Monthly Archives: November 2014

Budget 2015

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Eystein 2The University Director has just sent the budget allocation letter to MOFA. Unfortunately, it is rather depressive reading. Salary- and price compensation for UiB is set to 3%. However, as the money travels through the system to the institute, the compensation proposed to be cut to 1%.What the final figure will be will be decided in the December Faculty Board Meeting.

The size of the local salary pot was unusually big this year and K2 employees were allocated a large part of it, so much that our salary expenses will increase about 5% in total next year. This combined with a minimal number of retirements the next two years means that we will have to continue to reduce that base funding part of our budget. However, we will still try to shield the operating funds allocated PhD-students and Postdocs, but I cannot promise that we will be able to do so in 2015.

Another main issue for K2 in the budgeting process is how zero-overhead projects are to be handled. K2 is the institute with the highest number of such projects. The Faculty Board will in December also determine principles for how rent and administrative costs for such projects are to be paid. This may affect the financial situation at K2. There are signs that we will see a tightening in transferal in this area. Thus, we might very soon find ourselves in a situation where we will have to say no to certain forms of external funding.

Are there no positive cyphers you may ask? Well, there will be funds earmarked galenic pharmacy. In addition we will be have a larger budget for scientific equipment than in 2014. K2 will also be given a technical position for operating and administering the Unit for Healthy Volunteers which will launch in 2015.

Whether or not we will be able to strengthen the budget is also up to you as a K2-employee. At the top of my wish list is funding of some of our many EU- and NFR-applications. It is great to know that K2 is the UiB institute with the highest number of EU-applications this year; hopefully some will be translated into project funding. These are the projects that can strengthen the financial situation at K2. Let’s just hope our prayers are answered.

Wishing you all a balanced 2015

Eystein

Head of Department

NEW K1/K2 SEMINAR

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We wish to invite you all to the next monthly K1/K2 Seminar Series!

Title: “B-cell depletion in chronic fatigue syndrome”

Held by Øystein Fluge, Senior Scientist, Department of Clinical Science

When: Wednesday, December 3rd, 14:15-15:00.

Where: Main Auditorium, 3rd floor, Sentralblokken.

Chair: Roland Jonsson

Abstract: Chief Physician and Senior Scientist Øystein Fluge, together with colleague Olav Mella, study the effects of the cancer medicine Rituximab on ME-patients, also known as Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. This year they have initiated a double blind study in order to test Rituximab on patients. At this seminar Øystein Fluge will talk about his exciting work, about Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and the effects of Rituximab.

Announcement of scolarships from Pasteur Legatet 2014

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On December 27, 2104, The Pasteur Foundation will award scholarships to Norwegian scientists who intend to study a topic related to infectious agents, chemistry or the fermentation industry. Allocation of funding is preferably awarded young, active and promising researchers, below the doctoral level.
For more information (In norwegian)

Deadline December 15th.

Outstanding award to PhD-Candidate at K2

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utstanding award til Ph.D.-kandidatAs part of the annual meeting of American College of Rheumatology (ACR) in Boston, USA, PhD-Candidate/LIS-doctor Maria Boge Lauvsnes was awarded the Sjögren’s Syndrome Foundation’s Outstanding Abstract Award. Through her work – Hippocampal Atrophy Is Associated with Anti-NR2 Antibodies in Patients with Systemic Lupus Erythematosus and Primary Sjögren’s Syndrome – she has shown that a type of anti-NMDA receptor antibodies (anti-NR2 antibodies) cause atrophy of the brain structure hippocampus in humans with the immunological diseases SLE and primary Sjögren’s syndrome. This has been confirmed in animal models, which have revealed that anti-NR2 antibodies cause neuronal death of hippocampus in mice.

Such antibodies are associated with cognitive failure in both SLE and primary Sjögren’s syndrome, and they may constitute a general mechanism for cerebral affection with immunopathies.

Maria Boge Lauvsnes works for the Clinical Immunological Research Group at Stavanger University Hospital

Applications for external funding in 2014

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Roland JonssonThe research activity for 2014 at K2 is strongly characterized by a large volume and enthusiasm for external funding. As the year is almost at an end, it could be wise to summarize the status for application writing done to obtain funding for research. There is no doubt that application activity at K2 has been very high, something which deserves lots of praise. A lot of focus has been aimed at Horizon2020, and now that many of the announcements have closed, you might think that people have become a bit tired of the process. Of course many might wait for answers/results before they decide whether or not the effort has been worth it.

The impression is that those who apply the most, within all fields, are also those applying for the most competitive announcements such as FRIPRO and H2020 – so this does not indicate application tiredness. However, these are always the most active applicants. The question becomes how many new applicants there are at K2 – how many actually dare, and bother to, participate?

Regarding application status – 17 applications have been sent from K2 to NFR/FRIPRO. Six of these have also applied H2020. In total, 16 stage-2 applications have been sent to H2020. Among these are 5 applications for coordinator status (7 have been sent in total from MOF) and this is statistically very good.

In addition, this is just a part of our application activity, and does not include all the applications to The Norwegian Cancer Society, BMF/BMFS, Health and Rehabilitation, Helse Vest, etc. But in principle, only EU and NFR include contribution margin (overheads).

Further, how and when should one initiate, for instance, an EU application? A good time to start would be during a postdoc-period. Young people, in an early stage of their career, are most in need of obtaining skills in writing applications, and these people should be included in any large-scale application writing.

So now we eagerly await feedback in the upcoming weeks …..

Roland