ISSUE TWO 2019

WITH AN EYE FOR INNOVATION LENA MIRANDA IS CEO OF SCIENCE PARK MJÄRDEVI PAGES 33–35

STUDENT PLAYS LEAD IN NETFLIX SERIES ACTING WHILE STUDYING PSYCHOLOGY PAGES 4–7

CONVERTING SAFARI JEEPS TO ELECTRICITY LIU STUDENTS STARTED COMPANY IN KENYA PAGES 14–17

ACROSS THE SURFACE OF MARS • UNITED BY MUSIC • PREVENTING THE SPREAD OF INFECTION • 30 YEARS OF COLLABORATION CONTACTS Understanding and Contents helping each other

As I write this, I have just returned Hanna plays lead in Netflix series from an amazing week in Kenya. 4 Acting while studying psychology. Linköping University and Moi University have celebrated 30 years of collaboration, with not only a A trip across the surface of Mars summary of what the collaboration has LiU in project for young sportspeople in Africa. come to mean to us, but also a vision of what we can do 8 together in the future. It is gratifying that our model of problem-based learning has been received with such success in Kenya and that we have been able to help to News start a modern programme of medical education there, 10 Sweden’s largest student-organized festival. among many other successes. But probably what affected me most during the visit was the stories of some of the nearly 400 students and 250 teachers who have “We gain a lot from each other” travelled on exchange visits between LiU and Moi. 12 Kenya collaboration gives mutual benefits.

“I USE WHAT I LEARNT AT MOI EVERY DAY”, and “This exchange visit has enabled me to grow as a person, and I’ve had Converting safari jeeps to electricity wonderful, enlightening cultural experiences I never 14 LiU students started a company in Nairobi. thought I’d have” are two quotations from LiU students.

I’M CONVINCED THAT the ability to learn to see things from United by music a different perspective and to experience other condi- tions than we are used to is extremely important. To be 18 Can lead to a new life in Sweden. able, at least for a brief period, to see the world and all the challenges we are facing through another pair of eyes. This allows new ideas to arise that we might never Research have had otherwise – such as starting a company in 22 Most cited in the world. Kenya with electrically powered safari vehicles!

A NEW PERSPECTIVE can also reveal that tuberculosis, Helping elderly hear better which in Sweden has nearly been forgotten, remains a 24 Multidisciplinary research gives results. huge problem in the world with two million deaths per year, making it important to continue research aimed at improving vaccination methods. And it’s possible Working the world that the series “Quicksand”, produced in Sweden and An environmental scientist who loves field studies. launched internationally on Netflix, will give new 26 perspectives on young people and how they deal with a society that has in many ways become more polarised He prevents the spread of infection and unforgiving. We can learn from each other in LiU researcher examines animal transportation. many ways: through exchange programmes, business 28 ideas, films, and – indeed – by reading this magazine. I encourage everybody to do so! New ways to stop tuberculosis 30 Infectious disease claims millions of victims. HELEN DANNETUN, VICE-CHANCELLOR [email protected] CEO with an eye for innovation 33 Meet Lena Miranda, CEO of Science Park Mjärdevi.

2 LIU MAGAZINE #2 2019 8 12 26 28

Friendship across borders

At the end of the 1970s, Kenya is also the destination for some I worked for a year at LiU students who have set up a company a centre for issues of to convert safari vehicles from diesel en- ETT INTERNATIONELLT MAGASIN peace and justice in gines to electrical power. Make sure you Välkommen till det årliga internationella numret California. It was an read the article! av LiU magasin, med texter på engelska. important experience for Vi berättar om forskning i världsklass och om studenter från olika delar av världen som me, in many ways. Among THE MAGAZINE PRESENTS some of the research läser eller har läst på Linköpings universitet. other things, I met people who did not at Linköping University. One project, for fit into my preconceived ideas of how example, is aiming to get to grips with one Americans are. Of course, I was expecting of the world’s most widespread infectious them to be friendly and open, but also diseases, tuberculosis, which claims 1.5 rather superficial. What I found, however, million victims every year. Other research- was generosity, warmth and humour ers are working to make everyday life easier combined with a willingness to discuss for people with hearing loss, to reduce in depth even life’s toughest questions. infection during animal transport, and to I learnt how important it is to put pre­ combat global environmental challenges. LIU MAGAZINE judice and labels to one side, in order to We also describe the thriving musical ADDRESS discover positive and unexpected sides of activities at Linköping University. If Communications Office each other. In this way, long-term friend- you’re a choral singer as I am, you will Linköping University ships across borders can be forged. easily understand what music can mean SE-581 83 Linköping Sweden for a guest student or international RESEARCH AND HIGHER EDUCATION involve researcher as an entry ticket into Swedish EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Lennart Falklöf continuous meetings with people from society. Read about Englishman Benjamin [email protected] different parts of the world. People work Everett and Italian Alice Framba, who together in the research lab, and meet play the violin and bassoon, respectively, TRANSLATION George Farrants & Martin Mirko in exchange visits and collaborations. in the Linköping University Symphony The 30-year collaboration between Orchestra. Both have ended up staying in GRAPHIC FORM Linkin AB – www.linkin.se Linköping University and Moi University Linköping longer than they planned – in Kenya is one of many examples of how and music is one of the reasons for this! PRINTED BY strong personal ties can play a decisive role. We hope you enjoy the magazine! V-TAB, Vimmerby Circulation 30,000 copies LiU Magazine was present at the recent celebration of the jubilee. The collaboration COVER PHOTO Lena Miranda has, for example, enabled more than 600 Photo: Magnus Johansson teachers and students to participate in ex­change visits that have led to growth, LENNART FALKLÖF, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF both professionally and personally. [email protected]

LIU MAGAZINE #2 2019 3 STORY CECILIA GÖTHE NORLIN PHOTO JOHAN PAULIN/NETFLIX & PER WISTBO NIBELL LiU-student plays lead in Netflix series

Hanna Ardéhn is a fourth-year student of psychology at Linköping University. At the same time, she is in the news as lead actor in Sweden’s first Netflix production, “Quicksand”.

Maja (Hanna Ardéhn) with her defense lawyer (David Dencik) in the courtroom. NETFLIX • PSYCHOLOGIST STUDENT

Hanna Ardéhn combines acting

PER WISTBO NIBELL PER WISTBO with psychology studies.

t’s almost too big to grasp. In fact, have been dominated by the launch, and I’m trying not to think about it getting ready for the online première. “ – it just makes me too nervous”, “It’s been fulltime studies and working says Hanna Ardéhn when asked full time on top of that. So, it was tough. about the fact that Quicksand But it worked because it was only for a will be shown wherever Netflix limited period. Those who are respon- is available, including the US sible for my programme and courses at Iand Latin America. the university have been very helpful, She has spent the day studying at making sure that everything works. Linköping University. But yesterday she I’m very grateful that they’ve been there, was working in Stockholm on the launch and have helped me so much.” of the series, giving interviews all day. How do you find time for everything? In the evening, she walked the red carpet “I don’t know”, says Hanna, laughing. at the official première of the series. “Somehow you make it work. It’s like “So many people! We were on the at the start of term when students are carpet and they took loads of photos of us. involved with parties and looking after It’s about as far away from student life as new students – even so we manage to you can get.” cope with everyday life somehow. Hanna Ardéhn’s life has involved a lot Some things do get a bit neglected, of travel between Linköping and Stock- such as visiting the family or spending holm recently. The series was recorded time with friends. But, well, as I say – during the autumn, and recent weeks it works somehow.”

LIU MAGAZINE #2 2019 5 PSYCHOLOGIST STUDENT • NETFLIX

“QUICKSAND” IS BASED ON A NOVEL by Malin and Hanna Ardéhn has been praised for “His character Persson Giolito with the same title. It her interpretation of the lead role, Maja. was awarded best Swedish crime novel She herself found it challenging to become in the series is for 2016 by the Swedish Crime Writers’ absorbed in Maja’s person. Academy, and the Glass Key Award for “There were days when Felix Sandman, extremely dark. best Nordic crime novel in 2017. the other lead actor, and I went through The series opens with a high-school really difficult scenes together; we went So it’s comforting shooting in Djursholm, outside Stockholm. round crying all day long. There was a lot Maja, played by Hanna Ardéhn, is charged of such days that were emotionally drai- that he person- with the crime. ning. But at the same time, it was great “The series follows her in a narrative to have been part of this process, simply ally is exactly about what has previously happened and because it was so challenging. I really felt what led to this terrible event. It’s a story that I grew as an actor during it.” that mainly concerns power, relationships What was it like, working with Felix the opposite.” and dysfunctional relationships. It Sandman? Hanna about Felix Sandman who plays the discus­ses power in the form of who exer- “His character in the series is extremely male lead, known from the boyband FO&O. cises power in a relationship between two dark. So it’s comforting that he personally people, and in the form of who has power is exactly the opposite. I’ve felt secure in society”, says Hanna. acting with him, because I know that he is The series has received excellent reviews, a genuine, kind and wonderful person.”

6 LIU MAGAZINE #2 2019 NETFLIX • PSYCHOLOGIST STUDENT

HANNA ARDÉHN DESCRIBES how she identifies with Maja, in that she also was an over- “There was a lot of such days that achiever in her teenage years. “I can recognise myself in the way that were emotionally draining.” she is a ‘good girl’ – the desire to perform Hanna about playing Maja. well, get good grades, be appointed prefect, and make your parents proud. But I didn’t go to so many parties when I was a teenager; I tended to be the one who sat at home and watched films.” How are you and Maja different? “I suppose Maja is cooler than I was. I am probably more of a prankster, getting into mischief with my friends. I never went through a true rebellious phase, going to loads of wild parties and expressing extroversion in that way. I was instead probably a lot quieter, and more into TV series, sci-fi and fantasy. That sort of thing.” When she was about 13 she saw “The Silence of the Lambs”, which became one of her favourite films, and profoundly influenced her choice of career. “I’ve always been interested in people and their motives. And I’ve always been a bit attracted to the darkness that exists in people. I got really hooked on psychology after seeing that film. The interplay between Hannibal Lector and Clarice Starling, and the psychology of the cat- and-mouse game between them opened my eyes to the subject.” Her acting career started early. “When I was in playschool, my mother found me standing in front of a mirror practising how to swear”, she remembers, smiling. Her parents supported her interest for the theatre. Hanna went to theatre groups from a young age and continued with Brief facts about Hanna Ardéhn acting throughout her childhood. She Name: Hanna Ardéhn started going to casting sessions when she Age: 23 was 9 years old, and landed several roles Lives: Linköping in children’s series. Her CV also contains Grew up: Åkersberga, Stockholm the role as Joy in the series “30 Degrees Studies at LiU: 4th year of the Psychologist Programme (due to graduate in 2020) in February”, in the years 2012-2016. Family: Mother, father and two sisters What is your dream scenario for when Favourite exercise: Yoga you have completed your studies? Most recently watched film: The Godfather Part II “I want to complete my education, get Party or night in? Night in, or night in with friends A secret about you that nobody knows: I have a morbid sense of humour. my degree, continue working with acting, and combine it with psychology, in some way. That’s my dream scenario.”

LIU MAGAZINE #2 2018 7 SCIENCE CENTRE • VOYAGES OF DISCOVERY

A TRIP ACROSS THE SURFACE OF MARS

STORY MONICA WESTMAN SVENSELIUS PHOTO VISUALIZATION CENTER C & THOR BALKHED

At Visualization Center C on LiU’s Campus Norrköping, you can take a trip far out into the universe or deep down into the smallest constituents of matter. The centre is taking part in a huge project that aims to inspire more children and young people to take an interest in science and technology.

e are flying over Center C, tells the audience. from the University of Utah directly to the the surface of They have been invited to the opening six computers at Visualization Center C, Mars, coming of the newly upgraded dome theatre in which are compelled to run at top speed ever closer to the Norrköping. This is the first part of in order to render the beautiful images folded sand du- WISDOME, the Wallenberg Immersive with the wealth of detail they contain. nes. On the hori- Science Communication Dome, a project “The resolution of the images is about zon, we can see a with a price tag of SEK 150 million inten- 25 cm, which means that if there were Wprofile of mountains, and the sun is slowly ded to spread knowledge and interest in people on Mars, we would be able to see sinking behind the highest. The length science and technology. It is financed by them”, Anders Ynnerman explains. of the shadows increases, until darkness the Knut and Alice Wallenberg Founda- We continue our journey towards the finally falls across the landscape of Mars. tion. Similar openings will follow in sun and see how clouds of hot plasma are “You are the first people ever to see this Stockholm, Göteborg, Malmö and Umeå, thrown from its surface. On Earth, the sight, the images are unique and are crea- enabling the material produced in Norr- magnetic field protects against most sun ted as we watch. They are not artificial köping to be seen by many more people. storms. But this protection is weaker at images calculated in a computer, but the poles, where particularly powerful show reality as it is has been captured by THE IMAGES FROM the surface of Mars are cre- sun storms can cause aircraft to lose radio the NASA Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter”, ated from data collected by space probes contact with the ground and may cause Anders Ynnerman, professor of scientific and stored on servers all over the world. problems with the electric power grid, visualisation and director of Visualization The data seen at the opening are sent although the experts at Svenska Kraftnät

8 LIU MAGAZINE #2 2019 VOYAGES OF DISCOVERY • SCIENCE CENTRE

LEFT The dome at Visualization Center C is currently the most advanced in the world.

Visualization Center C is located in an old industrial building in Norrköping.

“Wow, look at that!” The centre wants to spark interest in engi- Visualization Center C neering and science among children and • Opened in 2010 and has had more than 1 million visitors. adolescents. • Receives more than 100,000 school pupils a year. • Has shown 21 exhibitions and eight films produced in-house. LEFT Adventures in • Was ranked number 1 by the Swedish National Agency for space. The images Education for its innovations in teaching and its development from Mars’ surface of interactive methods and material. are created from data • Is operated by a consortium that consists of Linköping University, collected by space RISE, Norrköping Science Park and Norrköping Municipality. probes.

assure us that in Sweden we are well window for the research carried out at set up by language, culture and age,” says prepared to deal with this. Linköping University, adapted for all Anders Ynnerman. Mars, in contrast, does not have a ages”, says Anders Ynnerman. Visualization Center C is unique. magnetic field to protect it, just a thin If you run a Google search for “resear- The WISDOME donation has made it carbon dioxide atmosphere. If people are cher” or “research”, you get pictures of possible to install six new projectors with to live on Mars, they will need buildings women and men in white lab coats, stan- the very latest in visualisation technology. with effective protection, and must keep ding and sitting among at least an equal “We are the most advanced installation a close eye on the Martian weather. number of test-tubes. Anders Ynnerman in the world at the moment”, says Anders knows that this is not going to attract Ynnerman. SPACE EXPLORATION IS JUST one example of young people to develop an interest in the power of visualisation: one minute science and technology. At Visualization Anders later we are on our way from the dome in Center C, research is therefore presented Ynnerman Norrköping, via a coffee mug on the table, as a voyage of discovery out into the uni- a salt crystal, and a microscopic organism verse, down into the human body, across to deep into the tiniest building blocks of the smart cities of the future, or into build­ nature: quarks. ings that have not yet been constructed. “Everything we can show here in the “Visualisation enables us to present dome and the exhibitions is based on re- complex and puzzling concepts in an

search. Visualization Center C is a display accessible manner that crosses barriers THOR BALKHED

LIU MAGAZINE #2 2019 9 News Leader for all students in Sweden THOR BALKHED High in global ranking

Linköping University is number 30 in a The QS ranking is based on indicators global ranking of universities less than such as academic reputation, staff/ 50 years old. student ratio and internationalisation. The universities have been evaluated The QS World University Rankings, by the QS World University Rankings. which disregards the university’s age, is The top three places are held by Asian topped by American and British univer- universities, led by Nanyang Technological sities. Here Linköping University is LiU student Matilda Strömberg has been University of Singapore. number 302. elected chairperson of the Swedish LiU entered the top 50 just six years All in all, there are roughly 20,000 National Union of Students (SFS). ago. Of the young universities in Europe, universities in the world today, of which LiU is now ranked tenth. about 16,000 are younger than 50 years. Starting on 1 July, she will take a one-year sabbatical from her studies in Human Resources at Linköping University to work with such issues as mental ill-health LiU alumna author of two books in students, resource allocation within academia, the situation of students and Upper secondary teacher and LiU alumna their studies, the quality of education, Katja Hvenmark-Nilsson has had her first and student influence. novel published, a feelgood adventure While studying at LiU, she has been entitled “Manhattan Transfer”. This is one active in the student union. of two she wrote while living in New York “I have been active ever since I became for a year. The other, “Välkommen in i a student at Linköping University. For mitt klassrum”, is non-fiction, and has me, it’s extremely important to be able been distributed by the Swedish Teachers’ to influence one’s life as a student, and to Union as a graduation gift to thousands improve the situation for all students. of students of teaching. An interview with So now I want to take this a step further,

MIA GULDBRAND Katja Hvenmark-Nilsson has previously and get even more involved”, says Katja Hvenmark-Nilsson been published in LiU Magazine. Matilda Strömberg.

10 LIU MAGAZINE #2 2018 NEWS • LINKÖPING UNIVERSITY

SOF – Sweden’s largest student-organised festival

Since 1973, a festival of student music known by its Swedish abbreviation SOF has spread happiness among students and Linköping residents, when captivating orchestral music, energy-filled ballet performances and sensational carnival floats bring colour to the city for three action-packed days.

SOF is one of the largest student festivals in northern Europe, with more than 10,000 students taking part. The festival is organised in Linköping every two years. Orchestras come from all over Sweden, nearly the whole of the Nordic region, and there are even usually some from central European countries. They gather at a festival site with a huge range of activities: outdoor games, flipper arcades, theatrical performances, and dance

shows, and the party occupies three GÖRAN BILLESON pulsating days (and nights). Student orchestra from Linköping University in carnival parade through town. And the festival sets its mark on the whole of Linköping, in particular on the which are usually built on an open lorry. as well. We have Sweden’s largest student­ Saturday, when the SOF carnival progres- “One of the reasons that people choose organised festival – that’s something to ses through the city. More than 50,000 to study at LiU is that there is so much be proud of and nurture”, says David people gather to see the student orchest- going on – it’s a great place to study and Stigsmark, chief organizer of SOF 2019, ras, interspersed with LiU student floats, there are so many other fun activities here which was held on 9-11 May. Top marks for teacher education

Linköping University receives top marks in a recently published survey of teacher education in Sweden carried out by the Swedish Higher Education Authority (UKÄ). All of the teacher education programmes examined at LiU were given the assess- ment “High Quality”.

“This is, of course, very gratifying and recognition that our work to continuously improve the teacher education here has

given results”, says Jörgen Nissen, respon- EKSTRÖMER JONAS sible for teacher education at Linköping University. for after-school clubs. Another primary education courses and programmes at The published survey has examined the school teacher programme, for Grades 20 institutions of higher education. LiU preschool teacher programme, the primary 1-3, was given a preliminary examination was one of only four of these at which all school teacher programme for Grades 4-6, and also assessed to be of high quality. courses and programmes were judged to and the primary school teacher programme The UKÄ survey covered 67 teacher be of high quality.

LIU MAGAZINE #2 2019 11 KENYA • MEDICAL COLLABORATION

Waiting room at a hospital in Kenya.

Four medical students from LiU did a work placement at Moi University Hospital in spring 2019.

The vice-chancellors sign a new agreement. Kenya collaboration gives mutual benefits

STORY EVA BERGSTEDT PHOTO ANNA NILSEN

For 30 years, Linköping University and Moi University in Kenya have worked together, in a collaboration that the universities believe benefits them both. Contact between the two universities is now set to increase.

12 LIU MAGAZINE #2 2019 MEDICAL COLLABORATION • KENYA

“Through the years, more than 600 students and teachers have spent time in the partner country, Sweden or Kenya, in order to expand their professional horizons.”

inköping University and ledge about other types of disease, learn Moi University in Kenya to take on major responsibility for serio- recently celebrated 30 years usly ill or injured patients, and are con- of collaboration. fronted with a reality in which patients “A collaboration that lasts in many cases die because they cannot as long as this is unusual. afford to pay for healthcare themselves. One reason for the success is The huge difference in social conditions Lthat we have been fortunate with personal gives new insight. Simeon Mining relationships and trust with a high level of “Many are much sicker when they integrity – we have both benefited greatly arrive than would be the case in Sweden, He is convinced that he will benefit from from each other”, says Simeon Mining, because they wait longer before seeking the weeks he spent in Linköping for the coordinator for the collaboration at medical attention. I’m gaining loads of rest of his life. Moi University and honorary doctor at new knowledge here that I haven’t seen “When you meet people from other Linköping University (LiU). used in Sweden, such as many small cultures, you are forced to reflect over The collaboration initially concerned medical manoeuvres and methods of yourself.” His experience is that all such a new medical programme. The ministry physical examination. I’m hoping to be personal meetings make a better doctor. of health in Kenya wanted to establish able to use them when I return home”, medical education at Moi University in says Kajsa Broman. COORDINATOR SIMEON MINING points to other Eldoret, western Kenya. It wanted the As the years have passed, exchange advantages of the exchange programme, teaching methods to be modern and inno­ visits for teachers and students have been from the perspective of Kenyan society. vative. The eyes of the ministry were for established­ for other professions in health­­ ­­­­ “Our students and teachers receive a this reason drawn to Linköping University, care education, including nursing science boost to their self-confidence by studying which had attracted international and physiotherapy. and working for some months in another attention for its teaching model using Pia Ödman teaches physiotherapy at country. Often, these people will eventu- problem­based learning. An agreement LiU and travelled on an exchange visit ally come to occupy central positions here was signed in 1989 and Linköping to Kenya in 2018. in Kenya.” The vice-chancellors sign a new agreement. University subsequently contributed “I taught a course in neurological The two vice-chancellors signed new to setting up the medical programme. rehabilitation and collaborated with those collaboration agreements during the jubi- responsible for the course at Moi about lee celebrations. More students from the WITH THE MEDICAL PROGRAMME in place, a content and teaching. The weeks I spent Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, programme of exchange visits between in Kenya gave me a new way of looking at including those on the biomedicine pro- Moi and LiU grew. Through the years, what we do in Sweden”, says Pia Ödman. gramme, will have the opportunity to more than 600 students and teachers study and travel on placements to Moi have spent time in the partner country, SEVERAL KENYAN STUDENTS participated in the University. Exchange of doctoral students Sweden or Kenya, in order to expand jubilee celebrations, several of whom had will increase, and plans are in place to their professional horizons. The colla­ been on study visits to LiU last year. They increase also exchanges within occupa- boration has been expanded to include also confirmed the enormous impetus to tional therapy and teacher education. several exchange visits within health learning that occurs when a person leaves “International collaboration opens and and medical care. the educational comfort zone. broadens the perspectives and knowledge On the occasion of the jubilee, four LiU “I really valued the friendly and personal of the universities. No one has all the students were present in Eldoret. They way in which the teachers treated us stu- answers alone, and collaboration quite are taking the medical programme at LiU, dents. This enabled me as a student to simply leads to better education and and are on a 12-week placement at Moi have the courage to pose questions and research. We are now continuing to build university. The conditions for medical reflect out loud, and in this way I’m sure on our collaboration with Moi University, care in Kenya are very different from that I learnt more”, says Joy Wendo, who and expand it in a manner that will benefit what they are used to: the students’ per- is studying nursing science. both partners”, says Helen Dannetun, spective is broadened. They gain know- Ashwinder Bhamra is studying medicine. vice-chancellor of Linköping University.

LIU MAGAZINE #2 2019 13 CONVERTING SAFARI JEEPS TO ELECTRICITY

A group of eco-conscious LiU students has moved to Kenya and started a company devoted to electric safari vehicles. In less than a year it has grown to 28 employees, most of whom are Kenyan engineers.

STORY EVA BERGSTEDT PHOTO ANNA NILSEN

14 LIU MAGAZINE #2 2019 CONVERTING SAFARI JEEPS • KENYA

LIU MAGAZINE #2 2019 15 KENYA • CONVERTING SAFARI JEEPS

Filip Lövström, one of Opibus’ two CEOs, speaks with Kenyan engineers Daniel Muugi, Esther Wairimu and Francis Njoroge.

BELOW The electric safari vehicles are in high demand. “The tourists love them be- cause they’re so quiet”, says Sales Manager Mikael Gånge.

Environment and Management, before they moved to Nairobi in the summer of 2018. The plan was primarily to focus on converting safari vehicles from diesel to electricity – and that’s what they’ve done. They’ve secured a workshop in a dusty industrial district in Nairobi, where diesel and petrol engines are removed, and re- placed by pre-built boxes containing the entire electrical drive train. The premises are being renovated to better suit Opibus – the business’ name, which is Latin for “resources”. But the young owners can already see that they will soon have to ex- pand. Demand for their services is huge. “The safari parks generally have a lot of money, and they invest consciously in sustainability. Plus, they earn money on the electric vehicles. The vehicles reduce very country has to change operating costs, they’re charged by solar its ways, if we are to meet panels, and the tourists love them because the challenges of climate they’re so quiet. They deliver a far more change. That is the back- intense experience of nature”, says Sales ground to the LiU students Manager Mikael Gånge. starting a company in Kenya, Safari camps from all over East Africa to convert fossil-fuel­- are on the waiting list to have their vehicles Epowered safari vehicles to electric drive. converted. And parks from Botswana, “Our aim is to deliver environmental South Africa and other countries have benefits for a better future – but also more made enquiries. equitable development at the global level. Creating jobs here in Kenya is gratifying BUT OPIBUS’ PLANS include more than safari – and important”, says Johanna Alander, vehicles. They also want to address the production manager and the only one chaotic Nairobi traffic. in the LiU group who had time to finish “We want to start up a pilot project the engineering programme Energy, where we produce 30 new motorcycles

16 LIU MAGAZINE #2 2019 CONVERTING SAFARI JEEPS • KENYA

with electric engines. And this autumn we “We’re not trying to do the ‘Save the They are both happy to work at a hope to get started with the conversion of World’ thing. The idea that many parts of company where they are given plenty some of the 150,000 matatus, the local Africa need saving is already firmly esta- of freedom, and responsibility. buses in Nairobi”, says Filip Gardler, one blished, and we don’t want to cement that “It makes you grow, and everyone of the company’s two managing directors. further. We’re building a solid business, benefits from that”, adds Daniel Muugi. They have applied for permits to build and this region has a large growth market Electrical engineer Francis Njoroge up an infrastructure for charging stations, that rarely receives attention”, says Filip also has experience from the tourism in- and they deliver solar panel solutions to Lövström, also managing director. dustry, and was one of the first employees. customers. The plan is to kick-start the “I use every aspect from my professional development of electric vehicles in East SKILLED STAFF ARE ALREADY in place. From day training at the same time, I’m not used to Africa and other parts of the continent. one the founders have collaborated with that”, he says. Opibus recently received an order to the Technological University of Kenya, Teamwork is important. Together they install 300 solar panel systems at schools carefully recruiting individuals with the are breaking new ground. in rural Kenya, meeting the schools’ same drive and interest in sustainability electricity needs. as themselves, and with both theoretical IN THE TAXI RETURNING from the industrial “It’s amazing, we’re directly affecting and practical knowledge. Two of these are district, the driver says that yes, he has the ability of students to get an educa- mechanical engineers Esther Wairimu actually heard about that Swedish tion”, says Filip Gardler. and Daniel Muugi, who recently started company that is into electric motors The group of young entrepreneurs at Opibus. and solar energy. doesn’t plan to stay in Kenya forever. “The idea of converting traditional car He smiles in the rear-view mirror, Perhaps a few years. The objective is engines to electrical motors is brilliant. nodding. to build up a robust company that can I get to use all my professional expertise, “They’re getting into the right thing, subsequently be managed by the and can take full responsibility for my it’s cool, it’s the future.” Kenyans themselves. work”, says Esther Wairimu.

The four LiU students Mikael Gånge, Filip Gardler, Johanna Alander and Filip Lövström moved to Nairobi in summer 2018 and started Opibus, which converts safari vehicles from diesel to electric drive.

LIU MAGAZINE #2 2019 17 XXX • XXX

STORY GUNILLA PRAVITZ PHOTO GÖRAN BILLESON & PETER HOLGERSON UNITED BY MUSIC

Christina18 Hörnell,LIU MAGAZINE director musices #2 2019 at Linköping University. MUSIC • LINKÖPING UNIVERSITY

Alice Framba, from Italy, plays bassoon in the Linköping University Symphony Orchestra.

Music-based activities at Linköping t’s Saturday morning and the THE LINKÖPING UNIVERSITY MALE VOICE CHOIR has University include both choirs and Linköping University Symphony around 60 members and performs a wide orchestras, and offer great opportu- Orchestra, LAO, has an all-day range of music, from items in the classical nities for visiting students and staff. rehearsal in the Musicum facility male voice choir repertoire to newly writ- Swedish friends, a sense of commu- on Campus Valla. The music stands ten pieces. The choir tours at regular in- nity, and – in the best of cases – true support Tchaikovsky’s 5th sym­ tervals and has won several love. Music can even lead to a new phony, and everyone is fully focus- prizes in international competitions. life in Sweden. Ised in preparation for an upcoming concert. The male voice choir has a sister, The symphony orchestra is one of the the Linköping University Women’s Choir music-based activities associated with – Linnea, with around 40 members and Music at LiU. The major part of these a broad repertoire. Chorus Lin is a mixed activities is constituted by high-quality choir, but has high ambitions for its choral performances, while the opportu- musical achievements, just as the other, nity for a short academic course for larger choirs. orchestral musicians is another. The Linköping University Chamber Music-based activities at LiU give stu- Choir has around 40 members and is the dents and staff, not least visiting students only one of its kind. It puts on concerts and staff, the opportunity to sing in several and performs at the university’s ceremo- choirs, from small choirs arranged by the nial occasions. The Linköping University students themselves to massed-voice choirs Chamber Choir is on a par with the most run by the university director musices. prominent choirs in Sweden, and its

LIU MAGAZINE #2 2019 19 LINKÖPING UNIVERSITY • MUSIC

Englishman Benjamin Everett, Linköping University Chamber Choir in performance. violinist in the orchestra.

members come from a wide range of thrives around the music gives friends for limits of what we can achieve. Some­times backgrounds. Many of them have profes- life, and provides an opportunity to get a we receive support from professional sional musical training, while others are glimpse of Swedish society. It is also a orchestral musicians, and this is a students or staff at Linköping University. chance to learn the language. great advantage”, he says. “We are part of the current age, and we The choirs work together at many When Benjamin Everett graduated want this to be reflected in the university concerts, and the experiences are the type with a master’s degree in aeronautical music activities. If you wanted to describe that last for a lifetime. “It is a magnificent engineering from Linköping University, Music at LiU in a single phrase, it would feeling to sit in an orchestra with more he was immediately offered a job at be ‘tradition and innovation in harmony’. than 120 song artists behind you”, says SAAB, but he is not considering leaving The choirs often perform music by con­ Benjamin Everett from Birmingham. the orchestra, and is planning to stay in temporary composers; they shine a light He is one of the second violins in LAO, Sweden. And the fact that he found true onto female composers; and move with and is happy to devote his Saturday to love among the music stands has, of course, confidence across a wide range of genres”, rehearsals. Benjamin Everett finds that it influenced that decision. says Christina Hörnell, director musices is more fun to play in the LAO than it was at Linköping University. in the academic orchestra that he played ALICE FRAMBA CAME TO Linköping University in at the University of Liverpool. as an Erasmus student from the University THE MUSIC-BASED ACTIVITIES at the university “We give more concerts. Our conductor of Trento, Italy, bringing her bassoon and are a fantastic resource for visiting stu- Merete Ellegaard has the courage required a passion for music with her. She originally dents and researchers. The social life that to try new things, and helps us stretch the planned to spend one term here, studying

20 LIU MAGAZINE #2 2019 MUSIC • LINKÖPING UNIVERSITY

“I became part of the community immediately, and found Swedish friends with the same burning interest in music that I have.”

Linköping University Chamber Choir in performance. ABOVE Conductor Merete Ellegaard

international relationships with a special­ isation in European relationships. But it didn’t turn out like that. LAO made itself felt. “I became part of the community immediately, and found Swedish friends with the same burning interest in music Alice Framba stayed in Linköping for longer than planned – partly because of the music! that I have. If it wasn’t for the orchestra, I would probably have spent most of my time with other students from the course”, relationship between the Italian 19th says Alice Framba, who has not only gra- century opera “Christina, Queen of duated in international relationships at Sweden” and Swedish nationalism, the University of Trento but also studied seen from a European perspective. at the conservatory there. Alice Framba enjoyed living and study- “But what’s important for me is not ing at LiU so much that she decided to really what we play, but the fact that we work towards a master’s degree here. And play together.” She also made sure that partly for the same reason that Benjamin her studies during the Erasmus visit in- Everett stayed. It seems that music truly cluded a music aspect. She examined the is the food of love!

LIU MAGAZINE #2 2019 21 Research With a passion for electronic plants

Eleni Stavrinidou is the LiU scientist who beat off stiff competition to be awarded a research grant of EUR 3.3 million for three years from the EU Horizon 2020 Programme for Future and Emerging Technologies. The approval rate for such grants is just 2%.

At the beginning of March this year, she received the prestigious L’Oréal-Unesco Prize for Women in Science, awarded in 45 countries, for her visionary research. The prize, which comprises SEK 150,000 and a one-year mentor programme, is awarded by the L’Oréal Foundation, the Young Academy of Sweden, and the THOR BALKHED Swedish National Commission for Eleni Stavrinidou is inspired by processes in the natural world. UNESCO. Researchers from five European univer- sities will participate in the EU project, track is the development of bioelectronics “My research is inspired by the natural which has two tracks, the first of which is for the monitoring and control of plant world, which has optimised processes by to integrate organic electronics into living physiology. This research aims to increase evolution throughout millions of years. plants. This may, in the long term, lead to knowledge about fundamental processes I love my work and I’m happy that I can their use in the extraction and storage of that can be used in the long term to contribute to expanding knowledge in my energy, and to new materials. The second optimise and monitor growth. field”, says Eleni Stavrinidou.

They study harmful proteins in the brain

Fluorescent tracer molecules developed extremely fierce”, says Peter Nilsson, by scientists at LiU will be used to devel- professor of organic chemistry at LiU. op new diagnostic methods in dementia. Peter Nilsson and his research team The research project, led by Peter Nilsson focusses on developing tracer molecules and researchers at Indiana University, that recognise proteins and that can be has received a grant from the National used in research into neurodegenerative Institutes of Health (NIH). diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease. The NIH in the US Together with researchers from Indiana is the largest govern­ ­ University, the LiU research group will mental financier of now start to look in detail at several brain PETER NILSSON biomedical research diseases in which a protein known as tau Tau aggregates inside nerve cells, coloured with the LiU researchers’ tracer molecules. in the world. plays a major role. Tau is a naturally “It feels as if we occur­ring protein, but sometimes it starts toms start to appear, the damage has have been given a to form aggregates inside nerve cells, already been done. place in the top which subsequently die. “It would be hugely significant for league. The compe- The aggregates may be present in the patients if we can discover the tau aggre- tition for funding brain without giving any noticeable gates and make an accurate diagnosis at Peter Nilsson from the NIH is symptoms for 10-15 years. When symp­ an early stage”, says Peter Nilsson.

22 LIU MAGAZINE #2 2019 RESEARCH • LINKÖPING UNIVERSITY

n Fen sso glin ar g L Zh G a k n ri g Most cited E in the world O lle In g a n ä s Four researchers from LiU claim places on the 2018 list of the most highly cited – and thus most influential – researchers in the world.

Each year, a list of the world’s top 1% Division for Biomolecular and Organic of researchers, measured by number of Electronics. n citations, is published. Four of these Professor Erik G. Larsson works at the o s s work at Linköping University: Department of Electrical Engineering in r e d Professor Gerhard Andersson works the Division for Communication Systems. n A

d at the Department of Behavioural The ranking is based on articles within r

a

h

Sciences and Learning in the Division the natural sciences and social sciences r e of Psychology. catalogued in the Web of Science Core G Professors Fengling Zhang and Olle Collection. The list for 2018 consists of Inganäs both work at the Department of 6,000 researchers from all over the world, Physics, Chemistry and Biology in the working in 21 fields of research.

New honorary doctors

Four researchers who play on the interna- group in medical teaching methods at work as chair of several major research tional stage have been awarded honor- Linköping University. He has been awar- foundations, Linda Keeling, professor ary doctorates by Linköping University, ded an honorary Doctorate of Medicine. of animal protection at the Swedish together with three people from the Peter Larsson, professor of physiology University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU), Swedish academic and business worlds. and biophysics at the University of Miami, who together with LiU researchers operates has also been awarded an honorary a national centre of excellence within Alan Prout, professor emeritus in child- Doctorate of Medicine. He has not only animal welfare, and Karsten Åström, hood sociology in the UK, has been awar- collaborated with several LiU researchers, professor emeritus in the sociology of ded an honorary Doctorate of Philosophy. but also supervised medical students law, who has been involved with the He is an international pioneer in the field from LiU who have worked in his group. establishment of an environment for and has a long history of collaboration Other new honorary doctors are com- education and research in welfare law with researchers at the Department of pany director Peter Wallenberg Jr for his at Linköping University. Thematic Studies – Child Studies. Physicist Nashwa Eassa has been awar- ded an honorary Doctorate of Technology for her work to support the possibilities of women to participate in education and research in her home country, Sudan, and in other developing countries. She stu- died at LiU, graduating from the interna- tional master’s programme in Materials Physics and Nanotechnology in 2007. Nick Hopwood, who conducts research into teaching in Australia, has long had a close collaboration with the research Alan Prout Nashwa Eassa Nick Hopwood Peter Larsson

LIU MAGAZINE #2 2019 23 RESEARCH • HEARING LOSS

Anders Fridberger will test if drugs can help against hearing loss.

Helping elderly hear better

Mary Rudner studies what happens in the brain when our hearing deteriorates.

STORY THERESE EKSTRAND AMAYA PHOTO DAVID BROHEDE

Hearing researchers at Linköping University are addressing the hearing problems of the elderly. The aim is to improve the quality of life of the millions of elderly who suffer from hearing loss.

24 LIU MAGAZINE #2 2018 HEARING LOSS • RESEARCH

ardon? What was that?” “When your hearing deteriorates, your quality Most of us feel awkward “ when we don’t hear of life is affected and the risk of social isolation, properly. And this feeling increases with age, as depression and dementia increases.” our hearing deteriorates and communication Pgets more difficult. In a new research project, researchers will explore a number of questions rela- ting to hearing loss. In particular, what its causes are. Other aims are to develop more efficient hearing aids and to improve diagnostics. Professor Anders Fridberger, from the world-leading research group Linnaeus Centre HEAD, will investigate whether drugs can be suitable for the treatment of hearing loss. “Studies of animals have shown that drugs can protect the inner ear’s receptors from injury – and in some cases, even help them regrow. But before they can be used in humans, the drugs must have fewer side effects”, says Anders Fridberger. His office is at the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, next to the University Hospital, which many of the patients with

hearing loss attend. ADOBE STOCK But can drugs help against hearing loss? Research at LiU makes life easier for elderly with hearing loss. Anders Fridberger thinks so. His research team will conduct the first clinical trial of a method where a drug is injected through how they relate to a decline in hearing. cognition; he is a physician who studies the eardrum. They hope the drug will In a recent study, she and her colleagues the inner ear’s receptors. protect the ear against damage caused by present results indicating that the brain “This project brings together physio­ loud sounds, or slow the development of shrinks when hearing deteriorates. logists, engineers, doctors and cognitive hearing loss. “People with poorer hearing have neuroscientists, working towards a less tissue in the parts of the brain that common goal. That’s a strength”, says THE LINK BETWEEN HEARING LOSS and dementia deal with sound and memory”, says Anders Fridberger. will also be an important field of study for Mary Rudner. the researchers at HEAD in the years to What is new in Mary Rudner’s research come. If we can understand the relation­ is that she identifies similar effects in ship between hearing loss and dementia, people who do not have an actual hearing Facts we will be one step closer to understan- impairment, but whose hearing is getting The Linnaeus Centre for Hearing and ding how to prevent the development of worse. Deafness (HEAD) is a centre at Linköping dementia. “This means that hearing status has University. Over the past ten years it has “When your hearing deteriorates, your more far-reaching consequences for our built up a world-leading research environ- quality of life is affected and the risk of well-being than we previously believed”, ment in cognitive hearing science. social isolation, depression and dementia she says. In December 2018, the Linnaeus Centre increases. With severe hearing loss, the HEAD received a grant from the Swedish likelihood of developing dementia increa- MARY RUDNER AND ANDERS FRIDBERGER have two Research Council for research into age- ses five-fold”, says Anders Fridberger. completely different points of departure related hearing loss. Professor Mary Rudner will investigate for their research. She is a cognitive scien- age-related changes in cognition, and see tist who explores memory, language and

LIU MAGAZINE #2 2019 25 RESEARCH • ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE PETER WINSOR REBECCA DICKHUT REBECCA

MALIN AVENIUS An environmental scientist working the world

STORY CECILIA GÖTHE NORLIN PHOTO PRIVATE & CECILIA GÖTHE NORLIN

Henrik Kylin is an environmental scientist who commutes between the Arctic and Antarctica, with stopovers in agricultural and fishing communities all round the world. He has been taken as an imam in Zanzibar, consorted with polar bears on Wrangel Island, and counted flip-flops in the Indian Ocean.

26 LIU MAGAZINE #2 2019 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE • RESEARCH

PHOTOS TO THE LEFT together when the communication pro- A polar bear with the remains of a meal. blem was sorted out,” laughs Henrik Kylin. The ice forming around the floe is known Humour has been important for him. as “pancake ice”. While travelling around the world he has Henrik Kylin worked with an international team witnessed injustice – how adults and of researchers on an atoll in the Indian Ocean, children who are without education and and found approximately 11,000 flip-flops financial means are harmed by environ- contaminated with environmental toxins. mental toxins in food, soil and water. Henrik Kylin in the Antarctic: “A colleague noticed a solar phenomenon “I find it difficult to accept”, he says. known a ‘halo’ during a polar expedition. I had to act as backstop to block the sun.” HENRIK KYLIN CONSIDERS IT to be his duty to contribute to solutions to the environmen- Taking samples on the ice: Henrik Kylin and Katarina Abrahamsson collect samples tal challenges that people face where they during a polar expedition. live. One of the campaigns he works with actively is to reduce the brain drain – the Henrik Kylin process in which educated people from developing countries travel to previous s a third generation Indian Ocean, and found approximately colonial powers, when they have the oppor­ ­­ professor, Henrik Kylin 11,000 flip-flops contaminated with tunity. He believes that scientists must not has academia in his environmental toxins. take it for granted that western research blood. Both his father has the answers to local environmental and grandfather were A STRAIN OF HUMOUR runs through his des- challenges everywhere in the world. professors. What is criptions of meetings with farmers and “It is important that scholars who un- characteristic for fishermen in Bangladesh, Mozambique derstand the local context, those who AHenrik Kylin is his interest in field studies and Zanzibar. His beard, for example, have social structures and are familiar – he has travelled all over the world in the has its own history. with how the local environment func- interests of research. “I let it grow in the Arctic because I tions, remain.” He receives us for an interview about his was too lazy to shave. And then it turned An example he brings up concerns the travels, barefoot in his office. Several times out that it’s useful to have a beard when fivefold increase in the incidence of hor- he uses a large inflated globe to point out communicating in traditional societies mone disturbances leading to extra nipples the places he has visited. He describes the in many developing countries.” and underdeveloped genitals in boys, in a island with the highest density of polar He noticed that having a beard was as- region that has been sprayed to combat bears on Earth, Wrangel Island, and sociated with reliability and importance, malaria-bearing mosquitos. explains why the Inuit population has such and opened communication pathways “In order to communicate effectively high levels of environmental toxins in their with elders who had considerable influence. here, you must have an understanding blood, higher than people who live close Having a beard, however, can som­etimes of the deep-seated religious feelings and to where the toxins are released. be misinterpreted, as Henrik and another other deep social structures that may Between 1996 and 2010, Henrik Kylin bearded colleague found out when giving get in the way.” spent a total of three years on various a research education course in Zanzibar. icebreakers. “We were talking to the elders through “You either hate it or you love it”, he says. an interpreter. They posed questions and So how did you find it? my colleague answered in a rather acade- Facts “I thought it was incredible. It means mic manner. He realised that the answer Name: Johan Henrik Kylin isolation, and you don’t need to watch TV was incomprehensible, so started to ex- Family: Married with two grown-up children adventure shows to get a dose of drama.” plain: ‘I mean …’, and that was all he had Favourite pastime: Spending time with nature In addition to the polar expeditions, time to say before everyone bowed rever- On climate change anxiety: It’s remarkable that much of his research has targeted less ently. He lost the thread, and repeated it has taken so long for the world to wake up, developed countries in which most people ‘I mean …’, and everyone again bowed. It and it’s a tragedy that people can only focus work with agriculture or fishing. Henrik’s turned out that the listeners thought that on one environmental challenge at a time. research has considered the impact of we were imams because we had beards, Inspired by: Skilled scientists who can com­ municate in a way that everyone understands. toxins on the environment. He has, for and when he said ‘I mean…’ it sounded It is important to dare to be “unscientific”! example, worked with an international like praying, ‘amen’ in Arabic. Eventually, team of researchers on an atoll in the of course, we could all enjoy the joke

LIU MAGAZINE #2 2019 27 RESEARCH • ANIMAL TRANSPORT

Animal transport crossing the United States.

HE PREVENTS THE SPREAD SINCE THEN, THE EU HAS INTRODUCED directives stating that all transport of animals is to be documented, and the documents archived. Such a system, however, is not OF INFECTION in place in the US. And it is here that LiU researcher Tom Lindström comes into the picture. An outbreak of an infectious animal n 2001, Great Britain was hit by “It started as long ago as 2009. Together disease such as foot-and-mouth the most extensive outbreak of with my supervisor at the time, I established disease can have disastrous con- foot-and-mouth disease in the collaboration with researchers in the US sequences for the complete social modern history of the western and Great Britain in this field.” economy of a country. LiU researcher world. This disease is caused by This subsequently led to further joint Tom Lindström has the task of an airborne virus that infects research projects, and eventually to the improving preparedness for such cloven-hoofed animals. When current project for which Tom Lindström an outbreak in the US. I it hits, huge geographical regions must leads the Linköping-based work, financed be isolated, no transport through, to or by American government agencies (the STORY ELISABET WAHRBY from these regions is permitted, and ex- US Department of Agriculture, the National PHOTO CHARLOTTE PERHAMMAR port ceases until the country is declared Institute of Food and Agriculture, and the & ISTOCK free of the disease. Department of Homeland Security). The outbreak in 2001 had major socio­ “The main part of the work at Linköping economic consequences for Great Britain. University is looking at how animals are A calculation carried out for the British transported in the US”, says Tom Lindström. government estimated that the total “Such transport provides a way for the economic cost for the country had been infection to spread. And the US, which around GBP 2 billion in the year of the has the largest livestock population in the outbreak. world, has enormous animal movements.

28 LIU MAGAZINE #2 2019 ANIMAL TRANSPORT • RESEARCH

After the extensive 2001 outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease LiU researcher Tom Lindström combines a model for animal in the UK, animal transport regulations were tightened in the EU. transport with one for the spread of infection. Now the US wants to do the same.

Some animals are transported across the collective use of several models. This THE WORK WILL BE COMPLETED by September, long distances from one side of the project is a large international collabora- when it will be submitted to the US country to the other. And with respect tion with researchers from the US, Great Department of Agriculture, which is to the spread of infection, this can be Britain, Australia, New Zealand, Argentina, planning to use the model in the future. disastrous.” Japan and Switzerland, all countries that The methods developed can be used to The US does not have the same system have developed their own models for foot- compare different control measures, such of documentation and archiving that the and-mouth disease and/or have had out- as different strategies for vaccination and EU has. breaks in the modern age. slaughter. Preparedness in the US for “Some documents must be submitted “What we see is that the models together a possible outbreak can in this way be when animals are transported between give more reliable predictions than indivi- improved. states,” says Tom Lindström, “but these dually”, says Tom Lindström. “I have also received research funding are not collected in digital form. This “My strength is that I know a little from the National Institute of Food and meant that we had to begin by collecting about many different things and can see Agriculture to investigate diseases and 20,000 documents on paper and feeding connections between the bits that I do transport of pigs”, says Tom Lindström. the information into a system, so that we know. This project contains two parts, a “This is extremely important at the could describe the contact patterns. The model for animal transport and a model moment, given the threat of, for example, system we are trying to describe is com- for the spread of infection, where ani- African swine fever. Currently, four of the plex. Animal husbandry is much more mal transport is an important part of six research projects in my group receive industrialised in the US than it is in, for the process.” funding from the US.” example, Sweden.” The methods to describe animal “I thoroughly enjoy extensive interna- transport can be used for other diseases tional research collaboration, which gives TOM LINDSTRÖM IS DOCENT in theoretical bio­ and used to plan surveillance to discover valuable contacts all over the world. The logy and has studied the disease-related infection. The project includes also a work provides obvious benefits to society aspects of animal transport for many study of bovine tuberculosis, a cattle di- and we are working close to policy years. Another thread of his research is sease that is present in wildlife reservoirs makers”, concludes Tom Lindström. “ensemble modelling”, which is based on in the US.

LIU MAGAZINE #2 2019 29 RESEARCH • TUBERCULOSIS

A child in Burundi is vaccinated against tuberculosis. But the vaccine is not efficient enough to prevent the spread of infection. TOM SCHULZE TOM New ways to stop tuberculosis

Tuberculosis is one of the most ”The tuberculosis bacterium is an extre- to reach a diagnosis, treat and prevent the widely spread infectious diseases in mely interesting microorganism. I’ve de- disease were the same as those used in the the world. Approximately ten million veloped a love-hate relationship with it.” 1950s. However, as the 20th century drew people contract the disease each Maria Lerm, newly installed professor to a close, the pendulum started to swing year globally, and approximately at Linköping University, wants to find out back. HIV/AIDS was spreading, and a fa- 1.5 million die of the disease. LiU whether it is possible to strengthen the tal tuberculosis infection was often seen professor Maria Lerm is looking for body’s own protection against tuber­ in people whose immune systems had new ways to stop tuberculosis. culosis, which is the deadliest bacterial been weakened by HIV. Furthermore, disease in the world. strains of tuberculosis bacteria developed “When antibiotics were discovered in that were resistant to the standard anti- STORY KARIN SÖDERLUND LEIFLER the 1940s, everyone believed that research biotics. An outbreak of multiresistant PHOTO DAVID EINAR & TOM SCHULZE into tuberculosis was no longer necessary: tuberculosis in New York in the early the problem had been solved”, says 1990s helped to open the eyes of the Maria Lerm. western world to the disease. In the subsequent decades, tuberculosis, “Treatment resistance is a serious pro- TB, didn’t receive much attention from the blem. Every third tuberculosis patient in medical profession. The techniques used Estonia, for example, has multiresistant

30 LIU MAGAZINE #2 2019 TUBERCULOSIS • RESEARCH

tuberculosis. In this case, treatment lasting two years is needed, and the antibiotics used have much more serious undesired effects than the standard anti- EINAR DAVID biotics. A course of treatment can cost nearly SEK 1 million.”

MARIA LERM HAS SEEN that funds are beco- ming more readily available for research into tuberculosis. One huge challenge is to find better ways to prevent the spread of the disease. There is still only one vaccine available. The BCG vaccine came into use in the 1920s, and is essentially ineffective in preventing the spread of infection between adults. “Some studies have been carried out that tried to improve the vaccine, but to no avail. I suspect that the mechanism of protection of the tuberculosis vaccine dif- fers from that of classic vaccines, and may be completely different. Our research is directed towards a better understanding of the method of protection.” Professor Maria Lerm is searching for new ways to stop tuberculosis. Vaccination is based on the fact that once you have contracted a disease, such as measles, your immune system has have not been able to infect one of the learnt how to combat the infection so lungs, which remains healthy. We have efficiently that you will not suffer from seen an epigenetic reprogramming of the the disease again if you re-encounter it. immune system in our research, and we The most important Vaccination initiates the same protection believe that the protection given by the challenges in the fight system by giving the body an opportunity existing vaccine is based on these epige- against tuberculosis to “train” itself, using a small amount of netic changes.” the infectious agent. But Maria Lerm “Epigenetic” changes describe the way • Multiresistance to antibiotics has given rise to a pressing need for new treatments. believes that we must think in new in which genes are switched on or off in • The incidence of TB is linked to standard cells of the immune system. In contrast to pathways when it comes to the immune of living, and thus an important element of system’s defence against tuberculosis. mutations, which change a part of a gene beating the disease is combatting poverty. “The problem is that if you have already permanently, epigenetic modifications of • A major challenge is to discover a means had TB, you don’t become immune. You our DNA can be added and removed as to prevent the spread of TB infection. can contract the disease again, so not required. In one ongoing project, Maria even this basic point agrees with how Lerm’s research group is studying not Source: Maria Lerm, professor at Linköping University classic vaccines function.” only tuberculosis patients but also people with whom they have been in contact, ANOTHER FACT THAT MARIA LERM brings up is such as family, colleagues and close that only one of every ten people infected friends. The participants in the study immune system can react in several ways, with tuberculosis will actually become ill. cough up some mucus, and the research- not just in the classic vaccine-related “Why is this? We are extremely intere- ers can isolate immune cells from the mechanism. We believe that these epige- sted in the nine others who are infected lungs from this, and investigate whether netic changes can take place in many di- and remain healthy. And it’s also the case cells from different people have different seases. It’s hugely exciting to be involved that the disease is often limited to a single abilities to kill tuberculosis bacteria. as a new pathway within a research field lung, even if the person has been coughing “I hope that our work will lead to opens. In the long term, of course, it’s my for years. The bacteria are present researchers, including those working in dream to use the knowledge gained to throughout the respiratory system, but other research fields, realising that the prevent infection”, says Maria Lerm.

LIU MAGAZINE #2 2019 31 Alumni

Åsa Lindhagen is minister Alumni world for gender equality in the Swedish government. BILAL HASSAN ASHRAF is a research associate in population genetics and epidemiology at University of Bristol in England. At Linköping University (LiU), he studied for a master’s in statistics, data analysis and knowledge discovery, and graduated in 2009. CHAKKAPHAN ATHAPOMMONGKON is strategy and operations senior consultant at Deloitte Consulting in Bangkok, Thailand. At LiU, he studied for a master’s in manufacturing management, and graduated in 2005. SRIKRISHNA CHANAKYA BODEPURI is Postdoctoral Fellow at Zhejiang University in China. At LiU he studied for a master’s in molecular electronics and system design,

MILJÖPARTIET and graduated in 2009. LIANG CHEN is CEO at Beijing Top Speed Tech Company Ltd in China. At LiU, An alumna in government he studied for a master’s in intelligent transport systems, and graduated in 2008. Just over ten years ago, Åsa Lindhagen “It was a great time, and I have a strong ALI REZA ETEZADI is IT supervisor at Ferdowski took a master’s degree in engineering connection with my alma mater. What University of Mashhad in Iran. At LiU, at Linköping University. For the past few comes to mind most readily are all of the he studied for a master’s in communication months, she has been minister for gender opportunities that the university gave us. and interactivity, and graduated in 2008. equality in the Swedish government. Studying was hard work, but we had the DANIEL HALLSUND is freelance anesthetist chance to get involved with other things, if in Berlin. At LiU, he studied medicine, Her portfolio includes particular respon- we wanted to. I was chair of the LinTek stu- and graduated in 2001. sibility for anti-discrimination and dent union for a year, and was a member of BRIGITTE NSHIMYIMANA is monitoring and anti-segregation. She plans to focus on, the vice-chancellor’s management group.” evaluations officer at the Ministry of among other things, equal salary for equal The advice she gives to students today Gender Equality and Child Welfare in work, combatting violence in close rela- is to take full advantage of their time Namibia. At LiU, she studied for a tionships, and honour-related violence. as student, make sure that they have as master’s in child studies, and graduated “As minister, I have a responsibility to much fun as possible, and not to give in 2008. do what I can to make a difference”, she up in the face of adversity. And, she ANDREAS RUMMERT is executive vice says in an interview with LiU Magazine. encourages them to stop for a minute president lighting at Hella in Mexico. She has many great memories from her sometimes and consider what they can At LiU, he studied for a master’s in time studying at Linköping University. contribute to society. manufacturing management, and graduated in 2006. PANAGIOTIS SARANTOPOULOS is assistant professor of marketing at University of Manchester, UK. At LiU, he studied for a Do you want to know more? master’s in manufacturing management, and graduated in 2008. JESSICA PETERSON JOANNA REIGERSBERG-SIEW is senior business 013-28 56 38 development lead at Signify in Singapore. [email protected] At LiU, she studied for a master’s in Communications Office, Linköping University communication and interactivity, and SE-581 83 Linköping graduated in 2008.

32 LIU MAGAZINE #2 2019 LENA MIRANDA • ALUMNI

Lena Miranda is proud to lead Science Park Mjärdevi, where large international companies live side by side with small start-ups.

CEO with an eye for innovation

STORY MARIA KARLBERG PHOTO MAGNUS JOHANSSON

She wants to foster new types of collaborations, in order to address global challenges. Meet Lena Miranda, CEO of Science Park Mjärdevi in Linköping.

LIU MAGAZINE #2 2019 33 ALUMNI • LENA MIRANDA

Interested in learning from other people’s experiences. Lena Miranda has recently travelled to California and China, where she combined work and leisure.

uring Lena Miranda’s five I’d never worked as an editor or headed Lena Miranda began the CEO job years as CEO, Science an editorial office. I was shown to a little working half time when her son was six Park Mjärdevi has grown room with a Macintosh computer on a months old. When Skill was to be sold a – and it will continue to desk. I had to ask the editor of another few years later, she decided to purchase grow. At Mjärdevi, inter- student paper, in the next room, where the company. Initially it was difficult, national companies rub the On-button was.” because the market suddenly crashed. shoulders with start-ups, Then after some successful years, in 2013 Dmicro-businesses and consultants. NEW CHALLENGES DON’T faze Lena Miranda. she sold Skill to Industrikompetens, “It’s a unique environment. Whenever While working on her bachelor thesis another recruitment agency. I present Mjärdevi and the region, I she was recruited to Norrköping Munici­ The idea was to stay on at the company, always feel a sense of pride”, she says. pality’s development company. She then but a new opportunity appeared: Linköping University has been a spent a few years in the electronics indu- “Sten Gunnar Johansson, who had constant throughout Lena Miranda’s stry before getting a phone call from the been CEO of Mjärdevi for 30 years, deci- career. She started in cultural studies; CEO of Skill, a recruitment agency that ded to retire. I had been eyeing his job a her aim was to be a journalist. Parallel was a spin-off from LiU. The CEO was bit, so I applied. The funny thing is that with her studies she was involved in the moving to a new job, and encouraged after all those years in the recruitment student union, including as editor of its Miranda to apply for the vacant position. business I had never applied for a job. I magazine, Sulan. “At the time my son was one month old, wrote an application and handed it to my “When I became editor I had done a and I said no. But then I discussed it with husband. His comment was: “You’ve writ- fair bit of writing and photography, but my mother who said ‘Go for it, I’ll help you’.” ten about all the things you want to do,

34 LIU MAGAZINE #2 2019 LENA MIRANDA • ALUMNI

Science Park Mjärdevi

• Founded in 1984, it is now Sweden’s second oldest science park. • The park is home to more than 400 companies with 7,000 employees. Many of the companies arose from research at Linköping University. • LiU is an extremely important recruitment base for the businesses at Mjärdevi. Every year there is a recruitment fair and a degree project fair, organised together with LinTek, the student union. There are also plans for a poster fair where doctoral students can present their research.

The main building at Science Park Mjärdevi.

but haven’t presented yourself and why exchange of experience. One important SO, HOW DOES SWEDEN compare, on an inter- you should have the job.” issue is the supply of talent. national level? So she rewrote her application and got “We need legislation that facilitates re- “We’re an engineering country that has the job, despite tough competition. One cruitment, especially of foreign talent, and generated several global success stories. of the first things she did as CEO was to solutions for researchers and students from Wherever I’ve travelled I’ve felt that Sweden visit a hundred Mjärdevi companies and other countries who want to stay in Sweden.” is a leader in terms of technology develop- ask them about their requirements and She travels a lot for her job, and has ta- ment. But we can be better at sales.” wishes. This formed the foundation of the ken two “workcations” – one in the United And maybe we should start at home, strategy that is now taking the science States and one in China – where she com- because not many people in the county park to new heights. bines work and leisure. of Östergötland know how many innova- “Here I get to pull everything together, “I was keen to learn more about Silicon tions Science Park Mjärdevi has spawned. and tie in both national and of course in- Valley as a site for innovation, so I asked When Lena Miranda meets school ternational perspectives. Global challenges my company chairperson if I could work groups, she has a trump card: require new types of collaborations. there for a few days.” “You can watch Netflix thanks to Academia, industry and government She ended up having about 25 meet­ings technology created in Linköping in the agencies must work hand in hand.” during four weeks in the summer of 2017. late 1990s!” The following year she travelled to China LENA MIRANDA IS ALSO chairperson of SISP, to learn more about their innovation sys- Swedish Incubators & Science Parks. tems and what Swedish companies need SISP works with advocacy and the to keep in mind.

LIU MAGAZINE #2 2019 35 LIU MAGAZINE Communications Office Linköping University SE-581 83 Linköping Sweden

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