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Annual Report 2010

Research and education the key to uture health

Contents

Foreword ................................................................2

Undergraduate education ....................................... 4

Postgraduate education ........................................... 10

Research .................................................................18

Cooperation and innovation...................................28

Institute o Biomedicine ......................................... 36

Institute o Clinical Sciences...................................37

Institute o Medicine .............................................. 38

Institute o Neuroscience and Physiology ...............39

Institute o Odontology..........................................40

Institute o Health and Care Sciences ..................... 41

Environment and sustainable development ............42

Human resources ....................................................43

Finances .................................................................46


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2

Collaboration vital or the develop

Professor Olle Lark, Dean of the Sahlgrenska Academy, during the facultys Management Day.


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ment o the Sahlgrenska Academy

Looking back at 2010 there are three key eventsthat stand out.

Te frst was the appointment o a new Academy Board with

a sharper ocus on research and the drive to make it more

competitive. Te second was the launch o several research

programmes courtesy o strategic government research

unding. We were also awarded substantial unding rom theBirgit and Sten A Olsson Foundation or research into mental

handicaps, which enabled us to set up the Gillberg Centre.

Tis will contribute to new knowledge on examination,

investigation and treatment methods in neuropsychiatry,

a feld that includes autism, ADHD and anorexia among

children and adolescents.

Te third was the well-attended symposium on the medicineo the uture, an area where the investment in virtual techno-

logy at Sahlgrenska University Hospitals new Imaging and

Intervention Centre is expected to lead to new diagnostic and

therapeutic expertise. Tis is a good example o a collabora-

tion between the Academy and Region Vstra Gtaland that

we consider to be vital or the development o the Academy.

Extending our collaboration with partners in industry,

Chalmers University o echnology, the University o

Gothenburg and Region Vstra Gtaland will make the

Sahlgrenska Academy stronger and more visible at national

and international level. Forging stronger links with other

medical faculties in Sweden is also important, particularly

in the fght or strategic research unding. Tere is also a

need to improve collaboration between aculties at the

University of Gothenburg, an area with considerable untap-

ped potential.

We carry out regular assessments o our work and can see

that we need to continue to develop our core activities oresearch and education. Our study programmes are among

the most popular in Sweden and we want them to remain

so. Tis will require us to adapt to new requirements, which

is why we will continue to develop our range o courses

to ensure that our teaching meets tomorrows needs in the

healthcare sector.

Our approach is clear when looking to the uture: theconcepts o a holistic approach, collaboration and excellent

knowledge-building will enable the Sahlgrenska Academy to

contribute to progress in preventing, alleviating and treating

illnesses and poor health in a way that ensures that we are

sought-ater and respected by students and researchers alike

in an increasingly competitive world. We believe that we

have made good progress along this road, which is down

to our colleagues and students, and would thereore like to

extend our special thanks to them or all their hard work

during the year.

Ragnar Norrby, Chairman

Sahlgrenska Academy Board

Olle Lark, Dean

Sahlgrenska Academy


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5EDUCATION ATUNDERGRADUATE LEVEL

Are there any events that really stand out duringthe year?

Our work with educational issues is rarely characterised by

individual events, but instead development and change tend

to occur as a process, says Kerstin Nilsson, Vice Dean o

Undergraduate Studies. But i I had to name one thing, it

would be our course or qualifed researchers that will makethem eligible or condensed training as a medical doctor. It

is due to start in the spring o 2011 and were delighted to

have received more applications than expected, with just

over fve applicants or each place.

Projects in 2010She explains that the students came up with several ideas

that the Council or education in frst and second cycleprogrammes and the education department at the aculty

o ce have endeavoured to implement. Tese included a

new student counselling organisation during the year as a

result o an inquiry the previous year, and an Academy-wide

course evaluation process.

I eel that communication has increased between the educa-

tional programmes at the Academy, says Nilsson. Tis hasenabled us to learn more rom each other.

Ater several years o investigation and analysis prompted by

the Swedish National Agency or Higher Educations review

in 2007, the Programme Committee or Medicine has begun

to develop the medicine programme.

What have you got lined up or next year?Te Swedish National Agency or Higher Educations inspec-

tion and the University o Gothenburgs inspection, known

as BLUE11, will take place in 2011.

Tis will make huge demands o teaching sta

as they will have to teach while working onboth inspections.

She believes that it will be even harder to fnd

placements or several student groups in the

local area as the care sector is changing.

Were planning to increase our collaboration

with Region Vstra Gtaland to create agre-ements on placements in hospitals and primary

care.

However, the Vice Dean is concerned about the reduction

in state unding or Swedens academic institutions that was

announced in conjunction with the introduction o student

ees or non-European students.

Tis might make it harder to develop study programmes,

especially at masters level, and to increase the number o

places on existing programmes. Teres nothing to suggest

that were training more sta than the healthcare and dental

sectors need quite the opposite in some cases.

Vice Dean Kerstin Nilsson

the education o the uture


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6 EDUCATION ATUNDERGRADUATE LEVEL

in line with the study programme in medicine at Karolinska

Institutet in Stockholm.

NUMBER OF FIRST-CHOICE APPLICANTS PER PLACE

Programme AUT10 AUT09 AUT08

Physiotherapy 18,54 17,41 11,81

Nursing 9,74 8,78 7,90

Occupational therapy 4,70 4,92 3,70

Medicine 11,67 10,64 9,25

Dentistry 6,37 8,60 7,20

Top place or the Sahlgrenska AcademyIt was the large universities and the specialist universities

that claimed the Swedish top spots in the latest ranking rom

Urank, an independent group o academics. Tis time the

organisation had also divided the 2009 results into three

groupings by subject: care and medicine, technology and

science, and the humanities.

he University o Gothenburg came second to Lund

University in care and medicine, with Karolinska Institutet

taking third place.

International prize or the pharmacy programmeTe pharmacy programme was awarded the Annual Simcyp

Academic Award or its innovative use o the Simcyp simula-

tion platorm in its teaching.

What the students learn during laboratory sessions ties

in completely with the move towards more model-based

pharmaceutical research at the big drug companies, says

PERFORMANCE, 2008-2010

Record number o applicants Applications or places on the Sahlgrenska Academys

physiotherapy, nursing and occupational therapy program-

mes were the highest in Sweden in the autumn o 2010.

Several other study programmes were high on the list, with

more applicants than ever beore according to statistics rom

the Swedish Agency or Higher Education Services. Te

Academys medicine programme also proved to be a popu-

lar frst choice, with 1,167 applicants chasing 100 places.

Tis translates into just over 11 applicants per place, which

is the highest fgure or Gothenburg this millennium and is

The performance indicator relates to performance for the

year as a whole for FTEs, and stood at 96% in 2010. This means

that the Sahlgrenska Academy has reached the funding cap.

96% 94%95%

A NNUAL PERFORMANCE EQUIVALENTS

F UL LTIME EQUIVALENTS

20082 0 0 92010

33583508

3645

31543330

3492


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Michael Ashton, proessor o biopharmacy at the Department

o Pharmacology.

StudentcornerStudentcorner was o cially opened in January 2010 and is a

orum or students to meet up with supervisors, international

coordinators and student counsellors. Tey can also book

time with a study counsellor, pick up inormation or borrow

a computer. A drop-in service with language supervisors was

oered once a week during the spring term, ollowed by

a drop-in service with I supervisors during the autumn.

Learning through technologyechnological developments in healthcare are creating

new teaching opportunities. A project at the Institute o

Odontology enabled students to ollow on-screen the dentists

view through a microscope. Tis demonstrated that the

integration o theoretical and laboratory work is valuable

and contributes to a deeper understanding at both the theore-

tical and practical level. Visualisation can also promote more

clinic-like teaching, which increases students opportuni-

ties to develop proessional expertise. Te aim is to use this

project to generate models that can be generalised to other

courses in the aculty and also make a signifcant contribu-

tion at the theoretical level.

PlacementsSince 2008 we have been running a research project to design

a quality assurance evaluation instrument or placements in

the nursing programme. Tis instrument is based on quanti-

tative data, students own experience and what they consider

to be necessary or optimal learning. Te idea is that the fnal

evaluation instrument could be used or all vocational courses

involving placements in the healthcare sector.

Coordination o masters programmesIn a bid to improve the quality o the masters programmes

at the Academy, a working group has produced a model or

the coordination o course resources in 2011. Te assess-

ment criteria or the masters courses have been designed and

audited by the University o Gothenburgs Quality Council.

Programme management sta and programme committees

have had the opportunity to attend seminars with Rosalind

Duhs rom University College London on the relationship

between learning goals, learning activities and examination

orms, also known as constructive alignment.

Studentcorner is a meeting place for all students and has services that can make their everyday life easier.


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8 EDUCATION ATUNDERGRADUATE LEVEL

Success or new masters programmeA two-year international masters programme in public health

science with health economics started in the autumn term o

2010 at the Institute o Medicine. Interest in the programme

was considerable, with a total o 459 applicants, 390 o whom

came rom other countries. Te programme is designed or

students with a bachelors degree in a health-related subject

and is taught in English.

Annual teaching prize goes to LearnAble projectTe Sahlgrenska Academys 2010 educational prize o SEK

50,000 was awarded to the group behind the LearnAble

Learn to be Able to Learn and each project. It was proessor

Karin Kjellgren, then Vice Dean, who initiated the project or

both students and teaching sta at the Sahlgrenska Academy

back in 2005. Te aim was to acilitate students transi-

tion rom school to university by giving them the tools they

need to fnd, evaluate and communicate knowledge. Te

project also oered teaching sta an Academy-wide course

in university teaching, where the practical element involved

supervising the students on the induction course.

Supplementary trainingIn 2009 the University o Gothenburg, Karolinska Institutet,

Linkping University and Lund University were asked to

arrange supplementary training or doctors, nurses and

dentists who had qualifed in countries outside the EU/

EEA and Switzerland. Tese courses aim to help students to

acquire the knowledge they need to be authorised to practise

their respective proessions in Sweden.

In the autumn o 2010 nine doctors and 19 nurses who had

qualifed abroad were accepted onto supplementary training

courses or doctors and nurses. Te corresponding course or

dentists attracted 12 students and started at the same time.

Academic integrityTe Council or education in frst and second cycle program-

mes has produced a new brochure or students and lecturers

on academic integrity, the rules on citing sources and how

to demonstrate own knowledge using permitted methods.

It also covers the rights and obligations o teaching sta and

students in the event o cheating and plagiarism.

students from the Sahlgrenska Academy

studied at foreign universities in 2010.156

International partnershipsIn 2010 a total o 156 students rom the Sahlgrenska

Academy studied at oreign universities, which was slightly

ewer on 2009. Te percentage o students ollowing entire

courses abroad is increasing, though the majority o oreign

Nishma Hindocha spent three months at Cardiff University in the spring of 2010. She thought it

was very interesting to get another perspective on her odontology studies.


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visits are or degree projects and placements. 67 oreign

students studied at the Sahlgrenska Academy in 2010. More

study programmes than ever beore were actively involved in

student exchanges, with the number o teaching sta taking

part in international exchanges also up on the previous year.

A total o 29 Sahlgrenska Academy teaching sta taught at

oreign academic institutions during the year. Tese exchan-

ges were unded through government grants or lecturers,

Erasmus and Linnaeus-Palme.

International dimension to coursesAlong with lecturers rom Nepal, ormer UN ambassador

Pierre Schori (chair o the Olo Palme Memorial Fund)

was invited to talk about international collaboration on

International Day. Swedish and international students were

also given the chance to talk about their experiences. In 2010

the internationalisation committee advertised unding or

Sahlgrenska Academy lecturers to support the development

o courses in English, invitations to oreign speakers, visits

to oreign universities and to cover the costs o teaching

exchanges. Lena Andersson and Gunilla Krantz rom the

Institute o Medicine were among those who received grants,

which they used to set up a partnership with the University

o Rajarata in Sri Lanka.

Bachelors programmes

Audiology

Biomedical Laboratory Science

Dental Hygiene

Dental Technology

Dental Surgery Diagnostic Radiography Nursing

Dietetics

Medical Physics

Medicine

Midwifery

Nursing

Occupational Therapy

Pharmacy

Physiotherapy

Prescribing Public Health Science

Specialist Nursing

Speech and Language Pathology

Masters programmes

Business Creation and Entrepreneurship in Biomedicine

Public Health Science with Health Economics


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10 POSTGRADUATE STUDIES

First in Sweden

Specialist expertise


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11POSTGRADUATE STUDIES

in medical basic scienceBrje Haraldssons mandate period as Vice Dean o

Postgraduate Studies ran rom October 2005 to September

2010, during which time he endeavoured to improve educa-

tion at postgraduate level.

I think that weve laid strong oundations or continued

improvements thanks to our ocus on transparency, competi-

tion and quality. In 2010, or example, we created six places

or specialist expertise in medical basic science, signifcantly

expanded our course activities and invested in the develop-

ment o supervisors skills.

What are you most proud o?Tat our venture into medical basic science is up and

running ater a long preparation period. Were the frst

in Sweden to take the initiative to get medical doctors to

undergo ull-time research training, and so guarantee resh

talent on the research ront. Tis has attracted considerable

interest both at home and abroad, says Haraldsson, who

eels that the Sahlgrenska Academy has growth potential.

We need to work on the way we advertise our doctoral

student places so that we get a better spread. Although we

receive many applications or each place, we eel that there

are still gited young people whom we dont reach. We also

need to improve our inormation on the reasons or pursuing

doctoral studies, what is involved, and how they can aect

uture career choices..

Kristofer Hellstrand new Vice Dean oPostgraduate Studies

Kristoer Hellstrand took over as Vice Dean

ater Brje Haraldsson during the autumn.

ogether with the Council or Postgraduate

Studies, Hellstrand will endeavour to stream-

line the application process or external

unding, which is something that many still

consider to be complicated in spite o tangible

improvements in recent years.

Well also be completing our work to ensure

that the course element o postgraduate studies

is even more ocused on doctoral students

needs, partly by adding extra modules on how to write

scientifcally and how to organise a doctoral thesis, says

Hellstrand.

Do you see any challenges in the uture?Postgraduate education is an important part o the

Academys work, and the input rom doctoral students plays

a crucial role in the quality o research. Te education we

oer should be o a high standard, making it attractive to

students who are interested in research. A key challenge is to

inspire students to begin their doctoral studies early during

their undergraduate education, and the reorms that have

been carried out in recent years such as the teaching assis-

tant programme and the special unding or medical basic

science are important steps in the right direction..

Vice Dean Kristoffer Hellstrand.


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New research subject areaStudents at the Sahlgrenska Academy can write doctoral

theses in fve subject areas: pharmaceutical science, medical

basic science, medical science, odontological science and

care science. Pharmaceutical science was introduced in 2010

at the suggestion o the Council or Postgraduate Studies.

Te Sahlgrenska Academy now complies with the Swedish

National Agency or Higher Educations wish to ensure thatthe number o research subjects oered at Swedish medical

universities is the same. Tese research subject areas must,

in turn, be consistent with the undergraduate programmes

oered at the Academy.

Medical basic scienceDuring the year six places were created or doctoral studies

in medical basic science, with the aim o nurturing newlecturers in undamental medical subjects. Tis initiative was

designed to increase expertise in these subjects, secure good

undergraduate education or the uture and strengthen the

link between biomedicine and clinical subjects.

Supervisor training2008 saw the Sahlgrenska Academy introducing manda-

tory training or supervisors. Te courses have been ully

subscribed, with demand outstripping supply. In 2010 the

number o places on these courses was increased temporarily.

Te courses are run by the University o Gothenburgs PIL

Unit (Pedagogical Development and Interactive Learning).

Theme courses at doctoral levelIn a bid to increase the range o subject-specifc courses

and methodology courses at doctoral level, the SahlgrenskaAcademy has set aside unds to fnance subject-specifc course

programmes. An inventory has been carried out o all the

possible, broad and over-arching subject areas in which a

course could be planned and run in the long term. Eight

themes were identifed in 2010, including cancer rom

transormed cell to patient, cardiovascular metabolic syndro-

me, inammation, odontology and patient-centred care.

Language supervision or researchersUndergraduate students already have access to language

supervision, and this has now been opened up to doctoral

students who would like to develop their language skills, both

on a one-to-one basis and through a series o seminars or

larger groups. Language supervision can provide eedback

and ideas or improvements during the preparation o an

oral or written project.

DOCTORATESAWARDED, 2007-2010REASERCHSTUDENTSACCEPTED, 2007-2010

147

143

126

113

MenWomen

2010

2009

2008

2007

MenWomen

146

168

119

84

2010

2009

2008

2007


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Environment & Health graduate schoolTe Environment & Health graduate school is a joint venture

between the University o Gothenburg and Region VstraGtaland. In 2010 the Sahlgrenska Academy was awarded

two places or doctoral students at the graduate school. More

than 60 applications were received, rom which the graduate

schools management selected two projects.

Material InitiativeTe Material Initiative is a new joint project at the Sahlgrenska

Academy and Chalmers University o echnology and meansthat doctoral students at Chalmers work in parallel with

doctoral students at the University o Gothenburg and the

Sahlgrenska Academy on common and overlapping projects,

known as twinning doctoral studentships.

Scientist Career Day 2010Scientist Career Day was organised in September by Future

Faculty with unding rom the Sahlgrenska Academy andGteborgBIO to give young researchers ideas and inspiration

or careers paths. Te event attracted over 300 visitors who

got to meet representatives rom trade and industry, Region

Vstra Gtaland, recruitment companies and so on. Future

Faculty is an organisation at the Sahlgrenska Academy that

works with junior postdoctoral researchers who are engaged

in active research but have yet to fnd a permanent post as

a senior lecturer or proessor.

Arican collaborationSince 2009 the Sahlgrenska Academy has been involved

in a doctoral student collaboration with Rwanda unded

by the Swedish International Development Cooperation

Agency. In 2010 the Academy went on to set up a similar

collaboration with CARA, the Consortium or Advanced

Research raining in Arica. Under the agreement, the

Academys doctoral students can be part o a network o

nine Arican universities and fve research institutes. Te

aculty has also been given two doctoral places at CARA,

which oers a structured education at doctoral level, with

intensive teaching.

ORPHEUS2010 saw the Sahlgrenska Academy becoming a member

o ORPHEUS, the Organisation or PhD Education in

Biomedicine and Health Sciences in the European System.

Founded in 2004 in Zagreb, the organisation aims to bring

more consistency to the range o medical courses oered at

doctoral level in Europe.

Junior researchers and exhibitors at Scientist Career Day 2010.


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Bacterial spray canhelp children withglue ear

Many children have long-

term problems with uid in

the middle ear, and some-

times surgery is the only

way to shit it. In her thesis,

Susann Skovbjerg investi-

gated whether a bacterial

nasal spray can have the

same eect in some child-

ren. Te study covered 60

children who were split into

three groups to try dierent

solutions. In the group

given the bacterial spray,

a third o the children got

much better or were cured

completely.

One explanation or the

marked improvement may

be that the spray stimu-

lates the immune system

to conquer the long-

term inammation, says

Skovbjerg.

Girls with autism orADHD symptomsnot taken seriously

Svenny Kopps thesis ocuses

primarily on 100 girls who,

beore reaching adulthood,

went to the doctor on

account o di culties with

social interaction and/or

concentration at school or

elsewhere.

We could see that their

parents had been concerned

about the girls behaviour or

development during their

frst ew years o lie. Tey

had also asked or help at an

early stage, but hadnt been

given a proper diagnosis,

says Kopp.

She concludes that the

healthcare system does not

take girls with symptoms o

autism or ADHD seriously

enough and calls or more

training.

Theses that made the headlines

Hopes or a vaccineagainst genital herpes

Herpes results in serious

problems with the geni-

tals and can also increase

the risk o HIV inection.

Despite extensive research,

it has not yet been possible

to produce a vaccine against

genital herpes. However, in

his thesis, Staan Grander

describes how researchers

have made some progress

in this area.

We ound that vaccination

with gG-2 prevented the

virus rom causing serious

inection and managed to

block the HSV-2 virus on

its way into the nervous

system. In this way we

managed to bring about

immunity against herpes,

says Grander.

Our research results

will also increase our

understanding o how the

virus causes inection and

spreads.

New findings onautoimmune diseases

A defciency o one o the

immune systems enzymes

NADPH oxidase aects

the severity o autoimmune

diseases such as MS, and

explains why the course o

these diseases can vary so

much. New fndings give

an insight into how this

enzyme defciency can be

diagnosed, and could lead

to new medicines, reveals

a thesis written by Natalia

Mossberg.

Te discovery could also

lead to a new approach

to the treatment o MS

in its early stages, such as

a vaccination or people at

risk o developing this type

o illness.

PhD students defended their theses in 2010.

The following are just some of the theses that were picked up by the media:147


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Better movementpatterns can helpwith back pain

Tis thesis investigated how

sensory motor learning

aected patients with long-

term back pain who had

not previously responded

to any orm o treatment.

People with long-term

back pain oten protect

themselves rom pain by

unconsciously limiting

their movements. Sensory

motor learning alleviated

their pain. At the same

time, they elt better and

less stressed, says Christina

Schn-Ohlsson, author o

the thesis.

Inertility harder onmen than previously

thought

IVF has meant that more

couples than ever now

have the opportunity to

become biological parents.

However, the path to achie-

ving this can be laborious

and, or some, the treat-

ment is unsuccessul. Tose

couples living without

children, both men and

women, had a signifcantly

poorer quality o lie than

those or whom IVF treat-

ment had been successul

and also in comparison

with the couples in the

control group.

When interviewed ater

two years they perceived

their inertility as central to

their lives and above all that

quality o lie amongst men

without children was more

negatively aected than had

been previously reported

in studies o involuntary

inertility, says Marianne

Johansson.

Those who exercise

when young havestronger bones when

they grow old

Te bones respond best

when youre young, and

exercising and loading them

with your own bodyweight

during these years has a

stimulating eect on their

development. Tis may be

important or bone strength

much later in lie too, so

reducing the risk o brittle

bones, says Martin Nilsson

who wrote the thesis, which

is based on an examination

o the bones and exercise

habits o around 3,200

men.

Exercise the besttreatment or tenniselbow

Exercise and ergonomic

advice are more eective

than anti-inlammatorydrugs and cortisone injec-

tions in treating tennis

elbow, and give ewer

side-eects.

hese were the indings

reported by Pia Nilsson in

her thesis.


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A treatment programme

designed by a physioth-

erapist and occupational

therapist together reduces

the patients pain, increases

the unction o the elbow

and hand, and reduces the

duration o sick leave. Tis

programme heals tennis

elbow better than cortiso-

ne injections. Te method

can beneft the patient, the

employer and society in

general.

Oral damage remainsater giving up snuf

In his thesis , Mats

Wallstrm tested a cessa-

tion programme on 50

patients with a history o

heavy long-term snu use.

A second tissue sample

was taken rom the same

area o the mouth in 20 o

the patients who took part

in the programme and

were tobacco-ree ater six

months.

We could see that the

mucous membranes were

still not normal six months

ater giving up, neither in

a clinical examination nor

under the microscope, says

Wallstrm.

He believes that this group

o people should also be

monitored ater giving up

snu, as there is a suspi-

cion that the risk o cancer

is higher in ormer tobacco

users, and previous research

indicates that nicotine canaect the development o

cancer.

HIV virus hides in thebrain

Studies o the spinal uid

o patients given anti-HIV

drugs have resulted in new

fndings suggesting that the

brain can act as a hiding

place or the HIV virus.

Around a tenth o patients

showed traces o the virus

in their spinal uid but not

in their blood a larger

proportion than previous-

ly realised, reveals a thesis

written by Arvid Edn.

Antiviral treatment in the

brain is complicated by a

number o actors, partly

because it is surrounded

by a protective barrier that

aects how well medicines

get in. Tis means that the

brain can act as a reservoir where treatment o the

virus may be less eective.

Stem cell therapy auture treatment orlower back pain?

Lower back pain aects

many people and may be

caused by degeneration

o the discs between the

vertebrae. reatment or the

condition using stem cells

may be an alternative to

todays surgical procedures.

Tis is the conclusion o a

thesis written by Helena

Barreto-Henriksson. Te

thesis describes how she

and her colleagues studied

cell division in the disc, and

the possibility o inuen-

cing the disc through cell

transplantation.

he advantage o such

treatment over todays

surgical approaches is thatit would be a much simpler

and less serious procedure

or the patient.


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Best thesis at the Sahlgrenska Academy 2009:Christer Fransson, Prevalence, extent and severity of

peri-implantitis

Best thesis at the Institute o Biomedicine:Malin Johansson, Te MUC2 mucin A network in the intesti-

nal protective mucus

Best thesis at the Institute o Clinical Sciences:Ann De-Wahl Granelli, Pulse oximetry: Evaluation of a poten-

tial tool or early detection o critical congenital heart disease

Best thesis at the Institute o Health and CareSciences:

Pia Alsn, Illness perception and fatigue after myocardial

inarction

Best thesis at the Institute o Medicine:Anna-Karin Sjgren, Te Importance of Isoprenylation and

N1 Defciency in K-RAS-induced Cancer

Best thesis at the Institute o Neuroscience andPhysiology:

Erik Portelius, Targeted Abeta proteomics A tool to study thepathogenesis o Alzheimers disease

Best thesis at the Institute o Odontology:Nina Khosravani, On the Innervation of Salivary Glands and

reatment of Dry Mouth An Experimental and Clinical Study

A special ceremony in May saw prizes being awarded to seven

Sahlgrenska Academy researchers or the best theses o 2009.

Te seven prizes are awarded each year to doctoral students

who have completed their research and written theses o a

particularly high standard. In addition to a prize-winner

rom each institute, a prize was given or the best thesis or

the entire Academy in 2009. Best thesis o the Academy

received SEK 60,000 the others received SEK 15,000 rom

Dr Arnt Vestby Research Foundation and a special diploma.

Te prize or best thesis went to Christer Fransson, who

showed that bone loss around dental implants is ar more

common than previously realised.

I elt very grateul, proud and honoured to be given this

magnifcent prize. Itll encourage me to continue to combine

teaching with clinical research.

Best theses of 2009

The prize-winners for the best theses. Standing, left to right: Erik Portelius , Ann De-Wahl Granelli, Nina Khosravani and

Pia Alsn. Seated, left to right: Christer Fransson, Malin Johansson and Anna-Karin Sjgren


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18 RESEARCH

Enhancing our competitiveness

We need a clear


21/52

19RESEARCH

vision

Ul Smith was Vice Dean o Research at the Sahlgrenska

Academy rom 2008 until May 2010. Among other things,

he worked on increasing the Academys ability to attract

strategic unding.

We can get better at this, says Smith. One importantsuccess actor is bringing together groups o researchers to

create broader expertise and competence in ongoing research

projects. We must thereore have a clear strategy or how we

ensure nationally and internationally competitive research.

His ideas have won support on the Academy Board, which

agrees that there is a need or a more radical vision or the

Academys uture development.

What is needed?Weve initiated and planned closer collaboration between

basic and clinical research, which will beneft the Academy,

Sahlgrenska University Hospital, Region Vstra Gtaland

and, ultimately, patients, says Smith. Te next step is to

create translational centres to serve as creative meeting places

or basic researchers and clinical personnel where they canresolve the big healthcare issues. Our work on such centres

is progressing, and I look orward to seeing the results.

Sven Enerbck takes overSven Enerbck took over rom Ul Smith as Vice Dean on

1 October 2010.

Its an exciting and challenging job. One important aspect is

to continue the work begun by Ul on urther

integrating basic research into more patient-

oriented clinical research, says Enerbck, who

believes that his most important tasks or the

uture are to protect research and help create a

research environment which is creative, open

and welcoming.

In this way, he can make it easier or new

researchers to establish themselves and develop

their research at the Academy.

Im also looking orward to fnding new wayso supporting established research at the Academy. And its

important that we get better at landing external research

unding.

How will you achieve that?By looking to push the quality o our research even higher,

making us more competitive. But our researchers need

support in the application process to achieve this. We havethereore recruited a research adviser to the Academy with

the role o assisting researchers during this process.

Enerbck also notes that while the Academy needs to aci-

litate high-quality research, much o the responsibility or

achieving this still rests on the individual research group.

Vice Dean Sven Enerbck


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20 RESEARCH

New centresStrategic investment in Sahlgrenska Cancer Centre

ogether with Lund University, the University o Gothenburg

has been awarded government unding to develop a strate-

gic research feld in cancer, 2010-2014. Proessor Gran

Stenman heads the centre at the Sahlgrenska Academy,

which brings together researchers rom a wide variety o

felds pathology, molecular medicine, urology, surgery, viro-

logy and oncology. Te research ranges rom basic research

into cancer genetics and tumour biology to more clinicallyapplied, patient-based research.

Te idea is to develop a leading research feld in cancer

nationally and internationally and signifcantly increase levels

o external research unding and the recruitment o leading

researchers and clinicians to the feld, says Stenman.

Gillberg Centre to contribute new knowledgeTe creation o the Gillberg Centre is a tribute to neuropsy-

chiatric R&D work at the University o Gothenburg, says

the centres director, proessor Christopher Gillberg. It spells

a sharper ocus on patient groups needs or better under-

standing, better treatment and clearer strategic investment

in clinical and basic research in the feld.

Te Gillberg Centre at the Sahlgrenska Academy is to serveas a platorm or research and the development and esta-

blishment o new examination, investigation and treatment

methods or conditions such as autism, ADHD and anorexia

nervosa. Te centre is being fnanced largely with unding

rom the Birgit and Sten A Olsson Foundation or research

into mental handicaps.

University of Gothenburg Centre for Person-Centred Care

(GPCC) opens

Te GPCC was opened in February by health minister Gran

Hgglund. Te new centre is part o the governments stra-

tegic ocus on particularly eminent

research environments. Te govern-

ment has awarded unding o SEK

90 million over a fve-year periodor this multidisciplinary research

programme looking into person-

centred care or long-term illnesses.

Person-centred care ocuses on

the individual, not the illness, and

starts with the patients experience

o his or her situation, explains thecentres director, proessor Inger

Ekman. By starting rom the patients story rather than

restricting our eorts to samples and tests, we can create

more personal care and understand behaviours and symptoms

rom the individual patients perspective..

RED10 research evaluation

A total o 45 institutes at the University o Gothenburg werecovered by the RED10 research evaluation during the year.

RED10 stands or Research Evaluation or Development

2010 and is part o the Vice-Chancellors action plan to

strengthen the University o Gothenburg. It began in

December 2009 and is due to be completed in February

2011.

Research developments

Health minister Gran Hgglund opens the GPCC.


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21RESEARCH

Professor Jan Born tops the list of the researchers

at the University of Gothenburg who won the most

research funding in the period 2002-2010.

Other activities during the yearMedical conferences hosted

2010 was a record year or Gothenburg in terms o cone-

rence numbers, with the autumn especially busy. A variety

o medical congresses were hosted by representatives o the

Sahlgrenska Academy together with medical organisations.

One example is the EADV dermatology conerence, which

brought around 6,000 clinicians and researchers rom around

the world to Gothenburg to learn about the latest advances inSwedish and international research in the feld. Te SICO/

SIRO conerence or orthopaedic surgeons was also well-

attended, with around 3,000 participants rom various parts

o the world, making it the largest orthopaedic meeting ever

held in Sweden.

Permanent exhibition on Per-Ingvar Brnemark

Te spring saw the opening o an exhibition on Per-IngvarBrnemark and the discovery o osseointegration.

Proessor emeritus Per-Ingvar

Brnemark was behind one o

the Sahlgrenska Academys most

successul and commercially

exploitable research breakthroughs.

He developed a method o ancho-ring implants directly into the bone,

which he termed osseointegration.

A permanent exhibition has been

put together in the Academicum

building telling the story o the

discovery and what it has led to.

Te largest source o external grants in 2010 was the Swedish

Research Council. Other major sources included the SwedishFoundation or Strategic Research, the EU, the Swedish

Research Council Formas and the Swedish Childhood Cancer

Foundation.

Te Sahlgrenska Academy received a total o SEK 106 million

rom the Swedish Research Councils Scientifc Council or

Medicine and Health or medical research, our research

assistant posts and a collaborative project.

In addition, the single largest grant rom the Swedish

Research Councils Scientifc Council or Humanities and

Social Sciences went to proessor Lena Hartelius, who was

awarded SEK 11.8 million, more than any other researcher

at the Academy during the year. Hartelius and her team are

looking into various orms o speech disorder in adults and

children.

Another large grant was won by

proessor Jan Born, who landed

SEK 10.5 million rom the Swedish

Research Councils Scientiic

Council or Medicine and Health.

He heads a research group looking

at blood ats and atherosclerosis.

Te Swedish Research Councils

Co l l abora t ion Grant o r

ranslational and Multidisciplinary

Research was awarded to researcher

Marie Lagerqvist, who received a

grant o SEK 3.9 million or research

into oestrogens protective eects on the bones.

New grants

Professor emeritus Per-Ingvar Brnemark attended

the opening of the exhibition.


24/52

22 RESEARCH

Professor Milos Pekny

Docent Lotta Delve

Te ollowing is a selection

o the larger grants won

rom other sources:

Maria FalkenbergGustasson awardedSEK 15 million byERC

Docent Maria FalkenbergGustasson was awar-

ded SEK 15 million by

the European Research

Council (ERC) as part o

its Starting Grant 2010

scheme or researchers at

the start o their careers

who are looking to establishthemselves as independent

researchers in Europe.

Gustasson is studying the

DNA molecules ound in

the mitochondria, small

units inside cells whose

role is to orm the molecule

AP that cells need as theirsource o energy. A number

o rare but oten very seri-

ous diseases are caused by

mitochondrial dysunction.

AFA grants or twooccupational healthprojects

Docent Lotta Delve and

researcher Ralph Nilsson

lead two o the projects

that will be sharing grants

o around SEK 5 million

rom AFA Insurance.Dellve was awarded around

SEK 2.9 million to study

how managers in healthcare

and elderly care are aected

by media pressure, while

Nilsson received around

SEK 2 million to study the

incidence o cancer amongseamen.

ERC awards ClaesGustasson SEK 11million

Proessor Claes Gustasson

rom the Sahlgrenska

Academy and Nils-GranLarsson rom the Max

Planck Institute or Biology

o Ageing in Cologne were

awarded a joint ERC

Advanced Investigator

Grant to look into the regu-

lation o the expression o

mitochondrial DNA overthe next fve years. A more

in-depth understanding o

this process will increase the

chances o fnding treat-

ments or mitochondrial

disorders in the uture.

programme in regenerativemedicine. Proessor Milos

Pekny won SEK 5 million

to create new strategies or

rehabilitation and recovery

rom brain injuries

Prestigious grant

or bone marrowresearch

Proessor emerita Elzbieta

Jankowska and researcher

Ingela Hammar were awar-

ded SEK 6 million by the

US National Institutes o

Health (NIH) to investi-

gate the sensory andmotor unctions o the

bone marrow in a three-

year research project

also involving researcher

Henrik Jrntell rom Lund

University and proessor

David Maxwell rom the

University o Glasgow.SEK 5 million orresearch intorecovery rom braindamage

AFA Insurance awarded

grants totalling SEK 60

million to 11 research

projects in a fve-year R&D


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23RESEARCH

Senior lecturer Marie Berg

Docent Jenny NystrmProfessor Lars Barregrd

Docent Joakim Larsson

Grant rom Formasor sustainabledevelopment

Proessors Lars Barregrd

and Gerd Sllsten and

docent Joakim Larsson

landed grants or research

into sustainable develop-

ment rom the SwedishResearch Council Formas.

Sllsten won SEK 2.3

million or research into

long-distance and local air

pollutions eect on the

risk o myocardial inarc-

tion in Swedish men and

women. Barregrd recei-ved SEK 2 million or his

R&D project on cadmium

and diabetes, while Larsson

was awarded SEK 5 milli-

on or his project looking

at how exceptionally high

emissions impact on the

development o antibioticsand the spread o antibiotic

resistance.

EU unding orperinatal careresearch network

his project, which has

received EU unding orour years, aims to learn

more about how care can

be improved during preg-

nancy and childbirth. Te

project group currently

includes 31 researchers in

various ields rom nine

EU countries. Te projecthas been awarded EUR

100,000 per year or our

years, making a total o

around SEK 3.6 million.

Senior Lecturers Marie

Berg and Ingela Lundgren

have been appointed to the

management committeeand are conducting research

within the projects ocus

areas.

Five researchersshare SEK 11 millionrom FAS

Five researchers rom the Academy shared grants

rom the Swedish Council

or Working Lie and

Social Research (FAS). Te

largest grant went to proes-

sor Annika Rosengren

or research into cardiac

prevention. She was awar-ded SEK 3 million or

the Gothenburg part o

PURE, a global study o

the individual and social

determinants o health.

SEK 2 million romthe Inga-Britt andArne LundbergResearch Foundation

Te Inga-Britt and Arne

Lundbe rg Re sea r ch

Foundation awarded a

grant o SEK 2 million to

docent Jenny Nystrm, who is researching rare

kidney disorders in a colla-

borative project combining

clinical and laboratory work

locally, regionally and

together with researchers

at Karolinska Institutet in

Stockholm.


26/52

24 RESEARCH

the Reeve-Irvine Research

Medal by the Reeve-Irvine

Research Center at the

University o Caliornia.

She was honoured or

her research into the

spines sensory and motor

unctions.

Distinctions and prizes

Prize to Kaj Blennowor research intoAlzheimers

Te European College o

Neuropsychopharmacology

(ECPN) awarded itsmajor prize to proessor

Kaj Blennow in recogni-

tion o his research into

Alzheimers disease and o

the high scientiic stan-

dards he has maintained

or decades.

Tese imbalances can cause

parts o cancer genes to

merge to orm new genes

which, in the long term,

could be targets or cancer

treatment.

Silver medal to heartresearcher AnnikaRosengren

Every year the European

Society o Cardiology

Congress, the worlds largest

conerence or cardiologists,

awards medals and hostslectures to honour eminent

scientists and pioneers in

dierent areas. One o these

is the Georey Rose Lecture

on Population Science, and

in 2010 proessor Annika

Rosengren was chosen to

Te ollowing are just some o the researchers who won recognition in 2010.

Sven and Ebba-Christina HagbergAward to MariaFalkenbergGustasson

Docent Maria Falkenberg

Gustasson was one o

the years two recipientso the Sven and Ebba-

Christina Hagberg Award

or her ground-breaking

studies o DNA replica-

tion in mitochondria. Te

mitochondrion is the cells

power plant, and disruption

in its unction can cause arange o diseases.

Elzbieta Jankowskawins Americanresearch medal

Proessor emerita Elzbieta

Jankowska was awarded

Birgit Thilanderhonoured by City oGothenburg

A ceremony in June saw

proessor emerita Birgit

Tilander receiving the City

o Gothenburg Order o

Merit 2010. She was chosenor her eminent research

into orthodontics and or

her role in the building up

and development o the

Institute o Odontology.

Fredrik Persson winsAssar GabrielssonAward

Medical doctor and

r e s e a r c h e r F r e d r i k

Persson received the Assar

Gabrielsson Award or

his thesis on the genomic

imbalances in tumours.


27/52

25RESEARCH

speak about her research

into the changes in cardio-

vascular diseases prevalence

and prognosis, as well as

how these can be explained.

Sven Enerbck winsSwedish Society oMedicine prize

Te 2010 Swedish Society

o Medicines Anniversary

Prize went to proessor

Sven Enerbck or his

ground-breaking researchinto at metabolism and

at cell dierentiation,

the results o which have

not only improved treat-

ment or obesity but also

thrown light on the mecha-

nisms behind other major

common disorders such asadult-onset diabetes.

Gran Bondjersappointed honoraryproessor in Vietnam

Proessor Gran Bondjers

was appointed honorary

proessor at Hanoi MedicalUniversity, Vietnams

oldest university. he

appointment was made in

recognition o his many

years o work to pave the

way or research education

at the university.

Prestigiousaccolades or TomasAlbrektsson

2010 brought seve-

r a l i n t e r n a t i o n a l

accolades or proessor

omas Albrektsson, inclu-

ding becoming the irst

Swedish doctor to receivean Honorary Fellowship in

Dental Surgery and beco-

me a member o the Royal

College o Physicians and

Surgeons o Glasgow.

Line Lken winsBritish prize

Te Sir Henry Wellcome

Postdoctoral Fellowship is

a distinction in biomedi-

cine that is awarded to the

most promising new post-

doctoral researchers romEU countries. he prize

fnances a our-year period

o study at the University o

Oxord, where Line Lken

will be part o a research

team headed by proessor

Irene racey.

K Fernstrm Prize, which

is awarded to young,

promising and successul

researchers. He received it

or his research into how

bacteria in the gut aect

obesity and diabetes.

Fredrik Bckhedawarded the Eric KFernstrm Prize

R e s e a r c h e r F r e d r i k

Bckhed was one o six

people to receive the Eric

Equality Prize to AnnaWestersthl

he Swedish National

Union o Students Equality

Prize or 2010 went to

medical doctor and resear-

cher Anna Westersthl inrecognition o her many

years o work on gender

and LGB issues, and her

endeavours to integrate

these into teaching at the

Sahlgrenska Academy.


28/52

26 RESEARCH

Publications that made the headlines

New explanation orcardiac arrest

We dont yet know how

common this disorder is

this is something that the

uture will hold now that

we are in a position to make

the correct diagnosis, saysproessor Anders Oldors,

who headed up the research

study published in the

prestigious New England

Journal o Medicine.

he article details how

a young man suered acardiac arrest but survived

thanks to the work o the

ambulance paramedics. An

investigation at Sahlgrenska

University Hospital led to

the discovery o not only a

new disorder but also how a

deect in the protein glyco-genin can lead to an energy

crisis in the muscle cells and

cause cardiac arrest.

Medicine residuesmay threaten fishreproduction

Resear che r s a t the

Sahlgrenska Academy and

Ume University disco-

vered that traces o many

medicines can be ound infsh that have been swim-

ming in treated waste water.

Published in the journal

Environmental Science

and echnology, the study

shows that levonorgestrel

which is ound in many

contraceptive pills, inclu-ding the morning-ater pill

can impact on the envi-

ronment and constitutes a

risk actor or the ability o

fsh to reproduce.

I we know how our

medicines aect the envi-

ronment, we will be in a

better position to choose

environmentally riendlyalternatives, though we

must always put the health

o patients irst, says

Joakim Larsson, one o

the researchers behind the

study.

Stress in middle agemay contribute todementia

Tis is the frst study to

show that stress in middle

age can lead to dementia in

old age, and confrms simi-

lar fndings rom studies o

animals, says researcherLena Johansson.

Based on data rom a study

which ollowed women or

35 years, this is the frst

research in Sweden to indi-

cate a link between stress

and dementia. Te research,

published in the scientifc

journal Brain, is based on a

major population study o

women rom Gothenburg.

Tis study could result in

a better understanding othe risk actors or demen-

tia, but our results need

to be confrmed by other

studies, and urther research

is needed in the area..

Bodys bacteria afect

atherosclerosisNew fndings suggest that

bacteria in the mouth

and intestine can aect

the development o athe-

rosclerosis. he results,

which could lead to new

treatment strategies, were

published in the distinguis-hed journal Proceedings o

the National Academy o

Sciences, PNAS.

We ound that the bacteria

Pseudomonas luteola and

Chlamydia pneumoniae


29/52

27RESEARCH

were present in all athero-

sclerotic plaques and that

several bacteria were ound

in the plaques and, prima-

rily, the mouth but also the

gut, o the same patient.

Tese results would suggest

that the bacteria can enterthe body rom the mouth

and may ultimately contri-

bute to inammation o

the plaque, says researcher

Fredrik Bckhed.

Abnormalities in

certain genes play arole in autism

he prestigious journal

Nature published an artic-

le stating that autism can

be partially explained by

abnormalities in certain

genes. Co-authored by

proessor ChristopherGillberg (a member o the

Autism Genome Project

international research

group), the article reve-

als that a survey o 1,000

individuals with autism

and 1,300 without showed

that copy number variants(CNVs) sub-microscopic

abnormalities in the chro-

mosomes are heavily

over-represented in autistic

people.

he study also provides

evidence that other genesthat are important or

synapse development and

communication between

the nerve cells play a role

in the origin o autism in

some cases.

70-year-olds smarterthan they used to be

odays 70-year-olds do

ar better in intelligence

tests than their predeces-

sors. It has also become

more diicult to detect

dementia in its early stages,

though orgetulness is stillan early symptom, reveals

new research based on the

H70 study published in the

revered American journal

Neurology.

he improvement canpartly be explained by

better nutrition, better

treatment o high blood

pressure and other vascular

diseases, and not least the

greater intellectual requi-

rements o todays society,

where access to advancedtechnology, television and

the Internet has become

part o everyday lie, says

one o the authors, medical

doctor Simona Sacuiu.


30/52

28 COOPERATION AND INNOVATION

Our contribution to society and industry


31/52

29COOPERATION AND INNOVATION

Olle Lark mentions the Institute or Innovation and

Entrepreneurship (IIE) at the University o Gothenburg

School o Business, Economics and Law as a university-

wide resource or research, education and

collaboration in the feld o innovation and

entrepreneurship:

Te IIE helps our researchers to start up busi-nesses based on research results that may be ripe

or commercialisation. Its advisers can give them

inormation about protecting their intellectual

property, which can be important. Our resear-

chers also have opportunities to link up with

other partners in the University o Gothenburg,

Chalmers University o echnology, Region

Vstra Gtaland and industry.

Lark reports that the Academy recently recruited proessor

Maria Anvret to strengthen and develop its work in this area.

She is used to dealing with these kinds o issues and has the

right background or the role.

How can we develop this cooperation in the

longer term?We need to fne-tune and look ater our good relations with

our partners, says Lark. Many o these relations have been

built up over a long period o time and are important to us.

From a national perspective, its important or universities to

work with local government to share their research and avoid

doubling up or example, sharing local patient databases

or collaborating on biobanks.

Olle Lark, Dean o the Sahlgrenska Academy, believes that

one o the acultys most important roles is to interact with

the outside world so that the knowledge generated can be

shared and put to good use. Tis requires good relations with

a variety o partners, both in Sweden and abroad.

I see our collaboration with the likes o Sahlgrenska

University Hospital as an absolute necessity or the urthe-ring o research, education and care.

Lark gives special mention to the ora in place or discus-

sing strategic R&D issues. Te cooperation concept includes

application and innovation so that the Academys research

results can be made commercially viable and beneft patients.

Concrete resultsTe Academy is involved in various initiatives to acilitate the

application and commercialisation o medical, technical and

care-related research results in Gothenburg. Inger Ekman,

director o the University o Gothenburg Centre or Person-

Centred Care (GPCC) and Vice Dean o the Sahlgrenska

Academy, oers a concrete example o the application o

research rom the GPCC at Sahlgrenska University Hospital

with good results:

Our research has led to better care or the individual patient

and fnancial savings or the healthcare system in the orm

o shorter care periods and aster rehabilitation rom long-

term diseases.

Dean Olle Lark

must increase and become more evident


32/52


Our partnersCooperating with the outside world and providing inorma-

tion about our activities are part o the Universitys mandate.

Te Sahlgrenska Academy naturally works closely with

Region Vstra Gtaland and the Swedish Dental Service as

well as industry in the region. Cooperation is a natural part

o the daily work o research and teaching sta, but there is

also a more ormalised relationship regulated by a regionalagreement between the University o Gothenburg and Region

Vstra Gtaland.

Regional cooperation bodiesBesides the over-arching cooperation body Hlso-SAM, there

is a cooperation body or each o the Sahlgrenska Academys

specialist felds:

and healthcare in the feld o imaging and visualisation, as

well as researchers rom the Sahlgrenska Academy, Chalmers

University o echnology, the University o Bors and the

regions medical technology industry. Te seminar was inten-

ded as a means o fnding new ways o working together and

building links that can result in good solutions or the BoIC.

Te conclusion rom the seminar is that a working party

should be set up to organise the academic contribution tothe development o the centre.

Hlso-SAM

Medi-SAM Odont-SAM Vrd-SAM

Imaging & Intervention CentreOne example o an area where cooperation is essential or a

good result that benefts society is Region Vstra Gtalands

investment in a new Imaging & Intervention Centre (BoIC)at Sahlgrenska University Hospital. Te centre, which will

use virtual technology to promote advances in diagnostics,

treatment and research, is expected to be ready in 2015, and

operational planning work is in ull swing. In September

the Sahlgrenska Academy and Medech West held a three-

day seminar Imaging R & D in Western Sweden which

brought together leading representatives o Swedish research

Initiatives that bring together industry, healthcareand researchGothia Forum for Clinical Research is a meeting place

and resource centre for research collaboration in the Vstra

Gtaland region.

Medtech West is a centre for research, development andinnovation in the field of medical technology.

The Institute for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (IIE)

at the School of Business, Economics and Law is the University

of Gothenburgs platform for knowledge-based business

development.

Sahlgrenska Science Parkhas been tasked with promoting

innovation by giving researchers advice and support when

embarking on business start-ups.

GteborgBIO aims to create a solid base for long-term

growth in the biomedical field in the region by translatingcutting-edge academic research into innovations in industry and

applications in healthcare.

Gothenburg International Bioscience Business School

(GIBBS) is a unique masters programme in medically-oriented

business development. The aim is to train students in innovation

and entrepreneurship in preparation for roles as managers and

entrepreneurs at biomedical companies.


33/52


New researchmagazine

Te Sahlgrenska Academy

and Sahlgrenska University

Hospital produced a joint

research magazine or

the frst time in 2010,

SAHLGRENSKA. Tetheme or the magazine

was the heart, and the

articles provided an insight into what

the two organisations together have to oer when it comes to

research and high-quality healthcare. Te magazine was sent

to around 3,000 people in leading positions across Sweden

and was also handed out to sta and patients.

A creative environment or clinical researchUnder the slogan A creative environment or clinical

research, the Sahlgrenska Academy and Sahlgrenska

University Hospital took a joint stand at the Swedish Society

o Medicines annual meeting, held in Gothenburg in 2010.

Te idea was to ocus on an area where we are strong and

so garner attention and attract researchers and other sta.

Te stand presented examples rom ongoing clinical researchinto multimodal sensory stimulation, a feld o neuroscience,

and visitors were also able to meet active researchers rom

other felds.

Media relations and popular scienceTe Sahlgrenska Academy works actively on media relations

and was highly successul in communicating research news

during the year. Te website presented around 160 news

items rom our activities, around 80 o which were distribu-

ted as press releases to the media in Sweden and abroad. Some

news about clinical research was presented in collaboration

with Sahlgrenska University Hospitals inormation depart-

ment. In June, or example, the media were invited to a press

seminar in connection with the 5,000th kidney transplant

at the hospital. Our inormation department arranged 250

separate contacts between the media and researchers or other

sta at the Academy during the year.

Researchers rom the Sahlgrenska Academy participated in

numerous popular science events. A radio programme on

the national station P4 had researchers rom the Academy

on hand to answer listeners medical questions. As part o

the International Science Festival in Gothenburg, a Public

Health Day was arranged or adults and an Ask the Doctor

session or children o school age

The interior of the joint Sahlgrenska Academy/Sahlgrenska University Hospital

stand at the Swedish Society of Medicines 2010 annual meeting in Gothenburg..


34/52


Region Vstra Gtaland and the Sahlgrenska Academy are behind a new simulator centre opened at

Sahlgrenska University Hospital in 2010 which enables staff and students to learn and practise new

methods effectively, both individually and in groups.

Te Public Health Day spanned everything rom the key

role o nature and gardens in the rehabilitation o stress-

related illnesses to the latest research fndings on how to

maintain wellbeing as we grow older. Te Ask the Doctor

panel welcomed almost 120 children with questions about

how the human body works. Te Academys participation

in the estival was a joint eort with Sahlgrenska University

Hospital and the Nordic School o Public Health (NHV).

The facultys management attended many meetings and events dur ing the year. These included the

huge Expo 2010 international fair in Shanghai in which more than 200 countries and international

organisations took part.

Popular science lectures are much appreciated and well atten-

ded events. Te Sahlgrenska Centre or Cardiovascular andMetabolic Research organised a series o seminars or the

general public during the spring, and heart disease was the

theme or fve dierent lectures in the Researchers Speak

programme during the autumn which attracted a combined

audience o 1,800 people.

H d i


35/52


Professor Richard W Price

Professor John R Riordan

Te Sahlgrenska Academy Board awarded honorary docto-

rates to proessors Richard W Price and John R Riordan in

2010 in tribute to their contributions and research in the

Academys research felds. Tey received their doctoral hats

at the Universitys conerral ceremony in October 2010.

Proessor Richard W Price

rom the University oCaliornia, San Francisco

was awarded an honorary

doctorate or being a world

authority in neurological

AIDS research. His defni-

tion o the AIDS dementia

complex has created inter-

national diagnostic criteria,and his research into how

HIV attacks the brain

and how antiretroviral

therapy prevents this is

world-leading.

Te Sahlgrenska Academy began collaborating with Prices

research group in San Francisco and groups rom Australiaand Italy in 2000. Te collaboration has been successul and

has generated both unding and scientifc articles. Richard

W Price was also a visiting researcher at the Institute o

Biomedicine in spring 2009, during which time he was a

source o inspiration or inection specialists and virologists

at the Academy engaged in HIV-related research.

He also contributed to increased collaboration within the

aculty between neurochemists and Alzheimers researchers.

Proessor John R Riordan rom

the University o North Carolina

at Chapel Hill was also awarded an

honorary doctorate in 2010. In the

words o the Academy Board: JohnR Riordan excels in his scientifc

integrity and scientifc standards.

His discovery o the CFR ion

channel and exploration o its

structure and unction have led to

antastic advances in cystic fbrosis

research. He has a well-established

relationship with the Academy asboth visiting researcher and super-

visor, and his ambitiousness has inuenced and inspired

research at the Academy.

Riordans research concerns cystic fbrosis, one o the most

common hereditary diseases, which has a severe progno-

sis and demands substantial healthcare resources. Since his

discovery, Riordan has been a world-leading researcher in thefeld and has paved the way or new insights into CFR. He

has collaborated with the University o Gothenburg since

the late 1990s and was a visiting researcher at the Academy

in 2001. He has also supervised doctoral students rom the

aculty at his laboratory in Scottsdale, USA.

Honorary doctorates in 2010

Th b


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Te Academy previously had three separate student unions:

one or health sciences, one or odontology and one or

medicine. In summer 2010 they merged to create Sahlgrenska

Academy Student Union (SAKS).

One reason or the merger was the abolition o compulsory

student union membership in Sweden during the summer,

which led to considerable fnancial uncertainty, explains ErikStrandmark, chairman o SAKS. Our experience since the

merger is that a combined union is more e cient than having

three separate organisations doing the same thing. We also

have a clearer identity, leading to greater student inuence,

and we know more about what students need rom us and

how we can best help them.

Has the abolition o compulsory student unionmembership had any efects?

Defnitely. All 5,000 students at the Sahlgrenska Academy

were union members until compulsory membership was

abolished. Around 60% o them are still members. Tis is

a smaller decrease than we eared, but we still have a lot o

work to do to attract more members. We also need a larger

number o active representatives who can inuence decision-

makers at the Academy and the University to urther improvestudents situation..

SAKS participated in a consultation during the year on the

new Rules and Regulations or studies at the University o

Three become one

Sahlgrenska Academy Student Union

SAKS chairman Erik Strandmark and Doctoral Student Council chairwoman Karolina Roughton.


37/52


Gothenburg presented by the Vice-Chancellor at the begin-

ning o the year.

Tese are designed to assist students and teaching sta, so

it elt important or us to be active in their development and

ensure better conditions or students.

Strandmark anticipates urther tasks in 2011, includingquality assurance o the placement period or the study

programmes, as students are increasingly having to do their

placements right across the Vstra Gtaland region due to a

shortage o places locally, so having to commute to work or

live somewhere else during their placement period.

But the most important thing o all in the longer term is

to establish the Sahlgrenska Academy Student Union brandat every level and market the benefts that the union oers

members.

Karolina Roughton on doctoral students in 2010Karolina Roughton chaired the Doctoral Student Council,

which comes under SAKS, and also served as Doctoral

Ombudsman in 2010, helping doctoral students who run

into problems during their studies.

Im delighted that weve been able to help these students

when problems have arisen, such as a change o supervisor,

she says. Vice Dean Brje Haraldsson has been a major

asset in this work.

During the year, the council ought to make doctoral

students teaching duties more evenly and airly distribu-

ted. As things stand, Roughton says, some students eel that

they have so much teaching that they cannot cope with their

workload, while others have no teaching at all.

Some have also said that theyre not being paid or the

work theyre putting into their teaching. We want to seethe same rules and opportunities or all doctoral students

at the Academy.

How will you achieve this?We think there should be a review o how much teaching

is being done in areas where doctoral students are active,

and where there is an uneven distribution, there needs to be

collaboration between departments and institutes, which isnot the case today. We also think that all doctoral students

at the Academy should be ormally employed with teaching

as part o their duties. Tese issues have been raised with the

Council or Postgraduate Studies and the Academy Board,

says Roughton, who hopes that these discussions will even-

tually lead to better terms or doctoral students.

Institute of Biomedicine


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36

he newly ormed Sahlgrenska Cancer

Centre comes under the Institute o

Biomedicine, which is headed by Anders

Oldors.

Were proud that the centre has become

a reality, thanks partly to strategic undingrom the government, he says. We mana-

ged to win this unding through teamwork

between the Academy and the Faculty o

Medicine at Lund University.

Te Cancer Centre brings most o the cancer

research at the Academy together in one

place, which will contribute new knowledgein the feld.

I believe that researchers dierent skills

are important or rewarding collaborations

which, in turn, can lead to new advances

and, I hope, more research unding, says

Oldors.

Te institute also won other large grants

during the year, including rom the

European Research Council (ERC).

Its important or us to win unding and

prizes despite ferce national and interna-

tional competition. Another example is

Sven Enerbck, who was awarded a much

sought-ater Sderberg Proessorship during

the year. Tis raises the institutes profle and

helps attract researchers rom other insti-

tutions, says Oldors, citing transplant

researcher Jan Holgersson rom Stockholm

and genetics researcher ChandrasekharKanduri rom Uppsala as among the years

new recruits.

Te Vice-Chancellors RED10 evaluation

o research at the University o Gothenburg

revealed very high standards o research

at the institute. It also showed that some

small research groups fnding themselves ata competitive disadvantage could beneft

rom working together more, and points

out a need to recruit urther competitive

researchers to strengthen and complement

its successul research environments.

Much o the training or doctors and biome-

dical analysts takes place within the institute,and a generation change is under way among

the teaching sta due to retirement.

A great deal is expected o this training,

and when valuable resources are lost we have

to review our sta ng so that our teaching

retains its quality, says Oldors.

Institute of Biomedicine

Multidisciplinary collaboration forcompetitive research

Head

AndersOldfors

Deputy HeadClaesGustafsson

Employees271(of whom 8 co-opted)

RevenueSEK 283.3 million

Doctorates awarded27

Peer-reviewed articles283

Institute ofClinical Sciences


39/52

37

By ar the most important event or us in

2010 was the award o the Nobel Prize or

Medicine to IVF pioneer Bob Edwards,

says Ian Milsom, head o the Institute o

Clinical Sciences.

Te institute is still home to some o theresearchers on the team behind the very frst

test-tube baby in the Nordic region in 1978.

Te media were thereore very interested in

quotes rom our researchers, and the insti-

tute also received a lot o positive attention

or its previous research and or continuing

to conduct extensive research into inertilitytoday.

Milsom says that the year also brought a

wealth o publications, unding and presti-

gious prizes or the institute.

Its always good to see colleagues gaining

recognition or their work. Milsom himselhad confrmation o the quality o research

at the institute when, as representative or

the Sahlgrenska Academy, he was invited by

the Swedish government to take part in the

Expo 2010 world air in China.

China has big problems with an ageing

population and wants to know more about

how we have handled the situation in

Sweden with various age-related ailments.

One o the institutes goals is to have a broa-

der international perspective, and this tiesin well with the Vice-Chancellors RED10

evaluation, which highlighted the institutes

strengths and weaknesses.

I think we have to start marketing ourselves

right rom the medicine programme to bring

in younger aces, as well as recruit clinici-

ans looking to get into research and attractoreign researchers with an international

outlook. Tis is the answer to keeping our

research at the highest level..

One challenge or the uture is the increase

in places in the medicine programme, which

means a need or more clinical placements.

Milsom says that the institute will struggleto fnd more places or medical students, as

most o this is clinical.

Were thereore in talks right now at regio-

nal level to prepare the health service and

fnd places or more medical students.

In the spotlight thanks toNobel Prize

Head

Ian Milsom

Deputy HeadJan-Erik Damber





Institute ofHealth andCare Sciences


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38

Te year began with the opening o the

University o Gothenburg Centre or

Person-Centred Care (GPCC) to promote

research into care or long-term illnesses,

fnanced with strategic unding rom the

government and the University.

Te aim is to create a national centre o

excellence within fve years and establish

the University o Gothenburg as the leading

university in care research in Europe, says

Inger Ekman, director o the GPCC and,

until November 2010, head o the Institute

o Health and Care Sciences.

Te GPCC is a unique venture in clinical

point-o-care research.

Were delighted that this multidisciplinary

centre is being managed rom the Institute

o Health and Care Sciences, says Ingela

Lundgren, current head o the institute.

During the year, the institute worked on

strengthening the research basis o its study

programmes and developed teaching models

or theoretical and clinical education to

adapt to uture healthcare.

As part o the Vice-Chancellors RED10

evaluation, we ound that our theses were

the most downloaded at the Sahlgrenska

Academy and that we more than quadrupled

the number o published scientifc articles,

says Lundgren.

Several areas o research at the institute have

considerable development potential with

rewarding collaborations with both other

disciplines at the Academy and other acul-

ties at the University.

Lundgren says that the institute plans to

review how aspects o both education and

research can be strengthened and made

more e cient, which makes sta planning

important, not least ahead o the coming

generation change. Tere are also plans to

develop and market contract education

programmes internationally.

Its important to manage strategic research

unding well and continue work on the

institutes rapid development as a leader

in care sciences research and education,

both nationally and internationally, says

Lundgren.

Leader in health sciencesresearch and education

Head

Ingela Lundgren

Deputy HeadKarin Ahlberg



Doctorates awarded9


Institute of Medicine


41/52

39

Te Institute o Medicine is the largest o the

Academys six institutes, and this is reec-

ted in its research unding. O the SEK

100 million that the Sahlgrenska Academy

won rom the Swedish Research Council in

2010, SEK 45 million went to the Institute

o Medicine.

We drew up guidelines during the year or

which collaborative projects we will prio-

ritise in our long-term ocus on successul

research, says Hans Carlsten, head o the

Institute o Medicine. o achieve this, I

believe in international recruitment to raise

standards and bring new perspectives to

our research activities. We have thereore

launched a visiting researcher programme

to raise our international profle, with nine

researchers linked to the institute. We are

also recruiting successul researchers rom

Germany and Italy to permanent posts.

2010 saw the climate o cooperation within

the institute continue to bloom and an

increase in employees enthusiasm. Carlsten

puts this down to many actors, including

good internal work on the institutes research

strategies, mutual respect between research

groups, and many researchers being success-

ul in terms o high-profle publications and

prizes.

Te institutes departments also need to

work more closely together, he says.

o increase collaboration within the institu-

te, a series o seminars was launched during

the year where dierent research leaders

discussed their research projects.

Te RED10 evaluation made its mark on the

year, with extensive work on sel-assessment

at the institute. Te conclusion was that

there are research groups with considerable

potential or international success in their

felds and that there is a good atmosphere

in the institute.

I think that we have strong oundations

and have come a long way towards being a

leading European medical research body in

our ocus areas, says Carlsten.

Good relations a recipefor success

Head

HansCarlsten

Deputy HeadHenrik Sjvall





Institute ofNeuroscience and Physiology


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40

It was a joy to see the opening o the

Gillberg Centre, which will promote

continued advances and new knowledge in

neuropsychiatry and developmental neuro-

logy in areas such as autism, ADHD and

anorexia nervosa, says Agneta Holmng,

head o the Institute o Neuroscience andPhysiology.

he institute also worked with Region

Vstra Gtaland and Sahlgrenska University

Hospital during the year to establish a regi-

onal stroke centre, as the region has the

potential to take stroke care to high inter-

national standards.

Tis would mean a boost or stroke care

in general and greater sharing o knowledge

akademin ar2010 eng

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