The PharmaTox Honours Program in Quantitative Life Sciences

Etablering av PharmaTox partnerskap for fremragende utdanning og forskning har som mål å utvikle et verdensledende fagmiljø i Norge for å forstå sikkerhet av legemidler i svangerskapet gjennom økt samarbeid mellom sentrale fagmiljøer blant annet i USA, Brasil og Russland. Programmet skal legge til rette for gode koblinger mellom utdanning og forskning via studentmobilitet, forskningsopphold, workshops, kurs, og seminarer.

Det overordnede målet til The PharmaTox Honours Programme in Quantitative Life Sciences (QLS) har vært å utdanne en ny generasjon av ambisiøse forskere innen Qualitative Life Sciences inn mot PharmaTox endringsmiljøet ved det Matematisk-naturfaglige fakultet (MN) ved Universitetet i Oslo (UiO). Dette målet har blitt operasjonalisert gjennom 1) Forskermobilitet og -utveksling, 2) Studentmobilitet og -utveksling, 3) Workshop, kurs, Webinarer, gjesteforelesninger, og 4) Fokus på forskningsformidling. Flere vitenskapelige artikler i high impact tidsskrifter har blitt publisert som følge av samarbeidet. Utbytte har vært interdisiplinær forskning, delte forsknings- og finansieringssøknader, dataanalyse, sampubliseringer og bygging av nettverk innen PharmaTox kjerneområder.

The PharmaTox Strategic Research Initiative was established Jan-15 and includes the ERC StG "DrugsInPregnancy". PharmaTox seeks to combine epidemiological data with biological data and model systems using advanced statistical methods, bioinformatics, microarray and sequencing technology, as a truly new and integrated approach to studying effects of pharmaceuticals on human neurodevelopment and neurotoxicity. We believe that innovation and scientific renewal will emerge through a strong focus on interdisciplinary teamwork, career development, creating an inspiring learning environment and international leadership. Establishment of the PharmaTox QLS-Honours Program in collaboration with a world-leading program in clinical and population health research at University of Massachusetts Medical School, USA, and University of California San Diego and two upcoming research environments in Russia and Brazil, is in line with this vision. With the explosion of possibilities of combining epidemiological and biological data, a new era of demand for novel integrative and interdisciplinary efforts has arisen. Ever so valuable, access to huge data sources alone will not bring the in depth knowledge about pharmaceuticals. To bridge this gap, it is essential to create international partnerships for world-class education and research. In order to bring this Strategic Research Initiative to the next level, the activity of PharmaTox needs to be strengthened in directions of methods in causal inference, pharmaceutical bioinformatics, teratology, and clinical genetics. Our ambition is therefore to develop lasting international collaborations to strengthen these aspects of our activity in collaboration with world-leading groups. By providing mobility stays, summer schools, workshops, joint courses and training in public dissemination we can achieve these goals. The PharmaTox QLS-Honours Program is fundamental for the success of the ERC StG as it will ensure the necessary training of young research talents in this project.