Akademiliv congratulates Elisabet Jerlhag Holm on her professorship! Her research group is investigating mechanisms in the development of addiction, with a focus on hormones that regulate appetite. These hormones have traditionally been considered only important for how much we eat, but Elisabet Jerlhag Holm’s research shows that they also reduce alcohol intake and the rewards of other drugs, and also affect sexual behavior. The research is also about variations in the genes that encode appetite-regulating hormones and how they are linked to high alcohol intake, as well as how people with high alcohol intake self-administer alcohol intravenously. The aim of the research is to contribute to new drugs for the treatment of addiction. Elisabet Jerlhag Holm also conducts teaching on the treatment of various neuropsychiatric diseases.

This spring, approximately 6,800 people will write the national university aptitude test (högskoleprovet) at the University of Gothenburg on 13 March and 8 May. Now we hope that you as an employee want to be involved and contribute! In order for national university aptitude test to be carried out in an infection-proof manner, staff working on the test days will be assigned oral protection and have access to hand alcohol. Recruitment is ongoing, so do not wait to submit your application.
More information (Swedish only): Arbeta på högskoleprovet

Akademiliv congratulates Mona Ringdal and Angela Bång, who recently received the title of excellent teacher at the University of Gothenburg. Both belong to the Institute of Health and Care Sciences at Sahlgrenska Academy. A total of 29 teachers at University of Gothenburg have now been awarded the title. The university has introduced the title as a way to draw attention to teachers’ pedagogical skills. Teachers with a permanent position at the university can apply to be tried for the title. The title is included in the university’s salary criteria and is to be taken into account during salary interviews.

When the Sahlgrenska Life project now goes ahead, the project ownership within the University of Gothenburg is raised to Pro-Vice-ChancellorMattias Goksör. In accordance with the decision of the University Board in the autumn of 2020, the intention is still to move forward with Sahlgrenska Life into the next phase. In December 2020, the board of the Region Västra Götaland decided to adopt the concept Sahlgrenska Life. Later in January, they are expected to follow up with a decision on continued implementation planning for the construction project itself. In parallel, the detailed plan work is underway in the city of Gothenburg and the next step is to review the detailed plan, which can start in February at the earliest.

During large parts of the autumn, about half of the university’s employees lacked access to their e-mail and calendar after several e-mail servers failed. A report from the internal audit has now been presented to the university board describing the circumstances of the accident. The hard disks used by the university to store e-mail had a manufacturing error in software, which meant that the disks stopped working after 40,000 hours of use. The manufacturer stated this in February 2020, but the IT unit and the subcontractor remained unaware. A contributing factor is stated to be ambiguities in current service agreements. The University Board instructs the Vice-Chancellor to further investigate the issue of responsibility. Read more in the Staff Portal.

Michael Schöll, senior lecturer at the Institute of Neuroscience and Physiology affiliated with the Wallenberg Center for Molecular and Translational Medicine, is awarded the Birger Karlsson Science Prize by the Royal Society of Arts and Sciences in Gothenburg (KVVS). He receives the prize for “his innovative and internationally renowned research to develop and evaluate methods based on positron emission tomography in order to visualize molecular disease changes in brain diseases”. The research aims to identify early neuropathological changes in a brain that will develop a neurodegenerative disease, such as a dementia disease, and what distinguishes it from a brain that ages healthily.

Usually subscribers receive Akademiliv’s newsletter every Wednesday morning, with the exception of school holidays and public holidays. In the spring of 2021, the newsletter will take a break on February 17th (sports holiday) and April 7th(Easter holiday). The newsletter makes a summer break from Thursday June 24th, and will return in the autumn term on Wednesday August 25th.

Håkan Tinnerberg, associate professor at Occupational and Environmental Medicine, is now receiving funding from AFA Insurance to measure and analyze the content of elemental carbon and soot particles in the form of Black carbon in diesel exhaust in a laboratory environment and in a work environment. Measuring soot particles in the form of elemental carbon requires equipment that is only available at a few of the country’s universities, while Black carbon is much easier to measure. If the measurement of Black carbon can be correlated to elemental carbon, it would provide a simpler method for assessing exposure to diesel exhaust gases. The project will also provide measurement data that can be used for risk assessment for some specific occupational groups.

Of the SEK 42 million that the Alzheimer’s Foundation is now distributing, SEK 8.6 million goes to eleven projects at the University of Gothenburg. One of those taking part in the funding is Kaj Blennow, who receives SEK two million for developing and improving the diagnosis via blood tests with a focus on testing of amyloid beta, tau pathology and neurodegeneration, as well as clinical trials. The other GU researchers who receive funding from the fund are Andreas Björefeldt, Ann Brinkmalm, Johan Gobom, Jörg Hanrieder, Thomas Karikari, Silke Kern, Andrea Lessa Benedet, Ingmar Skoog and Anna Zettergren.

Ingmar Skoog, professor of psychiatry and director of the Center for Aging and Health (AgeCap) at the University of Gothenburg, is part of an expert group for infection control issues recently established by the Corona Commission. The group will be advisory in the Commission’s continued work.
“It is exciting for me as a researcher in the epidemiology of aging to participate in this context with microbiologists, infection control experts and infection doctors. It has become clear during the pandemic that multidisciplinary knowledge is needed, and that knowledge of the aging population is required to know how to protect the elderly”, says Ingmar Skoog.
The Corona Commission has also set up two other expert groups, focusing on the economic and social consequences of the pandemic, as well as crisis preparedness and crisis management. Ingmar Skoog has also been commissioned by the Swedish Health and Care Inspectorate (IVO) to be part of another corona-related expert group.