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1
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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3
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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7EDUCATION ATUNDERGRADUATE LEVEL
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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9EDUCATION ATUNDERGRADUATE LEVEL
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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12 POSTGRADUATE STUDIES
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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13POSTGRADUATE STUDIES
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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14 POSTGRADUATE STUDIES
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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15POSTGRADUATE STUDIES
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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16 POSTGRADUATE STUDIES
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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17POSTGRADUATE STUDIES
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
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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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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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
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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.
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28 COOPERATION AND INNOVATION
Our contribution to society and industry
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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
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30 COOPERATION AND INNOVATION
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.
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31COOPERATION AND INNOVATION
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..
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32 COOPERATION AND INNOVATION
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
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33COOPERATION AND INNOVATION
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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34 COOPERATION AND INNOVATION
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.
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35COOPERATION AND INNOVATION
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
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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
Employees238(of whom 24 co-opted)
RevenueSEK 210.3 million
Doctorates awarded32
Peer-reviewed articles534
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
Employees140(of whom 11 co-opted)
RevenueSEK 134.4 million
Doctorates awarded9
Peer-reviewed articles97
Institute of Medicine
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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
Employees437(of whom 27 co-opted)
RevenueSEK 370.6 million
Doctorates awarded37
Peer-reviewed articles575
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