The Neuro-SysMed Research School in Translational Neuroscience

The Neuro-SysMed Research School in Translational Neuroscience (RSTN) is established in March 2021, and will be official launched during spring, and is part of the neuro-scientific research environment at Neuro-SysMed. The research School offers education for ph.d- students, and the aim is to provide students with insights into groundbreaking translational neuro-science, and being an important supplement to the established educational program in research at K1, University of Bergen. Our main vision is to provide sustainable networks of researchers and support in order to encourage young researchers to expand their promising career beyond accomplished doctoral thesis. The RSTN is directed by Associate Professor Nina Grytten Torkildsen in collaboration with Professor Kjell-Morten Myhr, director, and Professor Charalompos Tzoulis, co-director at Neuro-Sysmed.

An interdisciplinary collaboration with cancer researchers at Centre for Cancer Biomarkers – CCBIO, has made opportunities for the establishment of our first three common ph.d- courses, which will be available for participation during autumn 2021. This collaboration will proceed with relevant courses.

The RSTN will also plan for future establishment of courses and seminars at the scientific environment at Neuro-SysMed, involving junior scientist symposia and seminars related to the disciplines represented at Neuro-SysMed: Multiple Sclerosis (MS), Amyotrofic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), Parkinson`s disease, dementia, cell models, metabolomics, biomarkers, informatics, drug screening, registry and epidemiology, care, scientific theory, suffering.

 The RSNT aims at providing ph.d- students with relevant courses to fulfill obligatory credit points for the PhD training program at the University of Bergen. Another important objective for the research school is to provide an inspiring and ambitious environment for the stimulation of future research among junior scientists as well as the established seniors.

 Main goals are:

• Offer education in groundbreaking translational neuro-science, and in issues related to accomplish ph.d.
• Offer inspiring networks to provide enthusiasm for doing research into translational neuro- science, and interdisciplinary research collaboration.
• Provide opportunities for interaction in networks of scientist, and exchange of ideas in a stimulating and aspiring scientific environment.

All RSNT activities are in the UiB calendar: Upcoming events for Neuro-SysMed | University of Bergen (uib.no)

Established courses and seminars

NEUROSYSM910 Neuro-Sysmed Junior Scientist Symposium

The objective of the symposium series is to provide the PhD candidates with valuable skills into oral presentation techniques of own research, as well as dissemination of others research, provide opportunities to engage in scientific discussions, and to take advantage of peer reviews and comments to strengthen the scientific quality of own research and scientific thinking. A main ambition is also to strengthen the scientific networks and to encourage candidates to establish relations to scientists. The symposia are organized 4 times annually, twice every semester. Each symposium is organized with a keynote lecture initially (45 min), followed by 4 PhD candidates/postdoctoral researchers who present their work (25 min each including the oral presentation and discussion). Subsequently, there will be final discussions. The presentations will be of own research with special attention to presentation techniques and quality. The symposia are chaired by coordinators recruited from postdoctors and PhD candidates within Neuro-SysMed. The first Junior Scientist Symposium has its kick-off January 18, 2023. Other Junior Scientist Symposia are March 14, 2023, September 12, 2023 and November 21, 2023.

NEUROSYSM920 Neuro-Sysmed seminars and symposium

The objectives of the seminars at the NeuroSysMed Research School for Translational Neuroscience are to provide knowledge into the research field of the disciplines involved in NeuroSysMed, and the treatment strategies for patients with MS, PD, ALS and dementia. The seminars are organized in monthly meetings, and include the annual 2- day symposium. Both members of Neuro-SysMed and invited local, national and international speakers will perform during the seminars and symposium. The symposium will have a scientific program, and the candidates will present own research and participate at the scheduled sessions. The seminars and symposium also offer additional time for live discussions between the faculty and the participants at the end of the sessions. “Meet the Experts” will be a part of the scientific program at the symposium.Participation at the seminars and symposium will be registered and credited as membership of The Neuro-SysMed Research School of Translational Neuroscience. See comin seminars in the Neuro-SysMed calendar.

NEUROSYSM930 Applied bioinformatics and data analysis in medical research

The main objective of this course is to provide the candidates with the knowledge central for successful application of bioinformatics and data analysis in clinical research on human tissue. The course will focus on practical aspects and methodological considerations that needed to be taken into account when dealing with human derived data, such as data sensitivity, limited sample sizes, sample misclassification, choice of appropriate statistical models, and covariates, and tissue heterogeneity. The course will be composed of seminars, lectures, and hands-on tutorials given by clinicians and researchers based on real-life scenarios. The course will provide an inspiring environment, promoting networking between trainees and researchers, promoting career development, and encouraging future collaborations.The course will be highly beneficial for all participants with an interest in bioinformatics, biology, medicine, or clinical research in general. This 3 ECTS course is led by Kim Brügger, Gonzalo Nido, Lilah Toker and Fiona Dick. The first course was run November 9-11, 2022.

NEUROSYSM940 The nature of disease and suffering and the goals of precision medicine

Precision Medicine (PM) has emerged as a prominent paradigm poised to transform medical research and clinical practice. Through a broad scope of literature, seminars, and cases brought from participants’ own research projects, the aim of this course is to facilitate reflection and deliberation on central philosophical and normative issues in the social organization and practices of PM. Key concepts will be utilized to open up the PM paradigm for philosophical criticism and reflection, thus contributing to a knowledge culture of PM where central philosophical, societal, and ethical issues, dilemmas, ambiguities, and controversies can be addressed. Course participants’ own background and research questions will actively be used as a point of departure for deliberations and reflections. This 2 ECTS course is run by Caroline Engen, Jan Reinert Karlsen and Nina Agnethe Grytten Torkildsen. See all info on this link. Coming dates are 20.04.2023, 21.04.2023 and 05.05.2023.

CCBIONEUR910 Patient and Public Involvement in Medical and Health Research

The course aims to inspire increased user participation in research trials and will present methods on how to involve user representatives. This is highly relevant to all biomedical research fields, and Patient and Public Involvement is documented to positively impact the relevance and efficacy in medical research. The main objective of the course is to develop the participants’ capacity to assess and convey the value of patient and public involvement in general, as well as promoting productive user involvement in their own research projects. The course spans over 3 days, was held for the first time November 3-5, 2021, and combines plenary discussions and group sessions involving user representatives and patient organizations, with presentations from national and international lecturers. The most recent course was run November 30 – December 2, 2022.

CCBIONEUR911 Clinical Trials

The completed program qualifies for a Good Clinical Practice (GCP) certificate and covers several aspects of clinical trials – from design planning to execution – with learning examples from cancer research and neurological research alike. The course go through topics such as study design, the pharmaceutical company perspective, the patient’s perspective, ethics, GCP overiview and concepts, practical running of a clinical trial, formalities and regulations, writing a protocol, applications and funding, contracts, translational research protocols, clinical trials as part of normal clinical operations, success factors and clinical trials in the future. The most recent course was September 29 – October 1, 2021 as a combination of on-site (campus Haukeland University Hospital) and online participation. The next course is planned for 2023.

CCBIONEUR912 Health Innovation

The course aims to teach PhD candidates and other researchers how to recognize the close connection between research findings and innovation potential. The course will use examples from our own research environments as well as internationally, to showcase the practical route from idea to patent – and beyond. The overall aim of this course is to encourage and enable our PhD students and young researchers to identify and evaluate the innovation potential in their own research projects, and provide them with the knowledge needed to be able to do this. The course will provide inspiration and practical knowledge on alternative ways to realize the innovation potential from research projects. The very first course was held November 8-9 and December 2-3, 2021, at campus Haukeland University Hospital.

Who can participate in The Neuro-SysMed Research School in Translational Neuroscience?

The courses are open to researchers, postdocs, students (PhD, master, students in the Medical Student Research Program) and others who are interested, nationally and internationally. The research school is aiming at being inclusive and open also for ph.d- candidates who are not associated to the University of Bergen, by offering courses with opportunities for participating both in person and in virtual meetings.

An objective for the research school is also to provide the candidates an identity and a long- term benefit of being involved in Neuro-SysMed. A formal enrollment at the research school will strengthen networking and interactional skills in a scientific environment – being out most important for future research careers.