INTERNATIONALIZATION. Among the 34 students from western Sweden who recently received travel grants from the Sten A. Olsson Foundation for Research and Culture, several are students at the Sahlgrenska Academy. The 2015 Fellows have visited colleges and universities throughout the world, including in Australia, Holland, China, Nepal and the United States.
The students have used the grants to implement their theses at Masters level. The study areas are mainly within culture and health, as well as innovation and entrepreneurship. Among the recipients at the Sahlgrenska Academy are Oskar Dixelius, Emelie Marklund, Fredrik Möller Billig, Katarzyna Soja and Carolina Wilnerzon Thörn.
Oskar Dixelius, studying to be a pharmacist, spent five months at Bond University, Australia. There he worked in the field of tissue pharmacology, and were investigating whether the inner mucus layer of the ring muscle affected the contraction of the sphincter. By identifying the signal molecules that reduce the contraction of the sphincter he searched for potential new drug options for the treatment of fecal incontinence.
Emelie Marklund, the medical program, visited Palo Alto University, San Francisco, USA, for ten weeks . There she studied mental illness in HIV-infected gay men. Through a web-based survey she examined the extent to which this group is experiencing internalized homophobia and how it is linked to various aspects of psychological malaise. Studies were also made of the impact of internalized homophobia has on quality of life and social support can moderate the effect. The aim of the study was to contribute to today’s limited research on internalized homophobia and well-being among the HIV-infected gay men who with their HIV diagnosis has an additional risk factor for poor mental health.
Fredrik Möller Billig, the medical program, conducted a study for three months at Stanford University, USA. In his projects, he examined the ovary with a new method and visualized his findings in 3D in mice. Better understanding of how the vessels and nerves relate to each other in 3D provides a better foundation to understand the disorders related to the ovaries in the future.
Katarzyna Soja,the medical program, spent three months at St. Vincent’s Hospital in Melbourne, Australia. In her project she evaluated a method for sleep assessment in Parkinson’s patients, called Parkinson`s Kinetigraph. The aim was to compare the link between patients’ self-perceived symptoms and appliance analyzes.
Carolina Wilnerzon Thörn the pharmacy program , spent five months at Harvard Medical School, Boston, USA, where she, within the field of Neurology, studied the role of dopamine D4 receptors in cognitive dysfunction in schizophrenia. The aim was analyzing how they impact low-frequency brain waves.
The scholarship is meant to cover travel and accommodation at the host university, typically for three months. The Foundation’s million investment in travel grants is a five-year endevour, until the year 2017. This year, a total of 34 students SEK 25 000 was from the fund.
All photos are taken by photographer Cicci Jonson.
