here: https://www.uib.no/pandemi/163420/long-term-consequences-covid-19-pandemic-society . We will add more information on the program as they come. The registration for the conference will start in August. This is for your reference and to engage researchers to send in abstracts.

In the week leading to the conference we also organize a PhD course of which you can read about here: https://www.uib.no/en/pandemic/162897/apply-interdiciplinary-phd-course-pandemic-centre

Pandemic Centre