News and Announcements from Chalmers Biocenter

							Chalmers Biocenter Newsletter January 2005
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    News and Announcements from Chalmers Biocenter
.

FACULTY SEARCH: Quantitative Systems Biology – (June Update)

In November 2005, Chalmers Biocenter initiated the process of recruiting faculty members in
Quantitative Systems Biology (QSysBio) to Chalmers, in accordance with the
recommendations from the Evaluation of Chalmers Bioscience Initiative (2004).

In a unique process, following a broad call for applications from experimental and
computational biologists, two out of three faculty recruitment committees at Chalmers have
been involved, together with three external evaluators (Professors Staffan Normark, Gunnar
von Heijne, and Charles Cantor), and the management of Chalmers Biocenter, in finding the
right mixture of biological competence to build a strong and excellent research activity in
QSysBio at Chalmers.

Six departments at Chalmers have committed to this recruitment process and thereby to the
propagation of change at the university, by signing contracts with the Biocenter and the Pro
Vice President. The departments are: Applied Physics, Chemical and Biological Engineering,
Computer Science and Engineering, Mathematical Science, Microtechnology and Nanoscience,
and Signals and Systems. The contracts include a well defined plan for how the economic
responsibility for the researcher will eventually be transferred from Chalmers Biocenter to the
departments.

Fifty eight (58) job applications had been received by the deadline, several of which were
submitted by very interesting researchers, mainly from Europe (40) and the US (11). In the
group of applicants are researchers at the assistant, associate and full professor level. The
successful candidates will be physically integrated with the existing activities at one or several
of the involved departments at Chalmers.

Chalmers Biocenter aims at appointing at least one “builder”, a strong visionary leader with
excellent team-building skills who can become an engine for biological research at Chalmers;
inspiring and collaborating with experimental engineers, other biologists, medical researchers
and experts in computational biology and modeling.


Evaluation meeting May 31
On May 31, the three external evaluators (Profs. Normark, von Heijne, and Cantor) met with
the two faculty appointment committees involved, six department heads and the
management of Chalmers Biocenter in an assessment meeting regarding the faculty positions
in Quantitative Systems Biology at Chalmers. Based on the assessment of the external
experts, and following an interesting and inspiring discussion, the meeting identified a group
of top candidates with expertise in quantitative systems biology who have been invited to give
lectures and interviews on September 5-6.

See the shortlisted candidates give open lectures at the 1-day conference on QSysBio at
Chalmers (September 5, see below).




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Please contact Catharina Hiort for further information about Chalmers Biocenter.
catharina.hiort@chalmers.se                                     Phone:      031-772 86 33 (office)
                                                                           0703-08 8633 (cellular)
Chalmers Biocenter Newsletter January 2005
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Seminar series: Leading Voices of Bioscience – (August 24)

“Landegren, Nilsson, Uhlén”

- 3 internationally famous and celebrated Swedish scientists –

Location: To be announced


Ulf Landegren is a Professor of Molecular Medicine at Uppsala University and the coordinator
of the MolTools consortium (Advanced Molecular Tools for Array-based Analyses of Genomes).

Ove Nilsson is an Associate Professor at the Umeå Plant Science Center/SLU and one of the
scientists behind the second runner up for Science Magazine’s “Breakthrough of the Year”
2005 – Plant Development.

Mathias Uhlén is a Professor of Molecular Biotechnology at the Royal Institute of Technology
(KTH) and leader of the Human Proteome Resource Program producing the Human Protein
Atlas.

Tentative Program
08:30         Coffee
09:00         Mathias Uhlén
09:45         Ulf Landegren
10:30         Coffee
11:00         Ove Nilsson
11:45         Panel discussion (led by Gunnar Bjursell)
12:30         Closing

A more detailed program will soon be posted on the biocenter website:
http://www.chalmers.se/biocenter/EN/Calendar/biocenter-events8957




1-day symposium on Quantitative Systems Biology – (Sept. 5)

Date: Tuesday September 5th, 9.00 - 16.00
Venue: Will be announced shortly

Tentative program

9:00         Introduction to and overview of Quantitative Systems Biology
             Professor Charles Cantor, external evaluator

10:30        Presentations by the shortlisted candidates for the two
             faculty positions in Quantitative Systems Biology at Chalmers

16:00        Concluding remarks
             Professor Staffan Normark, external evaluator

A detailed speakers program will be announced shortly.

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Please contact Catharina Hiort for further information about Chalmers Biocenter.
catharina.hiort@chalmers.se                                     Phone:      031-772 86 33 (office)
                                                                           0703-08 8633 (cellular)
Chalmers Biocenter Newsletter January 2005
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Warmly welcome!

Registration The symposium is open to everyone – but you need to register by sending
an email to therese.johansson@chalmers.se. Please state if you wish to join us for lunch
and coffee. Also include any allergies or food preferences in the email. A small fee of 150
SEK will be associated with the meals.



Charles Cantor is a professor of biomedical engineering and a professor of pharmacology at the
school of medicine at Boston University. He is currently acting full time as Chief Scientific Officer at
Sequenom, Inc. in San Diego. Professor Cantor is often invited as scientific advisor to universities
within the field of bioscience/ bioengineering, and is a consultant to more than 16 biotech firms. He
has co-authored a three-volume textbook on Biophysical Chemistry, and recently completed the
first textbook on Genomics: The Science and Technology of the Human Genome Project.

Staffan Normark is the former executive director of the Swedish Foundation for Strategic
Research, member of the Nobel committee for physiology or medicine, and the current chair of the
advisory board for Chalmers Biocenter. He led the committee that evaluated Chalmers Bioscience
Program in 2004, a process that resulted in a strong recommendation to focus on Quantitative
Biology. Professor Normark is now back as a professor at Karolinska Institute where he leads a
research group at the Microbiology and Tumor Biology Center.




The conference program (including name of speakers, location and times) will soon
be posted on the biocenter website:
http://www.chalmers.se/biocenter/EN/Calendar/biocenter-events8957




Next Open Meeting – (September 11 2006)

“Building Quantitative Systems Biology at Chalmers”

Presentation of the new faculty and an open discussion of future directions and strategic
initiatives.

Time and place: ”Styrelserummet” (Central Administration Building, Chalmersplatsen 4) 1-3
p.m. September 11 2006.




Biocenter office news

New graduate school. The Chalmers Graduate School of Bioscience
(http://www.chalmers.se/en/sections/education/doctoral_programmes/graduate-
schools/bioscience) is now up and running. Doctoral students wanting to follow a
curriculum with an emphasis on bioscience is urged to contact the coordinator of the
graduate school Julie Gold (studrekt.bio@chalmers.se).

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Please contact Catharina Hiort for further information about Chalmers Biocenter.
catharina.hiort@chalmers.se                                         Phone:      031-772 86 33 (office)
                                                                               0703-08 8633 (cellular)
Chalmers Biocenter Newsletter January 2005
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This fall, the coordinator of the Chalmers Graduate School in Bioscience, Julie Gold, will
be on sabbatical in the US. While she is away, Christer Larsson and Therese Johansson
will together handle issues associated with the graduate school.

Christer Larsson is an associate professor at the department of Chemical and Biological
Engineering (Molecular Biotechnology).

Therese Johansson (therese.johansson@chalmers.se) is a project assistant at Chalmers
Biocenter.



We have outgrown our office! After five years in the central administration building
we move physically closer to the science and research. In October, the Biocenter office
will be moving to a new location on Skeppsgränd/Kemigården.

Look out for an invitation to our house warming party in the fall!

We can still be reached at: +46 31 772 8633. Welcome to drop by.

Julie Gold Studrekt.bio@adm.chalmers.se
Catharina Hiort catharina.hiort@chalmers.se
Therese Johansson therese.johansson@chalmers.se




WEBSITE

Our website is being continuously updated. Visit us at: www.chalmers.se/biocenter
Please contribute with News, Information, Events, and Ideas.




6th Newsletter from Chalmers Biocenter
This is the sixth in a series of newsletters published by Chalmers Biocenter. Under three
headlines, you will find news and information regarding bioscience at Chalmers, and in
Göteborg. A new newsletter will appear every two months. Previous newsletters can be
downloaded from our website (www.chalmers.se\biocenter). If you do not want to
receive future newsletters, unsubscribe by mailing to biocenter@lists.chalmers.se.

Contributions are most welcome!




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Please contact Catharina Hiort for further information about Chalmers Biocenter.
catharina.hiort@chalmers.se                                     Phone:      031-772 86 33 (office)
                                                                           0703-08 8633 (cellular)
Chalmers Biocenter Newsletter January 2005
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                              Bioscience at Chalmers


BIOINTERFACES - Quo Vadis? Göteborg August 24-25, 2006

Interfacing the human body with therapeutics and diagnostics.... An exciting conference
bringing research and industry in biosensors, diagnostics, drug targeting, and medical devices
areas together. Featuring key international and national scientists and industry leaders in
regenerative medicine, cell therapy, biomaterials & tissue engineering, targeted drug delivery
and medical diagnostics.

http://www.biointerfaces.se

Register here http://reg.inspiro2.se/step1.php?event=BIO

Career Counceling Workshop for Graduate Students
Interested in the special Graduate Student Pre-Session: Career Counceling Workshop
(http://www.biointerfaces.se/?Graduate_Student_Pre-session) on Aug 23?
SIGN UP ! julie.gold@fy.chalmers.se

Training (mock) interviews with career counselors experienced in Human Resource
Management from industry – are you interested?
SIGN UP ! julie.gold@fy.chalmers.se

Only for students attending the Biointerfaces conference. Free of charge.


Graduate student sponsorships now available!!!
SSF Network on Biointerfaces invites graduate students to attend the entire conference, pre-
session workshop + inclusive dinner, hotel room, and social activity free of charge. Limited
number of sponsorships available – for Swedish students only. Poster presentation required.

APPLY IMMEDIATELY ! julie.gold@fy.chalmers.se




Doctoral theses

In his thesis work, Per Magnelind measures the magnetic field from neurons. On June
9 he defended his thesis:

“High-Tc SQUIDs for magnetophysiology: development of a magnetometer system and
measurements of evoked fields from hippocampal neurons in vitro”

Time and place: June 9 2006, Kollektorn (MC2, Kemivägen 9, Chalmers)

Read more about bioscience theses published at Chalmers:
http://www.chalmers.se/biocenter/EN/Calendar/dissertations


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Please contact Catharina Hiort for further information about Chalmers Biocenter.
catharina.hiort@chalmers.se                                     Phone:      031-772 86 33 (office)
                                                                           0703-08 8633 (cellular)
Chalmers Biocenter Newsletter January 2005
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Denator showered with awards

On May 30, two former students of Chalmers School of Entrepreneurs, Jonas Larsson and Olof
Sköld, won the business plan competition Venture Cup West for their proposal Denator
Biotechnology. Denator will develop a technology for conserving biological samples, such as
biopsies.

This spring, Denator was also awarded VINNOVA’s “Vinn Nu” prize, and has attracted some
five million SEK in venture capital.

Links to:
Denator http://www.denator.com
Chalmers School of Entrepreneurs http://www.entrepreneur.chalmers.se




Symposium and Workshop – (August 20-21)

Innovative Biopolymers: Polysaccharides - from discovery to commercialization

The conference will highlight the following areas:

- Polysaccharides for everyday life
- Cellulose: structure and properties - from pulp to advanced biomedical applications
- Hemicelluloses and pectins: isolation, properties, and new applications
- Marine polysaccharides: chitin, chitosan, and alginates
- Starch: from food to industrial products
- Hyaluronic acid and proteoglycans: from eye surgery to wound healing
- Biotechnology: building new materials with cells and enzymes
- High performance materials based on polysaccharides: superabsorbents, gels for separation
    of biopolymers, drug and cell delivery
- Scaffolds for tissue engineering

See the attached conference flyer for the detailed program.

Place: Gullmarstrand Conference Centre, Fiskebäckskil.

Register by mailing the organizer Paul Gatenholm at (paul.gatenholm@chalmers.se).




Activities at the Center for Intellectual Property Studies (CIP)

CIP is currently recruiting students to their three educational programs, among them the
Göteborg International Bioscience Business School, GIBBS.




—————————————————————————————————————
Please contact Catharina Hiort for further information about Chalmers Biocenter.
catharina.hiort@chalmers.se                                     Phone:      031-772 86 33 (office)
                                                                           0703-08 8633 (cellular)
Chalmers Biocenter Newsletter January 2005
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For more information see the GIBBS webpage () or contact Charlotte Emlind at CIP
(charlotte.emlind@cip.chalmers.se)




RIDE research center publishes new books

RIDE recently published two books on biotechnology in the theme Management and
Economics of Innovation.

The Economics of Biotechnology

The Economic Dynamics of Modern Biotechnology

Editors:   Professor Maureen McKelvey, RIDE Research centre, Chalmers
           Annika Rickne, Lund University
           Jena Laage Hellman, Chalmers

Read more at: www.chalmers.se/tme (see RIDE under Centra)




—————————————————————————————————————
Please contact Catharina Hiort for further information about Chalmers Biocenter.
catharina.hiort@chalmers.se                                     Phone:      031-772 86 33 (office)
                                                                           0703-08 8633 (cellular)
Chalmers Biocenter Newsletter January 2005
—————————————————————————————————————



                              Bioscience in Göteborg


Mini-symposium: NMR in Structural Biology – (June 21 2006)

The Swedish NMR Centre at Göteborg University organises a 1-day symposium featuring
five prominent experts on NMR for studying biomolecules and biological systems. The
symposium is open to all, intended for a broad audience, and free of charge.

Location: Lecture hall “Arvid Carlsson”, Medicinaregatan 3, Medicinareberget, Göteborg

Programme

10.00         Göran Karlsson, Swedish NMR Centre
              Introduction

10.10         Masatsune Kainosho, Tokyo Metropolitan University
              ”Optimal Isotope labelling for NMR protein structure determinations”

11.00         Peter Güntert, RIKEN, Yokohama
              ”A fully automated NMR structure determination system”

Lunch

13.00         Rolf Boelens, Utrecht University
              “Structure and dynamics in gene regulation and DNA repair”

13:50         Torleif Härd, Göteborg University
              “Protein folding coupled to binding or catalysis”

14:45         Konstantin Pervushin, ETH Zürich
              “NMR studies of barrel forming and α-helical polytopic membrane proteins”

Register at snc@nmr.se before June 16 for lunch and coffee.

For more information, contact the director of the NMR centre, Göran Karlsson
(goran.karlsson@nmr.gu.se)




—————————————————————————————————————
Please contact Catharina Hiort for further information about Chalmers Biocenter.
catharina.hiort@chalmers.se                                     Phone:      031-772 86 33 (office)
                                                                           0703-08 8633 (cellular)