EVENT. “I am proud of the collaboration between the various partners. It is now our joint responsibility to ensure that the center is successful.”
This was the statement from Vice-Chancellor Pam Fredman at the first Wallenberg Centre for Molecular and Translational Medicine Event on February 7th.
The Wallenberg Centre for Molecular and Translational Medicine is the full name of a major investment in medical research that entails a collaboration between the University of Gothenburg, Västra Götaland region and AstraZeneca, with the Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation as the main sponsor. The center is also part of a national initiative to strengthen Sweden’s position within life sciences.
On Tuesday February 7th, the Wallenberg Centre Academy arranged the first of yearly events at the Wallenberg Conference Centre.
“We have already been operating for around a year and a half, and also recruited our first three researchers – so it was about time,” explained director Göran Landberg, Professor in pathology, in his inauguration speech.
The center in Gothenburg will focus on research in metabolic and degenerative diseases, neuroscience, inflammation and cancers. However, the idea is also to collaborate with the similar centers that are currently under construction in Lund, Linköping and Umeå, as well as with SciLifeLab in Stockholm/Uppsala.
“We are currently recruiting around 20 prominent young scientists, both in basic research and among PhD doctors, who will be given the best possible conditions in which to do an outstanding job. This is about strengthening the good resources that already exist, both at the university, in healthcare and in the pharmaceutical industry, as well as finding interesting subjects for collaboration.”
Over the last decade, the Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation has donated around SEK 2.5 billion for research within life sciences, of which SEK 900 million went to the four centers now under construction.
Göran Sandberg, a Executive Director of the Board of the Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation, explained that the investment was a reaction to the Swedish government’s support to SciLifeLab in Stockholm/Uppsala.
“When around half of all research in life sciences is made outside the Stockholm region, we believe that we have to support the universities in Gothenburg, Lund, Linköping and Umeå. And I am impressed of how the University of Gothenburg has – in just four weeks – successfully drawn up a fantastic application, involving collaboration with the region and AstraZeneca. The center is something of an experiment, but it should actually be obvious that various parties, with common objectives, can work together.”
The seminar continued with the introduction of the new researchers at the Wallenberg Centre: Anders Rosengren, Emma Börgeson and Karolina Skibicka. The evening concluded with a panel discussion with Staffan Edén, Deputy Vice Chancellor at the University of Gothenburg, Peter Lönnroth, assistant medical and healthcare director for Västra Götaland region, and Marcus Schindler, Head of CVMD IMED at Astra Zeneca, Clare Isacke, representative in the Scientific Advisory Board of WCMTM and Göran Landberg, Director WCMTM.
Facts
The Wallenberg Centre for Molecular and Translational Medicine (WCMTM) at the University of Gothenburg has been established in cooperation with the Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation, Västra Götaland Region, AstraZeneca and the University of Gothenburg. The Wallenberg Centre is a part of a national endeavor to strengthen Sweden’s world-leading position in medical research.
More information on wcmtm.gu.se.
TEXT: EVA LUNDGREN
FOTO: JOHAN WINGBORG
