Monthly Archives: March 2016

Public PhD Defence, Week 11

Gard Frodahl Tveitevåg SvingenGard Frodahl Tveitevåg Svingen  will defend his PhD thesis on Thrusday April 07 , 2016
Trial lecture: Thursday April 07 2016, 09:15
Topic: “Nutrition in the prevention of cardiovascular disease – is it time for personalized medicine?”
Place: Aud. 2, Bygg for biologiske basalfag, Jonas Lies vei 91
Public defense: Thursday April 07 2016, 11:15
Place: Aud. 2, Bygg for biologiske basalfag, Jonas Lies vei 91
Title of dissertation: “Components of the choline oxidation pathway in relation to acute myocardial infarction, type 2 diabetes and mortality. Prospective observational studies among patients with suspected or verified coronary heart disease in Norway”
1st opponent: Associate professor Hubert Scharnagl, Medical University of Graz, Østerrike
2nd opponent:Professor Aron Troen, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel

Press release (in Norwegian)

New Publications

Based on last week’s search for “Department of Clinical Science AND Bergen”. If you have publications which are not covered by this search, send the reference to elin.opheim@uib.no.

PI3-kinase mutation linked to insulin and growth factor resistance in vivo.
Winnay JN, Solheim MH, Dirice E, Sakaguchi M, Noh HL, Kang HJ, Takahashi H, Chudasama KK, Kim JK, Molven A, Kahn CR, Njølstad PR.
J Clin Invest. 2016 Mar 14.

The influence of acute unloading on left ventricular strain and strain rate by speckle tracking echocardiography in a porcinemodel.
Dahle GO, Stangeland L, Moen CA, Salminen PR, Haaverstad R, Matre K, Grong K.
Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol. 2016 Mar 11:ajpheart.00947.2015.

Causes of death in childhood-onset Type 1 diabetes: long-term follow-up.
Gagnum V, Stene LC, Jenssen TG, Berteussen LM, Sandvik L, Joner G, Njølstad PR, Skrivarhaug T.
Diabet Med. 2016 Mar 21.

Impact of KRAS, BRAF, PIK3CA, TP53 status and intra-individual mutation heterogeneity on outcome after liver resection for colorectal cancer metastases.
Løes IM, Immervoll H, Sorbye H, Angelsen JH, Horn A, Knappskog S, Lønning PE.
Int J Cancer. 2016 Mar 16.

Altered gut microbiota profile in common variable immunodeficiency associates with levels of lipopolysaccharide and markers of systemic immune activation.
Jørgensen SF, Trøseid M, Kummen M, Anmarkrud JA, Michelsen AE, Osnes LT, Holm K, Høivik ML, Rashidi A, Dahl CP, Vesterhus M, Halvorsen B, Mollnes TE, Berge RK, Moum B, Lundin KE, Fevang B, Ueland T, Karlsen TH, Aukrust P, Hov JR.
Mucosal Immunol. 2016 Mar 16.

Prospective Associations of Systemic and Urinary Choline Metabolites With Incident Type 2 Diabetes.
Svingen GF, Schartum-Hansen H, Pedersen ER, Ueland PM, Tell GS, Mellgren G, Njølstad PR, Seifert R, Strand E, Karlsson T, Nygård O.
Clin Chem. 2016 Mar 15.

Preeclampsia and Congenital Heart Defects.
Brodwall K, Greve G, Øyen N.
JAMA. 2016 Mar 15;315(11):1167-8.

Nutrition in Allogeneic Stem Cell Transplantion–Clinical Guidelines and Immunobiological Aspects.
Tvedt TH, Reikvam H, Bruserud Ø.
Curr Pharm Biotechnol. 2016;17(1):92-104. Review.

The Past, Present and Future Subclassification of Patients with Acute Myeloid Leukemia.
Forthun RB, Hinrichs C, Dowling TH, Bruserud Ø, Selheim F.
Curr Pharm Biotechnol. 2016;17(1):6-19. Review.

Circadian hormone profiles and insulin sensitivity in patients with Addison’s disease: a comparison of continuous subcutaneous hydrocortisone infusion with conventional glucocorticoid replacement therapy.
Björnsdottir S, Øksnes M, Isaksson M, Methlie P, Nilsen RM, Hustad S, Kämpe O, Hulting AL, Husebye ES, Løvås K, Nyström T, Bensing S.
Clin Endocrinol (Oxf). 2015 Jul;83(1):28-35.

Evidence for Genetic Overlap Between Schizophrenia and Age at First Birth in Women.
Mehta D, Tropf FC, Gratten J, Bakshi A, Zhu Z, Bacanu SA, Hemani G, Magnusson PK, Barban N, Esko T, Metspalu A, Snieder H, Mowry BJ, Kendler KS, Yang J, Visscher PM, McGrath JJ, Mills MC, Wray NR, Lee SH; Schizophrenia Working Group of the Psychiatric Genomics Consortium, LifeLines Cohort Study, and TwinsUK, Andreassen OA, Bramon E, Bruggeman R, Buxbaum JD, Cairns MJ, Cantor RM, Cloninger CR, Cohen D, Crespo-Facorro B, Darvasi A, DeLisi LE, Dinan T, Djurovic S, Donohoe G, Drapeau E, Escott-Price V, Freimer NB, Georgieva L, de Haan L, Henskens FA, Joa I, Julià A, Khrunin A, Lerer B, Limborska S, Loughland CM, Macek M Jr, Magnusson PK, Marsal S, McCarley RW, McIntosh AM, McQuillin A, Melegh B, Michie PT, Morris DW, Murphy KC, Myin-Germeys I, Olincy A, Van Os J, Pantelis C, Posthuma D, Quested D, Schall U, Scott RJ, Seidman LJ, Toncheva D, Tooney PA, Waddington J, Weinberger DR, Weiser M, Wu JQ.
JAMA Psychiatry. 2016 Mar 23.

Colonic Mucosal Epigenome and Microbiome Development in Children and Adolescents.
Harris RA, Shah R, Hollister EB, Tronstad RR, Hovdenak N, Szigeti R, Versalovic J, Kellermayer R.
J Immunol Res. 2016;2016:9170162.

Vitamin Status among Breastfed Infants in Bhaktapur, Nepal.
Ulak M, Chandyo RK, Thorne-Lyman AL, Henjum S, Ueland PM, Midttun Ø, Shrestha PS, Fawzi WW, Graybill L, Strand TA.
Nutrients. 2016 Mar 8;8(3).

Association between Body Mass Index, Asymmetric Dimethylarginine and Risk of Cardiovascular Events and Mortality in Norwegian Patients with Suspected Stable Angina Pectoris.
Borgeraas H, Hertel JK, Svingen GF, Pedersen ER, Seifert R, Nygård O, Hjelmesæth J.
PLoS One. 2016 Mar 22;11(3):e0152029.

Administrative and Technical Services

These days we learPer Bakken about Danish and Finnish universities that have to cut their budgets by 5-10% and lay off hundreds of employees. Fortunately this is not the case in Norway. UoB has to reduce its budget by NOK 70-100 mill as part of the efficiency program of the government. This is just a very minor part of the budget. However, it may still be wise to assess the way the university is run. UoB has established a “Steering group for development of efficient and future-oriented administrative and technical services”.

This sounds very boring and bureaucratic, and we may think that this has nothing to do with me. But it does and to a great extent. For instance, recruitment procedures, travel documents and establishing exams are tasks we are all engaged in. More important than making these tasks cheaper, is to improve their quality. This is why the work of this steering group is important to all of us, and I am sure that we will hear more from it.

In the meantime Easter is coming up, and I hope that we can all relax and have a good time.
Happy Easter!

Per

New Names

rita_vikIntroducing Rita Vik, PhD in nutrition. Rita started as chief engineer in the research unit for health examinations (FHU) in March 2016 . If you want to say hello, you can find her on the 8th floor in the laboratory building.

Invitation to NORBIS Summer School

norbis2Dear all,

We are happy to announce that the first NORBIS Summer School, “An introduction to molecular biology, bioinformatics and biostatistics” will take place in Bergen, 13th – 17th June, 2016.

Please distribute the attached invitation to anyone who may be interested. We aim for a wide variety of backgrounds at the summer school, and we encourage students in fields such as cell- and molecular biology, marine studies, genetics and medicine to register, along with our own NORBIS students. Continue reading

Announcement of election: Department Council – Group B

New representatives from group B (temporary scientific staff) is to be elected for the department council at K2 this spring. The election period is 1 August 2016 to 31 July 2017.

New this year is that employees with part-time position at K2 and main position at HUS also have the right to vote.

One representative and three deputies are to be elected. Nominations should be signed and submitted to Irene Hjelmaas within 25 April 2016. Continue reading

Pensjonering eller fortsatt yrkesaktiv, forlenget påmeldingsfrist i Bergen

Fagakademiet(This post has not been translated, since the course will be held in Norwegian.)

Vi inviterer ansatte i stat, kommuner, fylkeskommune, NAV, helseforetak og andre offentlig eide virksomheter i alderen 60 år og over til kurset. Det er også meget aktuelt for de som går ut av jobb før 60 år p.g.a. særaldersgrense, uføretrygd, førtidspensjon etc. Det er også anledning til å ta med ektefelle/ledsager.
Forelesere: Harald Engelstad og Kurt O. Bjørnnes
Bergen, 04. OG 05. APRIL 2016 Continue reading

Announcement of election to the University Board 2016-2017 for group B

The time has again come for election of a member and deputies to the University Board for the period 1 August 2016 to 31 July 2017; representatives of temporary employees in teaching and research positions (group B).
One member from the group of temporary employees in teaching and research will be elected. In addition, three deputies will be appointed. Proposal Deadline: Wednesday March 31
Election Dates: The election will be electronically conducted during the period 20 -26 April. The polling station is open from Wednesday 20 April 9 am to Tuesday 26 April 12 noon.
Details on how the proposal should be designed and how it should be sent can be found on this page.

COST: New research networks – medical and health research

COST | European Cooperation in Science and TechnologyCOST is a European networking organization where most European countries (including Norway and all EU member states) are members. An important task for COST is to promote European research by initiating scientific networks (“COST actions”).

General information on COST can be found here and here.

In February 2016 it was decided to initiate 26 new COST actions, of which the following is within / relevant for medical and health research: Continue reading

ERPA International Congresses on Education

erpa
Dear Colleague,
It is with great pleasure we inform you about the ERPA International Congresses on Education 2016 that will be held in Sarajevo / Bosnia and Herzegovina from 2 to 4 June 2016.
We hope that the conference will enable you to share your research with an international research community and to engage in discussion about the current issues in the field of education. Continue reading

Eu’s Health Programme – Announcements for 2016 – Free Webinar 22 March

euhp2National Health Service (NHS) in England organizes a webinar 22 March in conjunction with this year’s announcements. I would strongly recommend you to participate if you are interested in applying. They arranged a similar webinar last year, where potential applicants from across the EU participated. Subsequently a list of stakeholders in various topics/projects were prepared . This means that the webinar represents an easy way to get an overview of possible future partners, if desired. Continue reading

New Publications

Based on last week’s search for “Department of Clinical Science AND Bergen”. If you have publications which are not covered by this search, send the reference to elin.opheim@uib.no.

Physicians’ Perception of Teratogenic Risk and Confidence in Prescribing Drugs in Pregnancy-Influence of Norwegian Drug Information Centers.
Bakkebø T, Widnes SF, Aamlid SS, Schjøtt J.
Clin Ther. 2016 Mar 10.

The serum level of C-reactive protein (CRP) is associated with cognitive performance in acute phase psychosis.
Johnsen E, Fathian F, Kroken RA, Steen VM, Jørgensen HA, Gjestad R, Løberg EM.
BMC Psychiatry. 2016 Mar 14;16(1):60.

Sample Size in Clinical Cardioprotection Trials Using Myocardial Salvage Index, Infarct Size, or Biochemical Markers as Endpoint.
Engblom H, Heiberg E, Erlinge D, Jensen SE, Nordrehaug JE, Dubois-Randé JL, Halvorsen S, Hoffmann P, Koul S, Carlsson M, Atar D, Arheden H.
J Am Heart Assoc. 2016 Mar 9;5(3).

Analysis of cellular and humoral immune responses against cytomegalovirus in patients with autoimmune Addison’s disease.
Edvardsen K, Hellesen A, Husebye ES, Bratland E.
J Transl Med. 2016 Mar 9;14(1):68.

Suggested Cut-Off Values for Vitamin D as a Risk Marker for Total and Cardiac Death in Patients with Suspected Acute Coronary Syndrome.
Naesgaard PA, León de la Fuente RA, Nilsen ST, Pönitz V, Brügger-Andersen T, Grundt H, Staines H, Nilsen DW.
Front Cardiovasc Med. 2016 Feb 26;3:4.

The Hypoglycemic Phenotype is Islet Cell-Autonomous in Short-chain Hydroxyacyl-CoA Dehydrogenase (SCHAD) Deficient Mice.
Molven A, Hollister-Lock J, Hu J, Martinez R, Njølstad PR, Liew CW, Weir G, Kulkarni RN.
Diabetes. 2016 Mar 7.

Equality policy, is that something we in K2 have to think about?

Jone Trovik, portrett til disputasI grew up in a school system with a fairly even distribution of boys and girls with equal skills.

When I was a medical student (early 80s) we were also equally distributed (as opposed to the current situation with 70% girls), but the lecturers were essentially men, and women professors were a rare breed. (I can actually remember that Professor May-Elin Koller of the anesthesia department made an impression as an almost solitary swallow.) In gynecology I have always had many female colleagues and at KK the management also has a dominance of women now.

When I stepped into the University function however, it was like tugging “back to the 80s”: I experience that I am the almost single swallow! Look around your section: How many research groups, platforms or centres of excellence have female leaders? And in middle management, how is the situation there? In the hospital we can clearly see how male nurses largely possess such positions, and how is it for the Medical Laboratory Scientists?

Is this inequality a problem? Should we just sit around and wait for all the current female students and PhD students to grow up an hope that it will then even out? Or should we have an active equality policy where this is on the agenda? A friendly push; actively encourage women to apply for management positions (yes you ARE good enough!) and employ them! Should we have affirmative action? We are currently writing a new strategy document. Should a greater proportion of women in the scientific positions be an objective? If we do not mention it,it means we do not find it important (enough) to work towards. It is a choice.

Jone

New Names

julie sletten

We present Julie Sletten, Candidate of Medicine with research experience from The Medical Student Research Programme.

Julie started as a PhD candidate in the Clinical Fetal Physiology Research Group in February.

If you want to say hello, you will find her on the 4th floor of Kvinneklinikken.

EUs Health Programme – Work Programme for 2016 has been published

helsedirektoratet

Dear all,
The work programme for 2016 has now been published. Project funding for 2016 has been published with a deadline of 2 June. See Chafea’s website.
Contract Research (Procurement) will be announced consecutively on the same website.
See more information on the Norwegian Directorate of Health’s web page.
Attached you will find an English summary of the work programme for the current year.

With best regards
Janicke Fischer
Senior Adviser
Department of Global Health
Norwegian Directorate of Health
P.O. Box 7000 St Olavs plass, N-0130 Oslo, Norway.