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 (SAS-seminars) and all Institutes at 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 SAS-seminars.
• See available dates here.
• To submit suggestion, download the form and send it to research.support@sahlgrenska.gu.se

Has your research generated exciting results that can be utilized? Would you like to discuss it with business developers and innovation advisors with expertise in Life Science? – Welcome to contact the Life Science Group, which consists of specialists from GU Ventures and the Research and Innovation Office who together provide advice, support and access to funding. With us you can discuss your idea for recovery free of charge. Of course, digital meetings can also be arranged. For more information or to book a meeting with the Life Science Group, contact us at mail lifescience@gu.se. You can also submit your idea digitally via an interest report where you can also read more about our support.

The records in Sahlgrenska Academy’s financial system look different in the spring of 2020 compared to last spring. A review by the economic department at Sahlgrenska Academy’s Office shows that travel expenses in April and May decreased from SEK 6 million to SEK 1 million.
“The fact that the costs did not decrease even more may be due to employees booking trips before the pandemic and then not being able to cancel them”, comments the financial assistant Annika Gustavsson who produced the figures.
During the corona spring, the faculty spent SEK 277,000 on coffee and meeting snacks; a third of the cost last spring. At the same time, IT costs increased from 2.5 million to 3.2 million, mainly from purchase of technical accessories, such as headsets and webcams.

 

About 20 research projects  in different areas related to covid-19 are ongoing at Sahlgrenska Academy and the Sahlgrenska University Hospital, according to a review by the hospital. One study about to start concerns palliative care and related persons:
“We want to see at how patients are affected by the whole society talking about death. How does it affect a person who already has a life-threatening illness and how does it affect his or her relatives”, says Inger Benkel, associate professor of experimental geriatrics.
Another example is a study that examines how many in the elderly care system that hitherto have had corona infection and perhaps acquired immunity.

With the new digital magazine Sahlgrenskaliv, the University Hospital’s news is made available to both staff and the general public. To start with much focus on research and news related to COVID-19 – but in the long term stories from the regular operations.
“For the staff, it is an opportunity to find out what is happening at the rest of the hospital – to be inspired, recognize or feel proud of colleagues. The curious general public gets a chance to look inside the hospital walls”, says Anders Goliger, Communications Director at Sahlgrenska University Hospital.