Category Archives: 2023

The Bergen International Conference on Hansen’s Disease

150 Years Since the Discovery of the Leprosy Bacillus

This year marks the 150th anniversary of the discovery of the leprosy-causing bacteria, Mycobacterium leprae, by Dr. Gerhard Armauer Hansen. To mark this historic anniversary, Sasakawa Leprosy (Hansen’s Disease) Initiative and the University of Bergen in Norway are organizing The Bergen International Conference on Hansen’s Disease:150 Years Since the Discovery of the Leprosy Bacillus on June 21-22, 2023.

Although leprosy can now be treated with multidrug therapy, delayed treatment can lead to lifelong disability and discrimination against those affected. The World Health Organization and other international organizations aim to eliminate leprosy by 2030, and the Bergen International Conference on Hansen’s Disease will bring together stakeholders from around the world to discuss medical, social, and historical aspects of leprosy. This conference is part of the “Don’t Forget Leprosy” campaign.

Good deals on accommodation in Bergen can be found in the registration form.

We look forward to seeing you!

Date: June 21-22, 2023
Place: Grieg Hall (Address: Edvard Griegs Plass 1, 5015 Bergen, Norway)
Organizers: Sasakawa Leprosy (Hansen’s Disease) Initiative & The University of Bergen
Language: English (Simultaneous interpretation is being coordinated)

For more information and program overview, please visit the conference website.:

(Norsk) MRCRM-konferansen 2023

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Editorial

Vacation 2023

I hope everyone had a nice Easter holiday with friends and family. The weather and snow conditions were some of the best I can remember for the season.

Not everyone takes a holiday at Easter but finds quiet days to be an opportunity to get professional work done or there is a deadline that makes working at Easter necessary. I would like to single out Eystein Husebye and Helge Ræder who sent a comprehensive EU application yesterday and therefore had the impetus for the application during Easter. They received invaluable administrative help from, among others, Corina Guder, Susanna Pakkasmaa, Andreas Westermoen and Håkon Solheim, even on several of the “red days”. I would like to thank everyone in the team for their efforts, and we are crossing our fingers for a good process with a positive outcome!

Finally, I would like to remind you of the vacation accounts for 2023. By 1 May, everyone must register in the Self-Service Portal (https://www.uib.no/en/self-service-portal) which days they plan to take vacation. It is possible to change days afterwards. The most important thing is that the number of days planned is entered. This is not only important for K2 to know when K2’s employees are present or absent, but it has an impact on the budget. Vacation that is not registered or taken will be marked as liabilities in our accounts for 2023 and worsen the financial balance. So, register your planned vacation as soon as possible and by 1 May!

Have a great weekend!

(Norsk) MRCRM internasjonale konferanse om regenerativ medisin Scandic Ørnen 24-25.04

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Kreftforeningens hovedutlysning, Forskerprosjekt 2023 -Frist 26. mai

Open Call, Rosa sløyfe, Krefttak mot Kreft og geografisk spredning

The Cancer Society works to fight and prevent cancer, and to ensure the best possible life for cancer patients and their relatives. The Norwegian Cancer Society announces funding for research projects in these thematic areas:

Free cancer research (Open Call, NOK 132 million).
Breast cancer (Pink ribbon, NOK 29 million).
Cancer with spread (Efforts against cancer, NOK 35 million).
Cancer research at institutions outside the big cities (NOK 24 million).

For more information on this call: https://nettsoknad.kreftforeningen.no/#call/1522/details

Are you planning to apply to the Norwegian Cancer Society in 2022? Then you must fill in the form below:

Jeg planlegger å søke Kreftforeningen med frist 31. mai

PhD grant writing workshop

The Faculty of Medicine invites all PhD-candidates to a workshop on “How to write a successful grant proposal”.

The workshop will enable PhD-candidates in medicine and sciences to start early with their future research project. Participants will gain insight into the international funding landscape and develop hands-on knowledge by working on their own project proposal.

Target audience: PhD-candidates enrolled at the Faculty of Medicine who want to kick-start their academic career in the nearest future.

Topics:
The literary genre of a project proposal
Evaluation criteria: excellence, impact, implementation
Curriculum vitae and track record
The funding landscape in Norway and Europe

Speakers: Research advisors at the Faculty of Medicine

Time: The workshop will go over to half-days, with obligatory homework to be submitted on the second day.

Monday 22 May, 10-12 and
Wednesday 24 May, 10-13

Place: Eitri Medical Incubator, Haukelandsbakken 31, Bergen

Course fee: free

Registration deadline 10 May.
Info and registration: PhD grant writing workshop | Faculty of Medicine | UiB

Norwegian Society of Immunology (NSI) Bergen Event

On the 24th of May, Florian Krammer from Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, who is an expert in virology, will visit Bergen and give a talk for us. After the talk, we will gather for free pizza, drinks and an engaging (immunology) quiz. Everybody is welcome! Please hold the day and stay tuned for more info!

More info about Florian and his work can be found here.

For NSI, Bergithe (Bergen contact person, NSI) and Anette (board member, NSI) and Rebecka Cox (Leader, Influenza Centre, Bergen)

(Norsk) Heldagsseminar for ph.d.-veiledere 21. april

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UiB Læringskonferanse

The Program of University Pedagogy invites you to attend the UiB Læringskonferanse, held at the UiB Studentsenter on April 25, 2023. The conference will feature keynotes by Cathy Bovill (University of Edinburgh) and Crina Damşa (University of Oslo), a panel discussion with bioCEED, iEarth, & SLATE, and over 40 papers and posters from people at UiB and other institutions. The theme for this year’s conference is Transformative Learning and Teaching.

The UiB Læringskonferanse is free and open to all members of the UiB community. It will an opportunity to learn, discuss, and celebrate transformative and research-based practices in university teaching and learning. We invite all teachers at UiB to attend the conference. The contributions share inquiry on teaching and learning from the UiB community, and presentations on practice and research will focus on student learning through examination of classroom teaching practices, field or practical teaching, use of educational technologies, curriculum revision, use of accessible and inclusive teaching methods, and supervision.

The Læringskonferanse is intended to be an opportunity to connect with a community of teachers and to learn together about transformative teaching practice.

More information about the conference is available here.

The conference is free and open to all and includes lunch and refreshments. Therefore, we do ask that you register by 20. April for catering and planning purposes.

Registrer here.

Upcoming activities in Bergen

One Ocean Week
One Ocean Week is an annual event to create attention, and share knowledge, about the important role the ocean has for sustainable development in a global perspective. 15-21st April there will be conferences, meetings, workshops, and activities.

Bergen City Marathon
Welcome to the Fjordkraft Bergen City Marathon (FBCM) on Saturday 29 April 2023. This is the 11th edition of the FBCM. We are looking forward to a race party on a beautiful and inspiring course. Experience the atmosphere at the start and finish at Bryggen in Bergen, run through Old Bergen, and enjoy the fantastic view from Fjellveien. Read more and sign up here.

Festspillene (Bergen International Festival)
A hub for the Northern European arts scene, the festival has a multifaceted program profile renowned for world premieres and new productions of music, opera, theatre, and dance. The festival is from May 24th to June 7th, you can read more about it here. Interested in volunteering for Festspillene? They are looking for volunteers and it is a great opportunity to expand your network. More information here.

UiB FERD

UiB FERD Career Centre for Early-Stage Researchers supports doctoral candidates, postdocs, researchers and assistant professors who are in the early stage of their careers. There are activities every month, so make sure to check them out:
• 27th April 09:00-11:30 – Healthy Working Habits: Time management and writing motivation.
• 28th April 10:15-11:00 – Finding and reusing research data.
• 05th May 09:00-11:00 – How to write a competitive CV for the industry?
• 23rd May 17:00-20:00 – Intermediate level: Improve your academic writing and presentation Skills in English.

Digipost

A lot of mail contains sensitive information that can’t be sent to you by regular email. In Digipost you can receive important information from both public and private senders. The service is free of charge, but you must have MinID or BankID. You can read more here.

Applying for a job in Norway

This seminar will explain the basics about the Norwegian job market, how to build a CV in a Norwegian style, how to read a job advert and how to write the application letter for it, how to prepare for an interview and much more. Both UiB employees and spouses/partners are welcome! The seminar is planned as a physical event and will be held at Dragefjellet skole Seminarrom D, on June 13th from 10.00 to 15.00, with some time afterwards for extra questions. Register here.

Introduction course for new employees

This course is step 2 of our introductory seminars for new international employees. The course will take place on May 25th from 12.30 to 15.30, in Seminar room E at the student centre. The doors open a bit in advance, so you have the chance to have a coffee and snacks and get to know each other. You can register here.

Please complete step 1 (short e-learning course) before attending.

Culture training course

Moving to another country you will always notice cultural differences and Norwegians can be hard to interpret. We would like to help you crack the code and offer a seminar on this topic on May 11th from 10:00 to 15:00. The seminar is held by Karin Ellis. Please find more information and register here.

Check your tax return

Your tax return for 2022 is available for review and the deadline to hand it in is April 30th. Make sure to check that your tax information is correct: Tax Return – The Norwegian Tax Administration (skatteetaten.no). You will need MinID to access the assessment and you can order it here. Note that the PIN codes and information will go to the address registered in Folkeregisteret.

Remember that if you have been on the PAYE scheme during 2022, you will not receive a tax return; In June you will receive a receipt for PAYE tax, which shows how much salary and tax your employer has reported to the Tax Administration for the work you did last year.

Editorial

Welcome to Teaching Day!

At K2, we take pride in providing excellent education. In order to maintain excellence in education, we need to continuously develop ourselves as teachers. A this year’s Teaching Day, we can learn from the best as the teaching group for geriatrics tell us about their award-winning educational development. We will also discuss how we can improve collaboration regarding teaching even further, as well as some recent and ongoing changes (Vestlandslegen, changes in MED5-MED6).

We wish to see as many as possible of you at the Teaching Day on Wednesday May 3^rd at AHH (half-day from lunch). Meet up for lunch with good colleagues, inspirational talks and discussion about teaching and learning.

We will also announce the K2 Teaching Award – please send 7our nomination to mette.vesterhus@uib.no by Monday April 24^th!

Velkommen til K1 og K2s Felles undervisningsdag onsdag 3. mai!

Sted: Auditoriet i AHH

PROGRAM

12.00 Lunsj 15 min

12.15 Velkommen

12.15 Nyskapende undervisning v/Marit Stordal Bakken

12.45 Ferdighetssenteret: hva tilbyr vi og hvor går utviklingen? v/Bernt Aarli

13.00 Vestlandslegen v/Audun Vik-Mo

13.15 Pause 15 min

13.30 Erfaringer med samarbeid i undervisingsgruppe for gynekologi v/Ragnar Sande

13.45 Utvikling av faggruppe på tvers i ortopedi v/Trude Gundersen

14.05 Diskusjon: Hvordan kan vi samarbeide bedre om undervisning?

14.15 Pause 15 min

14.30 Endringer i MED5-MED6 v/Harald Wiker, Jon Hardie, Magnus Berle

15.15 Prisutdeling undervisningsprisene

15.30 Slutt

Transforming health and care systems

Have you heard about the “Transforming health and care systems” call regarding European research collaboration for the healthcare of the future?

The objectives of the call for proposals are quite broad, so that many activities can fit in:

Providing the necessary knowledge to build the health care of the future.
Supporting the implementation of innovative solutions on a larger scale.

The Research Council of Norway is announcing 2 000 000 euro to Norwegian researchers who want to participate in this European research collaboration. More information you can find here.

Kreftforeningen: Researcher projects opens for applications today

Up to 220 MNOK in total is available through four different themes in our main call for proposals. One new theme being Young Aspiring Cancer Researchers with 24 MNOK.

The application deadline is Friday 26th of May at 13.00. We look forward to receiving your application.

More information here

(Norsk) Fraråder TikTok og Telegram

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MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships – Webinar

Are you looking for a postdoctoral period abroad? Or are you a foreign researcher planning your application for a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions Postdoctoral Fellowship (PF) at a Norwegian host institution? Or you may be a potential supervisor for a MSCA postdoctoral fellow at your lab or institute?

26 April 09:30 – 11:30

https://www.forskningsradet.no/en/events/2023/msca-postdoctoral-fellowships-webinar/

Interested in innovation? Get up to NOK 500 000 and help to develop your idea

Good ideas occur everywhere at the University of Bergen, and with UiB idé students and researchers can test and develop their innovation ideas. Students can get up to NOK 100 000, and researchers NOK 500 000. You will also get advice from professional advisers. The application deadline is April 30^th. Read more about the program at uib.no/ide and join the UiB idé vors for students April 12. You can also apply for a maximum of NOK 25 000 through UiB tidleg idé, and applications can be filed anytime. For more information contact Yves.Aubert@uib.no

(Norsk) Gledelige nyheter fra bedriftshelsetjenesten ved UiB: – utvidete psykososialetjenester

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Editorial

Joint Research Day UiB – Helse Bergen 170323 – and UiB – Helse Stavanger in the autumn!

Last Friday, the Joint Research Day for UiB and Helse Bergen got off the ground. The aim was to stimulate increased research collaboration between the hospital and the university. This was a success. We counted 160 people present in the room – i.e. more than the maximum number at registration. Consequently, there were not enough chairs, and some had to stand. There is nothing quite like feeling that something is so popular that it is cramped for space 🙂

CEO at Helse Bergen Eivind Hansen and Vice Chancellor at UiB Gottfried Greve opened the seminar together. They emphasized that today’s culture of collaboration is very good and little governed by what is difficult, but that you must constantly work to overcome the challenges that arise. Together we are stronger 🙂

This was followed by great, scientific talks on the corona pandemic by Professor and Senior Physician Nina Langeland, on rhythmic hormone diagnostics by Professor and Senior Physician Eystein Husebye, on possibilities for treating a rare cause of blindness by Associated Professor and Senior Physician Cecilie Brederup, and finally on mechanisms of action in anxiety and obsessive-compulsive disorders by Associated Professor and Senior Physician Olga Therese Ousdal. The research that was presented represented some of the best we have at Haukeland Campus, i.a. based on articles in the Nature, Science, and Lancet class.

The research seminar should definitely be repeated! If we e.g. aim for seminars four times per year, one can imagine themes such as patient cases with translational aspects, clinical studies, new techniques and methods, interdisciplinary studies, as well as presentations by young, promising researchers.

In connection with the half-yearly meeting of the Joint Education Council between the Faculty of Medicine and Helse Stavanger last Monday, the implementation of the first step for the new course of study Vestlandslegen at Helse Stavanger from the autumn was on the agenda. There was no doubt that the students will be well received with concrete plans for teaching for the coming 4th year in Stavanger.

Before the corona pandemic, we had planned a research seminar between UiB and Health Stavanger with the same goal as the meeting we had last week at Haukeland Campus. The corona pandemic caused this seminar to be cancelled, but now the initiative has been brought back to life. There was still great interest in such a meeting in Stavavanger, and I certainly believe that it is mutual when it comes to researchers in Bergen. There is much we can learn from each other with opportunities to create new research collaborations for mutual benefit and fun. We are therefore planning such a meeting in connection with the first meeting of the Joint Education Council in the autumn.

Have a great weekend!

(Norsk) Søvn og søvnvansker: Historiens siste sommertid?

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External Funding Opportunities

Current funding opportunities for researchers at the Faculty of Medicine.

The information on this webpage is regularly updated with upcoming application deadlines.

https://www.uib.no/en/med/112772/external-funding-opportunities

Online COST Info Day

May 24, 2023
10:00 – 11:30 CET

This online COST Info Day is open to all researchers and innovators at any career stage and from any field of research, especially young researchers, as well as R&I staff. The aim is to inform researchers and innovators about how to connect with COST Actions or submit a COST Action proposal, the role and impact of the COST programme, and the benefits of participating in COST for researchers’ careers, with a focus on young researchers.

Programme overview
10:00 | Welcome and introduction | Director of the COST Association
10:10 | What is COST and how to participate in a COST Action? | COST Policy Officer
10:30 | How to submit an application? Tips & tricks | COST Science Officer
10:40 | Which activities are funded? | COST Administrative Officer
11:00 | What are the benefits of participating in COST? | COST Action Chair
11:15 | Q&A
11:30 | End of the session

https://www.cost.eu/cost-events/online-cost-info-day-2023/

1st Workshop “Modelling Immuno-Oncology”

CCBIO PI Emmet McCormack is organizing a meeting for the COST Action “Modelling immunotherapy response and toxicity in cancer”, fostering research and innovation in the field of preclinical immuno-oncology models with the ultimate goal of advancing in the treatment of cancer patients by improving their outcomes and quality of life.

The COST action group is pleased to invite you to the first online workshop of the COST Action “Modelling immunotherapy response and toxicity in cancer” (IMMUNO-model) to be held on the 30th March 2023. See scientific program here.

The IMMUNO-model COST Action aims at fostering research and innovation in the field of preclinical immuno-oncology models with the ultimate goal of advancing in the treatment of cancer patients by improving their outcomes and quality of life.

The “Modeling Immuno-Oncology” workshop will focus on in vivo, ex vivo and in vitro models. Please find attached the program.

Internationally renowned speakers will present their work on a rich selection of topics such as targeted therapies, the role of select pathways and translational patient models.

To register in advance for this workshop please follow this link:
https://igtp-cat.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZEvcOqgrjMpE9HckqYte-j1lnfidf…

After registering, you will receive a confirmation e-mail containing information about joining the meeting.

If you are a participant of this COST Action, you will also receive an invitation through the e-COST platform: please accept the invitation and then follow the link to sign up for the meeting by filling in the Zoom registration form.

We look forward to seeing you at the workshop!

More information

INVITATION: 11th CCBIO Annual Symposium at Hotel Solstrand & Online, May 8-10, 2023

Dear all,

A kind reminder of the invitation to the 11^th CCBIO Annual Symposium May 8-10 at Hotel Solstrand close to Bergen – this is booking well, so if you have not registered yet, make sure to do that now while we still can accommodate you at the lovely Solstrand hotel. Deadline is March 31. The symposium is open for all, so please feel free to circulate this invitation.

The 2022 symposium was a success with more than 240 participants, and we expect the enlarged 2023 symposium to be even better with its generous time frame and two overnight stays. You can choose between attending online for scientific updates, or in-person at Hotel Solstrand in order to also enjoy the company of colleagues and the informal and mutually fertilizing scientific crosstalk in the breaks and the evenings. We expect the symposium to become fully subscribed, and we strongly recommend you to register early and within the deadline of March 31.

We have secured a range of international speakers: Alexander Swabrick, Amy Leblanc, Anniina Färkkilä, Benno Schwikowski, Douglas Lauffenburger, Frederic Amant, Iain McNeish, Ian Mills, Ingrid Hedenfalk, Klaus Pantel, Michael Rogers, Caroline Heckman, Rameen Beroukhim, Robert D’Amato, Stephane Terry, Catherine Panabieres and Jean Paul Thiery. See prefinal program here.

Younger researchers are offered slots for 3-minute speed-talks as well as extended poster sessions with ample time for interaction between the participants. There is still time to register for speed talks and/or poster.

The heavily subsidized registration fee is 3000 NOK/300 Euro per person for the three days and two overnight stays with full board. In order to enable us to accommodate 200+ participants in the 138 rooms available, we are dependent upon as many as possible sharing rooms (up to four). So, please indicate if, and with whom, you are willing to share your room when you register online.

For an overview of speakers, registration and the practical information sheet (obligatory reading before asking questions), please consult the links below:

Symposium website: www.ccbiosymposium.no

Registration: please use this link

Practical information: on this link

Further information about CCBIO: www.ccbio.no

We look forward to seeing you at our symposium!

On behalf of CCBIO’s Director, Lars A. Akslen

With best regards
Eli Synnøve Vidhammer
Communications
Centre for Cancer Biomarkers CCBIO
University of Bergen
Norway

ERC Proposal Reading Day

The Research Council of Norway organises “ERC Proposal Reading Days” for researchers who are planning an application to the European Research Council (ERC).

On the Reading Day you get the opportunity to read successful ERC grant proposals and see how a proposal can be structured. More than 60 Norwegian ERC-grantees have kindly given their consent to make their proposal available for the reading day.

18 April at 9-12 https://www.forskningsradet.no/en/events/2023/erc-reading-day-in-bergen-morning/

18 April at 12.30-15.30 https://www.forskningsradet.no/en/events/2023/erc-soknadslesedag-i-bergen-2/