(TCLS= Thursday Chemistry Lunch Seminar: 12.15-13 @ Tripletten
For ALL employees at the Chemistry Department!
Hi folks!
I am Tuba Iftikhar, a researcher in postdoctoral training with assoc, prof. Mali Husby Rosnes. I hail from the historically and agriculturally rich land of Gujrat, Pakistan. Following the conventional scientific path to extend my practical knowledge of chemistry, I moved to Germany for my doctoral studies in Prof. Kögerler’s research group at RWTH Aachen and Forschungszentrum Jülich which successfully led me to earn my Ph.D.
I worked as an experimental chemist to target the synthesis of organo-functionalized derivatives of heterometallic PolyOxoMetalates (POMs) for the investigation of their single-molecule magnetic (SMM) behavior and catalytic properties.
My Postdoctoral training is based on the Research Project ‘‘Recyclable Catalysts for Sustainable Polymers from CO2 and Bio-based Epoxides’’ ReCat4Polymer which is funded by the Trond Mohn Foundation and the University of Bergen. I would aim to focus on the development of recyclable catalysts for the production of sustainable polymers, where CO2 and bio-based epoxides will be used as raw materials. POMs are considered the key components for developing such suitable and recyclable catalysts.
We are students in the masters’s program in biomedical chemistry in Mainz, Germany,
and are here as ERASMUS+ exchange students for the next four months. We will work on reasearch projects in the group of professor Bengt Erik Haug. Our projects focus on the synthesis of novel antibiotics and is part of a collaboration between the Haug group and the group of professor Ruth Brenk at the Department of Biomedicine at UiB. Claudia works on a project targeting the fatty acid synthesis of bacteria while Valerie works on riboswitch ligands.
My name is Leif and I have recently finished my Master studies in inorganic chemistry at Heidelberg University, Germany. I applied low-valent iron complexes in homogeneous catalysis enabling access to conformationally constrained building blocks relevant to drug-development and medicinal chemistry.
My doctoral research is focused on developing novel transition metal catalysts for nitrogen activation in the research group of Prof. Vidar Jensen. The catalyst design is guided by quantum chemical calculations to predict active catalysts which are then followed up on in the laboratory. The project is funded by the Norwegian Centre for Hydrogen Research – HyValue – where one of the foci lies on developing ammonia as a novel, environmentally friendly hydrogen-based energy carrier.
I am Ihtisham Ul Haq. I am starting my new job as a researcher in the Dietzel group. My research will be the synthesis of metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) for the removal of heavy metals from solution. You can find me in Room 2049. I received my PhD degree in Chemical Engineering from Beijing Institute of Technology, China. My thesis research was the synthesis of MOFs and COFs for the removal of CO2, SO2, and VOCs and my thesis&I won the award of “best dissertation of the year” and “best international student of the year”. Before joining UiB, I worked in industry as R&D manager from 2020 to 2022.
Join us on Tuesday February 14, 2023 for the IUPAC Global Women’s Breakfast (#GWB2023), held in conjunction with the U.N. Day of Women and Girls in Science. The goal of the GWB series is to establish an active network of people to overcome the barriers to gender equality in science. GWB is also a flagship event of the International Year of Basic Sciences for Sustainable Development bringing together people from all science disciplines. GWB events are to take place all over the world, and the Department of Chemistry is pleased to organize this event at the University of Bergen, under the title More Voices at the Table.
Where: Auditorium 4, 4th floor, Science Bldg. When: Tuesday Feb 14, at 9am-11am.
Program:
Dean of the MN Faculty, Gunn Mangerud, will give an opening address.
Susan Pedigo, professor of Chemistry & Biochemistry at University of Mississippi, will give the feature talk, with the same title as the event.
The lecture is followed by a panel discussion led by Nathalie Reuter (Dept. Chemistry, and CBU), with panelists Fredrik Manne (Inst. Informatics), Edoseghe Edwin Osagiede (Dept. Earth Science), Sevil Sümer, Fac. Social & Educ. Sci., NTNU, and Susan Pedigo, OleMiss.
Founders: Professors Bengt Erik Haug, UiB, and Kine Østnes Hansen, Annette Bayer, Jeanette Hammer Andersen, and Espen Holst Hansen, all UiT Photo: KinSea
The road from research laboratory to actually founding a company with the aim to bring a new therapeutic agent to the market is exceedingly long and thorny, and we are very pleased to congratulate Bengt Erik and his collaborators in Tromsø with reaching this milestone with KinSea Lead Discovery AS!
The company, KinSea, is formed on the basis of a proprietary drug class developed by the founders and is based on a naturally occurring molecule isolated from a benthic animal taken from the Barents Sea. The molecules have potential as pan-mutant FLT3 kinase inhibitors for the treatment of acute myeloid leukemia (AML), including drug-resistant mutations that are traditionally difficult to treat.
The effect has been shown in an animal model for AML, and the founders have also shown that the drugs have superior properties compared to existing FLT3 inhibitors, including broad activity against drug-induced resistant FLT3 mutants, improved selectivity and high activity in vivo. KinSea will further develop the technology to a preclinical candidate that will be ready for advanced preclinical and clinical testing through license agreements with partners. The company also wants to utilize UiT’s collection of bioactive substances from marine organisms to gradually expand its portfolio within drug development to become a sustainable supplier of promising drug candidates based on discoveries in our northern sea areas.
KinSea have ambitions beyond the specific drug classes described above, and aim to establish a broad portfolio of drug development projects based on the partners» unique access to bioactive substances from the Arctic and expertise in drug development. Quoting Bengt Erik Haug, professor in the Bioresources and Pharmaceutical chemistry group at our department, and now also inventor, Gründer and research director at KinSea: We look forward to continuing our long-standing collaboration in marine bioprospecting and taking our FLT3 inhibitors further through the development process towards clinical testing.
The project has been developed in a collaboration between UiT Norges arktiske universitet, Universitetet I Bergen, and Lead Discovery Center GmbH through several projects funded by the Norwegian Research Council and the regional biotechnology program MABIT. KinSea is initially financed through a convertible loan from KHAN Technology Transfer Fund I GmbH & Co KG, a German venture fund with a focus on early-stage investments within drug development. The investor composition will be expanded in the time to come.
Sverre Hauge, tidligere førsteamanuensis (1965-2004) og instituttstyrer (1984-85) ved Kjemisk institutt, gikk bort 8. januar i år, vel 90 år gammel.
Da dr. tech. Olav Foss i 1956 etterfulgte professor Gaarder som styrer ved Kjemisk institutt, etablerte han raskt en forskningsgruppe innen uorganisk kjemi. Sverre Hauge var en av hans tidlige studenter som etter oppnådd embetseksamen i kjemi (cand. real. 1960), ble rekruttert som stipendiat og fra 1965 ansatt i fast vitenskapelig stilling, først som universitetslektor og fra 1971 som førsteamanuensis fram til aldersavgang i 2004.
Forskningen på Uorganisk avdeling var i hovedsak konsentrert om syntese, kjemiske egenskaper og struktur av svovel-, selen- og tellur-forbindelser, og Sverre spesialiserte seg på studier av selen-forbindelser. Hans dr. philos. avhandling fra 1978 har tittelen Linear three-selenium systems, reactions and crystal structures.
Fra siste del av 1980-tallet samarbeidet Sverre Hauge og hans nære kollega førsteamanuensis Kjartan Marøy om studier av kalkogen-halogen-forbindelser. En rekke nye salter av polymere kloro- og bromo-selenater ble syntetisert og isolert fra ikke-vandige løsningsmidler og karakterisert ved røntgenkrystallografiske metoder. I noen av forbindelsene forekommer selen i to oksidasjonstrinn, og figuren (under) viser et dianion med oktaedrisk-koordinert Se(IV) og kvadratisk-planart Se(II) atom, forbundet med to bromid-broer.
Da Kjemisk institutt ønsket å etablere aktivitet innen uorganisk analytisk kjemi, tok parhestene Hauge og Marøy, som begge var sentrale bidragsytere innen instituttets undervisning i analytisk kjemi, opp forskning og veiledning innen dette feltet. Prosjektet som varte en 10-årsperiode fra midt på 1980-tallet, omfattet utvikling av metoder for kvantitativ bestemmelse av fosfat, sulfat og halogenider ved molekylær emisjons-spektroskopi i flamme, bestemmelse av tungmetaller i vev, samt fjerning av fluorid fra brønnvann. Én dr. scient.- og fire hovedfags-kandidater utførte sine forskningsprosjekter hos Sverre og Kjartan i denne tiden.
Som i våre dager, var andre halvdel av 60-tallet en tid for hektiske byggeplaner for realfagene ved UiB. Ved Kjemisk institutt la spesielt Sverre Hauge ned et stort arbeid med planlegging av forsknings- og undervisningslaboratorier, kontorer, og innredning. I 1971 kom første bevilgning til utgraving av tomt, bygging startet i august 1974, og i juni 1977 sto Realfagbygget klart. Kjemisk institutt kunne flytte inn i rommelige, moderne og hensiktsmessige lokaler, og Sverre høstet stor anerkjennelse for innsatsen som han la ned til fellesskapets beste!
Vi takker Sverre for en lang arbeidsdag og lyser fred over hans minne.
Tidligere og nåværende kollegaer ved Kjemisk institutt.
Hei KI!
Pål her, og i januar begynner jeg som administrasjonssjef på Kjemisk institutt. Jeg er innflytter fra Mandal med 20 års fartstid i Bergen, de fleste av dem har jeg vært tilknyttet UiB. Først som student på Humanistisk Fakultet, og så de siste åtte årene som ansatt ved MatNat. Jeg har jobbet i studieadministrasjonen på Geofysisk institutt, Institutt for fysikk og teknologi og nå sist som studieleder ved Institutt for informatikk. Gleder meg veldig til å ta fatt på ny jobb og til å bli kjent med dere alle sammen!
Hello KI!
I am Pål, and this January I will start my new position as Head of Administration at the Department of Chemistry. I am an “immigrant” from the southern-most city in Norway, Mandal, and have lived in Bergen for 20 years. The majority of these years have been with a connection to UiB, first as a student at the Faculty of Humanities, and then the last eight years as an employee at MatNat. I have worked in the study administration of Geophysical Institute, Department of Physics and Technology and finally as Head of Study Section at the Department of Informatics. Looking forward to embarking on my new position and to getting to know all of you!
At the faculty-wide HSE seminar earlier this month, the Dept of Chemistry was awarded the HSE prize for 2022, on account of our continuous and systematic work related to the labeling and waste management of chemicals.
Photo: Christel Krossøy/UiB
The award committee, consisting of dean Gunn Mangerud, chief safety representative Ann-Elise Olderbakk Jordal, faculty director Elisabeth Müller Lysebo and HSE coordinator Christel Krossøy, see this as an important and timely initiative that shows HSE in practice, and which has good potential for transfer to the other institutes. The committee also commends the institute for writing a well-developed and descriptive application.
Head of department Knut Børve at the Department of Chemistry is delighted with the award: The award focuses on good routines for the storage, labeling and waste management of chemicals, which is important for the physical working environment in many departments both within and beyond the MN faculty. At the Department of Chemistry, this is high on the agenda, well driven by our HSE coordinator Lisbeth Glærum and long-standing health and safety representative Reidun Myklebust. We are happy for the recognition that the HSE award gives, and for the opportunity to inspire other departments to carry out an annual waste disposal campaign for chemicals.
A full account in Norwegian may be found here: https://www.uib.no/matnat/158578/hms-pris-til-kjemisk-institutt
Læringsmiljøprisen 2022
UiBs læringsmiljøpris har vært lyst ut årlig siden 2009. Alle studenter og studentorgansiasjoner er invitert til å sende inn forslag på kandidatet til Læringsmiljøutvalget. Formålet med læringsmiljøprisen er å gi anerkjennelse til miljøer eller enkeltpersoner ved universitetet som lykkes i å legge forholdene spesielt godt til rette for studentenes læring gjennom faglig, pedagogisk og sosial innsats eller gjennom tilrettelegging av læringsmiljøet. Dette omfatter det fysiske, det psykososiale, det pedagogiske, det organisatoriske og det digitale miljøet, i tillegg til universell utforming.
Foto: Kari Nordvik
Vinner av UiB’s Læringsmiljøpris for 2022 er Fagutvalget for Medisinsk Teknologi UiB! Vi gratulerer med pristildelingen; Så kjekt og fortjent — Takk for flott innsats for MedTek-studiet og -studentene!