Dear everyone!

Now it has been one year since Covid-19 came to Norway. We have been through several lockdowns that have had a major effect on the research, teaching and not least the entire operation of K2. We have gotten used to talking to a screen and using the kitchen table as a desk. But all of this has not stopped our PhD fellows from finishing their projects. We have had a total of 42 disputations in 2020! I congratulate all the PhD candidates (and the supervisors) who have managed to finalize their thesis despite difficult conditions. The day was probably not quite as one had imagined without the opponents present and with only a few people physically gathered, and some may have had extra technical challenges, but all in all it has gone very well. The fact that trial lectures and disputations are conducted as zoom webinar actually allows more people to follow along online. There is a lot of exciting research going on! Check https://www.uib.no/nye-doktorgrader

In that context, I would also like to say a big thank you to all of you who have been custos! For 2021, we expect similar numbers (between 35 and 40 disputations), and I hope that all our professors and associate professors are willing to take on the role of custos.

Have a good winter holiday!

The rearrangement of the NFR deadlines in combination with a new lockdown in Bergen and one of the coldest, but most beautiful winters I have experienced, certainly has brought a novel twist to 2021 thus far. While most of us come up for air after the NFR deadline, there are many more deadlines for funds, positions and positioning right around the corner, it’s a case of hold on to something tight and here we go! Firstly, I would like to highlight the possibility to apply for small research funds, which has a deadline of 14.02.21 and here are the application criteria:

• Funding for researchers who do not have large funding.
• You can apply for 15 000-150 000 NOK.
• The funds have to be used within 2021 and cannot be transferred to 2021.
• Recipient has to be an active researcher with a permanent position, prof II or 1.am. II
• The recipient must have applied for external funding during the past years

Do not forget the application deadline for PhDs (9 positions) and Postdocs (2 positions) at the Medical faculty also with a deadline of 14.02.21.

Finally, 2 exciting application possibilities in conjunction with the Trond Mohn Foundation have been published. In collaboration with Haukeland hospital, the medical faculty will fund a new center of regenerative medicine. This center will build on the existing efforts of the Bergen Stem Cell Consortium (BSCC) and the new ex vivo clean room facility at the laboratory building of the culture of cells to be utilized for clinical trial. The center will be supported by the Trond Mohn Foundation over a 5-year period and the foundation has set off 20 MNOK to support 3-4 research project within the field of regenerative medicine. Additionally, the foundation has also put aside 5 MNOK funding for collaborative projects between a Bergen – and Oslo environment in core facilities for genetically modified cell therapies in Oslo. Application details can be found here:       https://www.uib.no/sites/w3.uib.no/files/attachments/crm_prequa.pdf

In another initiative, the Trond Mohn Foundation has in collaboration with the University of Bergen, Haukeland University Hospital and Stavanger University Hospital established the West Norwegian Center for Antimicrobial Resistance (CAMRIA). The center is led by Professor Nina Langeland at K2, University of Bergen. The centre aims to shed light on the spread of resistant bacteria in hospitals, by combining new and predictive mathematical approaches with advanced molecular biology. This intersection of disciplines will allow the unprecedented characterisation and prediction of AMR spread and outbreak dynamics and the identification of optimal control strategies using the paradigm of “precision medicine”. In parallel, new logistic, and policy research will provide a change in our ability to intervene in outbreaks. The center is now announcing funding for 3-4 projects that can help achieve the center’s objectives. For more details on this call and application templates please contact MEDforsk@uib.no. The deadline for this call is March 15^th, 2021.