Dear colleagues,

It is great to see that people at our department continue to develop good ideas with the ambition to make new products and solutions to the society. For instance, several groups have received funding for early-phase innovation projects from UiB (UiB Idé) and the Norwegian Research Council. Such initiatives may constitute additional research funding opportunities for even more of us, and it might be worthwhile to check it out.

The BergenBio company was founded by our colleague Jim Lorens in 2007, and it has been an important and active contributor to our research environment for the last 15 years. During this time, they have achieved to become one of the most successful Norwegian biotech companies. An era has come to an end when they now are moving out of the lab in the BB building. The people involved have been good colleagues with our own staff. We would like to thank for the fruitful collaboration and nice journey we have had together, and wish them the best of luck on the next stage.

Through its first year of existence, our local medical incubator Eitri has established as a new provider of resources and activities related to research and innovation. They house courses and arrange seminars that may be relevant and interesting for many of us, both students and employees. I encourage you to subscribe to their mailing list at the very bottom of their website [https://www.eitrilab.no/], to receive information about their arrangements.

I wish you all a nice week!

Trond-André Kråkenes starter som stipendiat i Biogjenkjenning den 1. september med Aurora Martinez som veileder.

Leder SAFE og LabIT, sensitive forskningsdata

På IT avdelingen, UiB er det en ledig stilling som leder for sensitive forskningsdata, inkl SAFE  og LabIT. Her kommer også arbeidet i forhold til Helseanalyseplattformen inn.
Det ønskes om mulig noen med bakgrunn fra forskning, fra IT-brukt i forskning med sensitive data, det vil si noen som er nærmere kjerneaktiviteten. Vi kommer til å lete etter noen med god forståelse for forskning, har interesse for forskningsdata, for hvordan IT kan brukes i forskning der vi har sensitive data og hvordan porteføljen av tjenester bør bygges opp. Vi ønsker gjerne noen med doktorgrad. Det er ikke nødvendig med IT-teknisk bakgrunn, men interesse og litt forståelse eller erfaring skader ikke. Vedkommende vil være leder for en gruppe med 6 andre.
Nærmere opplysninger fås ved henvendelse IT direktør Tore Burheim, tlf: 915 83 860

Leader of SAFE and LabIT, sensitive research data

The UiB IT division has a vacant position as leader of sensitive research data, including SAFE and LabIT. This includes work on the “Helseanalyseplattform”.
We are looking for a candidate with a background from research, experience with the use of IT in the handling of sensitive data and close to the core activities. The ideal candidate has a good understanding for research, is interested in research data and how IT can be used in the handling of sensitive data in research and how the facilities should be organized. We would like a candidate with a PhD. Background in IT is not mandatory, but a general interest and some background from IT is considered an advantage. The candidate will be leading a group consisting of 6 other co-workers. For more information, you may contact IT director Tore Burheim, phone: 915 83 860

Endringer i dekningsordningen for helseutgifter i USA

Ved arbeid i USA, les mer her: Endringer i dekningsordningen for helseutgifter i USA | Internasjonalt senter | UiB

Changes in healthcare entitlements for USA

When working in the USA, read more here: Changes in healthcare entitlements for USA | International Centre | UiB

Verdensdagen for psykisk helse

Verdensdagen for psykisk helse ble opprettet for 30 år siden.
Etter to år med mye sosial avstand, er det på tide å løfte blikket fra kohortene våre. Mennesker trenger mennesker, og vi trenger flere anledninger til å møtes på en meningsfull måte. Det er vanskelig å spå hva som venter oss framover. Men en ting vet vi. Vi trenger hverandre på veien.​ Det er med på å utvide vår forståelse for hverandre, et viktig bidrag for å motvirke stigma, ensomhet og utenforskap.​
I forbindelse med verdensdagen har UiB flere arrangemang:
– «Hva er psykisk helse? Hva er psykisk uhelse? Hverdags-valgene som styrker oss», 4. oktober, Webinar kl. 14:00-14:45, ved Per Einar Inar Binder (Institutt for klinisk psykologi). Meld deg på her.
– «Mental helse og kollegafelleskapet», 5. oktober, Webinar 13:00-13:45, ved Tonje Fyhn (NORCE). Meld deg på her.

World Mental Health Day

World Mental Health Day was created 30 years ago.
After two years of lots of social distancing, it’s time to look up from our cohorts. People need people, and we need more opportunities to meet in a meaningful way. It is difficult to predict what awaits us in the future. But we do know one thing. We need each other on the road. It helps to expand our understanding of each other, an important contribution to combating stigma, loneliness and alienation.
In connection with World Day, UiB has several events:
– «What is mental health? What is mental illness? The everyday choices that strengthen us», 4 October, Webinar at 14:00-14:45, by Per Einar Inar Binder (Department of Clinical Psychology). Sign up here.
– «Mental health and the community of colleagues», 5 October, Webinar 13:00-13:45, by Tonje Fyhn (NORCE). Sign up here.

Collecting master projects

The new students on the Master’s programme of Biomedical sciences will be looking for projects this autumn and spring. We are therefore collecting project descriptions for them. The timeline of the projects is from June/august 2023 to June 2024.
Last year we invited all potential supervisors to a “Master’s Day” where they had a 5 minute brief presentation of themselves and their project. After all the presentations we had a mingle session where supervisors and students could meet. We have received very positive feedback from this, and we will arrange this again in late November or the beginning of December this year.
Please send your project to siri.aaserud@uib.no or studie.biomed@uib.no by the 14^th of October. We will distribute all the projects to the students by the second half of October. The students can then approach the supervisors of the projects they are interested in. We ask you to not formally sign on a student to the master’s project before the 10^th of December.
This is because of several reasons:
-For the students to have time to find out more about the projects and meet with the supervisors they are interested in.
-The projects are available a short time before the presentation at the “Master’s Day” at the end of the BMED320 projects so that the students know more about methods and the research carried out at the Department (and Faculty).
-So you can evaluate each of the students approaching you.
We also ask you to hand in the Master’s agreement 14 days after you have formally signed on a student, so the study section know which projects are available after December. The students have until 1^st of June next year to submit the master’s agreement. Thus, students might contact you after December too. Please let me know if you have any questions about taking on a master student.

Best, Siri Tangen Aaserud, Master coordinator.

Activity monitoring and patient-reported outcome measures in Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome patients.
Rekeland IG, Sørland K, Bruland O, Risa K, Alme K, Dahl O, Tronstad KJ, Mella O, Fluge Ø.PLoS One. 2022 Sep 19;17(9):e0274472. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0274472. eCollection 2022.PMID: 36121803 Free PMC article.

Characterisation of a common hotspot variant in acute intermittent porphyria sheds light on the mechanism of hydroxymethylbilane synthase function.
Christie MS, Laitaoja M, Aarsand AK, Kallio JP, Bustad HJ. FEBS Open Bio. 2022 Sep 17. doi: 10.1002/2211-5463.13490. Online ahead of print.PMID: 36115019 Free article.

Predicting conversion to Alzheimer’s disease in individuals with Mild Cognitive Impairment using clinically transferable features.
Rye I, Vik A, Kocinski M, Lundervold AS, Lundervold AJ.Sci Rep. 2022 Sep 16;12(1):15566. doi: 10.1038/s41598-022-18805-5.PMID: 36114257 Free PMC article.

BBB/NBS seminar

Henriette Aksnes from the University of Bergen will give a talk entitled “Membrane protein modifications in neurodegenerative disease”.

Position: Researcher at the Department of Biomedicine
Research field: Cell and physiological implications of protein N-terminal acetylation.
Main achievements: Received the Zona award for her PhD work the Department of Molecular biology, UiB. Was recognized with the Falch junior award at MED for her postdoc work on NAA80 and NAA60. Is now a work package leader in ongoing ERC and NFR projects.
Seminar focus: Over the recent years Henriette has worked on novel links between N-terminal acetylation and neurobiology. In the seminar she will focus on the role of this modification for membrane proteins involved in brain calcification and will also cover Nt-acetylation of the Parkinson’s disease-linked protein aSynuclein.

Thursday, October 6, 14.30

BBB seminar 

 Linda Sandblad from Umeå University, Sweden will give a talk entitled “Cryo-electron microscopy methods to explore the nano-universe of cells and molecules”. 

Position: Director of Umeå Centre for Electron Microscopy.
Research field: Cell biology, microbiology, biochemistry.
Main achievements: Linda Sandblad holds a PhD from (European Molecular Biology Laboratory) EMBL-Heidelberg and is currently a researcher at Umeå University. She has established the cryo-EM and electron tomography facilities as Director of Umeå Centre for Electron Microscopy. These achievements were awarded with a future five-year project for correlative cryo-EM method development, as a Swedish Foundation for Strategic Research – Research Infrastructure Fellow.
Seminar focus: This seminar will introduce cryo-EM sample preparation and instruments and give examples of projects and methods used for 3D image visualization of cells and molecules. 

Thursday, October 20, 14:30 

Interactive Workshop for postdocs and researchers on how to write competitive CVs

Dr Emma Williams has more than 30 years of experience in researcher development. UiB Ferd is pleased to welcome her at UiB to train early-stage researchers on how to write competitive CVs for fellowships, grants and promotions.

Interactive Workshop for postdocs and researchers on how to write competitive CVs | UiB Ferd Career Center for Early Stage Researchers | UiB

The way researchers are evaluated is changing. Some funders now use ‘narrative’ CV formats and focus on wider experiences than just publication metrics. This interactive workshop will look at how to prepare academic CVs, focussing on the ingredients a researcher’s career needs to have. We will look at building in opportunities and using these strategically (and time efficiently) to create a competitive CV for fellowships, grants and promotions.

You will be working with others to explore this topic using examples from a variety of funders. Please come prepared to take notes (digitally or on paper) and bring a paper copy of your existing CV

Register before October 5th here: CV Building for Postdocs and Researchers (uib.no)
07.10.2022 – 09.00–11.30, Studentsenteret, seminar room E.

This seminar will demonstrate how to use ORCID and other researcher profiles to showcase your work.
Having a researcher profile is a great way to showcase contributions to your field and open science engagement. Author IDs, which ensure your works are correctly attributed, are also allocated by some services.
Make your research visible using researcher profiles | University of Bergen Library | UiB
However, there are many services to choose from, with various features and audiences, and it can be difficult to navigate.
This seminar will:
– Give an introduction to the landscape of researcher profile services and advice about what to choose
– Demonstrate the main features in ORCID, an author ID system used by many journals and funding agencies to identify authors. This will include how to add your works quickly using automatic import functions.
– Talk about how to showcase various open science outputs such as publications, conference contributions, peer-reviews, preprints, open datasets and code.
– How features compare to Publons and Google Scholar profiles
– How to link out to other profiles, such as social media
Registration deadline, 13.10.2022 – 10.00, Register for the course here!
This course is in English. The course will run if there are 5+ UiB participants registered. A Zoom link will be sent to registered participants the day before the seminar
14.10.2022 – 10.00–10.45, on Zoom link.

Join us on October 13th to explore the use of AI in cancer and possible EU opportunities!

We bring together national stakeholders within Artificial Intelligence (AI) and cancer to highlight key achievements in Norway and build momentum towards EU R&I collaborations within Horizon Europe, EU4Health and Digital Europe.
Programme and registration: Artificial Intelligence in Cancer – Implementation and EU opportunities (cancermission.no)
Håvard E. Danielsen, who was awarded King Olav Vs Cancer Research Fund’s prize 2022, will give a keynote on AI-based prognosis for Cancer patients, followed by pitches and panelists from research, health, industry, and policy makers.
Participants will get to know the latest from the European Commission on EU AI policy and implementation within health and care. They will also get a chance to engage directly with EU funding experts during an informal walking lunch following the panel sessions.
The event kicks off a thematic national network on AI and Cancer in relation to the newly established Cancer Mission Hub in Norway. The hub gathers policy makers, patient organisations, citizens, industry, health, and research professionals to engage in the Europe’s beating cancer plan and Mission on Cancer. On behalf of Cancer Mission Hub Norway.
Deadline October 6th at the latest.
Thursday, 13th October 9.30-13.00, Vitensenteret, Kongens gate 6 in Oslo / hybrid livestream available

Foredrag om forskningssenteret Neuro-SysMed

Neuro-SysMeds målsetting er å levere forskning på internasjonalt nivå innen diagnostikk og behandling av alvorlige sykdommer som påvirker sentralnervesystemet. Tekna, NTVA og Academia Europaea inviterer medlemmer og andre interesserte til et foredrag med Charalampos Tzoulis, nevrolog og visedirektør i Neuro-SysMed.
Foredrag om forskningssenteret Neuro-SysMed | Det matematisk-naturvitenskapelige fakultet | UiB
I dette foredraget vil Charalampos Tzoulis, professor, nevrolog og visedirektør for senteret gå nærmere inn på: senterets visjon, oppbygging av senteret, resultater hittil, hvilke kliniske studier som gjennomføres nå, hvilke kliniske studier er planlagt framover.
Foredraget er gratis og åpent for alle interesserte. Velkommen!
Det blir enkel bevertning etter foredraget, og av hensyn til planlegging ønsker vi derfor påmelding.
Arrangører: Tekna Bergen, i samarbeid med NTVA og Academia Europaea Bergen.
04.10.2022 – 19.00–20.30, Høgskulen på Vestlandet, Kronstad, 1. etasje i M-bygget
Vær ute i god tid, da ytterdøren til bygget vil være stengt når foredraget starter kl. 19.00.

CCBIO Junior Scientist Symposium

We are happy to welcome you all to the first CCBIO Junior Scientist Symposium this semester, October 6th, 2022. This seminar series is a perfect place to meet and interact with other young scientists and we are very happy to announce that for the first time in years – it will be physical attendance only. We are very excited that Vladan Milosevic, a researcher at CCBIO will present the Hyperion – Image Mass cytometry System as our keynote presenter this time. As the debate in Norway is currently intense on what true women’s health is, we are looking forward to the presentations of our local junior researchers on topics related to 3D culturing of both ovarian and vulva cancer. We will also get updates on a clinical study investigating biomarkers for risk of blood clots during pregnancy. Finally, we will learn about mimicking clonal architecture in AML.
Please register within October 3rd at 11.00 as FREE LUNCH is included.
When: Thursday October 6th, 2022 at 09:00 – 13:00
Where: B307, Sentralblokka, Haukeland University Hospital
Registration: Link (Also even if you have registered for CCBIO901 in Studentweb.)
General information: More information about the Junior Scientist Symposia can be found here.
ECTS: Part of CCBIO901, with 3 credits (participation in the program through 2 terms.) All are however welcome for non-ECTS drop-in on each individual symposium. Perhaps you spot an interesting topic? Just remember to register!
Any questions can be addressed to chairs Mari, Vladan and Cornelia

Digitalt dialogmøte for fakultetene

Vil du holde deg oppdatert på arbeidet med UiBs strategi for 2023-2030? Fakultetene inviteres til digitale allmøter.
14. oktober er alle studenter og ansatte ved Det samfunnsvitenskapelige fakultet, Fakultet for kunst, musikk og design, Det medisinske fakultet og Det matematisk-naturvitenskapelige fakultet invitert til digitalt allmøte.
Prorektor Pinar Heggernes, leder av arbeidsgruppen, vil orientere om sentrale punkter i strategiprosessen. Dekanene ved de aktuelle fakultetene stiller også. Det vil bli mulighet til å stille spørsmål på forhånd og i chat under møtet. Det vil også være mulig å stille spørsmål anonymt. Se oppdateringer her: Digitalt dialogmøte for fakultetene | Arbeid med ny UiB-strategi 2023–2030 | UiB
Digitalt møte: 14.10.2022 – 11.00–12.30 

Eitri – for innovators, Bergen, Norway

See news and events at Eitri and sign up for Eitri-newsletter.
See the homepage: For innovators Bergen | Norway

Center for Translational Epidemiology (TRACE) – research call

The Trond Mohn Foundation (TMS) wants to support the research activity at the Center for Translational Epidemiology at UiB. TMS has set aside NOK 18 million for such an investment and has invited UiB to nominate a limited number of research projects that can support the centre’s objectives and contribute to shaping the center in the desired direction in the coming years.
TRACE aims to further develop the field of epidemiology by establishing new collaborations involving researchers with a background in biomedicine, bioinformatics and clinical medicine, in addition to epidemiology and medical statistics. By building bridges between laboratory-based and population-based research, the center aims to achieve greater understanding of the causes of non-communicable diseases.
Read more about the call here: Senter for translasjonell epidemiologi (TRACE) – utlysning | Det medisinske fakultet | UiB
The Trond Mohn Foundation: Senter for translasjonell epidemiologi (TRACE) – utlysning – Mohnfoundation

Step 1 application deadline: 15. november 2022 kl. 12.00
5-7 entries are invited to submit a full application. Deadline 12 januar 2023.
Step 2 application deadline, full proposal: 16. mars 2023 kl. 12.00  

Nominating Project Proposals to TMS Trustworthy AI

Trond Mohn Foundation (TMS) has invited UiB to apply for research funds under the program Trustworthy AI. UiB can nominate a maximum of eight research proposals to TMS. The internal dealine for submission of short proposal is November 7, 2022.
Nominating Project Proposals to TMS Trustworthy AI | UiB AI | UiB
Trond Mohn Foundation (TMS) has set aside a maximum of NOK 20 million that may be awarded to a research program in Trustworthy AI, and invited UiB to apply for TMS funding for a limited number of research projects (maximum of NOK 18 mill. in total) and one overarching coordination project based on the projects being funded (maximum of NOK 2 mill.).
UiB is invited to nominate 5-8 project proposals to TMS. Each project may be granted TMS funding for maximum 4 years. The maximum contribution from TMS is NOK 6 million per project (for projects lasting 4 years). It is a prerequisite for funding that any TMS contribution is matched by resources from the participating institutions at about the same level. Read more in the full call text from TMS here:
AI-Research-projects-Call-m-crit_ENDELIG.pdf (mohnfoundation.no)
The internal dealine for submission of short proposal is November 7, 2022.
Full proposal to TMS – deadline 10. januar 2023

Collaborative Project to Meet Societal and Industry-related Challenges

The purpose of this call is to develop new knowledge and generate competence needed by society or trade and industry to address important societal challenges. The projects are to encourage and support collaboration between research organisations and stakeholders from outside the research sector that represent societal and/or industry-related needs for knowledge and research competence.
The various themes, and how much funding is announced within these, will be published in October 2022.
Opportunities for IBM: Enabling technologies – biotechnology.
Open for applications -14. DEC 2022
Application deadline -15. FEB 2023
Collaborative Project to Meet Societal and Industry-related Challenges (forskningsradet.no)

Researcher Project for Young Talents

The support will give young research talents under the age of 40 the opportunity to pursue their own ideas and lead a research project. The call is aimed at researchers at an early stage in their career, two to seven years after their dissertation, who have shown the potential to carry out research of high scientific quality.
Which subjects and research areas the call is open to are specified under each individual theme.
The call consists of several themes. For each theme, there is an announced amount and specified priorities for selecting the projects to be financed.
Open for application-14. DEC 2022
Application deadline-08. FEB 2023
Forskerprosjekt for unge talenter (forskningsradet.no)  Sorry, links in Norwegian!  

Support for Events

Support for events is available to approved Norwegian research organisations, companies, public entities, non-governmental organisations and groups of such entities in order to better equip them to organise conferences, workshops and seminars. Funding may also be granted for international conferences when the Norwegian applicant is the main organiser.
Support for Events (forskningsradet.no)
The event must serve as a meeting place for disseminating research results, exchanging knowledge, expanding the knowledge-base and/or establishing new scientific collaboration. Funding is available for both physical and virtual events.
Relevant thematic areas for this call: Health, Internationalisation, Enabling technologies, Education and competence
Application deadline: Open-ended 

Research portfolios at NFR

We invest in research and innovation through these portfolios

Welfare, culture and society (forskningsradet.no)
Health (forskningsradet.no)
Life sciences (forskningsradet.no)
Enabling technologies (forskningsradet.no)
Global development and international relations (forskningsradet.no)

SPIRE – Såkornsmidler

The strategic program for research collaboration (SPIRE) aims to support the University of Bergen’s strategy and action plan for internationalization 2016-2022. Who can apply:
– Scientific employees in first-positions (combined positions that include a research component), researchers (code: 1109,1110, 1183 – with a doctorate) and postdoctoral fellows at UiB.
– Scientific staff must be employed for a minimum of 50% at UiB.
– Postdocs must have 100% employment at UiB, and must show employment at UiB 2 years in the future to be able to apply.
Application deadline for SPIRE funds in 2022 is: 1 December 2021.
SPIRE – Såkornsmidler | Forsknings- og innovasjonsavdelingen | UiB Sorry, links in Norwegian! 

Collaborative funding for the Alrek health cluster will be strengthened in 2023

It is now possible to apply for collaborative funds from Alrek health cluster. This year, Alrek is also announcing funds on behalf of Rebekka Ege Hegermann’s Legacy for research and innovation projects.
Read more here: https://alrekhelseklynge.no/nyheter/samarbeidsmidler-for-alrek-helseklynge-styrkes-i-2023/
The deadline for both announcements is 14 November. Sorry, links in Norwegian! 

Nyhetsbrev fra Institutt for Biomedisin
Publisert hver andre uke
Ansvarlig redaktør: Frode Berven
Redaktør: Anne Mette Søviknes