Nordic Centre of Excellence for Research in Water Imbalance Related Disorders (WIRED) Ole Petter Ottersen, Co-ordinator University of Oslo Also present: Søren Nielsen, Jørgen Frøkiær, Aarhus ”NCoE program: Joint meeting Lund ”

Why a center for ”Water Imbalance Related Disorders?” Deficiencies in water distribution or transport characterize many common diseases, including diseases of  kidney  gastrointestinal tract  brain Water accounts for ~70% of our body weight and more than 90% of our molecules

Brain edema - often lethal – typically occurs after stroke (~ incidents per year in the Nordic countries) Brain Water imbalance is a hallmark of  Epilepsy  Migraine  Meningitis  Brain tumours  Head trauma (traffic accidents)  Stroke StrokeEdema

Better treatments are needed! The discovery of water channels (aquaporins) opens new possibilities for treatment ….and a new field in molecular medicine

The WIRED partners possess the complementary expertise that is needed to effectively explore aquaporins as novel therapeutical targets Professor Anita Aperia, Karolinska Institutet CLINICAL MEDICINE AND REGULATORY MECHANISMS Professors Søren Nielsen and Jørgen Frøkiær, University of Aarhus KIDNEY AND SYSTEMS BIOLOGY Professor Thomas Zeuthen, University of Copenhagen MEMBRANE TRANSPORT BIOLOGY AND BIOPHYSICS Professor Ole P. Ottersen, University of Oslo NEUROBIOLOGY Professor Kai Kaila, University of Helsinki (associated node) NEUROPHYSIOLOGY

Exploiting complementarity: the AQP4 plug project Oslo: Organic synthesis, animal models Aarhus: Knockouts, antibodies Copenhagen: Oocyte screening Stockholm: astrocyte model Helsinki: AQP4 interactions  Andreas Bureus's map of 1626

Focus on training Researcher training: 13 meetings and workshops, including 3 major international symposia ( Mobility: In addition to the Nordic PhDs: 30 short visits, 6 long term visits Visibility: 8 recruitments from non- Nordic institutions including NIH

Added value WIRED participation in Marie Curie Training Network (”CORTEX”, 2005) WIRED part of Nordic EMBL Partnership (2007) WIRED helped provide the platform for Nordic participation in EATRIS (European Advanced Translational Research Infrastructure in Medicine)

Emerging and future added values of the NCoE program Enhance the success of the Nordic countries in the increasingly competitive EU framework programmes Promote necessary legislative and organizational changes required to implement a more rational utilization of Nordic assets in the field – such as the Nordic biobanks and health registries Optimize the utilization of the unique study samples and population cohorts in genome studies Provide the attractiveness needed for adequate recruitment of top international experts to the Nordic countries

David A. King: The scientific impact of nations (Nature 15 July 2004 pp ) European nations should take note: particularly at the rarefied upper end, they are operating in a global market, and will need to improve salaries and conditions to compete for the top creative talent. By joining forces the Nordic countries would obtain an impact on a par with Great Britain and Germany

FUTURE FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES  Strong focus on research collaboration in the Nordic countries  But uncertainty as to where the exact focus should be  Uncertainty creates opportunity  Kveseth: Stay on course!

UNCERTAINTY SPAWNS MEETINGS  Meeting in Copenhagen April 2007  ”Think tank” prior to Prime Minister meeting 19 June 2007

OUTCOME OF PRIME MINISTER MEETING 19 June 2007  Statsministrarna, som möttes i Punkaharju i Finland på måndagen och tisdagen, kom överens om att de nordiska regeringarna ska satsa på klimat, miljö och energi, kunskap och innovation, gränshinder och en ökad profilering av de nordiska länderna för att möta globaliseringens utmaningar.

Ett kunnigare Norden  1. Satsningen inom den europeiska ramen på ett starkt nordiskt kunskaps- och innovationsområde ska intensifieras. Nordiska ministerrådet utarbetar tills sommaren år 2008, efter diskussioner bland närings-, utbildnings- och forskningsministrarna, ett förslag till samarbetsministrarna om främjande av nordisk toppforskning, i nära samarbete med näringsliv, med beaktande av möjligheter att stärka nätverkssamarbete mellan nordiska toppforskningsenheter och bland aktörer på innovationsområdet. Bland annat följande tyngdpunkter beaktas: främjandet av innovationer, frågor kring klimat, energi och miljö samt välfärdsforskning och hälsa.

 2. Stärkning av samarbetet inom högre utbildning skall öka kontakten mellan nordiska läroanstalter och lyfta Norden som en attraktiv studieort. Forskning och innovation förstärks genom att i ökande grad koordinera nationella FoU program och innovationsprogram, samt genom att främja samarbetet mellan de nationella forskningsfinansiärerna.  ws.asp?id=6995&lang=1 : 6 pilots for Nordic Master degrees ws.asp?id=6995&lang=1 ET KUNNIGARE NORDEN (2)

 NORIA-net  Joint Nordic Use of Research Infrastructure  Nätverk av nationella forskarskolor  Nätverk nationella CoE  Forskarnätverk  Såkornmedel  Forskerkurs  Handledarkurs  Kursstipendier IMPLEMENTATION

 NordForsk Nätverk kan ha som mål t.ex. att etablera en gemensam forskarutbildning för området, att konsolidera forskningen med sikte på europeiska eller internationella samarbetsprojekt, eller ge det egna forskningsområdet ökad tyngd med sikte på etablering av nya Nordiska Centres of Excellence

WHAT TO DO??  Nothing, and hope for the best  Promote our field by action  Promote our field by lobbying  …..or both

 Establish a Nordic training program in Molecular Medicine that also involves EATRIS, BBMRI, and the Nordic EMBL partnership? JOINT NCoE EFFORTS