sund news 7
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Newsletter from The Faculty of Medicine, Aalborg UniversityTRANSCRIPT
SUND NEWS 7March 2013
Education and Teaching
2
About SUND NEWS
ForewordDuring the opening of Aalborg University Hospital, Minister of Health Astrid Krag said that she, like the rest of the gover-nment, has high expectations for Aalborg University Hospital. Expectations that we deliver more and better clinical research and innovation for the benefit of not only our own region, but the whole of Denmark. Our research has resonated at ’Borgen’ – she highlighted the telemedicine project ”TeleCare Nord” with COPD patients that is a collaboration between the uni-versity, the North Denmark Region, the North Jutland muni-cipalities and doctors in general practice as a truly unique pro-ject and an example to be followed in the rest of the country.
I also have high expectations that we along with the new university hospital can develop a competitive medical pro-gram and get more interdisciplinary research projects going that link our expertise in biomedical engineering to the de-velopment of clinical research. As you can read in this issue of SUND NEWS, Research Director and Director of the Depart-ment of Clinical Medicine Lars Hvilsted Rasmussen and the entire management team have set the bar high from the start. We want a university hospital of international standard.
We will achieve this by collaboration – especially internally at the faculty, with industry and international partners but also by developing our budding research with drive and new ideas for research. At the faculty, we have young students who
want to do research, and that makes a difference even du-ring their training. We present two of them in this issue, MedIS students Kasper Bendix Johnsen and Hjalte Holm Andersen, both of whom have just received a Novo scho-larship to support their master’s theses. But we also have Sports Science student Michael G. Johansson and MedIS student Dolarose Kulas who have both received support from the Siemens Foundation for their study projects. We have many more dedicated young students – hopefully fu-ture researchers – making a notable effort in health science.
Egon Toft
SUND NEWS is a staff magazine for all employees at the Faculty of Medicine, i.e., in the departments and the fa-culty administration. SUND NEWS is available to eve-ryone on the website, and we hope that students in the health science programs as well as internal and external partners will also find SUND NEWS relevant.
Contributions to SUND NEWS are most welcome and should be sent to Cecilia Honores Møller at [email protected].
The deadline for the next issue of SUND NEWS is May 14, 2013.
PhD defenses at the Faculty of Medicine
4 - 7O r g a n i z a t i o n
1 3 - 2 1R e s e a r c h
8 - 1 2E d u c a t i o n a n d Te a c h i n g
Content
Jan Rüterbories, March 13 2013Dissertation title: Improved gait cycle detection for use in gait rehabitation
Thomas Lorrain, March 8, 2013Dissertation title: Towards reliable and intuitive myoelectric control for hand protheses
Bram Zuur, March 1, 2013Dissertation title: Human locomotion and motor cortex – Drive to the motoneuron and the role of afferent input
Mayuri Sinha Presad, February 14 2013Dissertation title: Molecular mechanisms underlying the effect of hypoxia on stem cell growth and differentiation
Jacob Handberg Svendsen, February 8, 2013Dissertation title: Characterization of subacute and chronic low back pain in activities of daily living using linear and nonlinear tools
For more information see: www.medicine.aau.dk under ”Research”
3
Organization
4
Official Opening of Aalborg University Hospital Aalborg University Hospital was officially opened March 7, 2013 with a large-scale event sponsored by both the ho-spital and the Faculty of Medicine. The event featured speeches and addresses by various guests including Minister of Health Astrid Krag, Minister of Education Morten Østergaard, Rector Finn Kjærsdam, Region Chair Ulla Astman, hospital management, researchers and students.
The speakers offered insight into the collaboration and the plans and expectations for the new hospital.
Finn Kjærsdam and Ulla Astman took the opportunity to thank each other for the joint effort that has led to Northern Jutland, in 2013, getting its own university hospital for the benefit of patients and the public. Gratitude was reflected in gifts that symbolized the close cooperation. Finn Kjærsdam presented Ulla Astman with a bicycle helmet with the recognizable ’AAU brain’ and warmly welcomed her to cycle around campus. Ulla Astman returned the kindness with an access card to the hospital so he now has access like the rest of the hospital staff.
Before, during and after the speeches, the minister and the other participants could see and test research from both the Faculty of Medicine and the university hospital, as researchers had set up stands in Medicinerhuset’s lobby.
Organization
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The Faculty of Medicine Has a Healthy EconomyThe financial result for 2012 is satisfactory. A small deficit of around DKK 242,000 was budgeted, but the result was instead a small surplus of approximately DKK 500,000.
In relation to the 2012 budget, there are positive and negative deviations on both the revenue and the cost side — but the bottom line is that we are almost breaking even. There are many conditions which were difficult to predict at the time of the budget, and the faculty’s finances are also affected by factors that we do not have direct influence on.
The faculty’s revenue is directly dependent on how much is produced in terms of education and research. Education pro-duction is measured by how many ECTS credits are passed in examinations (1 student full-time equivalent (FTE) = 60 ECTS credits), and the extent to which students finish on time.
Although there are fewer student FTEs in 2011/2012 than bud-geted and therefore less revenue, it does not reflect a decrease in the educational activity. A forecast model that was too im-precise was used. At this stage, the way in which the expected student FTE number for 2012/2013 is determined appears to provide a much more reliable forecast.
In 2012, 51 PhD students were enrolled compared to the origi-nal estimate of around 40 new PhD student enrollments. This provides considerably more revenue in relation to the bud-
get. The faculty’s research revenue depends on the number of research and scientific publications (Bibliographic Research Indicator (BFI) points) and external research funding in 2013.
External research funds are not only important in themselves. They are also important because the ability to bring in exter-nal research funds and use them is rewarded in the way that AAU´s revenue is distributed to the faculties.
For 2012, the external funding budget was at DKK 35.3 mil-lion. The result was DKK 32.2 million. The large project Eir re-ceived its grant confirmation very late in 2012, which resulted in a revenue reduction of DKK 3.4 million. These funds and the corresponding activities are postponed to 2013.
The good result for 2012 reflects the research and teaching ac-tivities that have developed very satisfactorily as well as sen-sible use of financial resources. Employees and managers in administration, education and research are all putting in very good efforts.
Organization
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New Year’s Reception 2013In keeping with tradition, the new year was welcomed by Dean Egon Toft at a New Year’s reception on January 3. Egon Toft talked about the year gone by and all the new initiatives and projects that are to come in 2013 – with both the new de-partment and the new partner, Aalborg University Hospital. Teachers of the year at the faculty were named. This year the award went to Meg Duroux, Associate Professor, Biomedicine Group, and Shellie Boudreau, Assistant Professor, Sensory-Motor Interaction.
The New Year’s reception featured jazz music, champagne, cake and a competition about health.
The faculty’s entire staff as well as our new partners from the university hospital were invited to the event. If you were not part of the New Year’s reception, you can see Egon Toft’s presentation on the Faculty of Medicine website under ”News” .
’Who-knows-most-about-health’-competitionDuring the reception, a little competition about health was held. The competition was organized by John Hansen, Tea-ching Associate Professor, Department of Health Science and Technology, in conjunction with Ann Karina Schelde, Secre-tary to the Dean.
The competition tested who knows the most about health; 112 people chose to compete. Surprisingly enough, no one answe-red all the questions correctly, so there was no clear winner.
But a winner was found by a draw among the contest par-ticipants. The lucky winner was Birgitte Bisgaard Nielsen, Communication Officer at the Faculty Office. Birgitte Bisgaard Nielsen won – in the name of health – the book ”Skridttæller-bogen” by Bente Klarlund Pedersen, plus a pedometer.
Organization
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Food
Goose
Roast pork
Salmon
Cod
Participant answer(number who answered)
5
1
3
102
Correct answer
x
Correct answerkcal / 100 gr.
371
330
177
82
Caulifower
Potato
Parsnip
Radish
16
2
7
71
x
25
82
63
11
Red cabbage 16 30
Snaps 40 %
Red wine
Chocolate milk – skim
Milk – light
28
11
38
47
230
75
60
48
Beer, Carlsberg/HOF 5 38x
Orange
Banana
Peach
Fresh dates
43
2
5
2
x
47
85
39
270
Apple 60 52
Country
Denmark
Italy
Norway
Spain
Participant answerLightest weight women
6
32
23
21
Correct answerLightest weight men
x
Correct answerLightest weight women
x
Participant answerLightest weight men
3
33
32
21
Sweden 2916
The lightest food = the one with the lowest calorie content per 100 gr.
In what country do you think the lightest weight people live (based on 2008 data from The Lancet)
Duck 1 404
Food
Goose
Roast pork
Salmon
Cod
Participant answer(number who answered)
5
1
3
102
Correct answer
x
Correct answerkcal / 100 gr.
371
330
177
82
Caulifower
Potato
Parsnip
Radish
16
2
7
71
x
25
82
63
11
Red cabbage 16 30
Snaps 40 %
Red wine
Chocolate milk – skim
Milk – light
28
11
38
47
230
75
60
48
Beer, Carlsberg/HOF 5 38x
Orange
Banana
Peach
Fresh dates
43
2
5
2
x
47
85
39
270
Apple 60 52
Country
Denmark
Italy
Norway
Spain
Participant answerLightest weight women
6
32
23
21
Correct answerLightest weight men
x
Correct answerLightest weight women
x
Participant answerLightest weight men
3
33
32
21
Sweden 2916
The lightest food = the one with the lowest calorie content per 100 gr.
In what country do you think the lightest weight people live (based on 2008 data from The Lancet)
Duck 1 404
About the contestHere you can see the result of the contest. Contestants had to put together the lightest food to a food item from each box.
Education and Teaching
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Teachers of the Year 2012 at the Faculty of MedicineTeachers of the Year were named at the 2012 New Year’s re-ception. The award went to Meg Duroux, Associate Professor, and Shellie Boudreau, Assistant Professor. Both winners recei-ved a bouquet of flowers and a certificate.
Meg Duroux won the award for teacher of the year for her great dedication to the students and contagious enthusiasm in teaching. It was noted that Meg’s commitment is inspiring; she forces the students to think outside the box. There is always a good balance between her ability to support students when they need it and letting the students achieve results through joint discussions.
Shellie Boudreau won the award for teacher of the year for her interesting and thought-provoking lectures that grab the students and for her motivation in supervision sessions. It was noted that both Shellie’s charisma and her organization of tea-ching help the students leave lectures with a feeling of having learned something that can be used in the future. In particular,
Shellie’s lecture ‘paper presentation skills’ has equipped the students with useful tools and new perspectives.Shellie Boudreau is also nominated for the Obel Teaching Award 2013. The winner will be announced at the Doctoral Promotion on April 12.
Associated professor Meg Duroux
Assistent Professor Shellie Boudreau.
Education and Teaching
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Well-attended ‘KandidatDag’ at AAU Aalborg University’s first ‘KandidatDag’ was held on February 26. SUND’s master’s programs were represented at an event that was well-attended by the university’s own bachelor’s students and students from other universities.
KandidatDag is a new event at Aalborg University that puts the spotlight on the master’s programs. The event targets pro-spective master’s students who want to obtain more informa-tion about the various master’s programs that they can choose from, and what job and career opportunities an individual program can lead to.
The day was organized with information stands at central lo-cations at the university – in the cafeterias at Fibigerstræde 16, Fredrik Bajers Vej 7 and Kroghstræde 3. The information stands were staffed by program counselors, students and pro-gram graduates giving advice and guidance on the programs. Parallel talks on the programs were held in adjacent meeting rooms and auditoriums.
SUND’s programs were presented in the cafeteria at Fibiger-stræde 16 and talks were held on all the programs. Attendance
The talk on the Master’s in Public Health was popular. There were so many students it was standing room only.
Assistent Professor Shellie Boudreau.
By: Cecilia Honores Møller, Communication, The Faculty Office
at SUND’s information stands by interested students was strong, so the program counselors and students were busy.
The turnout was also good for the talks on SUND’s master’s programs – public health was particularly well-attended whe-re it was standing room only. It should also be mentioned that Rie Thaarup Høeg, a graduate of Biomedical Engineering and now a project manager at CSC Scandihealth, gave a great pre-sentation of the master’s program in biomedical engineering and talked about career opportunities at CSC Scandihealth where she has been employed since she graduated in 2005.
Medicine, SUND’s most recent master’s program and one that has not produced any graduates yet, was presented by As-sociated Professor and Chief Physician Sten Rasmussen from Aalborg University Hospital, who talked about the world that awaits the students when they are in the master’s program at the university hospital.
Education and Teaching
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Master’s Program in Medicine Aalborg University offers a master’s program in medicine for the first time. Students can look forward to three very exciting years where the bulk of the teaching will take place at Aalborg University Hospital.
As a doctor, work takes place predominantly in a clinical env-ironment. Therefore, instruction in the master’s program will be clinically anchored so that students gain solid experience with the environment before they go out into the labor market. Great emphasis will be placed on the doctor-patient relations-hip, so communication skills will continue to be a central focal point.
The master’s program will be firmly rooted in problem based learning. In addition to clinical practice, teaching will consist of lectures, symposia, case work, reflection, portfolio work, etc. Once a week, recap symposia will be held for reflection over the week’s teaching. These symposia will also be used for discussion and interaction based on different themes and student assignments.
Boot campIn preparation for the master’s program, a one- week boot camp will be held for the coming master’s students. Boot camp will be held in August and it will take place mainly in the simulation laboratory. The aim is to give students the op-portunity to brush up on and strengthen the basic skills they have acquired in the bachelor’s program. In addition, it is also preparation for placements in the clinical departments. Stu-dents will have the opportunity to practice technical skills as well as more complex clinical skills in a safe learning environ-ment with no risk to humans.
The work weekStudents in the master’s program have enough to do. In ad-dition to classes from 8 to 16 each week day, there are also sometimes evening and weekend activities. For the students to get the maximum out of the instruction, in the morning they will be divided into groups of three and in the afternoon in groups of 12, except when they have clinical examination trai-ning where they are only six per group.
By: Dorthe Bille, Communication, School of Medicine and Health
Tom Buur, Associate Professor and Chief Physician, gives future master’s students insight into the work at the dialysis department at Aalborg University Hospital.
Education and Teaching
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8 - 10
Monday
Morning meetingand rounds
Instruction in the various clinical departments
Preparation for case work
Case work
10 - 13
13 - 14
14 - 16
Tuesday
Morning meetingand rounds
Instruction in the various clinical departments
Pathology(demo/groupwork)
Pathology(lecture)
Wednesday
Morning meetingand rounds
Instruction in the various clinical departments
Clinical examinationtraining
Clinical examinationtraining
Friday
Morning meetingand rounds
Instruction in the various clinical departments
Friday symposium Every other time, clinical pathology
symposium
Thursday
Morning meetingand rounds
Instruction in the various clinical departments
Preparation for case work
Case workFriday symposium
Every other time, clinical pathology
symposium
Time
Example of a study week:
Why did you choose to study medicine in Aalborg?I chose to study medicine in Aalborg because my roots are in this area and I wanted to stay here for my studies. When the medical program became available in the same year that I was applying for programs, it seemed obvious to ap-ply to AAU and try out this new type of program.
Is there anything about the program that has surprised you in a positive way?The program has positively surprised me by focusing on the clinical situation already in the bachelor portion. That we learn and work from patient cases as well as have the opportunity to attend to and ”practice” regularly on pa-tients via the clinical placement at Vendsyssel Hospital.
What do you expect of the master’s program at Aal-borg University Hospital?I expect a master’s program where learning is based on patients in the hospital’s clinical departments, and where I become comfortable receiving, examining, investigating and interviewing patients under the guidance of talented and competent teachers.
Vibe Maria Laden Nielsen, Medicine, 6th semester
Education and Teaching
12
”Impossible is Nothing” – Study stay at adidas in Herzogenaurach, Germany What role does a runner’s weight play in the mechanical spring properties in running shoes and how they can be optimized? Nicolai Mifsud, 10th semester student in Sports Technology, went to Germany for a stay at Adidas to participate in a project on developing running shoes.
» At a didas, I had the opportunity to do a semester project dealing with a new concept running shoe, and I was also part of the normal team tasked with helping to determine how existing and upcoming products can be optimized, from an engineering perspective, says Nicolai Mifsud.
Nicolai was involved in approximately 10 different pro-jects during his six-month stay. The largest project was to develop a running shoe designed to optimize the runner’s propulsion. One of Nicolai’s tasks was to conducts tests of the shoe, suggest improvements and report back to the de-velopment department.
One of the improvements he worked with was the relations-hip between the runner’s weight and the mechanical spring properties of the shoe. Nicolai Mifsud examined whether it would be profitable to produce shoes with different spring properties so that runners could buy shoes that would give them the best possible suspension according to their weight. In addition, he was also involved in the visibility of the product’s possibilities in relation to marketing. Adidas expects the shoe to be on the market in 2014.
» It’s been really exciting to work in such a large company and see how the different departments work together on development. In the Research and Engineering Department where I worked, 80 percent of the employees were German. It gave me good insight into German culture. I found it very inspiring and I had a great opportunity to practice the Ger-man language, says Nicolai Mifsud.
By: Dorthe Bille, Communication, School of Medicine and Health
Nicolai Mifsud in adidas innovation team research hall.
Research
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Stronger Together Aalborg University Hospital must elevate clinical research and ensure a healthier Northern Jutland. The Director of Research as well as the Head of the Department of Clinical Medicine and Dean Egon Toft have set the bar high for the collaboration and look forward to setting the course for Denmark’s new university hospital and medical program.
The establishment of Aalborg University Hospital brings a ten year partnership with Aarhus University to a close, and the hospital in the north begins a new collaboration and partners-hip with the Faculty of Medicine at Aalborg University.
» We will make Aalborg University Hospital a hospital that can compete both nationally and internationally to offer pa-tients the best diagnosis, care, treatment and rehabilitation, and together create the best medical program in the country, says Director of Research and Head of the Department of Cli-nical Medicine, Lars Hvilsted Rasmussen.
One of the advantages of becoming a university hospital is that the hospital is obligated to conduct research in all special-ties. Therefore, the number of clinical professorships is being increased to ensure that research is integrated in everyday cli-nical work.
» With the professorships, research and clinical practice are closely associated in moving the department forward, expla-ins Lars Hvilsted Rasmussen.
Elevating clinical researchAccording to Egon Toft, the close collaboration between the university and the hospital means a boost to clinical research. - The basic sciences at the university such as biotechnology, mathematics and physics all serve to support the clinical re-search, he explains, adding:
» When we combine the hospital’s and our expertise, we will be better at finding the right research questions in partnership. We have a unique opportunity in Aalborg in that with the new hospital construction we will be next-door neighbors.
”This isn’t an assembly line”Egon Toft points out that future master’s students from Aal-borg University’s medical program will have an exclusive pro-gram offering at the hospital:
» It’s often said that the students in Copenhagen, Aarhus and Odense either have very limited clinical time or are stepping on each other’s toes to get it, and many have to make arrange-ments where they take turns staying home. We won’t see that in Aalborg.
The medical program at Aalborg University has 50 places; that’s far fewer than the nation’s other universities, but it is not something that worries Egon Toft:
» There is nothing to suggest internationally that you cannot have a medical program that’s small but that’s just as good. This isn’t an assembly line; these are people of flesh and blood who will go out and look people in the eye and take responsi-bility for life and limb.
A healthier Northern JutlandBoth Lars Hvilsted Rasmussen and Egon Toft are convinced that the collaboration will lead to a healthier Northern Jutland population.
» We’ve set the bar high from the very beginning. It’s the way to attract more doctors and create a culture and commitment in the organization where we constantly strive to raise the le-vel of professionalism. When those things happen, you have a hospital that can offer patients better treatment, explains Egon Toft.
Lars Hvilsted Rasmussen and Egon Toft look forward to set-ting goals in concert and implementing a strategy that will en-sure that Aalborg University Hospital receives national and international recognition for its research, medical program and patient care.
By: Dorte Heide Pedersen and Peter Friis Jeppesen, Department for University Hospital Affairs, Aalborg University Hospital
Lars Hvilsted Rasmussen, Research Director and Head of the Department of Clinical Medicine, and Dean Egon Toft set bar high from
the start. They are confident that the collaboration will ultimately lead to a healthier Northern Jutland.
Research
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Department of Clinical Medicine Has Growing Pains
The Department of Clinical Medicine is now formally and of-ficially a reality and the new department is wasting no time. At the end of February, the number of employees is already near-ly fifty people – mostly academic staff, either transferred from their temporary place of work at the Department of Health Science and Technology, transferred from similar associations at the Department of Clinical Medicine at Aarhus University, or completely fresh faces.
In addition, several academic staff members are on the way, and a larger number of instructors formerly affiliated with Aarhus University are also in the process of being hired – the latter in order to contribute to one of the new department’s main tasks, namely, clinical training of the students in the ma-ster’s program in medicine that welcomes its first year of stu-dents ever September 1, 2013.
On the administrative front, the department is greatly benefi-ting from its (temporary) location near the Aalborg University Hospital Science and Innovation Center, Søndre Skovvej 15, Aalborg, which houses a well functioning research admini-stration that supports Aalborg University Hospital. Therefore, the Department of Clinical Medicine’s administration still only consists of two people – one HR coordinator and one fi-nancial services manager. But as activity intensifies, the admi-nistration at the Department of Clinical Medicine will grow accordingly.
By: Jakob Adelhard Kristensen, HR Coordinator, Department of Clinical Medicine
Technology for Measuring Narrowing of the Coronary Arteries Gets DKK 27 million in Support The medtech company Acarix and researchers from the Department of Health Science and Technology are recei-ving 27 million kroner for bringing the product CADScor® System to market maturity. The system allows rapid diagnosis of coronary heart disease with narrowing of the coronary arteries.
CADScor® System is used for measuring heart murmurs in patients suspected of suffering from coronary heart disease with narrowing of the coronary arteries. The disease is wide-spread; in a global perspective, more than 20 percent of the world’s population will die of the disease and a quarter will die spontaneously without having been diagnosed with the disorder.
With CADScor® System, it is possible to make an early diag-nosis and subsequent treatment. Measurement of the heart takes place with the patient lying in position and takes appro-ximately three minutes.
The patient can then either be released or sent for further exa-mination in accordance with standard practice.
CADScor® was developed by researchers Samuel Schmidt, Claus Graff and Johannes Struijk from the Department of Health Science and Technology in collaboration with Acarix. Researchers can now look forward to getting 27 million kro-ner for bringing the product that is expected to come on the market in 2014 to market maturity.
Investors Sunstone Capital, Seed Capital, Coloplast and Se-venture see great potential in the CADScor system and there-fore have raised 27 million kroner together for final develop-ment and marketing.
For more information: www.klinisk.aau.dk (in Danish only)
Research
15
Official Opening of the Center for Sexology Research Researchers at the Center for Sexology Research have been organizing research initiatives and planning the master’s pro-gram in sexology for most of 2012, and now, in 2013, the time has finally come to hold an official inaugural event. The event will be held Thursday, April 11, 12.00-17.00, in Medicinerhu-set’s auditorium at Aalborg University Hospital.
The opening of the Center for Sexology Research will be mar-ked by a number of presentations from the center’s resear-chers describing the scope of sexology from ‘from cell to soci-ety.’ Next, opening addresses will be given by Lars Hvilsted Rasmussen, Head of the Department of Clinical Medicine, and Dean Egon Toft. Then, there will be contributions from Flem-ming Møller Mortensen, Chair of the Parliamentary Commit-tee on Health and Prevention, as well as from various partners from Denmark, Sweden and Norway. In addition, the founder
of clinical sexology in Denmark, Professor Emeritus Preben Hertoft, 85, will be a guest at the event.
The event concludes with tapas, wine, and jazz by the Søren Lundby trio.
If you’d like more information, you can view the event pro-gram on the Faculty of Medicine website under ”News.”
Novo Support for MedIS students Two master’s students from Medicine with Industrial Specialization have each received a Novo stipend for their re-search, respectively, in migraine and cancer treatment. The stipend gives each student optimal conditions to focus on their master’s theses.
Hjalte Holm Andersen, and Kasper Bendix Johnsen, both 23, are in the thesis writing process in Medicine with In-dustrial Specialization, and have each received a Novo stipend of 70,000 kroner in recognition of their thesis re-search.
Hjalte Holm Andersen’s thesis deals with research into biomarkers to support the diagnosis of migraine in pa-tients. Although the disease is widespread, many migrai-ne patients still go untreated because the current diagno-stics are not completely accurate. The aim of the thesis is to investigate the possibility of using blood tests, for example, to diagnose patients suffering from migraine. This will be done by analyzing the presence of a class of molecules known as microRNA. The project will help in-crease understanding and shed light on the possibility of using microRNA as biomarkers for migraine.
Kasper Bendix Johnsen’s thesis deals with new methods to transport drugs into a diseased brain. It is difficult to get drugs into the brain, but Kasper Bendix Johnsen is attempting to refute this with his thesis. The aim of the thesis is to investigate whether the development of the particles known as ”exosomes” can be used to transport drugs into the brain in patients, for example, suffering from brain cancer. Kasper Bendix Johnsen will try to equip the particles with the microRNA molecules, which can regulate cells and thus treat the cancer.
The Novo stipends are given on behalf of two of Denmark’s leading research companies, Novo Nordisk and Novozymes. The students were awarded the stipends on January 22 at an official ceremony at Novo Nordisk in Copenhagen. Professor Torben Moos and Associate Professors Meg Duroux and Parisa Gazerani are the supervisors for the two students. Meg Duroux and Parisa Gazerani accompanied the students for the ceremony in Copenhagen.
Hjalte Holm Andersen
Kasper Bendix Johnsen
Register to attend the event with Birgitte Schantz Laursen, center director, at [email protected] (no later than April 2, for catering purposes). When you register, please indicate whether you are attending only certain parts of the event.
Research
16
Medical Informatics Group In previous issues of SUND NEWS we have presented research centers and groups in the Department of Health Science and Technology, and now it’s the Medical Informatics Group’s turn. For the past twenty years, the group’s research has evolved from primarily focusing on decision support systems to now embracing various IT systems and devices for the health care system.
Electronic patient records, electronic devices that might be im-planted in patients, telemedicine solutions for diagnosis and care in the home, and much more. While research in the Me-dical Informatics Group is diversified, what is common to the projects is ’health IT’ – also known as health informatics.The Medical Informatics Group’s activities include research in and development of technology for use in the health sector and by health professionals in their efforts to detect, prevent, diagnose and treat patients. Research projects are based on the real needs of the health sector and the industry and are often an interdisciplinary cooperation among researchers, public and private partners including the health sector and busines-ses at home and abroad.
The group collaborates with companies such as Novo Nor-disk, Lundbeck, Roche, CSC Scandihealth, IBM Healthcare, Acarix, AdvanDX, Prodema, GE Healthcare and Phillips.
Diversified researchWhen the group was established more than twenty years ago, the focus was primarily on research on decision support sy-stems and medical image analysis. Professor Ole Hejlesen
became leader of the group in 1998, and the group has since expanded and diversified its research efforts in health IT.The group is particularly active in the field of cardiotechnolo-gy, clinical information systems, medical image analysis, and telemedicine, including decision support systems in diabetes and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD - smoker’s lung).
One of group’s recent research projects is TeleCare Nord, a collaborative effort among the eleven North Jutland munici-palities, the North Denmark Region, general practitioners in Northern Jutland, and Aalborg University that began in 2012. The project concerns the development and implementation of a telecare solution for the region’s thousands of COPD patients. Telecare means that patients can receive care and treatment in their own homes by health professionals via communication and information technology linked to health care systems. Pa-tients can influence the treatment in that they enter their own data in the information system at home that is then registe-red and evaluated by health personnel. The contribution from Medical Informatics researcher includes development of the randomized controlled research design and scientific analysis of the results obtained.
Professor Ole Hejlesen, Head of Medical Informatics. In the background is the user interface for a telemedicine system for treating diabetes, used by patients and doctors for adjusting insulin dosage.
By: Cecilia Honores Møller, Communication, The Faculty Office
Research
17
For mere information about Medical Informatics see:http://mi.hst.aau.dk/
TeachingTeaching by the group members includes the programs in Biomedical Engineering, Health Informatics, Medi-cine, Clinical Science and Technology, Master of Public Administration and Techno-anthropology.
Dynamic international research environmentThe staff has also expanded over the years, consisting today of thirty researchers who are a mix of young PhD students and senior researchers from Denmark and abroad. The group today constitutes an active and dy-namic environment with researchers of different back-grounds who complement each other with knowledge and professional networks.
Research organized in laboratoriesResearch in Medical Informatics is divided into five la-boratories. Lab research topics change continuously ac-cording to the relevance for and needs of the health care system and new research ideas and projects set up with internal and external partners. Researchers work colla-boratively across the groups.
Laboratory for cardiotechnologyResearch deals with how technology can be used to sup-port clinical work in the diagnosis and treatment of heart disease.
Laboratory for clinical information systemsResearch deals with the development of information sy-stems for use in hospitals and in the industry. The re-search is diverse and ranges from the development of user interfaces, structure and navigation in systems for the signal processing of data between systems, such as between the patient’s system in the home and the health personnel’s systems at the hospital and in the munici-palities.
Laboratory for medical image analysisResearch into systems for handling medical images, such as MR and CT scanning, to visualize different structures and biological processes more accurately for health personnel who must make a diagnosis and recommend treatment.
Laboratory for diabetesThe research deals with the development of systems for the treatment of diabetes patients, and communi-cation systems between the patient and health per-sonnel.
Laboratory for telehealthResearch in telemedicine deals with the development of advanced systems for patient monitoring, and tre-atment of patients from a distance.
”Since January 1, 2013, I have been enrolled as a PhD student at the University of California, Berkeley, where I work with diabetes technology in collaboration with Professor Edmund Seto. In this collaboration, I am setting up a study designed to exa-mine continuous glucose monitoring (CGM). CGM is a technology where a sensor is inserted under the skin of diabetes patients to measure the sugar level under the skin. The sugar level under the skin correlates with the level in the blood, and therefore the sensor measurement is an expression of blood sugar levels.
CGM is a supplement to daily monitoring of blood sugar. The investigation includes thirty teenagers from the Sacramento region diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes in a ran-domized controlled study to examine whether CGM can be used to reduce situations of very low blood sugar. The stay in Berkeley has given me insight into the American system, and into the general American way of thinking. It’s very valuable, particularly because the primary research in diabetes technology takes place in the United States. In addition, it’s exciting to experience the culture in the United States that has perva-ded your entire life through media, traditions and ways of thinking.”
Morten Hasselstrøm Jensen, PhD student, Medical Informatics,
enrolled at UC Berkeley, USA.
The Group’s laboratories
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New Professor Puts Health in Critical Perspective The Sund Læring Research Center at Department of Learning and Philosophy has been strengthened with a new researcher in cognitive and learning processes in health programs and the health system. Kristian Larsen, Profes-sor with Special Responsibilities, studies how society, the individual, health and science mutually constitute each other. What are the consequences of, for example, that we are increasingly diagnosing disorders and prioritize our health differently societally and across social groups? These are some of the questions that occupy Kristian Larsen.
On January 1, 2013, Kristian Larsen, 55, was employed to lead the research group Læring og Uddannelsesforskning at the Department of Learning and Philosophy in Copenhagen. The research group, which counts 18 members, deals with re-search on education and learning. In addition, Kristian Larsen is part of the interdisciplinary research center Sund Læring that does research on health education practices.
» I have not met the researchers in Sund Læring yet, but it is planned. I would like to find new partners in the social and health sciences that I can launch new research projects with, says Kristian Larsen.
Kristian Larsen’s interests and research are wide ranging – from social scientific studies of health, inequalities in health, health professions, and health education, to a focus on the body and health related to architecture. Over the past 15 years, he has also worked with historical perspectives on the growth in awareness of the body, disease and medicine. French socio-logy has been an inspiration for him both in his work as an as-sociate professor at the Danish University of Education for 11 years and most recently as Professor of Health Science at Oslo and Askerhus University College of Applied Sciences where he has been employed since 2009.
’A disease is an experiential process’The interest in the study of health in a sociological, pedagogi-cal and philosophical perspective has occupied Kristian Lar-sen since he graduated as a nurse back in 1983. And it was partly the reason he chose to pursue an academic career. Que-stions such as ’how do you learn a subject’ or ’what effect does making diagnoses have’ and ’why are some more sick than others’ have been at the core of his research over the years. I have a great interest in science in relation to health. It is inte-resting how we create and perceive diagnosis and patient tre-atment, including how our descriptions and analyses change over time. A disease is an experiential process. It is part of a changing discourse in the health care system, both at the mi-cro level between doctor and patient and family, and at the macro level in the health policy system, says Kristian Larsen.
New knowledge on rehabilitationThis broad interest in health has resulted in interdisciplinary practical-theoretical research. An example is one of Kristian Larsen’s ongoing research projects, a Norwegian-Danish
Kristian Larsen » Age: 55 » Employed as professor mso and head of the Læring
og Uddannelsesforskning research group at the De- partment of Learning and Philosophy in Copenhagen
» Researcher at the Sund Læring research center » Professor, Faculty of Health Sciences, Oslo and
Akershus University College of Applied Sciences 2009-2012
» Associate Professor of Pedagogy and Sociology, Danish University of Education, 1998-2009
» Married and resides in Copenhagen
study on rehabilitation focusing on contemporary changes in welfare societies, organizations, health professions, cli-ents and knowledge. Kristian Larsen leads the project, and in conjunction with his research group examines, among other things, how various professions act and make decisions, what forms of knowledge they use, and how clients are involved.
» The project is intended to provide knowledge about pa-tients in the rehabilitation process – their daily lives in the health care system, contact with the doctor and other health professionals. The project also deals with the professional knowledge of health personnel, says Kristian Larsen.
Several different disciplines are connected to the project, in-cluding education researchers, professions researchers, socio-logists and anthropologists. The project has been running for two years, and the researchers are now in the process of ana-lyzing the large amount of quantitative and qualitative data.
By: Cecilia Honores Møller, Communication, The Faculty Office
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- in collaboration with Aalborg University Hospital
The nationwide event “Festival of Research” will be held May 2-4, 2013 and planning for the event in Aalborg is already in full swing. The concept is that research is to be out on the stre-ets, shops and shopping centers – where people are out and about in city life. So good weather would be preferable.
This year, as something new, researchers from the Faculty of Medicine are collaborating with researchers at the University Hospital on presenting health science research to the public. The plan is to show examples of how the university and the hospital collaborate and thus highlight the new relationship that has been created between the organizations.
The ambition is to arrange lectures on clinical and health tech-
nology research at the university hospital and set up research stands both at the university hospital and on the streets of Aal-borg.
Aalborg University and Aalborg University Hospital are working with Aalborg Municipality, access2innovation and UCN on the Festival of Research. The organizations are joining forces on marketing the event in Aalborg and its surroundings via local radio, newspapers, the Internet, outdoor advertising and internally in the organizations.
Inaugural Lecture by Ursula Falkmer
As of January 1, 2013, Ursula Falkmer, Chief Physician, PhD, Dept. of Clinical Medicine - Oncology, Aalborg University Hospital, joined the Faculty of Medicine as Clinical Professor of Oncology.
Ursula Falkmer was trained at Karolinska Institute and since August 2010 has been employed as Chief Physician in the Department of Oncology in charge of research. She has been Professor of Clinical Oncology since 1999 at Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, and since
2007, Professor of Clinical Oncology, Faculty of Medicine, Linköping University. She is the author and co-author of 120 scientific publications, including approximately 100 peer-re-viewed articles in national and international journals.
Ursula Falkmer’s research has focused in particular on studies of prognostic and predictive factors for malignant diseases. She has extensive international collaborations and is now the principal supervisor and co-supervisor for four PhD students.
Time: April 19, 2013, 13.00Place: Aalborg University Hospital Science and Innovation Center Auditorium, Aalborg University HospitalTitel of the lecture: ”From mustard gas to individualized cancer treatment”
If you want to know more about the Festtival of Research please contact project manager Brian Møller: [email protected].
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Christian Torp-Pedersen » Doctor of Medicine, University of Copenhagen, 1976 » Chief Physician, Gentofte Hospital, 1990 » Professor of Cardiology, University of Copenhagen, 2002-2012 » Launched a study of ACE inhibitors (Angiotensin Converting Enzyme) on humans as a treatment of large blood clots
in the heart, in conjunction with colleague Lars Køber and a French pharmaceutical company in 1990. In the late 1980s, ACE inhibitors were only tested on mice. The study was published in the New England Journal of Medicine in 1995 and, along with two other international studies, formed the basis for ACE inhibitors now being the standard treatment worldwide.
» Built an excellent research environment in the field of cardiology at the Center for Heart and Vascular Diseases at Gentofte Hospital with colleague Gunnar H. Gislason. In 2012, the group published around 60 scientific articles, including in the British Medical Journal, JAMA, and the New England Journal of Medicine.
» Married to Marie Seibæk and father of four girls
Attracted to the Pioneer Spirit at AAU On January 2, Christian Torp-Pedersen, Chief Physician and Professor of Cardiology, drove from his residence in Copenhagen heading for Aalborg. Farewell to professor and practicing chief physician in cardiology at the Univer-sity of Copenhagen and Gentofte Hospital and hello to professor of epidemiology and new challenges at Aalborg University and Aalborg University Hospital.
Christian Torp-Pedersen, 63, had no doubts in 2012 when he was offered the position as professor of epidemiology at the Department of Health Science and Technology at Aalborg University. He immediately said yes to the post, which en-tailed a move to Northern Jutland and building a new epi-demiological research environment at the department as well as a department of clinical epidemiological at the university hospital. This gives him the opportunity to help to build up something new from the ground up - even if it costs him four days away from family during the week.
» There is a pioneer spirit at Aalborg University which I mis-sed in Copenhagen. I was attracted by the ambitions of the people here and of course by the funding that came with the professorship, explains Christian Torp-Pedersen.
Until the first of this year, Christian Torp-Pedersen was a cli-nical professor at the University of Copenhagen with ties to Gentofte Hospital where he worked in the cardiology depart-ment at the Center for Heart and Vascular Diseases. Over the past twenty years, he has built a research environment along with his colleague Gunnar H. Gislason, consisting of young
and senior researchers - all with a focus on heart failure, blood clot in the heart and heart rhythm disturbances. The research group, that he continues to work with today, also deals with controlled, clinical trials of drugs and studies the significance of various risk factors for developing a blood clot in the heart. In 2011, Christian Torp-Pedersen and the research group at Gentofte Hospital received the Capital Region’s Global Excel-lence in Health award for their excellent contribution to health science.
By: Cecilia Honores Møller, Communication, The Faculty Office
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Building the research groupFor many years, Christian Torp-Pedersen has worked in regi-ster-based research related to heart disease. As a professor of epidemiology, he will deal with diseases in all medical spe-cialties, and not only in cardiology. Something that he looks forward to is building a new research environment at the de-partment as well as a department of clinical epidemiological research at the hospital that will serve researchers from the Department of Clinical Medicine and form the basis for part of the teaching in the master’s program in public health.
» In an epidemiological research group, we will conduct re-search on various diseases and the treatment of them. I the-refore look forward to working with the various groups in the department and at the university hospital. I actually look forward to breaking from the framework of cardiology that I’ve worked in for the last 25 years, explains Christian Torp-Pedersen.
Currently, the research groups counts only Christian Torp-Pe-dersen and administrative officer Lone Brændgaard Hansen. A new staff member starts March 1, and Christian Torp-Peder-sen is well underway with planning further appointments to form the research group. In doing this, he draws on his expe-rience from building the research environment in the cardio-
Christian Torp-Pedersen, Professor of Epidemiology, launched a series of lectures this spring on ’Practical Science’ for SUND students and other
health professionals. The aim is to arouse young people’s interest in research.
Inaugural lecture Christian Torp-Pedersen holds his inaugural lecture on May 3, 2013. The place and time of the lecture will be an-nounced on the faculty’s website.
logy department at Gentofte Hospital, and the many contacts he has with partners in Denmark and abroad.
» I want to build a strong epidemiological research environ-ment at the university. A dynamic research group consisting of young as well as more senior scientists with different pro-fessional backgrounds. I am in the process of employing a sta-tistician, and there will be more statisticians as well as PhD students from fields such as bioinformatics, says Christian Torp-Pedersen.
Far from familyFor Christian Torp-Pedersen, everyday life now goes on be-hind a desk in a 14 m2 large office in an office building at Niels Jernes Vej 12 in Aalborg, far away from patient contact, the hospital environment and family in Copenhagen.
» Without patient contact I now have time to concentrate even more on research, which suits me fine. And the family, well, now my children are grown, so it’s ok with them and my wife that I’m in Aalborg the first four days of the week. I’ve rented an apartment with a colleague in downtown Aalborg. On Fridays, I work in Copenhagen – and cultivate my profes-sional network there, explains Christian Torp-Pedersen.