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FORSKSKOLE-Forskerskoler

EPINOR - National research school in population based epidemiology

Awarded: NOK 23.8 mill.

The 31st of December 2021 the funding of EPINOR ended and we can look back on nine successful years as a national research school in population based epidemiology. From January 2013 to December 2021, 320 PhD students have been included in the EPINOR network, and there are currently 130 active students registered with EPINOR. The network of PhD students and researchers in epidemiology is also considerably strengthened through EPINOR and we have continuously admitted students with a broad range of topics related to epidemiology to ensure that the network would include as many of the students in epidemiology as possible ensuring large local and national networks. EPINOR was granted a one year extension due to key events related to the epidemiology and handling of the pandemic planned towards the end of the year. We were successful in organising these events as well as submitting a new application (coordinated by NTNU) to RCN in 2021. Key events in EPINOR has been the yearly Summer Schools, the Fall meeting co-organised with the Norwegian Epidemiological Association (NOFE) as well as online student meeting with presentations from PhD students receiving feedback from dedicated senior staff. Monthly PhD coordinated seminars have also been organised locally during the last nine years. We have also funded research stays abroad ? up to three months in order to ensure that we could fund as many as possible through the EPINOR funding. We have also been funding participation in well rated international courses and especially where groups of PhD students would be attending from across the EPINOR network. All supervisors have been offered supervisor seminars, where the most successful ones have been in collaboration with other national research schools. As a continuation of EPINOR, all PhD institutions involved have committed to contribute with admin resources to support the planned activities. These planned activities include a PhD coordinated EPINOR junior network ensuring a continuation of local meetings, a PhD day prior to the NOFE conference organized by NOFE and the local PhD institution, yearly national meeting discussing national PhD courses in epidemiology. The steering committee will continue with a yearly digital meeting overseeing that partners are still committing and supporting a continuation of EPINOR in the future.

EPINOR has successfully contributed to a better national coordination of PhD training, more easily available PhD courses, strenghtening of national PhD networks and junior-senior networks, improved PhD supervision and a continuation of EPINOR after the funding from RCN has ended.

Epidemiological research has gone through an enormous development during the last decade, from being a independent field of research to a truly multidisciplinary and complex area of research. The need for bringing together different fields of research has been especially evident in the search for biomarkers of disease/effects, and in the rapidly growing field of systems epidemiology where basic science and epidemiology is merged. The challenge also lies in exploring the full potential of the unique bioba nks recently concluded to be of uttermost importance for human health research, by the RCN evaluation in 2008. In order to best meet the challenges of the growing complexity of this multidisciplinary field the research communities need to be integrated o n a national level and students educated in a broader network than today. The best way of achieving this is through establishing a national research school in epidemiology where students have access to the best competence nationally and internationally as well as networks of biobanks. The scientific focus of this proposal will be on population based studies and lifestyle related diseases, systems epidemiology and environmental factors in relation to health. The use of the internationally unique biobanks and different registries forms the basis for this research. Unique longitudinal and on-going population based studies and availability of bio banks make epidemiological research in Norway attractive to international partners, but would indeed benefit furt her from a national integration. The students of the national research school will be offered coordinated courses nationally, international courses, higher quality supervision, workshops and summer schools nationally and internationally as well as easier access and support to/for research stays abroad and international lecturers at courses and workshops. This way they will achieve a better quality PhD, on time and being part of larger networks

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FORSKSKOLE-Forskerskoler

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