2015

24 pictures give you an insight into the everyday work of life sciences researchers at UiO and UiO’s work related to the priority area UiO:Life Science.

UiO has many life sciences researchers who are working to discover how the brain develops throughout the lifespan and what are the underlying causes of brain disease.

What happens to a stock of fish if we overexploit it? When do we need to stop fishing to save a stock from collapse? The CEES at UiO is engaged in cooperation with Nordic, European, Russian and American scientists to find answers to such questions.

The Clinical Effectiveness Research Group at UiO is engaged in close collaboration with top researchers at Harvard University to find out what is effective and ineffective in the prevention of colorectal cancer. They undertake studies that few others are able to emulate.

The University of Oslo is conducting a number of life-science projects that share the same goal: to address the increasing problem of antibiotic resistance, considered by the World Health Organization (WHO) to be one of the greatest health threats the world is facing. Interdisciplinary collaboration is required to solve this huge challenge to societies worldwide.

There is a great need for new anti-microbial drugs, because a number of bacteria are now resistant to those antibiotics that are available on the market. Results produced by researchers at the University of Oslo using so-called zinc chelators are so promising that the Research Council of Norway and a commercial stakeholder have decided to grant several million NOK in support to the project.

In spite of many years with national scientific guidelines for the use of antibiotics, the problems caused by antibiotic resistance are increasing in Norway too. Digital management of the prescribing practices of doctors is needed to diminish the use of antibiotics in hospitals as well as in general practice, according to Dag Berild, Senior Consultant.

For some researchers, good and balanced dissemination of research is particularly important, as the results they convey can have major consequences for others. This is the case for researchers at the University of Oslo who are investigating how the use of medicines during pregnancy can affect the development of the foetus. Interdisciplinary cooperation will take their research a step further.

At the University of Oslo we are investing in life sciences in order to gain new insight and to address societal challenges related to health and the environment. A new board has begun coordination of the work in this priority area.