GUJ4-13english

UNIVERSITY OF GOTHENBURG

no 4 | summer 2013

Science becomes real Trackingfiction a mysterious disease Claes Strannegård onworld’s robotsforemost that resemble people page 14 Henrik Zetterberg does leadsresearch one of the research teams Worries the Faculty of Arts Debate on academicGreen freedom Majorityat from the West Myths about leadership medicine Research among plastic tubes

The union A look at honorary demands action doctorates

We need drugs that don’t principle worth The boss notAas Scientists study climate threaten thechange environment important asdefending! you think in the Gullmar Fjord

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Vice Chancellor

the Universit y of Gothenburg staff magazine

The university sector: a hot issue for the future

June 2013 E d i to r - i n C h i e f a n d P u b l i s h e r

Allan Eriksson 031 - 786 10 21 allan.eriksson@gu.se E d i to r a n d V i ce P u b l i s h e r

Eva Lundgren 031 - 786 10 81 eva.lundgren@gu.se I n t h e l a st i s s u e of GU Journal I wrote about the new demands and expectations that universities and colleges now meet. The background is an increase in interest in the university’s role as a knowledge supplier and a problem solver. In our more and more complicated society, the demands for education and research that can contribute to a longterm sustainable development of society, as well as to greater growth and welfare, have grown enormously. This is positive in many ways but requires that we in academia take the time to think about and discuss the way in which this will take place.

P h oto g r a p h y a n d Rep r o d u c t i o n

Johan Wingborg 031 - 786 29 29 johan.wingborg@gu.se G r a p h i c F o r m a n d L ayo u t

Anders Eurén 031 - 786 43 81 anders.euren@gu.se T r a s l at i o n

Janet Vesterlund address

GU Journal University of Gothenburg Box 100, 405 30 Gothenburg Photogr aphy: Johan wingborg

e-mail

gu-journalen@gu.se I n m y o pi n i o n it is just as natural that universities and colleges should contribute to social benefits on the basis of an academically independent position and without political, ideological and financial ties.

The Association of Swedish Higher Education (SUHF) recently presented a future manifesto for the Swedish university sector, Manifest för dialog inom den svenska högskolan 2030 (Manifesto for dialogue in Swedish universities 2030). The work, led

by Anders Söderholm, Vice-chancellor of Mid Sweden University, has been going on for over a year. The manifesto is based on society’s challenges, where social, ecological and financial sustainability are particularly emphasised. The document establishes that universities and colleges have a central role in the development of society and that they “shall be independent in close cooperation with all of society and shall exist for all people”. Competence (academic freedom and responsibility), dialogue (the courage to challenge) and profile (a necessary strength) are indicated to be three fundaments in the development of the future university sector.

A s t h e c h a i r m a n of SUHF and also as Vicechancellor of the University of Gothenburg, I hope and believe that the new manifesto will be important for future dialogues in the university sector and with politicians and other decision-makers. I also hope that it will lead to a clear position for the sector and help to further strengthen Swedish research and education. If you are interested in reading more, you can find the manifesto on SUHF’s homepage.

There will soon be a forum for the discussion of the future university sector in

Almedalen on Gotland. At a SUHF seminar, one of the questions will be whether it matters for the future of Sweden who regulates university policy. Most political parties feel that universities and colleges are central to the development of society in general and of business. What choices for education, research and innovation and what political differences will we see in the months before the elections in 2014? Another seminar that SUFH will arrange together with the Swedish National Union of Students, SFS, will deal with what is actually the task of higher education – human formation or useful education? And useful to whom – the student or the labour market?

A s fa n ta sti c a s Almedal week is as a meeting place (there will be about 2 000 seminars this year), university issues will be discussed in considerably more places than a few pre-arranged seminars. Important policy issues for universities will also come up in direct meetings with politicians and other decision-makers. They will be studied by representatives of the sector in meetings with the media, business representatives and research and education organisations. I will be there and of course take every opportunity to spread and discuss what is important and relevant in our area.

Finally, I want to wish all of you a truly beautiful and relaxed summer.

Pam Fredman

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7 issues/year.

The next issue will come out on 17 September 2013.

De a d l i n e f o r m a n u s c r i p t s

August 30, 2013 M at e r i a l

The Journal does not take responsibility for unsolicited material. The editorial office is responsible for unsigned material.

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Henrik Zetterberg Professor of neurochemistry Photography: Johan Wingborg

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Contents

GUJOURNAL 4 | 2013

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Vice-chancellor

2 Our manifesto for the future News

4 Tradition and routine in appointing honorary doctorates Conversation with a researcher

6 More leadership is hardly the solution, according to Björn Rombach in a new anthology

profile

Motivated by curiosity

8 Curiosity got Henrik Zetterberg to look for answers to one of our time’s most difficult diseases 11 Postgraduates have a right to a computer and a work place

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report

Research gives Henrik Zetterberg motivation and energy.

12 Emission of medicines into water worries guest researcher Joanna Wilson 14 W hat is Sweden?

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GU Journal asked nine employees and one student News

16 Pictures from the year’s installation of professors

Enjoys being a guest researcher Joanna Wilson from Canada has lived almost a year in Sweden with her family. She loves Swedish nature, which reminds her of Canada.

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What is Sweden?

Don’t miss the exhibition about Swedishness currently at the Wallenberg Conference Centre!

Editorial office: Is more leadership the solution to all problems?

I n t h i s n u m b e r we have examined where honorary doctorates come from. Over a period of twenty years, only six honorary doctors have been appointed from what we call the third world, two from China, the others from Thailand, Pakistan, India and Venezuela. That was no great surprise but the result should be taken seriously. What do we mean by internationalisation? Does it only have to do with developing research cooperation with established Western universities or does it also deal with broadening our perspectives?

There may furthermore be reason to look at how they are nominated and chosen. Very few nominations at all are made by the faculties. If we feel that honorary doctors are important ambassadors for the University, it should be important to generate greater involvement.

It c a n b e s u ita b le here to mention what Claes-Olof Olsson wrote in 2007 about honorary doctors at the University of Gothenburg over a period of 100 years. He says that GU must use the goodwill that comes

with these contacts with prominent persons.

Björn Roombach and Östen Ohlsson, experts at public organisations, recently published an anthology about leadership. Instead of repeating what everyone else has written, they looked at extreme leadership, that is, leadership in unusual environments.

There is a delusion that more leadership and more leaders will solve all our problems. But it isn’t that easy.

Today’s focus on structure and complicated organisations with many leaders means that much time goes

to meetings and documentation. This consumes money and energy.

W e ’ ve a l s o gotten more leaders and leadership levels at the University of Gothenburg. Just at Central Administration, the number of leaders has increased noticeably over five years. We’re going to investigate this phenomenon in the autumn and want very much to hear what you think about this development.

We wish you all a great summer!

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News

Honorary doctors appointed by GU 1993–2012 0 1–5 5–10 10–15 15–

Among our well known honorary doctors

Pehr Gyllenhammar

Hans Blix

Leif Johansson

Zygmunt Bauman

Honorable titles to W 284 honorary doctors have been appointed in the last twenty years.

But despite the fact that the University of Gothenburg wants to be global, this award goes primarily to men from a few Western ­countries. Only six are from developing countries.

Bruno Latour

Deidree McCloskey

Hilary Clinton

Jonathan Ive

Gustavo Dudamel

Jan Eliasson

St e n E b b e s e n , professor from the University of Copenhagen, Tom Andersen, professor from the University of Oslo, and Samuel Stupp, professor from the US. These are a few of this year’s new honorary doctors. Does it sound familiar? It’s the same pattern as it’s always been, even though there have been more women in recent years.

The award of honorary doctor is one of the finest a university gives. It also lends honour and glory to the school.

The Vision 2020 document confirms that GU will increase its international exchange in the years to come: “In 2020, research at GU will be characterised by a global per-

spective and will attract leading researchers from all over the world.”

But all over the world isn’t really correct. Most of the honorary doctors come, not surprisingly, from Sweden. The US comes in second place and Great Britain in third place. Extremely few come from developing countries, and none from Africa.

T h e g eo g r a ph i c s pr e a d could be better, according to Björn Hettne, professor emeritus in peace and development research and previous vice-chancellor advisor responsible for international questions.

“This is remarkable and bears witness to the contact networks

in the different faculties. At the same time, I don’t know how important the award actually is. When I was dean, it was very difficult to get in nominations. It was more like a position that had to be filled.”

The question is more important than you may believe, according to Hans Abrahamsson, lecturer in peace and development research, who has fought for many years to bring other perspectives into instruction than strictly Western ones.

“We’ve been dwelling on this issue for 15-20 years without getting anywhere. The view of knowledge in the Western world is remarkably dominant in the social sciences, entirely regardless of which university in the world we’re talking about.

It’s frankly a damn shame that it is this way. It shows that our roots are too close to a colonial

News

69 men

Sweden

27 women 56

USA 16 26

Great Britain 3 13

Germany 1 Australia Finland Denmark Canada France

India

Norway

Ireland

Japan

New Zealand

The Netherlands

Pakistan

Russia

Portugal

Austria

Spain

Italy

Thailand

China

Hungary

Switzerland

Venezuela

Western men heritage. If we can’t manage by ourselves to build up a contact network that reaches beyond the West, we all realise what significance this has for the perspective of the world that we give our students.”

K e r sti n A ln e b r at t , head of Swedish Secretariat for Gender Research, doesn’t sound the least surprised when we give her the numbers.

“It’s clearly a problem that it’s white, male and West-oriented.

And it shows that GU’s international network isn’t as global as we’d like to think.”

She also thinks that the procedure is a result of routine and tradition. That can explain why many of the people who are appointed are already honorary doctors at other schools.

“It’s natural to want to be associated with these prominent

people, who lend glory and honour.”

Kerstin Alnebratt wonders about the process at the departments. What are the criteria? Who are the ones that are nominated? Are the proposals discussed in detail with all the personnel?

“If we are to promote internationalisation and globalisation in a systematic way, we have to look seriously at selection and consider other ways to appoint honorary doctors.”

K e r sti n A ln e b r at t thinks that a system that is used in a routine way runs the risk of reproducing a pattern year after year.

“The fact that there’s been a few more women over the years is probably connected to the demands for a better gender balance in Swedish academia.

That there are more shows both

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changing, and awareness is increasing on all levels about both the global and the equal university. I think that cooperation with top universities will be more and more important in the future when honorary doctors are appointed.”

O lle L a r kö, dean of Sahl­grenska Academy, points out that there is no political agenda on the highest level.

“We have a plan for globalisation, of course, but it doesn’t affect the choice of honorary doctors, which basically has to do with personal contacts initiated from the bottom, and not something that’s regulated from the top. Honorary doctors are not a good measure of internationalisation because they usually go to people who have been active years ago.”

Olle Larkö doesn’t think that things will change in the future.

“People talk a lot about Asia and many countries are absolutely on the march. It will probably be different in 10-15 years, but Western Europe and the US are currently dominant in research.”

Allan Eriksson

Fak ta New rules for the appointment of honorary doctorates

»It’s frankly a damn shame that it is this way.« hans abrahamsson

that many countries have even worse equality than Sweden and that we ourselves still think in a very traditional way about who is worth this award.”

The Dean of the Faculty of Arts, Professor Margareta Hallberg, thinks the situation is unfortunate.

“The faculties should of course appoint honorary doctors according to the Vision. But it takes time to change practice, and we’ve had a tradition of appointing honorary doctors not primarily in terms of internationalisation. But things are

No written rules have existed for how to appoint honorary doctorates. However, on May 2, the Vicechancellor decided that: honorary doctorates will be appointed by each faculty board according to proposals from the faculties’ departments.

Equality and that the honorary doctors should reflect the versatility of the faculty shall be considered. A suitable number of honorary doctors is 1-2 per faculty and year.

An honorary doctorate can only be given in areas where the university has examination rights.

The honorary doctor must also have an association with the university or in some way have contributed to its activities. It should not be a reward for long and faithful service but be a part in creating a relationship for the future.

Persons who have already received an honorary doctorate at another Swedish school should not be appointed. This also applies to persons who have gained a degree at the University of Gothenburg.

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Conversation with a researcher

Overconfidence in managers isn’t healthy Amundsen, Cook and Scott were big polar expedition leaders. Secret agents, leaders in virtual games and an abbess in a nunnery are other examples of leaders.

What do they say about our time? Much more than we can believe, according to Björn Rombach, head of the School of Public Administration, who is in the news with the anthology Det extrema ledarskap (Extreme Leadership).

o u a n d fe llow editor Östen Ohlsson are critical of the leadership discourse. One conclusion is that very little that is new has emerged despite decades of research. Why is that?

“When you’ve read a large number of books and articles on leadership you’re amazed that it’s about the same thing everywhere. In addition to the fact that most of them are intolerably dull, they discuss the same theories and similar examples.

The most common is to study leadership in public organisations or companies, that is, situations with which the reader is familiar.

The literature avoids examples that shake up our ingrained beliefs.”

But what can a person learn by studying leadership in more uncommon contexts?

“I and Östen Ohlsson wrote two books about leadership. We have an idea about educating the people. The ambition is to show how you can think and to teach the reader to think himself. With this book we want to show what is wrong with the discourse, but also make our contribution to a deeper picture of leadership. By showing leaders in extreme contexts, you get a truer picture than the narrow normality that the leadership literature gives. What you can clearly see in extreme environments also exists in the more common ones and can teach us all something.”

What does it say about our times that we look for leaders that have a tendency to change and are flexible and communicative?

“You usually read that in job listings.

Who wants a conservative, rigid and uncommunicative leader? The question is what kind of leader we do want. Today there’s also a strong focus on economics.

“It would be healthy if leaders and followers had a more balanced view of what leadership can achieve,” says Björn Rombach, currently in the news with the new anthology (Extreme Leadership).

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GUJOURNAL4 | 2013

Who would appoint a leader who says he isn’t interested in economics? Qualities that have always been desirable are charisma and strength in action.

It’s relatively easy for us to understand our history because others have put it into order for us. But it’s very difficult time understanding our own times. Much of what we believe we know about our times will be found to be wrong. That’s definitely the case for the pace of change, which isn’t particularly great at the moment. We’ve lived a long time in relative stability.

We can understand people and groups passably well intuitively. But it’s very hard for most people to read organisations. For example, they’re unstable and thus changeable. It’s the management’s task to get them to stand still. That’s done under the battle cry ‘the big reform’. The method of getting the organisation to stand still is to change! If we want GU to be a broad, large and teaching university, it’s important to reform.”

»Today’s focus on structure, with many managers, levels and reform projects, where a lot of time goes to meetings and documentation, is an expensive way to lead an organisation.« björn Rombach

You argue in the book that leadership should be seen as a problem sooner than a solution.

Why is that distinction so important?

“A common notion is that more leadership or new leaders is the solution.

Everything indicates that that’s often wrong. The next leader falls into the same situation. It isn’t just the leader that leads – it’s also the employees that follow. Of course it’s important who is the manager, but it isn’t at all as important as we want to believe. Take just one example: the rectors for Sweden’s universities are different as leaders but have built up obviously similar universities.”

Why is it that we so seldom discuss leadership as an idea?

“One problem is that leaders don’t have the time to reflect over leadership but are eaten up by more and more work tasks and meetings. It isn’t healthy for leaders to drive at the highest speed without reflecting and developing themselves in their leadership.

If the day is chopped up into five-minute intervals, there’s no time for reflection.

Studies show that leaders spend too many hours at meetings and have too many employees.”

There are different opinions about what is good leadership. But you avoid giving an answer to that question in the book.

“We often ascribe leaders superhuman qualities, which go back to the hero myths.

Leadership is complex, it’s partly a practice and partly a discourse. It’s much easier to point out unsuitable leaders in the given situation. If we are to describe what characterises a good leader, it would be a fantasy list. A person like that doesn’t exist and isn’t needed either. All people have their strengths and weaknesses. Successful leadership has to a high degree to do with the employees, that there’s a genuine desire to

puts the focus on the structure. But the one system isn’t obviously better than any of the others and requires large resources to maintain. There’s something bound to nature in this movement from structure focus to activity focus and back. And right now we’re near the point where the disadvantages become so great that the pendulum has to swing back.”

Would you put academic leadership in the same category as extreme leadership?

“No. We make a lot of noise about our being different. We were more different before, but now, not least after the autonomy reform, we’re obviously like other authorities. I don’t believe in the idea about being led by the first among equals, but the leader has to understand what the activity is about. It’s easier to lead departments if you yourself have authority in the profession and come from the subject. What’s the same for all authorities is that there are a lot of frameworks and rules that limit the leader’s room for action. But leaders that are close to the activity have quite a lot of influence. In spite of that and in spite of all the reforms, there isn’t much in teaching or research that’s changed.”

In recent years, a market of companies has cropped up that sell leadership courses. What do you think about this trend?

do something good with this organisation.”

Can there be too much leadership?

“It depends on our overconfidence in leadership. There is also a trend in what leaders in a branch focus on. Right now there’s a big focus on structure and that’s true throughout society. In other times there can be greater interest in the activity.

This swings back and forth, when it’s been structure too long, people want a focus on the activity. Another trend is centralisation, and if you’ve been around for a long time it’s easy to be cynical. But it will change.

Different ways to lead a business cost different amounts. Today’s focus on structure, with many managers, levels and reform projects, where a lot of time goes to meetings and documentation, is an expensive way to lead an organisation. It not only eats up a lot of money and time but also positive energy. A greater focus on the activity would decrease the leaks. When leading and steering start to cost more and more, the employees react.”

So there is the same trend at the University of Gothenburg also?

“Absolutely! A more cohesive university is what is wanted, where there’s more orderliness and steering and justice. People want to move away from a system where people do things in a somewhat different ways. We can’t have it that way. And that

“Much of what is sold is a boring bunch of dreadfully outdated theories about leadership. It isn’t a good development. Many large organisations have stopped buying management courses from consultant companies and do it better themselves. The University should take more responsibility for these courses, and that’s happening at GU.” Changes are strongly attractive, but what kind of leadership will we see more of in the future?

“We have a strange idea about change.

We can’t possibly know what will be the result. A reasonable prediction is that a smaller part of the changes lead to improvements and a larger part to things getting worse. If we understand that, we’ll get a completely different perspective of leaders.

I think that in the future we’ll get fewer myths about leadership. Knowledge about leadership is getting, after all, better and better.”

Do you personally have any role model?

“No, but I think that if you’ve been in organisations all your life, you’re influenced by the people you’ve met there. It’s been fun for me to go from studying leadership to practicing it. I’m head of the department half time and it’s great to combine that with doing research, teaching and writing books.”

Text: Allan Eriksson photography: Johan Wingborg

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Profile

With a mind full of questions It’s all or nothing, says Henrik Zetterberg.

“Research is my work and my hobby; there’s just not much time for anything else.”

The close-knit group he is in charge of is among the top in the world in a special area: finding early biomarkers for brain disease, primarily Alzheimer’s.

hen I meet Henrik Zetterberg, professor of neurochemistry, he’s just taking a pause in his room at Mölndal’s hospital.

On one of the walls there are photographs of his three sons. But my glance is drawn to the corner by the window – isn’t it a horrifying mask with big horns hanging there?

“That was first prize in an art lottery and a trophy from my time as a general practitioner at the Skaraborg Hospital, Skövde.

The piece is hanging here because there’s debate at home about how beautiful it is.”

Henrik Zetterberg’s research interest started with a present from his father: The Atheist and the Holy City by cancer researcher Georg Klein.

“The book describes exciting research meetings and already then, when I was in high school, I felt that this was a world I wanted to be a part of. I studied medicine to get my MD but my goal was, at least most of the time, to do research. So I investigated the relationship between virus and cancer and wrote a thesis about the Epstein-Barr virus.”

T h e n , o n e day , Alzheimer researcher Kaj Blennow came into the lab.

“What he talked about, the brain and markers for brain diseases in living humans, sounded tremendously exciting. So I changed track and started a collaboration with him. At the same time, my wife, who’s an eye doctor, got a post doc position in Boston and luckily enough I also got a position there. In the US I learned among other things to do research on zebra fish: the eggs are completely transparent and since the organs, including the brain, develop in the space of one day, you can follow their growth in a fantastic way.”

The research team that Henrik

Zetterberg, together with Kaj Blennow, leads consists of about fifty experts from a number of different areas, such as doctors, physicists, biochemists, molecular biologists and biomedical analysts. Most of them are at Mölndal hospital, where Henrik Zetterberg is a senior consultant, but the zebra fish and cell laboratory is at the Sahlgrenska campus. And he thinks that it should go without saying that senior consultants at a university hospital are active researchers.

“C li n i c a l r e s e a rc h in Sweden would go much better if the university hospitals didn’t give priority to care. Instead of giving ordinary routine health care, the patients should be brought into research. I actually think that many patients are surprised at coming to a university hospital and getting ordinary health care. A list of on-going studies where people could participate is the least we should offer. These things take resources from care but university hospitals should in fact have lower productivity than other hospitals.”

Medical research has ultimately to do with curing and relieving, but Henrik Zetterberg points out the importance of curiosity.

“It means among other things that we have to follow our results, regardless of where they lead. A while ago, we manipulated a gene in zebra fish that has to do with Alzheimer’s. Strangely enough, nothing obvious happened in the fishes’ brains.

What was clearly affected instead was the nerve cells in the spinal cord. In spite of the fact that the results didn’t lead where we hoped, we naturally have to go farther with this and either follow the track ourselves or give the information to spinal cord researchers.”

Henrik Zetterberg says that it’s important to look for markers that can allow early detection of Alzheimer’s.

GUJOURNAL 4 | 2013

It i s a l s o i m p o r ta n t to publish things that go against the hypothesis you have, says Henrik Zetterberg.

“Most researchers agree that Alzheimer’s is dependent on the protein beta-amyloid clumping together in the hippocampus, the brain’s most important memory storage station. Why the protein starts to form clumps isn’t known. But, over a year ago, our group showed that a lack of oxygen can be one cause. For example, persons who suffer a cardiac arrest get extremely high levels of beta-amyloid in the blood. So, we recently did a study on free divers, who can hold their breath for a very long time: the Swedish record is 8 minutes and 43 seconds.

It isn’t directly any sport for me, but the brain seems actually not to be injured and the beta-amyloid levels weren’t affected.

That was an investigation that went against what we first thought, but this obviously had to be published, in spite of the results being negative, that is, didn’t support our hypothesis. Our conclusion now is that the degree of injurious hypoxia probably lies somewhere between a long-term voluntary breathing stop with maintained blood circulation and serious hypoxia like in a cardiac arrest, and this is something that we have to keep doing research on.”

It i s n ’ t o n ly i m p o r ta n t to understand sick mechanisms. Henrik Zetterberg thinks that healthy mechanisms also have to be studied. Why for example does the body produce beta-amyloid if it’s so dangerous?

“The prevailing interpretation has been that it simply is an unfortunate by-product

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when a cell receptor is metabolized. But we suspect that beta-amyloid instead has as a task to remove synapses that aren’t needed any more. In the brain, completely new connections of nerve cells are made all the time, as soon as we learn something.

For these to have room, old, inactive connections are cleared away. Otherwise the brain would just continue to grow. But in Alzheimer’s disease, altogether too much is cleared away.”

In spite of all the research, Alzheimer’s disease is still a mystery. Several animal trials have been successful, but no really good medicines have been developed, either to relieve symptoms or stop the disease from occurring at all.

“But there are some medications that relieve symptoms that often work at least

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Profile

exciting initiative that I believe will help us on the way toward new medicines!”

The long-term hope is to gradually be able to vaccinate against the formation of plaque in the brain. That means that in the future it may be possible to vaccinate against not only childhood diseases but also against diseases in the elderly, such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.

Henrik Zetterberg is most often at Mölndal’s hospital. He thinks that r­ esearch at a university hospital is at least as important as treating ­patients.

Henrik Zetterberg OCCUPATION: Professor of neurochemistry, physician at Sahlgrenska University Hospital, guest professor at University College London.

FAMILY: Wife and three children, 10, 7 and 5 years old.

»There are obviously creative and pleasurable aspects of my research …«

LIVES: In Mölnlycke.

AGE: 39 years, a little while longer.

MOST RECENTLY READ BOOK: Göran Rosenberg, Ett kort uppehåll på vägen från Auschwitz (A Brief Break on the Way from Auschwitz).

MOST RECENTLY SEEN FILM: Sune i Grekland (Sune in Greece).

FAVOURITE FOOD: Lobster.

OTHER INTERESTS: Music, fishing.

MAKES HIM HAPPY: New results and unexpected music experiences, such as Hungary’s song at the European Music Contest, which I thought was nice in some way.

MAKES HIM ANGRY: When things break that I have to fix.

WANTS TO DO IN THE FUTURE: See what the children find to do, continue to do research.

for a few years and that every Alzheimer patient should test. It maybe isn’t much to offer but it’s better than nothing: this short time can after all be valuable both for the patient and for family.”

There are also antibodies against betaamyloid, among others bapineuzumab, which work very well in animal experiments but that in clinical trials don’t give any certain effects. Another similar pharmaco-

logical candidate, solaneuzumab, seems to give some positive results on subgroups of patients, but the answers aren’t easy to interpret. Much research remains to be done before active drugs can be offered on the market, Henrik Zetterberg points out.

“Unfortunately, Alzheimer’s disease is often discovered very late, when the brain is already seriously injured. That can be the reason why medication works so poorly.

The challenge is to start treatment perhaps 15–20 years before the symptoms arise.

The question is though what pharmaceutical companies are prepared to invest in expensive clinical trials whose results may take several decades. And what individuals should be included in trials like that?

A s h o r tc u t m ay be to use persons who are known to have a high risk for Alzheimer’s.

In Columbia, there’s a family of over 200 persons with a hereditary variant that emerges in about 50 per cent of children of a sick parent. There are similar families in the US and Europe.

“Together with the researchers, they’ve built up the Dominantly Inherited Alzheimer Network, in which new drugs will be tested in a way that isn’t primarily led by the pharmaceutical industry but by the network itself. This is an extremely

There is also a gene, APOE4, that 20 per cent of Swedes carry and that increases the risk of Alzheimer’s by 3–10 times. It’s possible to test whether a person carries the gene, Henrik Zetterberg says.

“I wouldn’t do it myself though, partly because everyone who has this gene doesn’t get sick and partly because there isn’t any preventive medicine yet. So what would you do with the results?”

The great research interest has also gotten Henrik Zetterberg involved in Sweden’s young academy. This is an activity that was initiated by the Royal Academy of Sciences, where about thirty young enthusiasts discuss research conditions.

“But the thought is also that people from different disciplines will inspire one another. For example, I’ve discussed with Palle Dahlstedt, who does research on computer supported creativity, whether we shouldn’t be able to study what it is that actually happens in the brain of a musician when a spark catches and the music starts to swing.”

W h e n we wa lk through the corridor at Mölndal’s hospital, Henrik Zetterberg isn’t able to take many steps before he’s stopped by a doctoral student who tells him enthusiastically about a result.

Research is a way of living; that is something that Henrik Zetterberg wants to convey, both to doctoral and interested undergraduate students.

“Of course I prioritise my family, but I don’t have much time for other interests, such as music and literature. It might sound boring, but I don’t think so. There are obviously creative and pleasurable aspects of my research that are also extremely social and cooperation oriented. And, anyway, my guitar playing sounds pretty bad now.”

But in the summer, the family will be at their summer house on Instön, inside of Marstrand. Waiting there are a rowing boat and the building of a garden shed.

“What I long for? To be able to take the children out fishing for mackerel. A complication is that they’re only moderately interested. But deep down I think they like it. A little, anyway.”

Text: Eva Lundgren photography: Johan Wingborg

News 11

GUJOURNAL 4 | 2013

A good time to invest The University of Gothenburg has over 800 million crowns of saved capital. There are now plans to use the surplus to invest in education and research. However, not enough money has been used as yet. This was shown by the internal financial follow-up that was presented at the University board’s meeting in June.

If the current prognosis holds, GU will at the end of the year have a minus result of 50 million crowns versus a calculated result of minus 65 million.

Director of finances Lars Nilsson is a bit worried.

“We should have used more money during the first months of the year than we did. Activities are at a standstill during the summer months and the second half of the year is usually less expensive than the spring. We have told the faculties and departments to make sure they employ post docs, researchers and teachers. It’s a credibility issue that the plans aren’t just of a poetic nature but are actually acted on.”

What is positive is that there are 36 more employees this year compared with the same time last year. Twenty-five of them are teaching and research personnel. Many of the new shifts are graduate students, however, which is a consequence of the decision to introduce salaries for doctoral students.

Another trend is that contributions primarily from research institutions and Swedish foundations are continuing to increase.

The follow-up also shows that all the faculties are following their financial plans, although the situation at the Faculty of Sciences continues to be serious. After four months, it has a deficit of 7 million crowns. The Faculty will submit a five-year plan in June.

The next follow-up, in August, will be an important measure of value.

“We’re going to carefully follow up that the faculties and departments do what they’ve promised. It’s not enough to have good planning on paper. We have to start to recruit. And time is running out. GU is like a big tanker. It’s hard to turn,” says Lars Nilsson.

GU at Sweden’s big­ gest knowledge party At this year’s International Science Festival, the 17th in a row, researchers from the University of Gothenburg participated and were also hosts for 79 open events. This makes the University by far the biggest arranger at the Science Festival.

“Som of the high points were research breakfasts at café Condeco, Science Roulette in Liseberg’s wheel with 42 researchers and a science slam, where researchers competed in the best research lecture lasting three minutes,” says Helena Åberg at the communications unit, who wants to give special praise to researchers who participate in the school program.

However, she thinks that GU’s visibility during the Festival can be considerably better.

“We can for example showcase our activities, hand out printed matter and advertise other open lectures on www.gu.se/open and use the University’s facilities to a greater extent. We also want an English program where our guest researchers can participate.”

New rules give better security Education grants are being phased out, salaries are being introduced.

Everyone will also have a right to a work place and a computer of their own. These are some of the new rules that will become valid on July 1.

“We’re satisfied,” says Nils Rudqvist, chairman of the doctoral student committee at the University of Gothenburg.

A ll t h e r u le s that apply for doctoral students’ studies have now been collected in one document. Simplicity and clarity have been the starting points for the work, according to Hans Abelius, education leader at the Faculty of Social Sciences, who investigated the issue.

“Basically, it has to with the doctoral students’ legal status, to ensure that they have the same rights and obligations over the whole University.”

A decisive difference from earlier years is that the responsibility for doctoral studies is now on the department level and not the faculty.

“The power lies in the hands of the heads of departments.

According to the new rules, the head of the department has the responsibility of taking on doctoral students and approving individual study plans.”

The rules are detailed and extensive. The document is 12 full pages. It gives information about financing, admission, individual study plans and salaries to doctoral students that have student trade union tasks. Hans Abelius explains the rules having become so extensive by changes in the higher education ordinance and adaptations to GU’s new work and delegation ordinance. “ It ’ s a d i ffi c u lt balance between what shall be regulated on a common level and what is up to each department to decide. Here the Vice-chancellor has set the bar for what will apply throughout the University. Then the departments can do more than what is written in the document.”

Hans Abelius was given the task in 2011 of investigating financing forms that led to a decision for a stepwise introduction of a position of doctoral student from the very beginning of the study program. Educational grants are being phased out and will not be allowed after June 1,

2015. However it will be allowed, under certain conditions, to have financing in the form of grants from a number of approved donors. But the grant must lie “on a level with” an employed position as a doctoral student.

Another difficult question has been the examinator concept.

The Vice-chancellor took a decision last year to introduce an examinator concept that goes beyond what is required in the higher education ordinance. The solution became to introduce two different types of examinator: course examinator and doctoral examinator. that has caused some perplexity. Some faculties had already introduced this distinction while other faculties feel that it leads to an unclear division of responsibility and overbureaucracy for the graduate education. In spite of this, the Vice-chancellor chose to follow practice and the expanded role as examinator according to earlier decisions,” says Hans Abelius.

The University of Gothenburg’s doctoral student committee is satisfied with the new rules.

“There are a lot of improvements compared with before,” says Nils Rudqvist. “The process has been good and we’ve gotten the possibility to discuss issues both in the committee for education on the doctoral level and directly with the investigator.

Many of our opinions have been taken into consideration.”

“ It ’ s a q u e sti o n

He i s pr i m a r i ly satisfied with the demands that doctoral students have the right to both a computer and a work place, even if this doesn’t necessarily mean a private room.

But Nils Rudqvist wonders who in reality will check that all the students actually get a computer and a work place.

“The head of the department

has to be given the right tools to do an effective follow-up in a simple and smart way. How would the person who is responsible otherwise know that he actually takes his responsibility?

There are also risks with the head of department being given more responsibility but I feel that it’s basically a good development.”

What happens if disputes or problems occur? According to the rules, the doctoral student should first come to the head of the department and then to the dean. When this doesn’t help, the next level is the education board and its committee for education on the doctoral level. According to the rules, doctoral students who find themselves with a problem can also go to the student union.

“When everything’s okay, you don’t think about the rules, but if a problem crops up, the rules have to offer support,” says Hans Abelius.

He fears that the new, strict financing rules will lead to fewer admissions of doctoral students.

“It’s more expensive to employ, and if we don’t get more resources it will mean fewer people in the doctoral education.”

T h e d o c to r a l st u d e n t s committee emphasises the important of spreading information about the rules so that people know.

“There’s a great distance between the university board/ Vice-chancellor and ordinary supervisors/doctoral students.

The University, maybe with the head of the department in the lead, has to give a clear signal that it’s each individual’s responsibility to read the document,” says Nils Rudqvist.

ALLAN ERIKSSON

fak ta The Vice-chancellor has decided on the policy document, which will be valid starting in July 2013: Rules for studies on the doctoral level – Doctoral students’ rules. You can download it from www.styrdokument.adm. gu.se

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Report

Searching for sustainable medicines How are fish affected by all the medications we take? And will we be prescribed “green” medications in the future? Guest researcher Joanna Wilson, from Canada, hopes so.

Joanna Wilson is interested in zebra fish.

“In each container with 10 liters, we have up to 50 fish. The female lays several hundred eggs once a week that hatch after three days and become sexually mature at three to four months. Since the embryos are transparent and develop outside the female’s body, it’s very simple to study, for example, the heart and bloodstream, which develop within 24 hours.”

Joanna Wilson has come to Gothenburg with her family at the invitation of Malin Celander, professor of zoophysiology. At the so called CYP lab, she does research on the cytochrome P450 system, a group of proteins that help to break down medications in vertebrates, to investigate how they change when they’re exposed to poisons.

The reason is that there’s a downside to the enormous medical successes that science has achieved in the past decades.

“People have great trust for medications but probably often ignore the fact that residues follow in storm water and down into the groundwater. Water treatment plants aren’t constructed to deal with all of this, so organisms that live in water and other animals that drink the water consume residues.” t h o m e i n C a n a da ,

T h e co n s eq u e n ce s of this are great. Zebra fish that are exposed to medications have greater difficulty reproducing, and the kidneys are affected. Furthermore, there is a risk that embryos will die, Joanna Wilson explains.

“We’re going to have fewer fish in the future. Even if emissions occur on a small scale, the fish are exposed constantly. The pharmaceutical industry seems to mean that as long as the drinking water isn’t poi-

Summer chronicle

GUJOURNAL 4 | 2013

B u t m o r e r e s e a rc h is also needed, says Joanna Wilson.

“The medicines we’ve focused on are common ones such as pain killers (paracetamol), antidepressives (venlafaxin), blood fat regulators (gemfibrozil) and a medication for the treatment of epilepsy, nerve

that Joanna Wilson doesn’t regret.

“Supervising students, seeing their enthusiasm and their paths to independent researchers. And the knowledge that my research is important; I describe problems that society has to solve in order to protect our natural surroundings. I also like being out in the field.”

During the year in Gothenburg, she’s been able to travel around the east and west coasts.

“Sweden is a beautiful country that reminds me of Canada. But, unlike Canada, you have a long history that can be seen in the landscape, preservation is valuable. The ability to walk on a farmer’s land among the animals, see stone circles, petroglyphs and settlements – that’s a treasure.”

»People have great trust for medications but probably often ignore the fact that residues follow in storm water and down into the groundwater.« pain and psychic diseases (carbamazepin).

In this way we can identify medications that are unsuitable and what concentrations and mixtures there are.

Joanna Wilson’s year-long visit to Gothenburg is soon coming to an end.

Among other things, she’s been able to study different techniques and also used rainbow trout in her research. She hopes to be able to come back next year for field work and for further cooperation with the Linnaeus Centre for Marine Evolutionary Biology, where she’s a member.

Becoming a researcher is a career choice

is fantastic!

We’ve been to the opera house several times and visited the art museum and several other magnificent museums. And it’s incredible that the University has two marine field stations! Grants to research stations are being stopped in Canada. I’ll be going to Kristineberg soon to work with a project on sand gobies. And I’m going to go fishing – that will be fun!”

“G ot h e n b u rg’ s r i c h c u lt u r e

Text: Helena Svensson photography: Johan Wingborg

Joanna Wilson GUEST RESEARCHER AT: The Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences.

WORKS AT: McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario.

TITLE: Associate Professor.

BORN: In New Market, Ontario.

AGE: 43 years.

FAMILY: Daughter Raynham 8 years, son Galen 11 years, husband Andrew McArthus.

LIVES: In central Gothenburg (guest researcher housing).

MOST RECENTLY SEEN FILM: Les Miserables, director Tom Hooper.

MOST RECENT OPERA EXPERIENCE: Turandot at the Gothenburg Opera House, director Vladimir Morávek.

MOST RECENTLY READ BOOK: The Virgin Cure, Ami McKay. STRENGTH: I’m organised, detailed and well-planned.

WEAKNESS: I always expect everyone to do the absolute best they can and sometimes ignore the fact that people are complex.

MOTTO: I have two pairs of earrings with the texts: “Carpe Diem” and “You go girl!”

ROLE MODELS: Previous mentors and good researchers that I’ve met.

Photogr aphy: Magnus Gotander

soned to the extent that it affects people’s health, then it’s not so dangerous. But this is an important question. We need to develop “green” medications that don’t affect nature. But doctors also have to be taught not to medicate more than necessary. And, as consumers, we should ask for environmentally friendly medicines and remember never to flush unused medicines in the toilet. We should also discuss the design of wastewater treatment plants more.”

My best

summer memory

M y yo u n g s o n and I used to go up to Dalsland and paddle a canoe a few days each summer. A couple of nights in a tent, happily with some complicated lifting of the canoe to reduce the risk of meeting groups of tourists. A late evening at Laxsjön, open water, pouring rain, hard wind, nasty head sea, waves that break over the railing if we go straight toward the lake. I’m sitting as usual in the back of the canoe and trying to steer. If you’ve never paddled a Canadian canoe, I’m going to tell you that it isn’t the simplest thing to keep on course – if you don’t hold a balance between the fore and aft paddlers, the canoe turns and then it’s a big problem coming back on the right course. We paddle on in the darkness and pouring rain with no idea where we’ll set up camp for the night. Then 12 year old Jesper says: “Dad, calm down, it’ll be all right”! He obviously feels that I’m stressed since I’m having a hard time holding our course. We keep on paddling. The head sea forces us to use all the strength we have to move forwards, but I try even harder and Jesper does too. With great effort we get ourselves into lee behind the waterside, and we pull up the canoe among tree roots. The rain has gotten lighter – now it’s just raining hard. We find a grove where we succeed putting up the tent and, when it’s up, of course it stops raining. We unpack the camping stove, boil water for tea and share a package of Maryland Cookies for dinner. Then we sit a while and look at the remains of the storm. The wind has started to die down and the moon peeks out sometimes between dark clouds. Jesper sums it all up before we sink into our sleeping bags: “”I said it would be all right!”

He’ll be 23 soon, has a girlfriend, and isn’t at all as interested in paddling a canoe with his old dad.

Henrik sjövall

professor at the department of internal medicine

13

14

Universa

What is Sweden?

In cooperation with Jonsered manor, GU Journal asked a number of staff members and one student at the University of Gothenburg: What is Sweden? Their responses became an exhibition at Wallenberg’s Conference Centre, Medicinaregatan 20A, and, later in the autumn, also at Jonsered manor. With this, we forward the question to you!

Sweden is a country that is highly esteemed in many ways despite the idea that you shouldn’t think you are anybody and other things that we should get better at; so, in the eyes of many people, we’re an ideal, not least internationally.

Foto: Johan wingborg

For me, Sweden is home – with people I love and that make me feel good. I’ve grown up with all the Swedish traditions, dance around the maypole, surströmming and everything that belongs to the Swedish summer.

It’s wonderful to travel, of course, but nothing beats a real Swedish summer.

Sarita Andersson, conference host at the Ågrenska house, Jonsered’s manor

Sweden is the neighbouring country I thought I knew since I grew up with Johan Pohlman’s weather prognoses and children’s programs with Magnus and Brasse.

Johan Norrback, superintendent of Göteborg Organ Art Center at the University of Gothenburg

Sweden is my place on earth since generations back. My Sweden is equal, open and considerate. Nature, the changes of the seasons and our collective memories are the foundation for the future. Sweden asks for people’s knowledge, desire and dreams. Never for sex, skin colour or religious beliefs.

Marie Demker, professor of political science

As a child, I saw Sweden as a richly Christian, noncolonial country that contributed to new schools in Ethiopia; a Swede trained our well-known runner Abebe Bikila. A visit gave me more detailed knowledge about Swedish welfare. I like being in Sweden and am grateful for and proud of living here.

Jan-Åke Wiman, instrument creator at the Department of Physics

Girma Berhanu, associate professor of special education

Sweden is home.

Sweden is a country and a place with a long history and with a very long future.

How will things be here in a hundred, a thousand, a hundred thousand, a million or a billion years? I’d like to know!

Maria Sundin, university lecturer in astrophysics

I come from China and have studied in Gothenburg for three years. Thanks to the perfect welfare and education system, anybody who works hard can be successful in Sweden. When I study here, I feel no distance between me and the world; I love being here.

Yu Zhao, Masters degree student at the IT Faculty

Chronicle

GUJOURNAL 4 | 2013

Sweden ≠ Sweden Andrea Castro, associate professor of Spanish

Sweden is a geo­graph­ically limited area that is characterised by tolerance and narrowness, welfare and poverty, freedom and oppression, high morals and crooked dealings. A well organised country that has long lived in peace, where moderation is often the best. And a fantastic place to live and work in.

Jörgen Tholin, University director

We live in a safe and secure country with a functioning infrastructure. We don’t need to worry primarily about health, the political situation or being exposed to daily risks. We take this for granted, but it is something that many people in the rest of the world lack.

Alexandra Krettek, professor of public health science with great experience of Nepal

We’re the Japanese of Scandinavia H ow d o swe d e s i n t e r ac t at work? If you ask the question academically, the answer has to be “it depends”. If you ask people with a background from another country, the answers vary, primarily owing to the cultural background. In actual fact, it’s “foreigners” that we have to ask in order to get an idea about ourselves.

There’s an internationally popular expression that oddly enough is largely unknown by we who were born in Sweden, namely “the Japanese of the North”. The North’s Japanese identify themselves with their work tasks, often find great satisfaction in working in a team. They are, like the Japanese, practical. Another common characteristic is a relative disinclination to talk with people one doesn’t know, to, like southern Europeans, “talk from the heart”, driven by the chance to freely follow paths of association. Like the Japanese, we Swedes can, with the help of alcohol, achieve many strangely rapid personality changes.

A s a n o r m a l way among the Japanese, many Swedes can sit together with others during a train ride of several hours without saying anything to their fellow passengers beside them.

For people who have grown up in an “urban culture”, that is all of southern Europe, the situation is instead “talk, story telling, discussion, free debate, even nasty bickering” a beloved life form. A person can even express opinions that he or she doesn’t have just because they’re seen as powerful or fun.

However, the written word has to be stood for, in contrast to social talk.

The successful Swedish social life is consolidated with the help of expressed similarity, consensus. Swedes like to hear the other person answer “yes, that’s it”, “precisely”, “absolutely”, “exactly”. One is then “confirmed” as a person. People immediately come close to one another and feel like talking again the next time they meet.

T h u s at Swe d i s h work places cooperation can often be experienced as more unproblematic than in private social contexts – even for Swedes. Work flows in an accepted way and fellowship is strengthened by the accord that the work tasks demand. Thus fellowship at work is for many Swedes a “surer card” than private life. And, for the outsider, the social life at work with native Swedes is at least the surest way to a feeling of belonging.

Åke Daun

PROFESSOR EMERITUS OF ETHNOLOGY AT STOCKHOLM UNIVERSITY

15

Ceremony

GUJOURNAL 4 | 2013

16

I n s ta l l at i o n

Above: Installation speech by Karin Nelson, new professor of musical performance, who got the entire audience to sing.

Kristina “Snuttan” Sundell got the Ångpanneföreningen’s prize of 100 000 crowns for her popular science activities.

A solemn occasion pl anned down to the smallest detail O n ly t wo h o u r s le f t. At twelve o’clock, the 25 marshals in evening clothes, with blue and yellow ribbons and academic caps, gather in a ring on the second floor of the Concert Hall for a rehearsal. Student high marshal Alice Andersson goes through exactly what each of them will do and what is expected of them. The student marshals, who can be described as hosts, will lend a little extra splendour and flamboyance. Part of their task is to welcome everyone, give out programs and take care of guests.

Dental student Linda Boström, 25 years old, is new as a marshal: “It’s a fine ceremony that I don’t want to miss. It will be interesting and festive. I’m also the new chairman of GUS, the student union at the

University of Gothenburg, so next year I’ll be holding the student speech.”

A while later, at exactly 13:15, the new professors will gather in the foyer to Stenhammar hall to stand in two lines. A rehearsal was earlier held at the University’s main building. It’s also time to get dressed: vice-chancellor, pro-vice-chancellor, deputy vicechancellors and deans will be dressed in dark robes and jewellery.

T h e m u s i c i a n s and artists have rehearsed all morning long. Professor Anders Wiklund is the so called Director Musices, that is, the person who has the ultimate responsibility for the musical program. He breathes out and sits down to eat something. He says that the situation is under control.

Preparations have been going on for a couple of months. Everything is planned down to the most minute detail.

“It’s a fun and honourable responsibility,” he says. “We show off the best that the Academy of Music and Drama has to offer and the students are happy to participate.”

At 13:50 at the latest, all the guests will have taken their seats. Silence prevails. The ceremony is begun by tradition with the new professors that will be installed and other professors filing in to the march music of the British baroque composer Jeremiah Clarke.

The party can begin!

Text: Allan Eriksson PHOTOGRAPHY:Johan Wingborg

The brochure was designed by Kristina Edgren Nyborg and Maria Lycke.

facts A total of 39 professors were installed and 25 guest and adjunct professors were welcomed. The Ångpanne­ föreningen’s prize was also awarded during the installation to ­zoologist Kristina “Snuttan” Sundell for her important popular science efforts.

You can find a summary and pictures of the professor installation at www.gu.se/nyheter