Nyhedsbrev nr. 23/Newsletter 23

English version/zn

Byggeri
Byggegrupperne har genoptaget arbejdet med planlægning af de nye faciliteter med en møderække med arkitekter og ingeniørerne. Status for arbejdet kan nu ses på instituttets interne byggeside. Der er stadig en del uafklarede forhold, f.eks. tidsplanen og en evt. p-kælder. Den foreløbige plan for den langsigtede fysiske organisering af instituttet (dvs. fra 2016), som svarer til hvad der blev udmeldt for ca. 2 mdr. siden, kan ligeledes ses på byggehjemmesiden.

Instituttets julefrokost i Stakladen
Gik godt synes jeg. Fotos fra begivenheden kan ses på instituttets interne hjemmeside. Arrangørerne (julefrokostudvalget: Charlotte Petersen, Zitta Nygaard, Britta Boserup, Henrik Birn, Viggo Nielsen, Annette Kudahl, Simon Glerup, Steen Nedergaard, Thao Phuong Tran og Johan Vad-Nielsen) takkes for et godt arrangement.

Institutmøderne det næste halve år
Er endnu ikke planlagt, men instituttet arrangerer møde med dekanatet den 1. februar kl. 13.30, hvor instituttets strategi og byggeriet vil komme på dagsordenen. Mere information følger.

Lokale møder
De lokale VIP møder og husmøderne forløber fint, og vi vil evaluerer processen, når vi er helt færdige. Derefter vil der evt. komme en plan for lignende møder fremover.

Muligheder for store bevillinger fra Novo Nordisk fonden til biomedicin
Super-stipendier på op til 40 mio. kr for en 7 års periode, med mulighed for forlængelse for endnu en periode, er opslået på NNF Laureate Research Grant. Stipendier gives bl.a. til biomedicinsk forskning, og de er beregnet til forskere i udlandet (evt. danskere) der ønsker at starte en gruppe i Danmark. Alle VIP bedes overveje kandidater og evt. melde tilbage. Ansøgningsdeadline: 1/3-2013.

Mulighed for postdocs til diabetes forskning
Det Danske Diabetes Akademi indkalder nu forslag om projekter til postdocs. Akademiet skriver: We would now like to call for project proposals to be used for the first 10 post doc positions within the Danish Diabetes Academy. The project proposals must contain: An overall description of the specific research area (max ½ page). Place for conducting the research (max ½ page). A full description/synopsis of the project (max 2 pages). Expectations to the candidate (e.g. if the project requires Danish langue skills) (max ½ page). Der er deadline for indmelding af forslag 2/1-2013, og forinden skal der udarbejdes støtteerklæringer fra instituttet. Interesserede kan henvende sig til undertegnede eller en af de andre fra instituttet, der er med i initiativet: Anders Børglum, Kamille Smidt og Jørgen Rungby.

Uopfordrede ansøgninger
Instituttet har modtaget uopfordrede ansøgninger om jobs som laborant og som PhD-studerende/forskningsassistent. Interesserede kan henvende sig til Anni Mandrup Høeg for yderligere oplysninger.

Psykisk APV
Som I sikkert ved har der været udsendt spørgeskema for den psykiske APV til alle AUs medarbejdere. Resultaterne offentliggøres i slutningen af februar. Fakultetet har nedsat en følgegruppe til at hjælpe med opfølgningsarbejdet. Fra instituttet deltager: Marianne Hokland (følgegruppens formand), Anne Marie Bundsgaard, Annette Kudahl, Birgitte Lüttge og Ole Sonne. I øvrigt kan det nævnes, at instituttets svarprocent på den psykiske APV var 81,5% hvilket er fint sammenlignet med andre institutter.

Universitetsledelsen på Sandbjerg
Universitetsledelsen, herunder institutlederne, var samlet på Sandbjerg i forrige uge, den 28-29. november. Temaet var universitets ny organisering med udgangspunkt i institutterne. Af særlige emner, der blev drøftet, kan nævnes: Institutternes autonomi og delegering af ansvar og ledelse fra universitetsledelse og dekanater til institutledere. Institutternes samspil med aktiviteterne i de tværgående bånd (forskning, uddannelse, talent og videndeling). Behovet for fælles økonomimodel med stor transparens og gennemskuelighed. Mere fokus på de regionale udfordringer. Institutternes samarbejde med de administrative enheder. Diskussionerne ledte blandt andet frem til en række anbefalinger, som nu vil blive samlet og bragt videre. En omtale af seminaret kan ses her.

Arrangementer i øvrigt
Nobelpristager Sir John B. Gurdon holder foredrag den 17/12 kl. 11.15 i Aulaen. Det var Gurdon, der viste, at der i en cellekerne fra en somatisk celle (fra en frø) er tilstrækkelig information til at danne en hel organisme (dvs. en hel frø). Hvilket senere blev klart demonstreret da det klonede Dolly kom til verden. I det tilfælde benyttede man cellekernen fra en bryst-epithel celle. Og endnu mere klart blev somatiske cellers potentiale til at blive om-programmeret demonstreret, da Yamanaka, der ligeledes får Nobelprisen i år, viste at det med relativ simpel gen-manipulation er muligt at omprogrammere somatiske celler til en ny type pluripotente stamceller – de såkaldte iPS celler (inducerede pluripotente stamceller). Opdagelserne (tror jeg) vil revolutionere mulighederne for regenerativ medicin og det at benytte stamceller til sygdomsbehandling. Arrangementet er åbent.

Rektors juletale den 19/12 kl. 15 i Stakladen (der er gløgg og æbleskiver efterfølgende). Alle er velkomne.

Det var det. God jul. Thomas.

Dear all

Building projects
Our local building groups have resumed work on the planning of the new facilities with a series of meetings with architects and engineers. You can follow the status of the work at the Department's internal, new buildings webpage. Some issues still remain to be decided such as the time schedule and a possible underground parking. The preliminary plan for the long-term physical organization of the Department (to be finished by 2016), which corresponds to what was announced approx. 2 months ago, can also be seen at the internal buildings webpage.

The Biomedical Christmas Party in Stakladen
The party went well, I think. Photos from the event can be seen at the Department's internal website.The organizers (the Christmas party committee: Charlotte Petersen, Zitta Nygaard, Britta Boserup, Annette Kudahl, Henrik Birn, Viggo Nielsen, Simon Glerup, Steen Nedergaard, Thao Phuong Tran and Johan Vad-Nielsen are thanked for a good arrangement).

Department Meetings the Coming Six Months
No department meetings have yet been scheduled. The Department is, however, planning a meeting with the Dean on 1st February at 1.30 p.m. to discuss strategy and the building projects. More information will follow.

Local meetings
The local VIP and house meetings are going well. The meetings will be evaluated once they are completely finished. A similar meeting plan for next year is being considered.

Opportunities for Large Novo Nordisk Grants to Biomedicine
Super-grants of up to 40 million Dkr. over a 7-year period with the possibility to be extended for a further period is advertised at NNF Laureate Research Grant. Grants are given for biomedical research biotechnology especially for researchers abroad who want to form a research group in Denmark. All VIP are asked to consider candidates and report back to the undersigned. Application deadline: 1/3-2013.

Postdocs for Diabetes Research
The Danish Diabetes Academy invites proposals for postdoc projects. The Academy writes: We would now like to call for project proposals to be used for the first 10 postdoc positions within the Danish Diabetes Academy. The project proposals must contain: An overall description of the specific research area (max ½ page). Place for conducting the research (max ½ page). A full description/synopsis of the project (max 2 pages). Expectations to the candidate (e.g. if the project requires Danish language skills) (max ½ page). The deadline for proposals is 2/1-2013, and proposals should include a statement of support from the Department. Interested parties may contact the undersigned or Anders Børglum, Kamille Smidt or Jørgen Rungby from the Department who take part in the initiative.

Unsolicited Applications
The Department has received unsolicited job applications for technician, PhD and research assistant positions. Interested VIPs can contact Anni Mandrup Høeg for more information.

Assessment of The Psychological Working Environment
As you probably know, questionnaires for an assessment of the psychological working environment (APV) were forwarded by mail to all AU staff. The results will be published in late February. The Faculty has set up a working group to help with the follow-up work. The members of the group from our Department are: Marianne Hokland (chairman of the working group), Anne Marie Bundsgaard, Annette Kudahl Jensen, Birgitte Lüttge and Ole Sonne. The response rate of the APV was 81.5% which is fine compared to other departments.

AU Management at Sandbjerg
The University management, including department heads, met at Sandbjerg last week, the 28-29. November. The theme was the University's new organization with focus on the departments. Specific issues discussed include: Departmental autonomy and delegation of responsibility and leadership from the university management and deans to the department heads; interaction of the departments with the activities of the transverse core bands (tværgående band)(research, education, talent and knowledge exchange); the need for a common economy model with high transparency; more focus on regional challenges, and departmental cooperation with the administrative units. The discussions ended with a number of recommendations, which will now be collected and conveyed. A decription of the seminar can be found here.

Other Events
Nobel Laureate Sir John B. Gurdon lectures on 17/12 at 11.15 in the Main Hall (the AULA). Gurdon demonstrated that the nucleus of a somatic cell (from a frog) contains sufficient information to form a complete organism (i.e. a complete frog), which was further demonstrated with the birth of the cloned sheep Dolly. In this case the cell nucleus from a breast epithelium cell was used. The ability of somatic cells to be re-programmed was further shown by Yamanaka, who also gets the Nobel Prize this year and who showed that with relatively simple genetic manipulation it is possible to reprogramme somatic cells to a new type of pluripotent stem cells - the so-called iPS cells (induced pluripotent stem cells). The discoveries (I believe) may revolutionize the possibilities of regenerative medicine and the clinical use of stem cells. The event is open.

Remember Rector's Christmas speech on 19/12 at 15.00 in Stakladen (glögg and Danish Christmas “rolls” (æbleskiver) will be served afterwards). All employees are invited.

That’s all. Merry Christmas. Thomas