Research at Oslo University Hospital

The major Norwegian newspaper Aftenposten has recently published an article from Fridtjof Lund-Johansen from the Department of Immunology entitled "Soon it becomes more important to test immunity than infection." Here, he focuses on the advantages of measuring immunity in a larger part of the population.

At Oslo University Hospital, the ClinVir Research group, headed by Susanne G. Dudman, is setting up an observational study on the newly discovered emerging SARS- CoV-2, the coronavirus that causes COVID-19 infection. The study has been approved by the Regional Ethics Committee and internally at OUS, so that inclusion of confirmed COVID-19 cases admitted at the hospital can start immediately including the first patients needing hospitalisation.  The plan is to include more hospitals in other parts of Norway, starting with Akershus University Hospital. The study is anticipated to provide much needed data on the course of the COVID-19 infection, as well as generating knowledge about the virus and its transmission.

Project leader is specialist in medical microbiology and infectious diseases, dr. Jan Cato Holter. The research team consists of other experts from both Ullevål hospital and Rikshospitalet.

Celiac disease is caused by the body’s reactions to proteins found in wheat, barley and rye. Nearly 30 different drug companies are now working intensively to develop a pill or vaccine against the disease. The celiac researchers Ludvig M. Sollid and Knut E. A. Lundin are involved in several of these studies. They have recently been interviewed by ScienceNorway.no, the Norwegian part of ScienceNordic.com. 
“We now have very good insight into the disease. Many of our findings have been verified in other laboratories across the globe and are widely cited in international research. It gives us faith that we have pushed the boundaries of what we know and that this knowledge has withstood the test of time,” Sollid says in the interview.

We would like to extend an invitation to The Norwegian Cancer Symposium 2020 on Sustainable cancer care using molecular tests.

Time and place: Sep. 17, 2020–Sep. 18, 2020, Clarion Oslo, Bjørvika, Oslo

The 2-day symposium brings together top-ranking researchers, clinicians, industry and policymakers. We aim to strengthen collaboration and overcome hurdles for implementing molecular tests in precision medicine.

Abstract deadline: May 1st 2020
Registration deadline: June 1st 2020

The talks by Ian M. Willis and Emanual Rosonina planned for March 17th at 10:00-12:00 in Domus Medica are cancelled due to rules implemented at UiO to fight the virus Covid 19.

The Oslo Epigenetics Symposium will be held April 16th to 17th 2020 at Domus Medica, Gaustad.

The conference brings together leading scientists in the field of Epigenetics. The goal is to highlight the latest advances in epigenetics, nuclear architecture and chromatin regulation. The symposium will be kicked off with a public lecture by Ting Wu, Wyss Institute, Harvard University followed by a debate.

The meeting is organized by the Centre for Cancer Cell Reprogramming, Norwegian Biochemical Society and COST European Cooperation in Science & Technology CA18127.

Registration deadline: 31.03.2020

Oslo University hospital scientists are involved in developing a novel "organ-on-a-chip" technology for advanced drug testing, that may lead to improved personalized treatment. This project is broadly presented in a recent feature article in the major newspaper Aftenposten, entitled "Drug testing on mini-organs can reduce the use of laboratory animals", written by Steven RAy Wilsen (UiO), Carl Henrik Gørbitz (UiO), Stefan Krauss (Dept. of Immunology, OUS and UiO) and Hanne Scholz (Dept. of Transplantation Medicine, OUS and UiO).

A national expert group on pancreatic cancer, recently established by the Norwegian Cancer Society, has been awarded NOK 15 million. The project is a consortium anchored in the University of Oslo, and consists of 9 research groups, affiliated with Oslo University Hospital, the University of Bergen and Stavanger University Hospital.
The group is led by Caroline Verbeke from the Department of Pathology at OUH and UiO. Other OUH representatives are Kjetil Tasken and Elin Kure from the Institute of Cancer Research, Lovise Mæhle from the Department of Medical Genetics, Stein Kaasa from the Department of Oncology, Ivar Gladhaug from UiO and OUH and Knut Labori from the Department of Hepatic, Gastrointestinal and Paediatric Surgery.

Professor Johanna Olweus and her research team of 16 have received NOK 4.5 million in grants from the Danish Novo Nordisk Foundation. The money will be used to commercialize a whole new type of cancer immunotherapy that Olweus and her team are developing.
They have found a way to program cancer patients' immune cells to fight cancer using healthy human immune cells. This method allows the immune system to attack the cancer cells specifically, without harming other cells.