DONATION. Thanks to a gift from Bollan Lindén, a number of young researchers will gain access to the various research platforms within Core Facilities in the coming years. Bollan is described as a well-read woman with a good sense of humor, and her relatives are pleased that a scholarship is now being awarded annually in her name at Sahlgrenska Academy.
Before she married into the Lindén family, Bollan’s last name was Sandsten. Her first name, Elisabeth, was rarely used. Instead, she was called by her middle name, Bollan. She is described as an energetic and open-hearted person who often shared humorous stories in a thick Gothenburg accent. She loved to drive, and during the war years she participated in the Women’s Motor Transport Corp, serving as a chauffeur for the armed forces. Her relatives remember her with great warmth.
“It wasn’t common at that time for a young woman to sit behind the wheel, but she really loved the sense of freedom she derived from driving,” says Karolina Lindén, a researcher and teacher at the Institute of Health and Care Sciences, and the granddaughter of Bollan’s sister-in-law. “She married into our family. She loved telling amusing and warm anecdotes from the time when she met and fell in love with Erik, my grandfather’s brother.”
Well-read and active
Bollan was born in 1925 in Örgryte, the daughter of a printer. She was a well-read and active person, with many, but carefully selected, friends. Bollan was multilingual, speaking English, German and French fluently. A bon vivant, she seldom gave any indication that she suffered chronic back pain from scoliosis, which she was born with.
“The back pain was particularly difficult for her as a child, but she did not let that stop her in any way. She was a delightful person to know, and I really enjoyed visiting her,” recalls Karolina Lindén, who well remembers the exact day when Bollan died in 2015. “It was a few days after I gave birth to my son, Albert. She was thrilled to know that he had come into the world.”
Bollan’s back problem might be what motivated her to contribute to medical research. Long before her death, she had decided to donate SEK 2.4 million, a part of the inheritance she received from her father, to medical research at the University of Gothenburg. The Elisabet “Bollan” Lindén scholarship, which was established here last year, annually awards a total of SEK 250,000 to young researchers to be used at any of the Core Facilities’ platforms.
The next application period is open between March 1 and April 30. The scholarship is awarded in the autumn in connection with Bollan’s birthday.
“The next time the scholarship is awarded, her relatives plan to participate and talk a little about Bollan. She was an amazing person, who really deserves recognition,” says Lindén.
More inf about the Bollan scholarship: https://cf.gu.se/stipendier/bollan-stipendiet.
TEXT: ELIN LINDSTRÖM CLAESSEN
