Since mid-March, the exam room at Viktoriagatan 30 has been closed and digital exams have been written remotely. According to a decision from the Vice-Chancellor on 4 June, an adapted but limited return to regular campus activities for the autumn term 2020 is possible. This means that the exam room can reopen, but to a limited extent. Based on this, the head of institute in turn decides whether the education can have a physical exam or not. In order to maintain the requirements for safety and at the same time follow the Swedish Public Health Agency’s guidelines to minimize the risk of the spread of infection, a number of measures are implemented in and in connection with the office. Read more in the Staff Portal: https://medarbetarportalen.gu.se/aktuellt/nyheter-detalj//fran-1-september-skrivs-tentor-pa-viktoriagatan-30.cid1690409

How long was the maternity hospital at Linnéplatsen used and what was done in the Dispensary at Fattighusån? In your browser you can now see a map of a hundred medical historical sites with pictures and information. The new map has been produced by the Museum of Medical History and shows historic care and nursing facilities in Gothenburg. The hope is that the map will be an exciting way to get to know historical places in the local environment. You can choose to click your way across the map at home, or go on a historical hike. You can find the map on the Medical History Museum’s website (the map works best in a web browser).

The content of Akademiliv’s website is continuously updated. Regular newsletters from Akademiliv come every Wednesday morning, but take breaks in connection with holidays. In the autumn term 2020, you will receive the first newsletter on Wednesday 26 August. Due to the autumn holiday week 44, there will be no newsletter on Wednesday October 28. From December 17 the newsletter will break for Christmas, to be back on Wednesday January 13. During 2021, the newsletter will skip February 17 (sports holiday), and April 7 (Easter holiday). The last newsletter before the summer break 2021 will reach you on 23 June 23. Extra mailing of the newsletter takes place when needed.

In August, the food truck Tikka Roti will be open three days a week, usually Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. Deviations are announced with a sign at the vehicle. Week 34 and 35 (August 17-28), the food truck also serves street food from Peru, in addition to its usual range of Indian and Pakistani dishes. The food truck is open 11:00 -13:30 on weekdays when it is parked in the parking lot outside Academicum.

Akademiliv congratulates Johan Hellgren, newly appointed professor of ear nose and throat diseases. He is Head of Department, and also responsible for teaching both medical students and nurses in the subject ear, nose and throat diseases. He researches the relationship between upper and lower respiratory tract inflammation based on risk factors and treatment, where he has shown that there is a close relationship between rhinitis (inflammation of the mucous membranes of the nose) and asthma, and also between rhinitis and COPD. In his research on upper airway obstruction in both children and adults, he has shown that medical treatment can be an alternative to surgery in children with sleep-related respiratory disorders. The research team collaborates with researchers in Lund, Uppsala, Bergen and Sydney, among others.

 

On Monday, June 29, at approximately 3pm, an unforeseen event occurred on the Natrium construction site in connection with relocation of electric cables located in the ground. In order to be able to carry out the move, it is necessary to extend existing power cables by joining the old cables with the new ones. In preparation, the responsible contractor had marked all the cables and received a time from the operating organization of Akademiska Hus when the power could be cut. At the appointed time, the contractor began his work and started cutting an existing electric cable. Unfortunately, the power to that particular cable was not cut, causing a local fire within the work area that was immediately rectified. The incident is classified as an electrical accident but no workers were injured. The event is considered extremely serious and the project management has taken a number of measures.

The natural science institutions that will move into Natrium have identified available opportunities that will allow more efficient use of the new premises, which will reduce the rental costs for the operations. The steering group for Natrium has now decided to reduce the faculty’s annual premises costs by about SEK 20 million, a decision that simultaneously releases an area of 4300 square meters, one of the floors inNatrium, for another tenant. Read more on the Faculty of Science’s internal web: https://medarbetarportalen.gu.se/internt-science/kommunicera/Nyheter_detalj/minskade-kostnader-for-natrium-genom-mer-effektiv-anvandning-av-lokaler

Akademiliv congratulates Lars Westberg, newly appointed professor of pharmacology. He researches neuronal mechanisms involved in social interactions, and his group investigates, among other things, how the neuropeptide oxytocin influences social behavior in different ways. Their genetic studies indicate that oxytocin in humans, in a similar way to other animals, regulates attachment between individuals, aggressiveness, and the ability to recognize other individuals and their emotions. The research team is also studying the behavior and brain function of zebrafish with mutations in risk genes for autism. Lars teaches pharmacology on several educational programs and was recently appointed responsible for the teaching of pharmacology for nurses.

 

The call for project grants from the Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation with a deadline of February 1, 2021 has been canceled, and the Jubilee grant, which is aimed at junior reserachers, is postponed. However, the 2020 call for proposals, which had a deadline of 1 February 2020, will be carried out according to plan. Wallenberg Academy Fellows will be announced in accordance with plans 2021 and 2023. Extension grants for Wallenberg Academy Fellows and Wallenberg Clinical Scholars will be implemented according to plan. All decided funding will be implemented in accordance with the donation letters.
If you have any questions, please contact the Wallenberg Foundation contact person at the university. (ulf.nilsson@gu.se, 0709-831672).

Medical Hill Seminars are now expanding to become Sahlgrenska Academy Science Seminars (SASS) and all Institutes at the Sahlgrenska Academy have the opportunity to submit speaker suggestions for the fall season 2020. Until now, this seminar series has been operated by the Institute of Biomedicine, but the Faculty Board now expands the concept in order to provide better opportunities for exchange across Institute and organization borders. Visiting scientists, invited speakers, opponents and internal researchers may all be considered as speakers. The Sahlgrenska Academy Science Seminars will operate by the Council for Research (FOR) under guidance of Professor Ruth Palmer.

• The seminars will be given in English on Thursdays at 3–4 PM in the “Arvid Carlsson” lecture hall in Academicum, starting in September 2020.
• Read the summary for more information about SASS.
• See available dates here.
• To submit suggestion, download the form and send it to research.support@sahlgrenska.gu.se