Ny avdelning i medicinsk teknik på plats
2021-09-10
Den 1 juli startade en ny avdelning i medicinsk teknik vid institutionen för materialvetenskap på Ångströmlaboratoriet. Avdelningsföreståndare är Maria Tenje, professor i mikrosystemteknik och ledare för forskargruppen EMBLA, Enabling Microtechnologies for Biomedical and Life science Applications.

Varför har ni startat en ny avdelning i medicinsk teknik?
– Det är en strategisk satsning inom institutionen för materialvetenskap då vi har forskningsaktiviteter inom medicinsk teknik som växt substantiellt och som institutionen vill lyfta fram. För ett och ett halvt år sedan delades institutionen teknikvetenskaper upp i tre institutioner, en av dem materialvetenskap, och nu har nästa steg i den nya organisationen varit att etablera en ny avdelning inom ämnet medicinsk teknik. Vi kommer att utvärderas efter två och ett halvt år för att se om detta ska fortsätta satsas på eller inte. På sikt vill vi upprätta såväl ett forskarutbildningsämne som ett etablerat forskningsprogram i medicinsk teknik.
Vilka forskargrupper ingår i den nya avdelningen?

– Det är min grupp EMBLA och BioMaterial Systems-gruppen, BMS, som leds av professor Cecilia Persson (på bild till höger). Just nu rekryterar vi en ny biträdande universitetslektor som vi hoppas ska kunna börja i november inom additiv tillverkning och 3D-utskrifter av implantat och olika medicinska biomaterial. Vi har även Gemma Mestres som är lektor och leder sin egen grupp med inriktning mot nya metoder för att utvärdera biomaterial med hjälp av mikroflödessystem, som ett led att i framtiden kunna ersätta (i alla fall vissa) djurförsök. Anledningen till att just de här forskargrupperna ingår beror på relevansen av forskningen för medicinsk teknik och att dessa har en kritisk massa inom området.
– Idag är vi cirka 30 personer på avdelningen som har många samarbeten både inom och utanför fakulteten. Både min och Cecilias grupp samarbetar med personer på BMC, i och med den tvärvetenskapliga inriktningen på vår forskning. Dessutom leder Cecilia ett kompetenscentrum inom Additiv Tillverkning för Livsvetenskaperna tillsammans med Johan Kreuger på BMC, där flera avdelningar och institutioner vid både Teknat och Medfarms ämnesområden är involverade, inklusive Akademiska sjukhuset.
Ett nytt organisatoriskt grepp är att du och Cecilia Persson kommer att varva ansvaret som avdelningsföreståndare?
– Det är jag och Cecilia Persson som startat den här avdelningen och vi ser det som att vi driver den gemensamt. Men eftersom det måste finnas en undertecknare av beslut så är jag avdelningsföreståndare det första året och Cecilia det andra året. Den som inte är avdelningsföreståndare kommer i praktiken att vara ställföreträdande avdelningsföreståndare, även om den titeln inte finns på vår institution. Men vi tror på ett delat ledarskap som ett mycket starkare sätt att leda en avdelning. Vi har någon att bolla idéer och stämma av med. Att dela på uppdrag och ansvar har fördelar: får den ena förhinder så kan den andra ta möten. Även om jag har det formella ansvaret så kommer jag inte att fatta några beslut utan att Cecilia och jag är överens om hur vi ska hantera dem.
Vad ligger på ert bord just nu?
– Det som huvudsakligen händer nu i början är att få till en välfungerande miljö. Jag ser det som att vi bygger en forskarmiljö. Hur ska vi samla grupper inom liknande fält så att man kan jobba bra och bli starkare och bättre tillsammans? Det handlar om många praktiska saker som att lära känna varandra och få tillgång till varandras labb. Under pandemin har Cecilia haft runt fem doktorander som börjat och som jag inte ens sett. Och nu är jag helt plötsligt chef för de personerna! Så det är något vi kommer att jobba mycket med nu under hösten, att vi verkligen träffas och förstår vad var och en gör mer i detalj, så att vi kan hitta synergier mellan våra grupper.
Vad tror du att den här satsningen kommer att betyda för din egen forskning?
– Det jag tänker på är teknikutvecklingen som Cecilia har drivit med 3D-printing och de aktiviteter som hon är väldigt stark inom. Det är något jag inte har fokuserat på, men det blir en jättestyrka för oss att ha experter vid samma avdelning som kan hjälpa varandra att starta olika projekt. Min grupp har särskilda processtekniker där vi jobbar med renrummet och i mindre skalor på mikro- och nanonivåskala, vilket Cecilias grupp säkert kan dra nytta av i sina projekt. En annan tanke är att de olika utskrifter som BMS gör kan integreras i mikroflödessystem som min grupp utvecklar – ja, det finns massa exempel på vad som kan bli ännu bättre om man känner till vad den andra gör och jobbar tillsammans!
News
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...Sarah-Sophia! Congratulations! ... -
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