For all businesses it is important that the cash flow is good and predictable. For K2’s part, it is important to be successful in applications for external funding, especially from sources which cover indirect project costs. As the end of the year is approaching, it is time to summarize what we have achieved in 2018.

Yesterday we received the news that Per Eystein Lønning and Stian Knappskog got a FRIMEDBIO grant each – this is truly very impressive when we know how low the success rate is. Earlier this week Karl-Henning Kalland and Eystein Husebye each received a NFR’s BEHANDLING grant. Earlier this fall, Rebecca Cox succeeded in the GLOBVAC program. I do not know if K2 is Norwegian champions in NFR, but we must be close.

In the case of EU applications, we have received an ERC Starting Grant (Randi Bertelsen), a partner application for Innovative Medicines Initiative (IMI, Name), a partnership in Era-Net for Personalized Medicine, a JPI in Antimicrobial Resistance (Nina Langeland) and an ERAPerMed project (Steinar Skrede). Piotr ​​Mydel has come through the needle eye and received a project from National Institutes of Health – impressive!

Furthermore, we have received funding from the NovoNordisk Foundation (Eystein Husebye), and the Directorate for Internationalization and Quality Development in Higher Education in Pharmaceutical Sciences (Svein Haavik). Last but not least, we have (almost as a tradition) received a big share of Helse Vest research funds including 6 new research projects (open project support, Eva Gerdts, Kristin Aakre, Nina Langeland, Per Eystein Wage, Stian Knappskog, Pål Njølstad) and a good share of the Ph.d. .- and postdoc positions from both the Helse Vest and UiB.

With regards to the larger programs for research centers, K.G. Jebsensenter for translational cancer research started this year with Per Eystein Lønning as leader. Unfortunately, we have not been successful with the career scholar program from Bergen Research Foundation.

All in all, the leadership at K2 is very pleased with 2018. At the same time, we see the opportunity to increase the portfolio, especially of EU projects. It would also be desirable to have a wider range of K2 researchers among those who are awarded grants. That means that those who succeed must help the others to success.

In light of the changes at NFR, including new templates and assessment criteria from 2019 on, Amra and the other counsellors at the faculty will arrange workshops to inform. NFR will release the final information sometimes in late January or early February.

Before that, a webinar is given on 14 December.

UiB has also selected Sean McCarthy to give information on the impact part of projects, which will be given significant weight in the new NFR template. He is coming to Bergen on 10 January, so please sign up. This also applies to researchers early in their career.

Last but not least, a big thanks to all who have helped with advice and budgeting grant application – very important factors in our success. To those who did not succeed, do not give up, but keep working to improve your projects and applications!

Best wishes

Eystein, Amra and Julie

To lead the institute is a rewarding but busy job. Although our job is to serve you we do not always want to stay put in the office. This can be challenging if some of the employees need a signature in a hurry (and some of you are always in a hurry). Like many of you we receive an ever increasing number of e-mails every day and the few important one sometimes are lost in the crowd or disappear below the horizon and are forgotten.

To secure adequate and expedient document handling, applications for PHD programme, thesis evaluation, material transfer agreements, etc, must be sent to the administration, either Irene Hjelmaas or Julie. They will secure, save and ready the documents for signature and we will sign as fast as possible.

Have a nice weekend when that time comes

Eystein and Julie

There are many elements that must align to succeed with a research career. When reviewing and evaluating applications for funds, it is as important to refer to ones expertise in the guidance, teaching and awarding of funds as it is to refer to scientific production. I would therefore particularly urge researchers early in their careers to take advantage of the opportunity to apply for funds and endowments with a deadline of 1 December. There are several active funds and various differnet specifications as to what they can cover, but funds for travel and, in some cases, lab consumables can be applied for. Sucessful application will strengthen your CV by demonstrating your ability to be sucessful in an open application forum, even if it is not a large amount

December 1 is also the deadline for nominating candidates for Meltzer prizes. This year it is possible to nominate candidates for honorary prizes, young talents and excellent research dissemination. Funding sources are increasingly using CV templates, and it is not rare to be asked to list prizes and allocations. On a national and international scale, which is where one operates as a researcher, it is good to show that one’s competence is recognized locally.

Finally, I would like to inform you that BTO and UiB invite you to a Horizon 2020 seminar on the next Horizon Europe framework program. Representatives from the British Embassy will talk about how to prepare for future cooperation with the UK in light of Brexit, and the audience will receive an update on the next framework program. It appears that there will again be  selected focus areas and the Commission will introduce strategic “missions”, clearly defined goals to what they want to achieve. Experience with Horizon 2020 shows that our national sources of funding tend to follow the EU when they present the thematic priorities in their announcements, so it is important to keep up with it.

By Amra Grudic-Feta and Emmet Mc Cormack

Research Council of Norway together with ten other research councils*, the European commission and the European Research Council (ERC) presented an initiative for full and immediate open access to research publications they fund as of 2020. The initiative is called Plan S and the potential consequences for career and research quality have sparked a fierce debate among researchers.

Everyone agrees that open access publication is good, but how to implement it have initiated headed discussions. Plan S means that Norwegian researchers with funding from the EU and Norwegian Research council will be barred from publishing their work in journals like Nature and Science from 1 January 2020. Novel laureate Edvard Moses says that the plan will have catastrophic consequences for Norwegian science and researchers, while others are more positive. One problem is that large and active research nations such as USA, Germany and China have chosen not to be part of the plan.

The Chief Executive Officer of Research Council of Norway, John-Arne Røttingen, will visit UiB to present the initiative and participate in a debate with UiB’s researchers.

Everybody is welcome and there will be plenty of time for discussion and input from the attendants.

Time: 7 December at 10.00-12.00
Venue: Dragefjellet skole, Magnus Lagabøtes plass 1, Auditorium 1

*France, Ireland, Italy, Luxemburg, The Netherlands, Norway, Polen, Slovenia, Great Britain, Sweden and Austria.

Have a nice weekend

Amra and Eystein.

It was already mentioned in last weeks K2nytt that the faculty of medicine distributes means to assist with buying equipment or infrastructure. Applications should contain the following:

– Description of the requested equipment
– Justification why the requested equipment is a necessary investment
– Information if the equipment is already available in Bergen, either at other institutes or an older version
– Information on collaboration between institutes
– Information on planned own contribution (normally 5-10%)
– Information on laboratory space needed
– Information on planned service contracts and upgrades, including estimated costs

Applications for equipment which will be beneficial for several users will be prioritized. The completed form is to be sent to me by Monday December 10th, 2018.

How to create excellent research was the main theme of this year’s autumn meeting for the K.G. Jebsen centers. Some of the country’s most successful researchers shared their experiences. It was pointed out that success (not unexpectedly) is the result of hard work, but all emphasized two important elements to become a leader in research: research stay abroad and networking.

A stay abroad gives the opportunity to learn new techniques and work with ambitious colleagues who are more skilled than you. At the same time, a stay abroad is an excellent opportunity to create your own network. The practical difficulties of going abroad, perhaps with a partner and children, was highlighted. However, a shorter stay is better than no stay. UiB pursues a conscious policy in this area, for example, by postdoctoral fellows receiving an additional year if they go abroad, sabbaticals, and channels to apply for additional funding.

Success is infectious. If one of the PhD students in the lab manages to publish a paper in Nature or a corresponding journal, chances are bigger that you will be able to do the same. If your labfriend gets an ERC-Starting Grant, chances are that you can be equally successful. Harald Stenmark at the Institute of Cancer Research at UiO is one of three Norwegians to receive two ERC-Advanced Grants. He talked about the positive cycle of research. Project funds provide the opportunity to invest in equipment, personnel and money to do studies. This gives (hopefully) good results and publications, which can be used to apply for more funding for more equipment, people and studies. Ole Andreassen, who heads Norment, one of the Centers of Excellence (along with, among others, Vidar Steen and Stephanie Le Hellard at K2) highlighted the enormous importance of international networks to map the genetic mechanisms of psychiatric diseases.

The start is often the most difficult part and the institution should play an major role facilitator. K2 is doing quite well in this regard and we have many excellent examples to follow. I am confident that we can create more excellent research in the future. The next chance to excell is to obtain a new Center of Excellence. The Medical Faculty wants drafts of new centres by 1 December. More information will follow in K2-news.

Eystein Husebye
Acting Head of Department

Our department contributes a lot within education; Mostly for medicine but also significant contributions of teaching in studies of pharmacy, nutrition, dentistry and also non-medical subjects at the other faculties.

It is difficult to have a proper overview regarding who is responsible for what related to teaching within our departmental structure based mainly on research groups, not the traditional medical specialities/subjects.

The head of our department has therefore set up a working group in which we will try to find a sensible structure to secure a good overview of who is responsible for what regarding our educational responsibilities. Who holds the overview of which teaching resources are available? When a teacher becomes ill; where are persons with the right skills to step in? And when applying for a leave of absence: who should be consulted to know whether the educational responsibilities might be undertaken by other?

IGS (Department of Global Public Health and Primary Care) has an administrative structure of their education recourses in parallel with their research-group structure, where they have teaching/educational group leaders named UGLE (English: OWL) that should hold this overview regarding teaching resources (teachers!) and their responsibility to undertake defined teaching tasks. We are now working to develop our teaching structure and perhaps define corresponding OWL territories within K2. Each OWL-nest will probably be connected to a research groups, but some of the OWL-nestlings will have to fly a little outside their local territories to perform their teaching associated with other subject areas.

Each OWL must keep an overview of their respective OWL-chicks while the HEAD of OWLS  (Teaching Director of K2 = signed) supervises the OWLS’ management of their territories.

We need to map K2s total educational contributions to know what is affiliated with each of our research group today (the “terrain”) and how our education map should be made to fit properly in the future!

If you have opinions regarding this process, we are very interested in input; which teaching resources belong together in one “nest”? How to ensure good coverage of all education within our responsibility? Please give feedback to the K2 teaching director!

The department management is really trying to secure teaching resources when announcing vacancies! But we need to know what the former position has contained regarding teaching, and who may this teaching be transferred to if other teaching is to be secured by affiliating this position to another subject/field.

All employees at K2 shall have the opportunity to conduct a so-called employee interview with their leader once a year. The UiB policy is that the employee interview is a part of targeted management and employee development. The talks should be annual, systematic, reciprocally prepared and linked to the strategic plans of the institute, faculty and university. It is recommended to use the UiB’s employee interview form to systematize the conversation.

At K2 the employee talks are organized so that I, as acting head of department, offer group leaders employee interviews. A time schedule will be sent out in order for you to book a time. Group leaders will provide their group members, both academic, technical and  administrative staff, the same. Implementation will be checked by K2’s administration and the central administration at UiB will also log our performance in this area. Employee interview forms can be retrieved from this link.

Good luck,

Eystein Husebye
Acting Head of Department

After the new General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) entered into force July 20, 2018, there are some changes on how data on patients’ health have to be treated. It is not enough to just have ethical approval! It is of course still a prerequisite to get REK approal before you start your project. New is that REK approval does not include the permission to handle personal data. In addition, it is required that you are allowed to personal data according to article 6 and article 9 of the personal data protection law. So you still need to get ethical approval prior to starting your research project, but the institution has the additional responsibility that handling of personal data occurs in accordance to the new regulation.

That means that the foundation to get access to personal data has to be evaluated by the project leader, and has to be included in the ethical approval. This foundation is either consent or dispensation of this consent requirement according to the health research laws. The project leader has to show that the treatment of personal data follow the general principles of the personal data protection regulation, for example definition of aims, minimizing the amount of data, limitation of storage and responsibility.

More internal control responsibility is given. We have to assure that treatment of the personal data is according to the regulations, and perform Data Protection Impact Assessments – DPIA when required.

This means that the responsibilities have in collaboration projects have to be well defined and agreed upon, which is of importance when you want to share patient data with your collaborators, and make written agreements. This is not a new requirement, but of more importance now with the new GDPR.

Both the University of Bergen and Haukeland University Hospital have a Personal Data and Privacy commissioner – Janecke Veim and Christer Kleppe. If you are in doubt if you need an agreement with the hospital, contact Janecke or/and Christer (janecke.veim@uib.no, personvernombudet@helse-bergen.no).

The Norwegian Police Security Services (PST) reported in their threat assessment from January this year: “Norwegian defense and emergency services, state administration, research and development, as well as critical infrastructure are considered to be particularly vulnerable intelligence targets.”

Norway with its location, its alliances and technological level is a much-sought target for foreign intelligence services. We have students, employees and collaborators from countries that receive special attention from PST; one of them is one of our closest neighbors. Some countries instruct their residents to report home when they are in Norway. It is therefore likely that mapping of infrastructure, activities and persons at UiB could inadvertently be a means of further mapping and obtaining desired information.

What does this mean for K2 employees? We must have a constant focus on security. That means looking after your ID-card, do not let in people you do not know just because they happen to be at the door. See to that you have a good and long password (preferably at least 15 characters) and look after your mobile and pc during travels, especially to risk countries like China, Russia and Iran. Many have sensitive information stored on their PCs and USB sticks. Furthermore, be sufficiently suspicious of emails with unusual content and links and test links by placing the mouse over it to see you are not sent to strange and unknown server.

October is the security awareness month at UiB and more information about safety and measures will soon be distributed. This includes e-learning for all employees on IT security. The course will be sent from Xtramile on 2 October. There will also be focus on use and care of your ID-card. Remember that it is personal and must be worn visible at all times.

Travel will also be a focus area, and you can find detailed travelling advise at Sikresiden.no (uib.no/sikresiden). UiB is launching a loan service for PCs and mobiles to employees travelling to risk countries. You can read more about the October security month on UiB’s pages, but remember that focus on security do not apply only to October..

With a wish for a safe weekend

Eystein
Acting Head of Department

The latest information we have received from the research council of Norway, suggests that they will drastically change their funding application system including; changing the organization of calls, templates, evaluation process, dates, etc. Before full implementation of the new systems, the 10 October will be the last deadline using the current system for new commercial proof-of-concept projects. If you have research results with commercial potential but have unresolved questions and uncertainties that are preventing the project from moving forward in the commercialization process, this program could be relevant. What is important to keep in mind is that proof-of-concept projects should not be research-driven but rather business-driven.

The announcement is divided into two parts. If you have a project requiring rapid clarification of the most critical milestones where positive results can lay the foundation for a standard commercialization project, then a milestone project could be a more appropriate alternative. A milestone project lasts up to a maximum of 1 year with a more limited scope. Projects seeking up to NOK 500 000 will automatically be assessed as milestone projects.

You can also attend the Idea Competition presented by Sparebanken Vest and BTO and win 500 000 NOK to further develop a promising commercial idea. In 2016, the competition was won by Professor Kamal Mustafa from the Department of Clinical Dentistry for his research on reconstruction of human bones.

I will act as Head of Department for the next 6 months in Pål Njølstad’s absence. Emmet McCormack will be my deputy, while Silke Appel and Jone Trovik continue in their roles as Vice Heads for research and teaching, respectively. The administrative team and I will do our best to solve the tasks ahead of us in a good way.

One of the issues we are working with is the strategy plan. The existing plan expires at the end of the year, but we have now extended it for one year to get more time to work out a new one. In March we will invite to whole institute to a retreat at Solstrand as a substitute for next year’s strategy seminar and institute day. The new strategic plan will be a central theme at the retreat. External funding will be a key issue for discussions. Another point is the allocation of positions. The legislative changes that reduce our opportunity to hire persons temporary will give the department challenges over time, but I am confident that we will manage to solve these issues in a good way together.

Finally, I wish all our talented employees good luck with the applications to Helse-Vest.

Eystein