ALF GRANTS. You can submit your application for ALF grants until June 1. Sahlgrenska Academy and Sahlgrenska University Hospital are holding a digital information meeting on Monday March 15. Note that the meeting will be held in Swedish. At the meeting, Henrik Hagberg, Caterina Finizi, and Kristina Eriksson will discuss the coming call for proposals and how the applications will be assessed, and you will have an opportunity to ask…
TBE patients’ lasting problems
DOCTORAL THESIS. Impaired memory, reduced motivation, and declining motor skills. These are some of the problems that may persist several years after people contract tick-borne encephalitis, a University of Gothenburg thesis shows. Tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) is caused by a virus, found in parts of Europe and Asia, that is spread mainly by tick bites. Though rare, in recent years the disease has become successively more prevalent in Sweden, some 300 cases are reported annually. The new thesis contains studies of TBE patients diagnosed with the disease in western…
A fifth of adults in Sweden experience dental anxiety
DOCTORAL THESIS. In Sweden, approximately one in five adults suffers from dental anxiety or phobia. The number has decreased over time, but many still have major problems, according to a recent University of Gothenburg doctoral thesis. The thesis includes a nationwide interview study involving 3,500 adult individuals, randomly selected from the general population of Sweden. Nineteen percent reported some degree of dental anxiety, fear or phobia (also known as dentophobia or odontophobia). The interviewees’ self-reported results were as follows: 4.7% described their dental anxiety as severe, 4.5% as moderate and 9.8% as low. The remaining 80.9% said…
Meet language stylist Ola Bratt — new professor of clinical cancer epidemiology
PEOPLE. Ola Bratt is our new professor of clinical cancer epidemiology at the University of Gothenburg. Back in the early 1990s, as a newly qualified doctor, he already understood that research and clinical practice must go hand in hand. He is now a well-established researcher in the field of prostate cancer, focusing on epidemiology, diagnostics, and treatment. Changes happen fast, and a doctor’s workaday life today is different than just…
Researchers in engineering sciences and medicine learn from each other to develop future health care technology
RESEARCH SCHOOL. Research in the borderland between technology and health is becoming increasingly important. Now Chalmers University of Technology and Sahlgrenska Academy have together started a new collaboration, where pairs of researchers receive training in ways to solve health care challenges. The health care system is facing major challenges as our population increases and grows older. New technology can provide support and solutions, and technology focusing on health is also…
Hospital wastewater favors multi-resistant bacteria
NEW STUDY. Scientists from the University of Gothenburg, Sweden presents evidence that hospital wastewater, containing elevated levels of antibiotics, rapidly kills antibiotic-sensitive bacteria, while multi-resistant bacteria continue to grow. Hospital sewers may therefore provide conditions that promote the evolution of new forms of antibiotic resistance. It is hardly news that hospital wastewater contains antibiotics from patients. It has been assumed that hospital sewers could be a place where multi-resistant bacteria…
Age important factor for new intestinal barrier component against bacteria
NEW SYUDY. How do intestinal cells perceive when to put up defenses against intruding bacteria? Which signals are required for a functional barrier? Researcher at Sahlgrenska Academy have discovered a new component of the intestinal barrier that is first established during weaning in mice, presented in Cell Reports. The research was conducted under the supervision of Thaher Pelaseyed, Assistant Professor at the Institute of Biomedicine, who summarizes the finding in…
Construction information Medicinareberget – Walls, ceilings and beams are beginning to come in place
CONSTRUCTION INFORMATION. Akademiliv provides information on the construction of Natrium on Medicinareberget for the period weeks 7-10 (February 15 – March 12). The current information about constructions on Medicinareberget is distributed with special mailings and in Akademiliv every four weeks. As far as the information mailings are planned, you will receive these mailings with information March 15, April 12, May 10, June 7 and August 16. In regards of covid-19,…
Meet our new Excellent Teachers – Mona Ringdal and Angela Bång
DISTINCTION. Mona Ringdal and Angela Bång, both associate professors at the Institute of Health and Care Sciences, recently received the title of “Excellent Teacher” at the University of Gothenburg. This brings the number of teachers at Sahlgrenska Academy receiving this title in recognition of their teaching expertise to 16. A total of 29 people at the University of Gothenburg have now been awarded the title of Excellent Teacher, including the 16…
New discovery about autophagy published in Nature
NEW STUDY. The protein VCP plays an important role in initiating the process of autophagy in the cell. This is the finding of researchers at the University of Gothenburg together with researchers at the University of Cambridge and AstraZeneca. Their study was recently published in the the journal Nature Chemical Biology. Autophagy is the process that the cell uses to remove harmful proteins and to recycle building blocks and energy. It…
Nominations for Honorary Doctors 2021 is open
HONORARY DOCTOR. All staff at Sahlgrenska Academy may nominate honorary doctorates. The appointments are evidence of the faculty’s appreciation, and a way to strengthen our national and international network of contacts. The deadline for nominations is March 31, 2021. The Sahlgrenska Academy Board decides on who will be appointed Honorary Doctor in 2021. Many of our honorary doctorates are appointed because of their direct importance to research or education at…
Digital get together for doctoral students at the Institute of Neuroscience and Physiology
DOCTORAL STUDENTS. To give doctoral students the chance to meet and expand their networks, the Institute of Neuroscience and Physiology had been planning to arrange an initial gathering for the new semester. After having to postpone the physical meeting for almost a year, it was finally held digitally last week. The event turned out well, and afterwards several doctoral students said that they would like similar events every semester. “I…
Raised mortality from cardiac arrest in people with COVID-19
NEW STUDY. Sudden cardiac arrest is more often fatal in people with COVID-19, a new study shows. Those responsible for the research see the results as a wake-up call for the public and care providers alike. The survey now published in the European Heart Journal is a register-based observation study. It covers all 3,026 cases of sudden cardiac arrest that were reported to the Swedish Registry for Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation in…
Gunnar C. Hansson awarded H.R.H. The King’s Medal of the 8th size
DISTINCTION. Gunnar C. Hansson has been awarded H.R.H. The King’s Medal of the 8th size with the ribbon of the Order of the Seraphim “for outstanding contributions within medical research, particularly cystic fibrosis”. Hansson is a senior professor of medical chemistry and cell biology at the University of Gothenburg and an internationally leading researcher on mucin and mucus biology. “Not many medical researchers receive this medal, and it is naturally…
Meet Karin Sundfeldt – professor focused on women’s health
PEOPLE. Professor Karin Sundfeldt is a cancer researcher and gynecologist, passionate about collaboration and translational research. Over the years, this has proven to be a particularly fruitful and successful combination. Here is an interview by Susanne Ljungman Westergren, communications officer at the Institute of Clinical Sciences. Karin Sundfeldt grew up in Stockholm dreaming of a creative career in theater or journalism. In the end, though, it was her passion for…
Potential drug target found for treating rare genetic disorder in children
NEW STUDY. New study describes a potential drug target for Hutchinson-Gilford progeria syndrome that may aid in the development of more effective treatments. Scientists have identified a potential new treatment approach for Hutchinson-Gilford progeria syndrome (HGPS), a progressive genetic disorder that causes rapid and premature aging in children. The findings in mice, published in eLife, show that blocking a protein called ICMT can improve the condition of affected cells without reducing…
Halved risk for severe retinal disease in extremely premature infants
NEW STUDY. Risk for a severe form of retinopathy of prematurity, which can cause blindness in extremely premature babies, was halved when the newborns were given a new supplement combining various fatty acids. This was shown in a Swedish study led from the University of Gothenburg. The study, now published in JAMA Pediatrics, is described as groundbreaking in its field. It documents a clear fall in retinopathy of prematurity (ROP)…
Learn more about your pension
WEBINARIUM. Welcome to webinars at The National Government Employee Pensions Board (SPV). The webinars are held in Swedish, and are aimed at staff born before 1988. Every year, SPV comes to the University of Gothenburg and talks about pensions, at usually well-attended lectures. This year, of course, it will be in the form of webinars. SPV tells you which parts you are entitled to and what you should think about.…
Nominate for the award “PhD Thesis of the Year” – deadline is February 10
AWARD. The prize “PhD Thesis of the Year at Sahlgrenska Academy” has been awarded since 2009 and is funded by Dr Arnt Vestby’s Research Foundation. The purpose of the award is to recognize the contributions made by PhD students and their supervisors as well as to highlight particularly commendable theses within their research areas. The author of the “PhD thesis of the year” at the faculty will be awarded…
Continued stricter regulations at University of Gothenburg
COVID-19. The stricter restrictions that currently exist at the University of Gothenburg have been extended until further notice. This means that all teaching and examination must take place digitally and that work must be carried out from home. Exceptions may only be made in exceptional circumstances. The government announced yesterday, Thursday, further extensions of a number of national restrictions and recommendations to stop the spread of infection. Among other things,…