MED-nytt, no. 23 ¨C 2024

Editorial: Merry Christmas!

Dean Hanne Flinstad Harbo, with the rest of the faculty leadership, summarises 2024. Don't miss this opportunity to gain an overview of the key issues from 2024. Additionally, they offer their gratitude for the past year and wish all staff and students a very merry Christmas!

Read the full editorial.

Management Column

Merry Christmas from our new director

Our new faculty director introduces herself and shares some of her impressions and thoughts from her first period at MED.

In addition, she informs about ongoing developments within the administration at UiO, such as the development of a new framework for process improvement, a new email system, a new case management system, a new digital HSE course (now also available in English).

Remember to register the holidays in the DF? portal along with the Christmas gift day you receive from UiO.

Read the full post in the management column.

Consultation on detailed rules for the Ph.D

Vice-Dean Grete Dyp provides information about the consultation on the new detailed rules for the Ph.D. The consultation will be sent out next week, and the deadline for feedback is 15 January. She hopes for broad engagement in the consultation and thanks the working group for their efforts in putting together a well-thought-out proposal.

Read the full post in the management column.

Transition to pass/fail assessment in examinations for the Medicine programme

Dean of Studies Magnus L?berg discusses the decision made at the Faculty Board meeting on 10 December: All examinations in the medical degree programme will be assessed with pass/fail from autumn 2025.

Read the full post in the management column.

News about MED

Christmas gift from medisinbloggen

All three of the most-read posts on the blogg this year are about phases in life where major changes occur. Karin Cecilie L?drup Karlsen and H?vard Ove Skjerven have written about young children, Cathrine Str?m Christiansen about adolescence, and Marianne Natvig about menopause.

is the faculty's professional blog where our researchers can communicate. Thanks to all who have contributed in 2024. Do you have ideas for blog posts? Contact the blog editorial team:
Read more and open your Christmas gift from the medical blog (in Norwegian).

Head of the Institute during the pandemic, the launching of a new laboratory animal unit and an increase in the number of medical students

While in the post, she oversaw major changes during the pandemic, the restructuring of the laboratory animal unit and an increase in the number of medical students: Lene Frost Andersen¡¯s eight-year tenure as Head of IMB has been very eventful.

Read the full story on the institute's website.

Studies

Studies Vallersnes and Fjellbirkeland share the teaching award from graduating students

Congratulations to Odd Martin Vallersnes and Lars Fjellbirkeland who received an equal number of votes as "best teacher" from the autumn students in module 8 of the Medicine programme.

Read more on our studies pages (in Norwegian).

Briefings to our staff

• MED: 12 December marks the start of the rollout of the new email system for all staff at MED. Are you prepared? Check if you have done what you need to do.
• 
• IMB:  Trygve Leergaard takes over as Head of Molecular Medicine. From January 2025, Trygve B. Leergaard will be the head of the Department of Molecular Medicine, succeeding the incoming head of IMB, Philippe Collas.

• IMB: Stay informed about the impact of the Rikshospitalet construction on those of us working and studying at Domus Medica.

• Helsam: The main electrical panel in Harald Scheldrups hus will be replaced during week 51 (December 16-22). During this period, there will be no power supply to the building, and therefore it will not be possible to work from individual offices/ workstations. Planned meetings and events must be moved to alternative locations.

• 

  UiO: Send Christmas cards from UiO (link in Norwegian): The University of Oslo's Christmas cards for 2024 are ready. You can choose between a digital or printed card. Ordering printed cards is quick and easy in the Graphic Centre's online shop.

• UiO: Contribute to an inclusive Christmas party (link in Norwegian). Many units at UiO organise Christmas parties for their staff in the weeks leading up to Christmas. According to the Norwegian Institute of Public Health (FHI), more than 1 in 10 employees social events due to alcohol consumption, and an equally large proportion experience pressure to drink.

• 

  UiO: Have you taken the your holiday, used your plus hours and familiarised yourself with work-free days and working hours during Christmas? Do you know how to register your Christmas gift day? Do you have remaining holiday days?
  Find answers on UiO's staff pages.

• UiO: The Life Science Building will promote research and development. The new building and its infrastructure will pave the way for the research and development environment of the future and thus contribute to ensuring Norway's competitiveness in life sciences.

• UiO: Offers for UiO Employees (in Norwegian). Watch "Dissection of a Snowfall" by Sara Stridsberg at the National Theatre at a reduced price and get discounts on Christmas concerts with the St. Hallvard Boys' Choir. We now also have an offer for the New Year. The perfect Christmas gift? See the National Theatre's classic KARUSELL with an exclusive UiO offer for all performances from 11th - 31st January.
  If you wish to receive an email when new offers are posted, you can join the list kultur-tilbud@uio.no here. The offers are for employees, emeriti, and other affiliates of UiO such as visiting researchers, and more.

Management meetings

• Instituttlederm?tet: The next meeting is on 21 January. The meetings are held every other Tuesday from 13:30 to 15:30. Agenda papers should be sent by 12:00 on the preceding Thursday.
• The Faculty Director's seksjonslederm?te every Thursday at 12:00.
• Overview of Faculty Board meetings and IDF meetings in 2025 (pdf) with deadlines for submitting items. The next Faculty Board meeting is on 25 February 2025. The agenda and minutes for the Faculty Board are updated here..
• Meetings of the University Board in 2025, with agendas and minutes. The meetings are streamed and open for anyone who wishes to follow along. The next meeting is on 4 February.

Opportunities and deadlines

See all deadlines for applications for research funding under Funding opportunities. 

• Keep an eye on the annual calendar for award announcements (in norwegian).

  • Now all professors at MED can nominate their candidate for the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine by February 1st.

  • Open nomination for the Anders Jahres Medical Prizes by January 31st.

  • Open nomination for the Monrad-Khron Foundation to promote neurological research by January 15th.

• Researchers in life sciences at UiO can apply for incentive funds for FRIPRO applications submitted from now until the end of 2025. 

• UiO:Life Science will fund seven to eight interdisciplinary research projects, some of which are reserved for researchers who will have the Life Science Building as their workplace. Researchers from all disciplines are encouraged to apply. UiO:Life Science will hold workshops for potential applicants in January and February. Se more info below.

Courses and events

See the University of Oslo¡¯s calendar for an overview of all available courses. See also updated overviews of courses from UiO IT (in Norwegian) and the Updated course overview from the University Library.

Overview: Upcoming public defence.

• 

  Sunday 12 January in Georg Sverdrup's House: Christmas Tree Party for UiO employees with families.

  • Ticket booking and more information about the Christmas Tree Party from 13:00¨C15:00 (link in Norwegian).

  • Ticket booking and more information about the Christmas Tree Party from 16:00¨C18:00 (link in Norwegian).

• In January and February, UiO:Life Science organizes workshops for potential applicants to interdisciplinary research projects in life sciences. Each workshop will have four different topics. Read more and sign up.

• The Postdoctoral Program¡¯s courses for the spring have now been updated - A golden opportunity for postdocs and other researchers at the beginning of their career. Sign up today! These three courses are first-come, first-served:

  • 24-25 February: Communicating Research: Give your career a boost and become better at communicating how your research leads to societal impact.

  • 25-26 March: Research Management. The course provides increased knowledge of research management and leadership.

  • 7-9 April: Writing Grant Applications. Get good advice and increased knowledge about how to write good applications for external funding.

• 11-12. February: Norway Life Science 2025. Theme: Health Data ¨C from Access to Value Creation and Groundbreaking Research. Save the dates now!

About our research

You can follow the faculty on Facebook, LinkedIn and Instagram

IMB: New findings can reduce the risk of bladder cancer and colorectal cancer in the future. In Norway, certain gut bacteria are found more frequently than in many other countries. More people develop bladder cancer, bowel cancer, and prostate cancer. Jukka Corander hopes to contribute to the development of vaccines.
 

Klinmed: Innovation funds to the SFF CRESCO (link in Norwegian). The funds from UiO will be used to develop a method for mapping changes in RNA in cancer cells. Postdoctoral fellow Yanjiao Li and Professor Arne Klungland are pleased with the award.

Klinmed: Prestigious ERC Consolidator Grant to Johannes Hov (link in Norwegian). Professor Johannes Espolin Roksund Hov has received over 23 million kroner from the European Research Council to investigate the interaction between gut bacteria and the development of serious liver diseases.
 

Helsam: Funding for Helsam via the Research Council of Norway's sustainability call (link in Norwegian). Gunvor Aasb? at the Department for Interdisciplinary Health Sciences receives 15 million kroner for the project "Social Innovation for Better Social Support for Lone Cancer Patients in the Municipality."

NRK: The world¡¯s longest terrorism study: Foreigners come to learn from Ut?ya (link in Norwegian). For over ten years, Vice Dean and Project Leader Grete Dyb and her project collaborators have worked with survivors and the bereaved following the terror attack on 22 July 2011. Due to the expertise they have acquired, they have been involved in the aftermath of terror attacks in several countries.
 

Medisinbloggen: Does family policy have any effect on birth rates? (link in Norwegian) by Rannveig Kaldager Hart. Since 2009, birth rates have fallen across Europe, and Norway is no exception. Can we influence this through political decisions?

MED-nytt is an internal newsletter for all employees and associates. Individual MED-nytt subscribers can unsubscribe from the newsletter at any time by unsubscribing here. If you want to subscribe to MED-nytt, you can subscribe here.