26 September 2023

Technology, expertise, methods and initiatives can be coordinated more within and between higher education institutions. Linköping University is now one of four new sites in the Swedish research infrastructure SciLifeLab.

Three men and a woman outside Campus US.
Fredrik Elinder, Colum Walsh, Henrik Green och Josefine Sandström. Photographer: Ulrik Svedin
“It’s gratifying that we now have a SciLifeLab site in Linköping,” says Fredrik Elinder, professor of neurobiology at Linköping University.

Together with senior coordinator Josefine Sandström, he will represent SciLifeLab in Linköping as a part of this research infrastructure initiative.
Clarifying available resources

“We will lift LiU’s infrastructure within LiU, but also bring SciLifeLab users here from around the country. There are technologies and methods in SciLifeLab throughout Sweden. A lot is about clarifying this resource, and how it can be used, to researchers” says Josefine Sandström.

SciLifeLab is available to all academic life science researchers in Sweden, as well as to other stakeholders in healthcare and industry in Sweden and abroad. The aim is to make it easier for researchers across the country to take advantage of unique technologies and expertise in health and environmental sciences as well as in data-driven life science.

Major initiative

Since 2013, LiU has been involved in the collaboration within SciLifeLab. Now LiU is one of four new sites, along with Umeå, Gothenburg and Lund universities. This is part of a major effort to coordinate the infrastructure for life science research locally at LiU and throughout the entire SciLifeLab collaboration in Sweden.

It will
be good
for us
“I see it as a great opportunity to gather all operations under one organisational roof. Financial accounting, administration and communication between the various operations. It will be good for us to be able to invest in larger infrastructure together, and share equipment so that it’s fully utilised,” says Fredrik Elinder, and adds:
Planning
“This can have an effect on LiU’s entire infrastructure strategy in life sciences. When taking initiatives, you can look at what already exists within SciLifeLab. Perhaps similar initiatives are underway, and so you can plan for it locally and allocate resources better.

Collaboration on scientific training,
methodology, technology and expertise
is crucial
Henrik Gréen, Josefine Sandström, Colum Walsh, Fredrik Elinder. Photo: Ulrik Svedin. Henrik Gréen, professor at LiU, is one of the researchers affected by the investment in a SciLifeLab site in Linköping. Together with Professor Colum Walsh, he participated in the organising committee for SciLifeLab Day, which was held in connection with the opening. He sums up the significance of SciLifeLab in Linköping in this way:

- Collaboration on scientific training, methodology, technology and expertise is crucial. Research today is so complicated that you need different expertise from different fields to tackle our major life science challenges. And having an adequate and correctly used methodology is important for achieving world-leading research,” says Henrik Gréen.

SciLifeLab Day

Over 280 people came to the official opening, which was held on 10 October 2023 in the form of SciLifeLab Day at Campus US. It was celebrated with lectures and poster exhibitions. Participants came from LiU, Region Östergötland and the entire Swedish research community.

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