Author Archives: apoih

This weeks editorial

Hi everybody!

It is time for the allocation of small research funds (SMÅFORSK). The funds are a joint effort between NFR and UiB. The intention is that the funds should be given to research groups that have not received large grants so that they can start new projects. It can be applied to cover expenses for travel, seminars, courses, materials, technical-administrative assistance and other operating costs.

Requirements for application and criteria for allocation:

– The funds go to researchers who do not have large operating assets already.

– The size of the individual grants is between 15 000-150 000 NOK.

– The funds must be used by 2021  and cannot be transferred.

– Recipients must be active researchers in a permanent scientific position, Prof. II or 1.am. II.

– Recipients must have applied for external funds in recent years.

Since we have experienced that is does not work optimally to limit the application to research group leaders, as last year all permanent scientific employees (including scientific employees in 10-50% position) can apply. It is done via this link (https://skjemaker.app.uib.no/view.php?id=9742569). Deadline is 14.2.2021

Trond Mohn Research Foundation (TMS) has announced a new round of recruitment grants with a final deadline of March 8 2021. Since there is a limit to the number of nominated candidates each department can promote, we ask interested applicants to submit a 1-2 page sketch describing the candidate, project, research community and candidate’s CV (TMS wants a CV of up to three pages that includes the most important and relevant publications).

The internal deadline is February 1 2021. The sketch and CV can be sent to amra.grudic@uib.no and silke.appel@uib.no.

It is worth noting that this scholarship provides an opportunity to bring in external candidates, something both the Foundation and the Faculty of Medicine strongly encourage.

In addition, I want to inform you of the PhD and postdoc positions from the medical faculty for spring 2021. There will be 9 PhD positions (2 of those MNT positions, i.e. reserved for mathematics, natural sciences and technology, and 1 within odontology) and 2 postdoc positions. The ads will be available online and in BT today with an application deadline 14.2.2021.

Have a nice week-end!

Supervisors for main assignments: Think about publishing!

Medical students can write the master’s thesis as an article manuscript, if they and the supervisor so wish. It can be difficult to get the theses up to a level for international publication, so there is no requirement that the manuscript be accepted in the journal for the thesis to be approved. However, the manuscript is required to be submitted for publication.

It is also possible to invest in publication in Norwegian journals. Journal of the Norwegian Medical Association is an opportunity that is highly relevant. In addition, the journal “Kirurgen” has informed us that they are very interested in publishing articles from students. So all supervisors in surgery: also think about the possibility of trying to publish main theses in “Kirurgen”! See «kirurgen.no».
Best regards
Arne Tjølsen

CCBIO Research School courses

We are happy to announce the following 3 CCBIO Research School courses for the spring term, and note that if you will join and need the ECTS, registration deadline is February 1st. Registration for ECTS participation is the same for all 3 courses:

  • If you are already enrolled at the University of Bergen (UiB), you apply/register through Studentweb.
  • If you are not enrolled at the UiB but want the ECTS, you apply/register through Søknadsweb, where you simultaneously apply for UiB guest student status.

Continue reading

Many application opportunities in 2021

We have received the results of last year’s applications to the Research Council, but there is no time to rest. The application deadline for groundbreaking research (FRIPRO) is already 10 February, so applicants must report to the department management so that a project economist can be assigned. It is also possible to get help from our research advisor. In addition to FRIPRO, there is also a call for young research talents, persons under the age of 40 years and between 2 and 7 years after PhD. A three-year research project with international mobility is a brilliant opportunity to work and gain experience abroad. In addition, funding is announced for the use of health data for sustainable health and welfare and global health that could suit some of K2’s research groups.

Of larger calls, we find Large interdisciplinary research project and a new call for K.G. Jebsen Centres in translational medical research. The latter has an application deadline in May and is a 2-step process. UiB and HUS have the opportunity to submit an application for 4 centers in this round.

The Norwegian Cancer Society also has an early application deadline this year, namely 10 March. The same date is also the deadline for Helse Vest’s announcement of innovation projects for 2021. You can apply for funding for new projects at your own company or idea transfer between the full companies.

Last but not least, there will be good opportunities to apply for EU funding this year. The new research program Horizon Europe starts this year with the first announcements this autumn. Many of the calls will suit K2’s researchers

We hope all the research groups at K2 will send applications this year.

 

Good luck

 

Eystein

Vice head, K2

Courses in Supervision in the clinical workplace

Available places in Supervision in the clinical workplace – (https://www.uib.no/emne/MEDPVEIL602)

Monday January 25th,  09-12
Monday February 1st, 09-12
Monday February 8th, 09-12

Workshops in creating “Pedagogisk mappe” is offered February 22nd and April 14, 9-12

Ca. 2 houres of preperation must be expected.

Register: https://www.uib.no/med/enhetforl%C3%A6ring/137476/workshops-i-pedagogiske-mapper-h%C3%B8sten-2020

NB! These offers are for all scientific staff across program and department affiliations!

Welcome!

(Norsk) Disputas Noreen Butt

Trial lecture:      Friday 22th of January 2021, at 10:15

Subject:            “What can we do to further reduce mortality from coronary artery disease in Norway?”

Dissertation:                    Friday 22th of January, at 12:15

Subject:      “Inflammation and cardioprotection in ST- elevation myocardial infarction”

  1. opponent: Professor Rune Wiseth, NTNU
  2. opponent: Førsteamanuensis Bjørn Bendz, Universitetet i Oslo
  3. member of the comitee: Professor Mai Tone Lønnebakken, Universitetet i Bergen

The dissertation will be led by professor Hartwig Kørner

Open for all.

Digital meetingroom : https://uib.zoom.us/j/67997099890?pwd=OHNBU3FBSzBoTzRHRjJ6cFZ0ZnBNdz09

Pressrelease – Hjertebetennelse ved akutt infarkt | Nye doktorgrader | Universitetet i Bergen (uib.no)

Happy New Year!

Christmas and the holiday season at the end of the year are over. It has been a busy time – everything must be fixed and arranged for a few, intense days. However, for most people it has been a precious holiday with time together with the ones we love, as well as an opportunity for contemplation and reflection. It provides motivation and strength to embark on a new year with new opportunities.

We entered the new year with dramatic events. The landslide accident in Gjerdrum was a terrible event, and our thoughts go to relatives, friends and acquaintances of those who lost their lives or were affected in some other way. There are probably many of us who could not believe what we saw on TV on Wednesday where the riots in Washington DC were a failed attempt at a coup in a country that has been a guardian of democracy and a champion of individual freedom. And unfortunately, the coronavirus infection rates have increased significantly, which has necessitated more and stricter restrictions.

There is still reason to look at the new year with optimism! We have learned a lot of new things in the past year in terms of infection prevention and alternative forms of learning, so we are well on our way. A lot of activity will therefore be able to continue as it did in the autumn of 2020 when it comes to research and teaching.

Vaccination is now underway and hopefully the infection situation will be under control sometime this year. We have therefore decided that K2 Retreat, which we had planned for the spring of 2021, will be moved to the autumn while the teaching day (together with K1) will be in the spring, even though it may be digital.

We received good results on applications last year (EU, Helse Vest, Hjertefondet, Kreftforeningen, NFR, Novo Nordisk Fonden). There are a number of application deadlines already now in January and February, among others Novo Nordisk Fonden and NFR so it’s just a matter of getting around. Contact Amra for help and advice. There is the possibility of financial support for applications, especially for those who want to try their hand at ERC. The latter should be considered by more people, the one who dares nothing, nothing wins!

All the best for the new year!

HSE corner – Workplaces with risk of oxygen depletion or increased levels of carbon dioxide

New instructions have been made to ensure safety in laboratories with CO2 and liquid nitrogen. They should function as a guideline in the compilation of procedures for each research group.

Two handheld O2 monitors are available in the reception or at the 5. Floor. See the instruction for more information.

Link to the instructions: https://hmsk2.w.uib.no/en/safety/7-working-with-gas/workplaces-with-risk-of-oxygen-depletion-or-increased-levels-of-carbon-dioxide/

Regards, Siv Lise

 

BT is voting “Talents for the future”

In 2005 and 2013, Bergens Tidende named a number of young people in our area who were predicted to make their mark in the years ahead. We now tell how it went with them from 2013:

https://www.bt.no/emne/unge-lovende-slik-gikk-det-med-dem

Now we will repeat the exercise. We want to find out who can be tomorrow’s business leaders, artists, politicians, tech founders, researchers and so on. In short: The talents you think will make a difference. We are now asking for help. Regular readers can nominate, in addition we hope that institutions, organizations, companies and other environments will help. Feel free to talk to colleagues, nieces, nephews and people who may have good input. Based on the candidates we receive, a jury will be responsible for the actual selection of 30 people under 30 years of age.

You can register candidates here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSecgqGCXC4_aYgzXJ4efwjLSTfx4aqAXzuhoxaQ3ebQZa-GOQ/viewform?gxids=7628

Deadline: January 15th

Guidelines for this autumns dissertations

The faculty has made new guidelines for this autumns dissertations;

– Full digital disputations are still recommended. By fully digital we mean a solution where everyone involved, including the candidate, is disputing from their own home or office (with private or UiB equipment).
– The faculty allows for the use of suitable UiB premises by agreement with the relevant department. This is particularly relevant if the candidate only has access to the Helse-Bergen PC. If UiB premises are used, supervisors, as well as any committee chair and custos may be in the same room as the candidate. Opponents are not allowed to be physically present, even in cases where they are already in Bergen. Note that custos and committee chairmen must then have an opportunity to retire to attend the digital committee meeting, so that their own (brought) equipment is required for this. You can use a laptop, tablet or similar, but note that this must also be tested.
– PhD coordinator or other representatives from the administration can not be expected to be physically present, but will be available digitally and facilitate testing and implementation.
– Everyone who has an active role in the disputation must participate in testing in advance, with the equipment and in the room they will be staying at the disputation itself. Everyone who has an active role during the disputation must become well acquainted with the equipment through testing.
– IT assistant can be physically present as long as they do not work from home office. This is ordered via UiB help.
– Zoom webinar is the recommended solution from UiB Central. The IT department is working to get more licenses in place, probably from October. We will keep you updated on progress, but until further notice, UiBhjelp can be used to order the use of the license.
– The department will not provide food, tablecloths, cloaks or flowers to the room where the candidate is staying.
– It will not be possible to invite the public into the disputation room, even if the size of the room should indicate that it is possible.
– The faculty will offer administrative support to the departments on dates where one department has two disputations on the same day, but we will try as much as possible to avoid collisions.

Questions? Please contact Irene Hjelmaas

Candidates for K2 Deparatment council (Instituttråd)

As previously announced,  we need new candidates  for K2`s Department council, group B (temporary scientific staff). You will be elected for one year at a time.

At the expiry of the deadline, no proposals had been submitted, so we ask that employees who would like to participate, send an email to irene.hjelmaas@uib.no. Deadline April 15th.

Participation here will be educational and provide good knowledge about the department. There is a limited number of meetings per year, and it will look good on your CV 🙂

Admission to digital ph.d courses

The Faculty of Medicine is concerned that we will have a course offer for PhD candidates who are in different phases of ph.d run.
Therefore, we are encouraged to be flexible when it comes to enrolling students in the various courses. This means flexible enrollment deadlines , and possibilities for external students to attend.

Application for course admission for PhD candidates from external academic institutions

Congratulations

Delighted to receive on her behalf, Trond Mohns Starting Grant to Jenny Mjösberg from Karolinska Institute for setting up a research group on mucosa inflammation at K2 Department of Clinical Science, UiB.

Archiving and open access to research articles – instruction

We have received new instructions on requirements for archiving and open access to scientific articles from UiB centrally.
This means that all scientific articles funded by public funds should be openly available.

For scientific staff at K2, this means:

  • All scientific publications related to a project funded by the Research Council, the EU or other financiers requiring open access shall be included in the project number of the financier in Cristin.
  • The researcher is to ensure that a peer-reviewed full-text version of all scientific articles has been uploaded to Cristin’s post. Author’s accepted version should be uploaded, unless author confidently knows that publisher allows publishing of published version.

Publications without full upload will not be approved for reporting.

The deadline for uploads is February 1, 2020!

In the coming week, The Department will send out lists to each researcher of the publications this applies so far in 2019.

The instructions can be found here (norwegian only)

A link to the upload guide can be found here.

The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2019

The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2019

The 2019 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was awarded to cancer researcher William G. Kaelin Jr, physician-scientist Sir Peter Ratcliffe and geneticist Gregg L. Semenza “for their discoveries of how cells sense and adapt to oxygen availability”. The ability of organisms to respond to changes in oxygen availability is of fundamental importance to life on earth. The prize-winning scientists have revealed how cells sense and respond to oxygen by switching genes on and off by oxygen-sensitive post-translational modification and the subsequent proteasomal degradation of hypoxia inducible factors. Among the applications of their discovery is a better understanding of how the body reacts when oxygen levels drop owing to exercise or stroke, and efforts to manipulate the response to slow the growth of oxygen-hungry cancer tumors.

Interestingly, in 2017 William G. Kaelin wrote in a commentary in Nature that many of the papers that he, Semenza and Ratcliffe wrote leading up to their discoveries “would be considered quaint, preliminary and barely publishable today”. “The goal of a paper seems to have shifted from validating specific conclusions to making the broadest possible assertions,” he argued, calling for a return to a focus on quality over impact.

What can be the causes for today’s inflation of impact and claims? One might be the emphasis funding agencies have on impact and translation of the results. Another can be that technological advances have made it easier to generate large amounts of research data, which can be published as online only supplements. Both these factors can encourage editors and reviewers to ask for extra experiments that can be byproducts, peripheral to the main conclusion or targeted to increase the impact.

In his comment in Nature in 2017, Kaelin concludes that he main question when reviewing a paper should be whether its conclusions are likely to be correct, not whether it would be important if it were true. Food for thought!

Have a nice week end!

(Norwegian) Nytt om navn

Silje Skrede begynner 01.07. i stilling som professor i farmakologi ved K2. Hun er cand. med. fra UiB, har PhD innen psykofarmakologi og blir nå tilknyttet forskningsgruppen i farmakologi og farmasi (G4), som holder til i 9. etasje i laboratoriebygget. Samtidig blir hun ny fagansvarlig for undervisning i farmakologi ved medisinstudiet. Arbeidsplass blir i 9. etasje ved laboratoriebygget, og hun kan nås på silje.skrede@uib.no.

(Norwegian) Nytt om navn

Anne-Lise Bjørke Monsen er spesialist i barnesykdommer og medisinsk biokjemi. Hun arbeider med vitaminer, sporelementer og miljøgifter, med et spesielt fokus på betydningen av mors status for spedbarnets nevrologiske utvikling. Hun har frem til nå hatt en 100% overlegestilling ved Avdeling for medisinsk biokjemi og farmakologi og en 20% stilling som førsteamanuensis på Klinisk institutt 2. Fra 1. oktober har hun en 100% førsteamanuensis stilling ved K2.