Dear employees and students,
In this last semester, we have finally been able to meet again in person at meetings and lectures. We have returned to normal, albeit a new normal with greater and improved utilisation of digital opportunities for many of the activities at the Faculty. All in all, it must be said that the pandemic, despite the challenges it has posed to both students and employees, has led to a number of changes that have also had a positive impact on our faculty
The semester kicked off with the ARK survey and we were extremely pleased with the response rate. The Faculty is now entering the final phase of this ARK round, in the form of the follow-up and evaluation of results.
There have been changes to the management at the Faculty this spring. We are happy to have Hans Mossin in place as our new Faculty Director. He has excellent qualifications for the post after an extensive career spanning positions both at the University of Oslo centrally and his role as the Head of Administration at ClinMed. We have also seen Vice Dean Hilde I. Nebb move to a new position as the Director of Innovation at the new Life Science Growth House. This constitutes a “new chapter of innovation” for the Faculty, as Hilde herself said in her editorial earlier this year before moving to the new role.
We are now quickly approaching the end of my term as the Dean. With two candidates already in the running, there will undoubtedly be an election campaign taking place this autumn. However, you can still submit candidate nominations to the Election Committee via Nettskjema until 15 August 2022 at 12:00. The election will run from 07/09/2022 at 08:00 until 14/09/2022 at 12:00. In line with the traditions of MED News, I have been interviewed about the role as the incumbent Dean as we lead up to the election. Please note that a general election meeting will take place on 5 September between 14:00 and 16:00 in the large auditorium at the University Hospital.
Studies
The work on a pilot project relating to a decentralised study model for ten medicine students in four modules at S?rlandet Hospital concluded this week with decisions made by both the Faculty Board and the Hospital Board at S?rlandet Hospital. This means that, from next year, the University of Oslo will have its first external campus, in Kristiansand. We have launched a web page about the option: University of Oslo, Campus South (in Norwegian). This means we have now achieved another milestone and we are grateful for the work put in by the project team and the steering committee, as well as everyone else who has been involved, both at S?rlandet Hospital and here at the Faculty.
At the next University Board meeting on 21 June, our application for a new master’s degree programme in Public Health Sciences and Epidemiology will be considered. An epidemiology specialisation would be unique in a national context. Candidates with this specialised qualification would, among other things, qualify for positions with institutions such as the Norwegian Institute of Public Health and the Cancer Registry. Candidates specialising in public health would primarily qualify for management and operational positions within intersectoral public health work in the local authorities. The need for professional development in this field is also significant as there is still a lot we do not know about the challenges and actions required in public health and what it takes to make the health and social care services more sustainable and public health-promoting.
Boys in Life Sciences and the Open Day (in Norwegian) were both arranged as in-person events this year and attendance was high. These two events are important and aimed at applicants to our programmes of study. Boys in Life Sciences is important and helps provide boys in upper secondary school with a dedicated venue for meeting role models in health education and life sciences.
Our Centre of Excellence in Education, SHE, is now two years old and has become a well-established centre involving 19 research and education projects. The centre has grown to include 20 international researchers and 10 students. SHE recently launched a report on the climate and the sustainability of healthcare programmes at the National Meeting of Deans. The work was conducted by commission from the four faculties offering medicine programmes upon request from Doctors’ Climate Action and resulted in specific recommendations for the faculties regarding teaching measures in the field. This spring, SHE has also been working with, among others, the Oslo Medical Corpus, which provides an analytical and contextual understanding of the concepts used in health programmes. Interested parties may note that SHE will also arrange a seminar for students and researchers interested in antimicrobial resistance (AMR), interdisciplinarity and One Health on 26 August.
Research
One of the big pieces of news towards the end of the semester is that the Anders Jahre Award for Medical Research will go to Harald Stenmark this year for his groundbreaking studies on processes in cell membranes and how incorrect regulation of such processes influences cancer development. Congratulations on this well-deserved award!
Before the semester comes to an end, 117 public defences will have been delivered, the final nine of which will take place between now and 30 June. We had a small decrease in the number of public defences in 2021, but this year looks set to more than make up the numbers. This means that the Faculty maintains its position as the faculty with the largest proportion of dissertations at the University of Oslo.
Our researchers continue to stand out when it comes to succeeding in application processes relating to outstanding research. As mentioned in the New Year’s Editorial, the Faculty was awarded four allocations through Fellesl?ftet IV, with allocations for Project Managers Philippe Collas (IMB), Ole Andreassen (ClinMed), Irep G?zen (NCMM) and Torbj?rn Omland (ClinMed). The New Year’s Editorial also mentioned that Johanne Jacobsen at ClinMed had been awarded a Starting Grant to conduct research into the immune system. Jan Helge Solbakk at Helsam has recently been awarded an ERC Advanced Grant for the MORE project, which launches in September.
Yuichi Mori at Helsam has been accepted for the coordinator project OperA - Optimising Colorectal Cancer Prevention Through Personalised Treatment With Artificial Intelligence. Together with 17 partners, we will receive EUR 6 million over a five-year period.
Torbj?rn Omland has also been awarded a new KG Jebsen centre, which will benefit many cardiac patients. This will become the first centre of its kind at Campus Ahus, which is a milestone in itself.
The latest Scientia Fellows call has been completed and ten applicants have been recommended. This will mean that a total of 88 postdoctoral fellows from around the world will have received part-funding for postdoctoral positions at the Faculty through the EU programme. Around half of these hail from Europe, 1/4 from Asia and the rest from Africa, North and South America and Russia. There are 35 nationalities represented and 45% are female and 55% male.
Given the turbulence within the Norwegian Research Council and the risk that there will not be a FRIPRO call at all in 2023, we need to look internationally, especially towards the EU, for alternative funding opportunities. Our unit for external funding is ready to assist. I would like to remind you all of the importance of getting in touch with them as early as possible in the application process in order to best utilise the available support.
Innovation
The Life Science Growth house, Health and Technology is an inter-faculty collaboration between the Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences and the Faculty of Medicine. The innovation unit launched in February when it opened its doors in the Research Park. The Growth House is open to researchers, students, managers and administrative employees, as well as existing and new external partners. The Growth House offers guidance, seed funding and tools to help researchers and students mature innovative ideas at an early stage. You can subscribe to newsletters from the Growth House.
On behalf of the Faculty Management, I would like to thank you all for your efforts so far in 2022 and wish you all an enjoyable and well-deserved summer holiday!
Kind regards, Dean Ivar P. Gladhaug