RESEARCHER SUPPORT. Sahlgrenska Academy’s Research Support Division has recently welcomed two new research advisors: Charlotta Olofsson and Erik Pålsson. Through training and guidance, they help researchers gain more external funding.
Support is available to all researchers at Sahlgrenska Academy, but it is important to take contact well in advance. Send an email to research.support@sahlgrenska.gu.se. Spring is a particularly busy period, with application deadlines for several funding organizations. Thus, a draft cannot be sent last minute.
Defended his thesis on schizophrenia at the University of Gothenburg in 2006.
Did an international post-doc in Ireland.
Has been working for 11 years with clinical research on bipolar disorder in Mikael Landén’s group, previously combined with union assignments.
“To be able to give feedback on an application, we need to receive it two or three months before the deadline. We can provide concrete suggestions and tips for how to re-structure an application and make the text clearer. If the application call is decided through interview, we also offer interview training,” says Erik Pålsson.
“We haven’t had to turn anyone down yet, but we’re fairly booked up now in the run-up for (?) the Swedish Research Council’s call,” Charlotta Olofsson adds.
The budget is the only part of the application that the research advisors do not typically offer feedback on; for budget questions, please contact the departments’ financial administrator Otherwise, the research advisors can provide suggestions to improve the entire application, from the popular science summary to the description of ethical considerations.
Both are active researchers
One day a week, Erik is still active as a researcher at Sahlgrenska Academy in Mikael Landén’s group, where he works with research on bipolar disorder. Erik began as a research adviser at Sahlgrenska Academy’s Research Support Division just before Christmas and really enjoys his new role, in which he gets to help others succeed.
Defended her thesis on mechanisms behind type II diabetes at Lund University in 2004.
Active as a researcher at the University of Gothenburg since 2005.
Conducts research focused on the endocrine function of white adipocytes in the Department of Physiology (metabolic physiology), primarily with funding from the Swedish Research Council.
His colleague Charlotta has also been a researcher in our faculty for many years. In the Department of Physiology (metabolic physiology), she continues to dedicate one day per week to diabetes research and supervising her doctoral student. Charlotta began as the faculty’s research adviser a few months before Erik in the autumn 2021.
The Research Support Division hired an additional research adviser in the autumn because of the retirement of Ulf Nilsson, who previously worked at Sahlgrenska Academy’s Research Support Division in close collaboration with the Grants and Innovation Office (FIK).
Funding strategies and courses
The research advisors support Sahlgrenska Academy’s researchers in several ways. In addition to direct feedback on your application, you can also receive individual guidance, in which you develop a funding strategy together with your research adviser. This involves identifying funding opportunities, based on what you want to achieve as a researcher within a certain project, together with your group, or during your career. The funding strategy provides a long-term plan for funding that reduces the risk of missing calls. For example, many grants can only be applied for within a certain window of eligibility in a researcher’s career, often based on academic age.
The Research Support Division also regularly offers grant writing courses. A course was recently given with focus on the call for the Swedish Research Council’s starting or consolidator grant. Course participants were primarily individuals that had been nominated by their department head. For other courses, you can register yourself without a nomination.
Management support
Erik, Charlotta and other staff at Sahlgrenska Academy’s Research Support Division also support the faculty board and the departments, primarily in research-related matters and with calls for research funding. The division has a good collaboration with both the Grants and Innovation Office (FIK) and with Gothia Forum. Gothia Forum has a clear focus on clinical research and the Grants and Innovation Office primarily offers support for European and American grants, while Sahlgrenska Academy’s research advisors also support the faculty’s researchers with applications for grants from national funding organizations.
“Regardless of where aresearcher turn with a question, he/she will be directed to the right place. Sahlgrenska Academy’s Research Support Division, FIK, and Gothia Forum complement one another, and we always direct questions to the right person, including in the other organizations if that’s a better match. We want to make sure all researchers get the best possible help and that no one falls between the cracks,” says Erik.
In addition to Charlotta and Erik, the faculty’s Research Support Division is now taking up 20 percent of Rosie Perkins’ time. Rosie Perkins is an experienced scientific editor who offers feedback on applications and participates in the division’s grant writing courses. Her primary employment is with the Wallenberg Laboratory, Institute of Medicine.
RESEARCH SUPPORT DIVISION
- The Research Support Division lists different funding organizations on Sahlgrenska Academy’s section of the Staff Portal:https://medarbetarportalen.gu.se/sahlgrenskaakademin/forskningsstod/
- An annual review of the most common recurring calls for applications is available herehttps://gunet.sharepoint.com/:x:/s/sy-grp-avdelningen-for-forskningsstod/EYISGW2M9PlCnWyJqunxRNABoCbIrQh5JwjvG26VhsFBog?e=PEKGJY
- Are important funding organizations missing from the list? Please email: support@sahlgrenska.gu.se
BY: ELIN LINDSTRÖM
