RESEARCH COLLABORATION. Recently, the Sahlgrenska Comprehensive Cancer Centre (SCCC) had a visit from its Scientific Advisory Board. The visit was intended to provide independent suggestions on how targeted initiatives can be used to prioritize and support Sahlgrenska Academy and SCCC’s research organizationally.
“This type of consultation from experts who are also researchers in leading positions will be particularly valuable when instituting changes and improvements within SCCC,” said Mikael Nilsson, professor of anatomy and chair of the SCCC’s Scientific Advisory Board.
SCCC’s scientific advisory board is also tasked with evaluating the center’s research potential. To prepare for the visit, the board was given access to several documents, including from SCCC’s accreditation process.
“Now we are having our first onsite meeting, and all the participants will have an opportunity to ask questions and take part in more detailed discussions. The point is to identify strengths, opportunities, and weaknesses,” said Mikael Nilsson.
Advisory report
Sahlgrenska University Hospital began its accreditation process in March 2020 to become a Comprehensive Cancer Centre, which is a crucial cancer center that can make a difference both for researchers and patients. Today, between twenty and thirty percent of all care within the university hospital is cancer care.
A Scientific Advisory Board was also a requirement for the accreditation as a Comprehensive Cancer Centre. The two-day visit examined several departments to cover the full breadth of SCCC’s cancer care and research within cancer care. The visiting members of the Scientific Advisory Board were Malin Sund, Sabine Tejpar, Hugues de Thé, and Tone Rustøen.
Later this autumn, the Scientific Advisory Board will submit a written advisory report, which SCCC can use in its efforts to improve SCCC’s research, both in terms of their work at Sahlgrenska University Hospital and at Sahlgrenska Academy.
Research, education, and opportunities
– Malin Sund (chair), professor, and surgeon from Helsinki and visiting professor at the Department of Surgical and Perioperative Sciences, Surgery Unit, at Umeå University.
– Sabine Tejpar, professor and gastroenterologist, KU Leuven Cancer Institute, Belgium
– Hugues de Thé, Professor of Molecular Oncology, Collège de France, at Hospital St. Louis, Paris
– Tone Rustøen, professor and senior researcher in nursing research at Oslo University and Rigshospitalet.
On the first day of the meeting, the Scientific Advisory Board and representatives and researchers from both the Academy and the hospital met at Academicum on Medicinareberget.
“The entire extensive accreditation process has taken place in close collaboration among Sahlgrenska University Hospital, Sahlgrenska Academy, and Regional Cancer Center West. During the accreditation process, it was also decided on the organization of the Sahlgrenska Cancer Centre (SCC), now known as the Sahlgrenska Comprehensive Cancer Centre,” said Claes Jönsson, who is chair of the management council and head of the unit Area 5.
Several young researchers presented their research to the Scientific Advisory Board during the two-day meeting and explained what they believe SCCC can mean for them and their future research. The researchers noted that SCCC strongly improves the ability to conduct translational research and may also increase their own career opportunities. Access to human tumor cells was noted as particularly important. The board was also given presentations about Regional Cancer Center West, the research school Clinical Research with Clinical Epidemiological Methodology, and the Cancer Research South School. Research infrastructures like Core Facilities, SciLifeLab Gothenburg, Clinical Genomics Gothenburg, and Biobank West were also described at the meeting in the departments. Together, they form a strong, high-capacity infrastructure that is not yet fully utilized by researchers in Gothenburg.
Visit to Östra Hospital
The Scientific Advisory Board also visited the Children’s Cancer Center at Östra Hospital, where a tour of the facility was followed by presentations on clinical research within the Children’s Assessment Unit.
“SCCC has given us at the Children’s Cancer Center an opportunity to be included in the great work taking place within Sahlgrenska and the Academy. We have worked as a center for a long time and are used to working together in this way,” said Karin Mellgren, operational director of the Children’s Cancer Center.
The Scientific Advisory Board also had the opportunity to get to know staff at SCCC’s new office, where Edvard Abel has just taken over as center director:
“I hope that in my role I will be able to serve as a facilitator and as an interface for both Sahlgrenska University Hospital and Sahlgrenska Academy. Initially, we need to gain an overview of all the relevant groups that may be included within the framework for SCCC.”
BY: KARIN MARKHEDE & SUSANNE LJ WESTERGREN
