ANNUAL REPORT 2012 Department of Neuroscience REPORT ANNUAL Department of Neuroscience ANNUAL REPORT 2012 Kph, Trycksaksbolaget AB, Uppsala 2013 AB, Trycksaksbolaget Kph, Annual Report 2012 Department of Neuroscience Uppsala University Cover Picture: Neurons organized in networks control all functions of the brain. Photo: Michael Norbäck, Developmental Genetics Box 593 SE- 751 24 Uppsala www.neuro.uu.se Editor: Cecilia Yates ([email protected]) INTRODUCTION The activities of the Department of Neuroscience at Uppsala University Faculty of Medicine continue to cover a broad range of basic and clinical research as well as education on the nervous system. During year 2012 the Department had around 150 employees, including PhD students, and a large number of postdoctoral fellows. Over one-third of the staff is of foreign origin, adding to the Department’s international profile. Moreover, the clinical research groups engage numerous clinicians; these are employed by the University Hospital, but have part-time teaching and research responsibilities within the Neuroscience Department. The pre- clinical research groups are concentrated within the facilities of Uppsala University Biomedical Center, while clinical research groups are spread out in different buildings in the main University Hospital campus. As part of efforts to concentrate the Department’s activities, the unit for Physiotherapy and the unit for Speech Physiology and Pathology moved to the Biomedical Center and have spent their second full year of activity there in 2012. The research groups in psychiatry, while housed in an older building on the hospital grounds, have been eagerly awaiting relocation to the new modern House of Psychiatry, which was erected nearby during 2012 and is soon to be inaugurated. The organizational growth of the Department has been associated with a strong expansion in educational commitments and research activities. In particular, the formation of a committee for our extensive undergraduate education within the Department was a focus for 2011. This committe has now been firmly established with the creation of a position of a Assistant Head of Department with special responsibilities for the organization of undergraduate teaching at the basic and advanced levels in 2012. Reasons of administrative efficiency were important for the faculty reorganization in 1998. However, the prime purpose of forming a joint Department, from a large number of preclinical and clinical neuroscience-oriented Departments, was to strengthen neuroscience research in Uppsala. This has been a challenging task, given the different backgrounds and traditions in administration, teaching and research. A major task, until recently, has, therefore, been to consolidate the Department’s organization, as well as to find synergies in teaching and areas for cooperative research. In 2012 we have witnessed continued progress along these lines. The restructured website launched a few years ago has also continued to support research groups and individuals, and has been used for continuously updating relevant intradepartmental information also during 2012. Thus, efforts to improve external communication have resulted in a significantly better visibility of the Department in the scientific community and among the public at large. Daily updates regarding the Department’s activities in various areas have continued to be presented on the Department’s website during 2012. These updates are often based on internet searches, mainly in national media websites, of material published elsewhere on the activities of the Department’s scientists and teachers in the community. This news service has become a popular means for increasing in-house information on the external activities of the Department. Research In order to concentrate research competencies and resources the Department has identified a restricted number of research themes as areas worth pursuing further. These areas have had a proven record of success, and are considered promising in terms of cross-fertilization between the basic and clinical disciplines of neuroscience. These thematic areas were evaluated during 2011 by an international Quality and Renewal committee and the outcome has guided - 2 - reallocation of resources during the fiscal year 2012. Important factors considered in the Department’s decision to identify areas of common interest and significance were: i) to build upon already existing strong and promising research areas, ii) to build workable bridges between preclinical and clinical research; and iii) to create opportunities for innovation by bringing together research groups from a wide range of disciplines. These thematic areas were actively discussed, and partially redefined, during 2012. The conceptual focus on these areas, when combined with pro-active measures by the Department, has continued to strengthen scientific impact, increasing national and international recognition, attracting young promising scientists, as well as increasing success rates in the competition for major national and international funding. Department Retreat In August 2012 the Department again arranged a two-day retreat for group leaders and key administrators. The event took place in Grisslehamn, a scenic coastal village on the Baltic Sea, an hour´s drive from Uppsala. This was the fifth retreat in this series since year 2007 and offered the participants the opportunity to engage in intense discussion of the Department´s profile, achievements, economy, research themes, teaching and administrative services. Particular attention this year was given to success factors and strategies facilitating creative interaction among team member, a topic that prompted lively discussion. Undergraduate and Graduate Education The teaching responsibilities of the Department have increased substantially over the last few years. The Department of Neuroscience received the largest budget for teaching within the Faculty of Medicine during 2012. The Department’s courses for medical students in 2012 have been fully adapted to the new medical curriculum. Education in neuroscience is introduced from the start of the new curriculum, largely as case-oriented and student- activating teaching in groups of 8-10 students, with emphasis placed on integrating basic and clinical sciences. In general, the new curriculum has been beneficial for capturing the student’s interest for neuroscience early in their studies. However, it has also presented a challenge to the Department’s teaching capacity. The Department has now changed course syllabuses to adapt to the new program for all semesters, including the clinical courses. The third class of medical students participating in the revised five and a half year course of studies graduated in June 2012. The Department has continued to have extensive responsibilities within the Physiotherapy and Speech Pathology and therapy programmes during 2012. The fourth group of logopedic students finished their course of education in 2012. The Department has considerable commitments within the Biomedicine, Nursing, and Pharmacy programmes, and plays an active role in the efforts of the faculty to modernize the contents, and improve the teaching methods, of these programmes. In addition, the Department hosts an international Masters Programme in Biomedicine which was given for the third time in the autumn of 2012. This Masters programme has been developed by the Department in collaboration with other departments within the medical and pharmaceutical faculties. Furthermore, the Department has also been involved in the Masters programme in Public Health since its inception. - 3 - Finally, we are pleased to announce that 22 students received their doctoral degrees at the Department during 2012. Of these, 12 was males and 10 females, 15 students were from the clinical research areas and 7 students were from the preclinical research area. Conclusions The year 2012 has been a fruitful period due to the work of the qualified and dedicated staff of the Department. Our continuing efforts to increase cross-collaboration in thematic research areas, and to facilitate teaching and administration have been particularly rewarding. We are very pleased to note that the positive appraisal of our scientific performance within the University-wide Quality and Renewal 11 evaluation (KoF11) has successfully guided action in research in 2012, and will certainly continue to inspire Departmental activities in the coming years. Uppsala, January 12th 2013 Ted Ebendal, PhD Professor Head of Department - 4 - List of contents ORGANIZATION _____________________________________________________________________________ ‐ 7 ‐ ADDRESS LIST _______________________________________________________________________________ ‐ 9 ‐ DISSERTATIONS __________________________________________________________________________ ‐ 16 ‐ FINANCE 2012 _____________________________________________________________________________ ‐ 18 ‐ SCIENTIFIC REPORTS ____________________________________________________________________ ‐ 19 ‐ Clinical Neurology & Psychiatry ____________________________________________________________ ‐ 20 ‐ Clinical Neurology _____________________________________________________________________ ‐ 20 ‐ Clinical Neurophysiology ________________________________________________________________ ‐ 31 ‐ Neuromuscular _____________________________________________________________________ ‐ 31 ‐ Neuromuscular Synapse and Advanced Electrophysiological _________________________________