Monthly Archives: April 2019

Back in town from Cambridge and Boston!

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In addition to being at Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT, I worked one day a week at the Center for Genomic Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH). This is a public hospital located in downtown Boston and is considered by many to be one of the world’s best hospitals. Here, the world’s first ether anesthesia was performed, where a number of interested doctors observed the incident, see the legendary image (hanging in The Ether Dome; find the error!). I participated in several Grand Rounds in endocrinology in this room. The level of these was impressive. Assistant doctors gave presentations that were very detailed, and biochemistry and genetics were carefully dissected. There was plenty of time for discussions where seniors were very active. The first time I was there, it was full flap. The two presentations were about MODY and hyperinsulin, respectively. These are two disease groups that I have worked a lot with as a clinician and researcher for many years!

Otherwise, at MGH every week there is a presentation of a case for all doctors in education and other interested. These include supplementary information from several doctors involved in investigation and treatment. Own personnel write up what is said and the one who held the presentation finally publishes it in the New England Journal of Medicine. I was attending my boss, Professor Jose Florez MD PhD, his presentation of an unusual case of gestational diabetes. The presentation was just amazing. It was elegant and to the point, easily explained but still detailed when it comes to investigation and treatment. In addition, he included state-of-the-art at the research front in the field. The presentation was with a decent portion of humor so it didn’t get boring. The presentation was of great inspiration when it comes to, for example, teaching of students. Our teaching should be research-based. It must be updated. The students are particularly pleased with lecturers who are inspiring. It often doesn’t take much more than giving a little bit of oneself and with a smile occasionally. Then the students better follow the talk.

Have a great weekend!

(Norwegian) Det medisinske fakultet er resertifisert som Miljøfyrtårn

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Fakultetet ble resertifisert som Miljøfyrtårn den 9. april etter en resertifiseringsprosess som startet høsten 2018. Resertifiseringen inkluderer instituttene, sentrene og fakultetsadministrasjonen.

For å bli resertifisert som Miljøfyrtårn, har fakultetet dokumentert at vi oppfyller en rekke krav innen det systematiske HMS-arbeidet, i tillegg til krav innen avfall, innkjøp, transport og energi.

Å være Miljøfyrtårn forplikter oss som institusjon og som enkeltansatte til å gjøre miljøbevisste valg i hverdagen. Miljøsertifikatet er gyldig i 3 år. Når det skal fornyes i 2022, må fakultetet kunne dokumentere at vi er blitt enda bedre.

På UiBs nettside finnes eksempler på hvordan både ansatte og studenter, kan bidra.

(Norwegian) Frokostmøte om Kinas ambisiøse klimatiltak

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Kommende mandag er det duket for nok et Frokostmøte med fokus på Kina.

Sted: Bergen Global (CMI)
Tid: mandag 29.april kl. 08:30.

Her møter man klimaforsker Nils Gunnar Kvamstø og Kina-forsker Ole Johannes Kaland i en samtale om Kina, klimapolitikk og forskningssamarbeid mellom Norge og Kina.

Fint om dere kan hjelpe med å dele denne linken, og invitasjonen (gjerne også til studenter), meget bredt, slik at de fleste som er interessert kan få med seg arrangementet.

Dere finner omtale her.

Lenke til omtale på Facebook her.

De som kommer på Frokostmøtet får servert gratis croissanter, kaffe og te.

Spetses Summer School on Epigenomics, Nuclear Receptors and Disease 

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We would like to draw your attention to our upcoming Spetses Summer School on Epigenomics, Nuclear Receptors and Disease (FEBS Advanced Lecture Course ALC19-046) at Spetses Island/Greece from August 25 – 30, 2019.

Unlike ordinary larger meetings, the summer school is highly interactive and allows the participants to actually meet and discuss with all lectures for full four days during and beyond the many different program activities.

For information and application see our website.

The deadline for applications is May 6. 

Merck Life Science (Sigma Aldrich) invites you to a free seminar in Bergen

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The seminar is a Cell biology seminar.

Also Josefine Jaxby from Corning will be at Seminar if you have questions about Corning products.

Hopefully you can send it forward to people that might be interested in this Seminar at your department.

Speaker: Marina Wiklander, PhD
Date: 08.05.2019
Time: 08:30 – 12.00

Location: Thormøhlensgt 55 (N-terminalen, romnr. 520B1), 5.etg., Bioblokken 

  1. Cell Identity and Authentication: What’s in your flask?
    Cell line misidentification is one of the greatest threats to the validity of research in the 21st century. With cell culture key to most life science research it is vitally important that any practitioner of cell culture is aware of the magnitude of the problem and be able to employ resources and strategies to ensure valid results. 
  2. Trouble Shooting in Cell Culture
    Overview of the global cell culture process, where and why problems could be encountered (poor growth and viability, low adherence, mycoplasma detection, phenotypic drift). A chance for customers to “share their problems”. 
  3. Moving from 2D to 3D cell culture?: 3D Neural Stem Cell Models of Alzheimer’s Disease
    Introduction of 3D cell culture technologies provided us with improved model for cellular research for drug discovery and other medical applications. Combination of 3D cell technology with stem cell research helped us to establish a relevant disease model in order to understand the pathology of the dementia and also improve the development of drugs.Based on publication by Kim et. al who created a three-dimensional (3D) human neural stem cell model of Alzheimer’s disease, we would like to introduce this model as a valuable tool to study age-related Alzheimer’s dementia as well as other neurodegenerative disorders.

New publications

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Here are recent publications with contributions from K2 based on last week’s search on PubMed (and optionally articles that have not been included in previous lists). This time the list includes in total 8 recent publications. The entries appear in the order they were received from NCBI. If you have publications that are not included in this or previous lists, please send the references to Hege F. Berg.

Continue reading →

Will Santa Claus come this year?

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Yesterday some of us were gathered to count down towards the deadline for submitting applications to the Research Council of Norway; 10 – 9 – 8 down to 0. At the deadline K2’ers had send a total of 35 applications to NFR. Thanks to all the applicants and the administration (Amra, Julie, Kate, Kjetil, Linn, Burhan,and Mia) who have all worked towards a common goal – to send the best possible applications to The Research Council. The department leadership is very pleased with the effort. Hopefully we will be inspired to eat another cate as Christmas approaches.

At the same time, we must all be aware that the “eye of the needle” is small, even though we received two FRIPRO, three BEHANDLING and one GLOBEVAC project last year. This might be a national record for a department of our size. It is also gratifying to see that so many of the younger researchers are applying this year. Twelve applications were written by researchers in temporary positions. Altogether 19 applications were written by women and 16 by men. This testifies to the ability and willingness of K2’ers to move forward to be leaders in their fields.

Knowing that only about 1 out of 20 applications are funded, the majority of the 35 will be successful. Nevertheless, the writing process and all the time spent is not at all wasted as it both sharpens the hypotheses and ideas of the scientific project, and because the application can be used for other calls, such as Helse Vest and EU.

Writing applications is a “stone upon stone” process that we, who thrive going uphill, are good at. So let’s hope that success breeds success – and that Santa Claus comes to visit early this year.

Eystein Husebye
Deputy K2

Important changes regarding parking outside the lab building

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From April 1st, Q-park took over responsibility for control of unauthorized parking at UiB’s parking Spaces at the parking deck outside the lab building. This means a major change. Q-park controls the spaces almost daily and find those who are not electronically registered in their systems. This means that the registration number, name, telephone number and e-mail must be registered electronically at Q-park. This must be done by the reception or Irene Hjelmaas. Parking on the parking deck without confirmation that you have been registered is at your own risk no matter when during the day/week you are considering parking on the parking deck.

Deadline for registering your summer holiday and happy easter!

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Dear colleagues,

I would like to inform you that deadline for registering your summer holiday is 1st May. At the same time I would like to remind those of you who are quickly approaching your easter holiday, to please register your easter holiday before exiting the office.

The holiday plan for the main holiday period shall be registered 1st May and applications for holidays must therefore be registered in Pagaweb well ahead of this date. All employees shall as a main rule take three weeks of holiday in the period between 1. June and 30th September, and preferably between the two school semesters.

Please remember that your holiday shall be in agreement with your closest leader and be registered in Pagaweb. I hope you can spare a couple of minutes to do this. You can always change the time of your holiday at a later time, should this be needed.

Wishing you all a very happy easter,

Best regards,

Julie

CCBIO ANNUAL SYMPOSIUM MAY 13th-14th & SATELLITE SYMPOSIUM ON DEEP TISSUE PROFILING MAY 12th:

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We have now posted the final scientific programs of CCBIO’s two international symposia in May 2019 at the Solstrand SPA hotel, on the event websites. Also note that registration deadline is extended to April 24th, as we can still make room for some more participants. If you have not registered yet: Please do not wait till the last minute as the list is rapidly filling.

-The 7th CCBIO Annual Symposium, May 13th-14th REGISTRATION

-The CCBIO 2nd Satellite Symposium, on Deep Tissue Profiling, May 12th REGISTRATION

7th CCBIO Annual Symposium May 13th-14th

The 2018 symposium was a success with more than 200 participants and we expect the 2019 symposium to be at least as good. We have secured a range of international and national speakers and some of the highlights will be the talks by Bob Löwenberg, William Foulkes,  Jonathan Irish, Marta Bertolaso, and many other distinguished speakers. The last day will end on a high note with a lecture by Omid Farokhzad. This keynote address is part of the distinguished Volterra lectures series organized by our partner Digital Life Norway (DLN).

We will have two extended poster sessions where younger researchers can present their work (poster abstract deadline now April 17th), and ample time for interaction between the participants. The symposium is open for all, so please feel free to circulate this invitation.

The heavily subsidized registration fee is 2500 NOK/260 Euro per person. For the program, registration and the practical information sheet (obligatory reading before asking questions), please consult the links below:

Registration, within April 24th 2019.

Symposium website with final program.

Practical information

Satellite Symposium on Deep Tissue Profiling May 12th

The Satellite Symposium on Deep Tissue Profiling is initiated with lunch at 12.00 before the scientific program starts at 13.00.

The satellite symposium will consist of talks focusing on the opportunities inherent to new technology, in particular the Hyperion Imaging System, both in terms of technology and in use of this technology for research purposes. Speakers include e.g. Jonathan Irish, Kurt Schalper, Teijo Pellinen and other distinguished experts.

The subsidized registration fee is 500 for the meeting incl. lunch and 1500 if you want to attend dinner and stay overnight at Solstrand. We have a total of 70 rooms available.

Registration, within April 24th 2019.

Satellite Symposium website with final program.

Practical information: See the info sheet for the CCBIO Symposium

SEMINAR IN SCIENTIFIC WRITING MAY 15TH AND 16TH

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CCBIO is happy to be inviting you to a two-day seminar in scientific writing, May 15th and 16th 2019. The seminar is open for all (requires registration).

The course is part of the CCBIO/INTPART program, where students’ education and research is promoted through collaboration between CCBIO, Harvard Medical School and Harvard Kennedy School. Elisabeth Wik is coordinating the program. This two-day seminar in scientific writing  was first run in December 2017 and was a great success.

There is valuable input in the scientific writing program for both students, postdocs and professors. Lecturers are Christine Møller, an experienced lecturer in medical and scientific writing and assistant editor of APMIS, and Randy Watnick, associate professor at the Vascular Biology Program, Harvard Medical School.

WHEN: May 15 and 16, 2019.

WHERE: Auditorium B301, Sentralblokken 3rd floor, Haukeland University Hospital.

PROGRAM: You can find program here.

REGISTRATION: Please register within May 1st. Registration link here.

Questions can be forwarded to coordinator Elisabeth Wik.

Please feel free to circulate this invitation as all are welcome.

BMED904 MATRIX BIOLOGY – CELL BIOLOGY AND PHYSIOLOGY OF THE EXTRACELLULAR MATRIX JUNE 3-7

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BMED904 is a five day course, running every 2 years, that includes lectures from local researchers and a number of internationally well-known researchers within the field of matrix biology as well as practical laboratory training. The course will cover various aspects of extracellular matrix (ECM) biology. A recurring theme will be the roles of the various ECM molecules and their functions in health and disease. All lectures are open to everyone interested.

When: June 3-7, 2019.

Where: Campus Haukeland University Hospital (tba), Bergen

Program and registration: available at this link

New publications

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Here are recent publications with contributions from K2 based on last week’s search on PubMed (and optionally articles that have not been included in previous lists). This time the list includes in total 7 recent publications. The entries appear in the order they were received from NCBI. If you have publications that are not included in this or previous lists, please send the references to Hege F. Berg.

Continue reading →

Back in town from Cambridge and Boston!

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I worked four days a week at the Program for Population Genetics, Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT. Broad is a private institution affiliated with Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology that physically is located at the MIT campus in Cambridge. The area is characterized by a mixture of academia, technology, and innovation with a number of giants in the IT and pharmaceutical industries. With the right contacts you can here have lunch with the leaders of for example Google, Novartis, and Pfizer. It makes the road short between academia and industry.

Head of Broad is Director and Professor Eric Lander who has been central to sequencing the human genome and mapping genetic diseases. Eric Lander is a master of fundraising. Under his leadership, Broad has built two large buildings and houses more than 2000 employees. Researchers at Broad are at the forefront of human genetics.

One of the goals of the stay was to be able to transfer some of this to K2. There are many aspects of Broad that I think have transfer value. They have a great degree of openness, cooperation, winning culture, and clear organization with effective communication, focus on primary tasks, safeguarding professional and social issues among the employees, and branding – matters that I think we can work even more with here at K2.

Although I indeed enjoy may time at the Broad, it is good to be home at K2 again. Looking forward to an exciting time ahead. Have a great weekend!

 

Kurs om Genteknologiloven starter 23.april

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Arbeid med GMO (genmodifiserte organismer) er lovregulert gjennom GENTEKNOLOGILOVEN. Ved K2 arrangeres et kurs der dette lovverket blir gjennomgått; hvordan man søker om godkjenning av laboratorier, og hvordan man søker om godkjenning av prosjekter der GMO inngår. Videre vil arbeidsrutiner i laboratoriet og transport av GMO bli gjennomgått. Andre lands lovverk på dette området (EU, USA og Canada) vil også bli omtalt.

Kurset gir 3 studiepoeng, og vil passe for master- og PhD-studenter som vil arbeide med GMO enten i praksis eller administrativt (som departementer, helsedirektoratet, miljødirektoratet, VKM, Mattilsynet).

Kurset starter med noen forelesninger som dekker lovverket. Deretter vil det etter avtale med studentene bli arrangert kollokvier for diskusjoner om emnet. For godkjenning av kurset må studentene skrive en søknad (enten reell eller fiktiv) for godkjenning av enten laboratoriefasiliteter for å arbeide med GMO, eller godkjenning av et prosjekt der GMO inngår. Link til kurset: https://www.uib.no/emne/HUMGEN302

For påmelding kontakt:
Elin Heggernes 
Klinisk institutt 2
tlf: 55 97 27 63

ELECTION NOTICE AND INVITATION TO PROPOSE CANDIDATES

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MEMBERS OF THE FACULTY BOARD – GROUP B

There will be elected one member (and minimum two alternates) to the Faculty Board at the Faculty of Medicine in group B (temporary employees in teaching and research positions).

The deadline for proposals of members (group B*) is set to Tuesday 7 May 2019

*) Temporary positions as “Research fellow”, “Postdoc” and “Researcher” are included in group B. Proposals must be received by the Electoral secretary, Gjert Bakkevold.

Armauer Hansen House 4th floor, room 416, within 03:00PM Tuesday 7 May 2019.Group B is represented on the Faculty Board as follows:

More information here.

MEMBERS OF THE DEPARTMENT COUNCIL – THE DEPARTMENT OF CLINICAL SCIENCE – GROUP B

There will be elected one member (and two alternates) to the Department Council at the Department of Clinical Science in group B (temporary employees in teaching and research positions).

The deadline for proposals of members (group B*) is set to Tuesday 23 April 2019.

*) Temporary positions as “Research fellow”, “Postdoc” and “Researcher” are included in group B. Proposals must be received by the Electoral secretary, Gjert Bakkevold.

Armauer Hansen House 4th floor, room 416), within 03:00PM Tuesday 23 April 2019.Group B is represented on the Department Council as follows:

More information here.

New publications

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Here are recent publications with contributions from K2 based on last week’s search on PubMed (and optionally articles that have not been included in previous lists). This time the list includes in total 15 recent publications. The entries appear in the order they were received from NCBI. If you have publications that are not included in this or previous lists, please send the references to Hege F. Berg.

Continue reading →