MED-nytt, no 15 ¨C 2024

Editorial:
A good start for the autumn semester

Dean Hanne Flinstad Harbo shares her experiences from Arendalsuka, ministerial visits, the reception of exchange students, and writes about the upcoming events you can participate in:

Breakfast with the UiO award winners, Honorary Doctorate Lectures and their conferring ceremony, the Kavli Lectures and the University of Oslo's Annual Celebration, all events on 2nd September, and also please note our events during the Research Days.

Read the full Editorial

News about MED

New "AI centre" launched at UiO

Integreat ¨C the Norwegian Centre for Knowledge-Driven Machine Learning ¨C aims to make Norway a leading nation in AI, promised, among others, Minister of Research and Higher Education Oddmund Hoel during the formal launch on 19th August. Arnoldo Frigessi (IMB) leads the centre together with Ingrid Glad (MN Faculty).

Read more in Uniforum (in Norwegian).

Jan Magnus Aronsen in reference group for Horizon Europe

Jan Magnus Aronsen will provide input on reforming and improving the European Research Area (ERA).

Read more on the institute's website (in Norwegian).

Innovation

Jan Magnus Aronsen named innovator of the year

Inven2 awarded the prize to Aronsen and Jonas Skogestad for their work on a drug for severe cardiac arrhythmias in patients with a rare genetic disorder.

Read more on the institute's website (in Norwegian).

Innovation examples from UiO Growth House

Advances in organ-on-chip research for better R&D models

Researchers at UiO and OUS are working to advance the field of organ-on-chip and organoid technology ¨C micro-physiological systems ¨C to develop better models to represent human physiology and metabolism. These models serve as tools for drug development and personalised medicine and as a strategy to reduce animal testing. They are working to bring their technology to market.
Read more about Stefan Krauss and his team at HTH

Early Screening for risk of preterm labor

Preterm labor is a significant risk to both mother and child. What if there was a test that could detect and measure the risk of preterm labor for women before and during pregnancy and safeguard the lives of both the mother and child. 

Read more about the innovative research by Shirin Pourteymour 

A digital platform to harmonise dental care for the elderly

Elderly people in home care services often need seamless care across services. They are negatively affected by how dental care is organised in Norway. Vibeke Ansteinsson and her team are working closely with municipalities and several companies to solve this issue by developing a digital platform.

Read more about the innovations by Vibeke Ansteinsson and her team 
 

Briefings

• MED: Op-ed in Dagens Medisin by Dean Hanne Flinstad Harbo: Hopes that hospitals can prioritise new Lis1 positions (in Norwegian).

• MED: Faculty Board Elections: During the autumn of 2024, one representative and two deputy representatives will be elected from temporary academic staff, including temporary adjunct professors. Candidates must be nominated by noon on 20 October.

• MED: Election of new Head of MedDocs - Doctoral research fellows will vote for the Faculty¡¯s Research Education Committee. The new Head of MedDocs will be elected for one year from 1 January 2025 until 31 December 2025. Candidates must be nominated by noon on 29 August.

• IMB: Election of new Head of Institute. The deadline for proposing candidates is Monday 28 August. The electronic election will be open from 16 to 20 September.

• IMB: In September, the tram stop at Rikshospitalet will be closed and demolished. There will be a bus replacement service for a while.
  Read more about the consequences here.

• Khrono: The Gaza students have arrived in Norway (in Norwegian).

• Uniforum: Her goal is to prevent cancer. In the future, almost no Norwegian women will get cervical cancer. Professor Emily Burger, winner of UiO¡¯s prize for young researchers, has helped pave the way. The prize will be awarded at the annual celebration on 2 September.

• UiO: UiO celebrates its 213th anniversary. On Monday 2 September, you can experience some of the best things UiO has to offer, from morning to evening. Join us in marking the 213th anniversary of Norway's first university!

• UiO: Jahre Prize for 2024 to cancer researchers. Anders Jahre¡¯s major medical prize for 2024 is awarded to Professor Lauri Aaltonen, University of Helsinki, and Professor Thomas Helleday, Karolinska Institutet. Anders Jahre¡¯s prize for young researchers goes to Lectors Nicolai Albrechtsen and Nicholas Taylor, both from the University of Copenhagen.

• UiO: UiO Sustainability Prize for best master¡¯s thesis 2024 (in Norwegian).

• UiO: Exercise during working hours. All employees can exercise for up to 1.5 hours. Take advantage of this autumn's exercise offerings!

• UiO: Discounted theatre tickets for UiO employees (in Norwegian). Right now, employees can get reduced-price tickets for one of Ibsen¡¯s greatest classics: Hedda Gabler. Showing at the National Theatre in August and September.

Management meetings

• Lederforum: Overview of meeting dates. The next meeting is on Tuesday 3 September. Agenda items and documents must be submitted by 12:00 on the last Thursday before the meeting. Minutes of the previous meeting can be found here.
• Overview of faculty board meetings and IDF meetings in 2024 (PDF) with deadlines for submitting cases. The next faculty board meeting will be held on 24 September. Agendas and protocols will be updated here.
• Meetings of the university board 2024. The meetings are live streamed and open to anyone who would like to attend. The next meeting will take place on 17 and 18 September. See also agendas and minutes from previous meetings.

Opportunities and deadlines

• See all deadlines for applications for research funding under Funding opportunities.

• Keep an eye on the annual calendar for award announcements. There are several announcements currently: The Heart Research Prize, the Wolf Prize, and the Warren Alpert Foundation Prize. 

• UiO Growth House: Call for applications for innovation funds 2024. Are you a researcher with an innovative idea based on your research that can help solve an important societal need, but require funding to further develop your idea? Check UiO¡¯s call for applications for innovation funds in all specialist fields. Deadline: 2 September.

• Have you made an extraordinary contribution to the field of education at the University of Oslo? If so, you should apply to become a Distinguished Educator at UiO (in Norwegian). Deadline: 1 September. 

Courses and events

See the University of Oslo¡¯s calendar for an overview of all available courses. See also updated overviews of courses from UiO IT and the Updated course overview from the University Library.

Overview: Upcoming public defence

• Sulten p? p?fyll og bygge nettverk? Se postdoktorprogrammets kursoversikt for h?sten 2024. En gyllen mulighet for postdoktorer og andre forskere i etableringsfasen. Meld deg p? i dag!
  Disse to kursene er f?rst ut:
• Hungry for knowledge and networking? See the postdoctoral programme course overview for autumn 2024. This is a golden opportunity for postdoctoral fellows and other researchers in the establishment phase. Register today!
  These two courses will be the first to be held:
  • 25 - 26 September: ¡°Research management¡±. A course for those who are looking to increase their knowledge about research management.
  • 30 September - 1 October: ¡°Communicating Research¡±: For those who want to give their careers a boost, while also becoming better at communicating how their research leads to societal improvement.
• Oppdatert kursoversikt fra Universitetsbiblioteket. Kursene er tilpasset studenter, ansatte og ph.d.-kandidater ved UiO og OUS, men er ?pne for alle interesserte.
• 2 September - Breakfast with UiO's Award Winners. The University of Oslo annually honours its academic staff with awards for their outstanding efforts and achievements. Come to breakfast and get a taste of the very best from UiO's researchers, communicators, and educators! From 8:00 to 10:00 am at Georg Sverdrups hus.
• 2 September - UiO's Annual Festivities Annual celebration ceremony, with the conferring of honorary doctorates and the presentation of UiO¡¯s awards. Presentation and awarding of the H.M. King's Gold Medal. Presentation of UiO¡¯s sustainability award for best master¡¯s thesis. Register now!
• 2 September - Honorary doctoral degree lectures at the Faculty of Medicine: Professor Maria da Gra?a Raposo and Professor Richard Hatchett have been awarded Honorary Doctorates at UiO and will be holding lectures in connection with this.
• 2 September - Kavli lectures in neuroanatomy will be held in the Large Auditorium at Oslo University Hospital, Rikshospitalet from 9:30am until 1:00pm. Save the date. Read about this year¡¯s award winners.
• 3. september - Local Honorary doctoral degree events:

  • Graca Raposo Honorary Doctorate Lecture, from 12:00 to 13:00 in PM, auditorium at Radiumhospitalet.

  • Seminar with Richard J. Hatchett: Innovations in Vaccine Development: Norway's Commitment to Global Health, from 14:00 - 16:00 pm at runde auditorium at Domus Medica. 

• 16 September: TeachMeet. An informal and social forum for sharing professional experiences. Meet UiO educators who are using artificial intelligence (AI) in their teaching. You will have the opportunity to see their examples and hear brief explanations before engaging in discussions.
• 21 September - Research Fair at the Technical Museum (in Norwegian), Saturday from 10:00 to 15:00. Additionally, there will be a research fair for school pupils on Friday the 20th and an informal evening event for those aged 18+ including lectures, discussions, and more on Thursday 19 September.
• 25. september - Researcher Grand Prix, local final (in Norwegian) from 18:00 to 21:30. 
• UiO Growth House invites you to the Innovation Conference Science Impact 2024 ¨C don¡¯t miss it on 25 September. Spend a day listening to exciting research, and explore opportunities and build networks.
• 28 September - Researcher Grand Prix, national final from 19:00 to 21:00.
• UiO course for everyone working in a lab: researchers, technicians, managers, and assistants. Register your interest:  Sign-up form for "eLabJournal Workshop at UiO". 

About our research

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IMB:  Potatoes can lead to a longer life for more of us
Do you have a craving for boiled potatoes for dinner? If so, you may live longer and reduce the risk of dying of heart disease, says Erik Arnesen based on a new major study. 

Helsam: Children of undocumented migrant women are more often stillborn or die shortly after birth (in Norwegian). Women without residence permits face six times the risk of foetal or newborn death compared to Norwegian-born women. They also face four times the risk compared to foreign-born women with residence permits, says Frode Eick.

IMB: The link between asbestos and pleural cancer in offshore petroleum workers. The finding can contribute to targeted measures for cancer prevention, but it will also be important when assessing whether specific offshore work has caused the cancer, says researcher Leon McLaren Berge.

Medisinbloggen: What is anxiety? in Norwegian by Professor Jan Ivar R?ssberg.

The body warns us when there is danger. But what happens if the warning lights keep blinking all the time?

Klinmed: Many die within the first week after being released from prison. (in Norwegian) The first week after release is particularly critical, according to a new SERAF study published in The Lancet. "These are unnecessary losses of life that can be prevented," says senior researcher Anne Bukten.

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