STRATIGIC The Vice-Chancellor has approved six new centers for UGOT Challenges – a SEK 300 million project at the University of Gothenburg that addresses social problems at the global level. Two of the centers are directed by researchers at Sahlgrenska Academy.
The Vice-Chancellor’s decision for Stage 2 of UGOT Challenges was based on an assessment by an external panel of experts. Twelve of the 100 prospective centers that expressed interest were invited to formally apply for Stage 2. The six new centers will start up beginning next year.
Joakim Larsson, Professor at the Department of Infectious Diseases, and Fredrik Carlsson, Professor at the Department of Economics, are the co-applicants for a center that will study antibiotic resistance from a global point of view.
”We are both thrilled and humbled by the desire of the university to focus on this particular global challenge,” Professor Larsson says. ”It also reconfirms the quality of our efforts and goals.”
Thirty teams and six faculties are involved in the Center for Antibiotic Resistance Research at the University of Gothenburg. Sahlgrenska University Hospital, 1928 Diagnostics and the Västra Götaland Region STRAMA group – an initiative to promote rational antibiotic treatment and stem the tide of resistance – are also participating.
The center will take a six-pronged approach to addressing the issue: diagnosis, monitoring, transmission, the external environment, new antibiotics and action plans. Researchers will concentrate on resistance to carbapenems, a class of antibiotics that are increasingly prescribed as the final option, in each area.
“We hope that the center will provide a forum at which experts in various fields can conduct research on a topic that is integral to public health more than ever before,” Professor Larsson says. He is looking forward to the prospect of interacting with colleagues who have such varying backgrounds and interests. “Of course, that kind of diversity is a challenge in itself,” he says.
Aging – the whole word is facing it
Ingmar Skoog, Professor at the Section for Psychiatry and Neurochemistry, has obtained a grant to start an interdisciplinary research center on the ability of the elderly to achieve the goals they regard as valuable. Researchers at 7 faculties and 14 departments who possess expertise in molecular biology, neurochemistry, neural networks, the job market, history, journalism and design will be involved.
“The setting will generate exciting new ways to look at the research issue and produce ideas that would never have seen the light of day in the absence of an interdisciplinary structure,” Professor Skoog says. “I am excited and deeply honored, if a bit overwhelmed, to be given this opportunity.”
Expansion of AgeCap
Much of the world is confronted by the demographic ultimatum posed by an aging population. For the first time in history, more people are 65 and older than 5 and younger, and the size of the over-65 population will triple in the next 35 years.
The University of Gothenburg Center for Aging and Health (AgeCap), which Professor Skoog has been directing for some time, consists of more than 100 researchers and assistants in five separate disciplines. The new center represents a major expansion effort.
”We will be able to exploit much of the existing infrastructure,” Professor Skoog says. “The primary task – to strengthen the abilities of seniors to achieve their goals – and theoretical underpinnings of the center will remain the same.”
In addition, the center will adopt a global perspective and encourage international research projects. The current advisory team will be reinforced by researchers from developing countries.
Global challenges for contemporary society
All of the six new research centers at the University of Gothenburg will revolve around urgent social issues. They will cover a broad range of subjects and topics. While some of the initiatives are unprecedented, others proceed from existing research structures to incorporate a number of social challenges that are appearing on the horizon.
”In pursuing this interdisciplinary undertaking, the University of Gothenburg is throwing down the gauntlet to today’s major social challenges,” Vice-Chancellor Pam Fredman says. “UGOT Challenges and a number of other ongoing efforts are our way of assuming the kind of social responsibility that behooves a university within the framework of research, education and global commitment.”
Following are the six new centers that have obtained grants.
Center for Antibiotic Resistance Research, University of Gothenburg
Joakim Larsson, Department of Infectious Diseases, and Fredrik Carlsson, Department of Economics
Center for Collective Action Research
Sverker C. Jagers, Department of Political Science, and Sam Dupont, Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences
Swedish Mariculture Research Center, University of Gothenburg
Kristina Sundell, Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences
Center for Aging and Health – Studies on Capability in Aging – from Genes to Society
Ingmar Skoog, Section for Psychiatry and Neurochemistry
Center for Critical Heritage Studies
Kristian Kristiansen, Department of Historical Studies, and Ola Wetterberg, Department of Conservation
Center for Future Chemical Risk Assessment and Management Strategies, University of Gothenburg
Thomas Backhaus, Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences, and Jessica Coria, Department of Economics
See www.gu.se/ugotchallenges for more information about the decision.
