NEW STUDY. Highly specialized T cells are detectable in blood for at least 20 months after SARS-cov-2 infection, a University of Gothenburg study shows. Patients infected with SARS-CoV-2 develop protective immune responses, mediated by virus-specific T cells and antibodies, shortly after the infection. There is concern, however, that immunity does not persist over time, which may translate into severe COVID-19 upon re-infection. In the July, 12 issue of Proceedings of…
Melanoma thickness equally hard for algorithms and dermatologists to judge
NEW STUDY. Assessing the thickness of melanoma is difficult, whether done by an experienced dermatologist or a well-trained machine-learning algorithm. A study from the University of Gothenburg shows that the algorithm and the dermatologists had an equal success rate in interpreting dermoscopic images. In diagnosing melanoma, dermatologists evaluate whether it is an aggressive form (invasive melanoma), where the cancer cells grow down into the dermis and there is a risk…
Sahlgrenska Life: The Västra Götaland Region’s Board decided on preparatory work in the hospital area
CONSTRUCTION INFORMATION. Akademiliv provides information on construction projects on Medicinareberget for the period weeks 26 – 34 (June 27 – August 26, 2022). The periodic information about constructions on Medicinareberget is distributed with special mailings and in Akademiliv every four weeks. During 2022, the distribution of information occurs on August 22, September 19, October 17, November 14 and December 12. If you have questions about the construction activities, feel free…
Sahlgrenska Academy awards honorary doctorates to Jens Nielsen and Michael Treschow
APPOINTMENTS. Professor Jens Nielsen and Michael Treschow, a prominent businessman, have been appointed as honorary doctors at Sahlgrenska Academy, the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Gothenburg. Both men, in their varying ways, have played decisive parts in strengthening the Academy’s role in life sciences. Professor Agneta Holmäng, Dean and Chair of Sahlgrenska Academy’s Faculty Board, comments on the nominations. “We’re immensely proud and pleased to be able, by…
Summer wishes from Dean Agneta Holmäng
CHRONICLE. In her last letter to staff and students this semester, Agneta Holmäng focuses especially on two matters that caused a big flurry of activity over the spring. One is the work of selecting profile areas to propose to the Swedish Research Council. The other is our incipient collaboration with GoCo Health Innovation City. Let me start by expressing my warmest summer wishes. At last, in the spring, we were…
The University’s work with research areas
PROFILE AREAS. Which areas should be designated as special research areas at the University of Gothenburg? This issue will be investigated in the autumn. But there is much that is still unclear, such as how the assessment process will work and how much money is really involved. It is the funds that are currently distributed according to bibliometrics and external grants that in the new system will instead go to…
See Natrium from the inside – open tour September 30
The construction project invites staff and students at the Faculty of Science and Sahlgrenska Academy on September 30 in the afternoon. With less than a year left until moving in, parts of the house will resemble the finished environments. During the guided tour, you get to experience the house from the inside and see different types of premises in certain parts of the building. As the building is still a…
Magnet makes life science research visible at the Swedish NMR centre
CONDITIONS OF RESEARCH. Outside the Swedish NMR Centre, at the Hasselblad laboratory on Medicinareberget, a large magnet has recently been set up. It was one of the world’s first 900 MHz magnets and has previously been used at the Swedish NMR Centre between 2004 and 2018. It has mainly been used for studies of protein structure, interaction, dynamics and function, but also for special applications in metabolomics, materials and pharmaceutical research…
Nominate members to the consultative assembly for election of a vice-chancellor
VICE-CHANCELLOR ELECTION. Sahlgrenska Academy will appoint 13 members to the consultative assembly, which is preparing the appointment of a vice-chancellor and pro-vice-chancellor. The members will be appointed through faculty election in September. All employees may nominate members, which must be done by August 14. On June 30, 2023, Eva Wiberg’s current mandate period as Vice-Chancellor of the University of Gothenburg will end. The University Board has initiated the process of…
Stem cells can become a treatment for common joint disease
RESEARCH COOPERATION. In the future, it is hoped that stem cells can be used to treat osteoarthritis, the world’s most common joint disease. Research is proceeding within AutoCRAT, a major European collaboration where the University of Gothenburg is one of the partners. Recently, members of AutoCRAT gathered for a plenary meeting at the Wallenberg Conference Center. Arthritis, or osteoarthritis as the disease is also called, is a chronic disease that…
Innovation from within when Vinnova visited Gothenburg
INTERACTION. Life science and collaboration among the medical system, academia, and the private sector was the main theme when Vinnova, Sweden’s innovation agency, visited Gothenburg, Sahlgrenska University Hospital, and other places during the week. “My impression after the visit is that the whole region has a culture of innovation and collaboration, which is so important. Innovation needs to come from within, and the management here also seems to be very…
Protein Research: Increased Access to Knowledge and Support
CONDITIONS OF RESEARCH. With Protein Production Sweden (PPS), a new national infrastructure has taken shape. Expression, production and purification of proteins is the main area of expertise of the infrastructure. Researchers who use this expertise can dedicate more time and focus on their core scientific issues, said Marjolein Thunnissen, chair of the infrastructure’s steering group. ‘Our facilities will take care of the whole protein process in the best possible way,…
New episode of the Swedish podcast Akademiliv – with diabetes researcher Emanuel Fryk
PODCAST. Guest in this episode of the podcast Akademiliv is Emanuel Fryk, a doctoral student at the University of Gothenburg and a doctor at a health center, who will soon be defending his dissertation which is specifically about the protein galectin-1 in type 2 diabetes. The podcast is in Swedish. For over a hundred years, we have known that type 2 diabetes can lead to complications and that the disease…
Primary hyperparathyroidism linked to bone fracture, stroke, and heart attack
NEW STUDY. In the hormonal disorder primary hyperparathyroidism, patients’ risk of hip fracture is elevated by 51%, and that of heart attack or stroke 45%. These are results from a major study from the University of Gothenburg, Sweden, which also demonstrates that surgery is associated with reduced risks of these outcomes. Primary hyperparathyroidism is a common hormone disorder, especially among the elderly. It occurs more often in women, and some…
Local information systems must be inventoried – research leaders must register systems no later than 1 July
AUTHORITY REQUIREMENTS. Due to new mandatory regulations regarding information security in government agencies, the University of Gothenburg is currently taking an inventory of the information systems used in its operations. Research leaders are asked to indicate which systems are used in a web-based form. Deadline is July 1st. You find the form here: https://forms.office.com/r/tjjGmm0wL0 Questions? Contact Mathias Arkeklint, IT coordinator at the Institute of Medicine: mathias.arkeklint@gu.se or 0701-46 40 08…
Research to enable more people to receive bone-anchored prostheses
GRANTS. A bone-anchored prosthesis represents a completely different quality of life than a conventional prosthesis for those who have had to undergo amputation of a leg, for example. The number of patients who can receive an implant is limited now by the patient’s need to have good healing ability. Professor Anders Palmquist studies what happens in the juncture between the implant’s surface and the patients’ bone tissue. The purpose is…
Linnea Molander receives the Landén Research Scholarship
STUDENTS. Medical student Linnea Molander will be the first recipient of the newly established Landén Research Scholarship of SEK 120,000. Alongside her medical studies, she belongs to the team led by Professor Ruth Palmer and contributes to research on childhood neuroblastoma. Starting this year, the Landén Research Scholarship will be announced annually. The scholarship provides SEK 120,000 in project funding to a student in their fifth semester or later of…
Uterine transplantation is efficacious and safe
NEW STUDY. Transplanting a uterus is an effective, safe method to remedy infertility when a functioning uterus is lacking. This is the conclusion from the world’s first complete study of uterine transplantation, conducted at the University of Gothenburg. The study, published in the journal Fertility and Sterility, covers transplantation of uteri from living donors. The operations were headed by Mats Brännström, professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Sahlgrenska Academy, University…
Kidney Professor Börje Haraldsson returns to Gothenburg
PEOPLE. After more than seven years as global program head at the pharmaceutical company Novartis in Switzerland, Börje Haraldsson is now back at the University of Gothenburg as an adjunct professor. In Sweden, he and his colleagues now await the first clinical trials for the pharmaceutical they are developing to treat metastatic kidney cancer. A chance to really help provide kidney disease patients with more opportunities in life. This is…
Wonderful graduation times at Sahlgrenska Academy
STUDENTS. In June hundreds of happy students are graduating, with ceremonies filled with speeches, music, and humor. Students from all Sahlgrenska Academy programs celebrate having managed a demanding education largely marked by the pandemic. Graduation time is a day of joy for many: for our students, who have coped with the demands of learning during a pandemic; for our teachers, who have gone to great lengths to continue offering high…