Meet Jan Holgersson, new Vice Dean for Infrastructure and Facilities

MANAGEMENT ASSIGNMENT. Good facilities and excellent infrastructure – both are prerequisites for our continued competitiveness. Jan Holgersson, recently assigned to the post of vice dean within these areas, feels that the work to meet the conditions and wishes of the organization is satisfying.

As former head of operations at SU, Jan Holgersson has gained some experience in managing projects, and he thinks it will be interesting to work in a similar way on the academic side.

“I have been given a lot of responsibility, and it feels like an exciting challenge. It is stimulating to be part of the management team and to establish good contacts with heads of department and other key people. Both my responsibility areas are important for our faculty and involve complex issues. I am humbled by the fact that I still have a lot to learn,” says Jan Holgersson.

Mapping in progress

Of the two responsibility areas, research infrastructure is the one closest to his heart. For example, as a researcher himself, he has used services on at least three of the Core Facilities’ platforms.

“It is my view that the platforms offered by Core Facilities are of a very high standard. They are good units with very competent staff. I am particularly familiar with proteomics and mass spectrometry, where I would say we are a leader in the country. Our unit for Mammalian Protein Expression (MPE) is also quite unique in Sweden,” says Jan Holgersson.

He adds that the animal experimental activities are also well-structured and well-equipped, but he has not personally used the animal facilities. The EBM is facing a refurbishment, as the facilities need to be adapted for several reasons. The research requirements for experimental research have changed, the working environment for EBM employees needs to be improved, and the building requirements must be more energy efficient, both in terms of economy and sustainability. The upcoming refurbishment of the EBM is expected to halve the building’s energy consumption.

Several years of evaluations and discussions have led to the conclusion that the refurbishment should take place within the existing building. The renovation must be conducted in such a way as to minimize the impact on the business. Relevant staff receive further information from Core Facilities, which also updates the Facilities Council on the progress of the project.

Keeping up with developments

The development of the infrastructures offered for research within the university is driven by the needs of researchers. This requires mobility that meets their demand.

“We will enable researchers to conduct cutting-edge work, with the necessary equipment. At the same time, a lot of coordination is required, both locally, regionally, and nationally, so that we can cooperate and not duplicate investments in heavy infrastructure,” says Jan Holgersson.

In addition to the task of working strategically with the faculty’s research infrastructures, it is also Jan Holgersson’s task to facilitate the contacts with forums at different levels within the field. At a national level, this may involve collaborating with representatives of ministries and authorities, and at a regional level, representing the Sahlgrenska Academy in various steering committees to create a consensus.

He believes that it is great than increasing infrastructure initiatives are made at national level, but this means that higher education institutions must coordinate themselves. Sahlgrenska Academy is part of several national initiatives, from biobanks and precision medicine to mass spectrometry and microscopy.

“We must make the best possible use of our resources. A group is now being set up with representatives from SA, NatFak, Chalmers and SU to map the infrastructure that should be available, but which is not currently located within a Core Facility,” says Jan Holgersson.

An extra pair of hands

The Faculty Management Team, comprising the Dean, Deputy Dean and Vice Deans, collaborates on many of the issues that affect large parts of the faculty. Many issues overlap the task areas of the Vice Deans, and responsibilities are shared through dialogue within the management team.

“I see myself as the Dean’s extra pair of hands, as she cannot possibly be involved in all the contexts concerning the development of research infrastructure where Sahlgrenska Academy must be represented. I will initially spend a lot of time gathering information and understanding all the contexts, and my view is that we help each other. I want to be perceptive and attentive and receive input from heads of departments and other representatives of the organization,” says Jan Holgersson.

Focus on learning environments

Medicinarlängan (the Medicine Passageway) is an important artery for the entire Medicinareberget Campus, but as a study environment it is not very appealing. More recently, a campus development project has focused on creating better environments for our students. Development of local facilities is conducted in collaboration with the Facilities Council, the Education Council, and the Campus Council. The latest result of the project is new study spaces in the lower level of Medicinarlängan, near Natrium, which are planned to be inaugurated at the end of the spring semester. Facilities are now increasingly shared with the Faculty of Natural Sciences, which also requires dialogue with the neighboring faculty.

In the case of Sahlgrenska Life, the University of Gothenburg is currently waiting for a response from Region Västra Götaland. The project has been put on hold since both the university and the region decided to reject the rental offer made by the property developers. Discussions are now taking place within the region on how to progress the project. Only when the region has made its decisions can the university continue the dialog on the development of the hospital area.

“The Sahlgrenska Academy should not stagnate, but we must continue to develop and think ahead. Regarding our future facilities, we need to imagine what we will need in ten or twenty or thirty years, and how we can prepare now to continue to conduct excellent research and teaching. At the same time, we should not get ahead of ourselves, but find a balance where we can manage the rental costs that arise,” says Jan Holgersso

Immunological mechanisms of organ rejection

Jan Holgersson started to conduct research while still a medical student in Gothenburg. After receiving his PhD in 1991, he spent almost three years as a postdoc at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School in Boston. Since 2009, after almost 15 years in Stockholm, he is back in Gothenburg.

He is Professor of Transplantation Immunology at the Department of Biomedicine, focusing his research on the immunological mechanisms of organ rejection. He also has a combined position as a Senior Physician at Sahlgrenska University Hospital, where he was also Head of Clinical Immunology and Transfusion Medicine for many years. Through his work on advanced medicines in the Cell and Tissue Laboratory and the Stem Cell Laboratory, he has in recent years been involved in the development of the ATMP field.

BY: ELIN LINDSTRÖM