From left to right: Simone Mester, PhD student at UiO, Øyvind Kongstun Arnesen, CEO of Ultimovacs, Jonas Einarsson, CEO of Radforsk and Janne Nestvold, Laboratory Manager at Oslo Cancer Cluster Incubator, met the Ullern students of the researcher program.

Meet the mentors

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The mentors of the student research program at Ullern Upper Secondary School meet the students for the first time.

Read the questions and answers from when the students at Ullern Upper Secondary School met their mentors for the very first time.

In the middle of October, 32 students at the researcher program at Ullern Upper Secondary School got to meet their four mentors for the next year. After a short introduction, there were many questions from the students to the mentors. It took an hour and a half before their curiosity settled down and it was time for pizza.

Simone Mester: “I am a former student of Ullern Upper Secondary School and now I am doing a PhD in molecular biology. In the long term, I could imagine working in the private sector developing pharmaceuticals.”

Øyvind Kongstun Arnesen: “I am a doctor and worked many years in Lofoten. After that, I worked some years as a surgeon in an emergency room, before I began working for a large German pharmaceutical company called Boehringer Ingelheim. Eight years ago, I became CEO for Ultimovacs. Ultimovacs are trying to develop the worlds first cancer vaccine.”

Jónas Einarsson: “I am a doctor, and did the first part of my medical degree on Iceland, because my grades weren’t the best. Then, I worked many years as a general practitioner in Lardal, before moving to Oslo and becoming the manager of the first private hospital in Norway. In parallel with this, I did a degree in economy and management at BI. Finally, I became the CEO of Radforsk, who among other things, initiated the Oslo Cancer Cluster Innovation Park and this school collaboration.”

Bjørn Klem: Bjørn is the fourth mentor, but he was unfortunately ill during the first meeting. Janne Nestvold, Laboratory Manager at Oslo Cancer Cluster Incubator, came in his place. Nestvold has a PhD and has worked as a researcher for many years.

 

After the introductions, the teachers at the researcher program, Ragni Fet and Monica Flydal Jenstad held a short presentation of the upcoming work with the mentors.

Then, there were several questions from the audience.  We were really impressed by the amount and quality of the questions, that concerned both education, job opportunities and, research and development, which both Kongstun and Mester are a part of. The questions rained down and the answers came in a session that continued for over an hour and a half. You can read some of them below. Then it was time for some pizza and mingle.

The next time the students and the mentors will meet will be in the beginning of December. The students will meet in the mentors’ workplaces and see with their own eyes what they do on an everyday basis.

 

Questions and answers:

What kind of medical specialisation does Jónas and Øyvind have?

“We are both general practitioners and have not specialised. You do not have to.”

 

What kinds of jobs can you do after you are finished, Simone?

Simone: “I can do a postdoc to become a researcher in academia. I am still a student while I am doing my PhD, but I receive a salary. It is normal to do two postdocs, then you can become group leader or professor. I don’t think I will follow that route, I would much rather work in a private company or start something myself. I think that seems more exciting.”

Jónas: “Simone will get a job immediately in one of our companies if she wants it.”

 

Are there many developments every day to find a cancer vaccine?

Jónas: “It takes time, so the short answer is no.”

 

What is the greatest challenge with the cancer vaccine that Ultimovacs are developing?

Øyvind: “To make it work? A good and difficult question.”

Øyvind explained further about the development and testing of the vaccine at Ultimovacs.

 

What is your PhD about, Simone?

Simone: “I develop technology that prolongs the half-life of medicines. It is a patient-focused PhD, since it is a big inconvenience for the patient to take medicines often, but I hope we can succeed in prolonging the half-life so that patients can take the medicine once a week or once a month.”

 

What should one study if one wants to work with medical development or pharmaceutical development?

Jónas: “Molecular biology, physiology, IT, physics, chemistry, biology, statistics  – there are many opportunities.”

Øyvind: “In our company, we have physiologists, doctors, protein chemists, dentists and pharmacists working right now.”

 

When you went to upper secondary school, did you know that you would be doing what you do today?

Jónas: “I chose the natural science, but did not know anything else.”

Øyvind: “I only knew I wanted to study natural science.”

Simone: “I was thinking about studying a medical degree, but I am happy that I chose molecular biology.”

Janne: “I thought about becoming a researcher and thought it seemed exciting. You should absolutely think widely and not just the easiest solution when you are still in upper secondary school. You will benefit from that when you begin to study at university.”

 

Have you always been interested in biology, or was there something special you saw that made you excited about it? 

Jónas: “Yes, always.”

Øyvind: “Biology in itself is very fascinating. There is so much we do not know, like where memories are stored in the brain, for example. We know very little about how the body works, so that is very fascinating.”

 

The cancer vaccine you are developing, will it work against all cancers or only specific types of cancer?

Øyvind: “It will work to treat and protect against most cancer types.”

 

What did Bjørn do in PhotoCure, the company he worked for before becoming manager for Oslo Cancer Cluster Incubator?

Jónas: “He was Head of Research. He is a very smart guy, and he has also worked a lot with the regulatory side.”

 

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New report: Cancer in Norway 2018

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Cancer Registry of Norway has released the report Cancer in Norway. These are the main points. 

Since the 1950s, Cancer Registry of Norway has published statistical reports of the cancer incidence in Norway almost annually. The past 14 editions of these reports can be found online on the Cancer Registry’s official report page.

In 2018, 34 190 new cancer cases were reported. In order to understand how cancer changes over time in the population, the Cancer Registry examines rates over five-year periods.

Differences between men and women

18 321 men were diagnosed with cancer in 2018.

These are the most common cancer types among men:

  • Prostate cancer, 27,9%
  • Lung cancer, 9,3%
  • Colon cancer, 7,9%
  • Cancer in the urinary tract, 6,9%
  • Skin cancer, non-melanoma, 6,1%

In men, the rates for all cancers combined have been stable. Rates for prostate and lung cancer are decreasing, and so are the rates for rectum cancer, while the trend for colon cancer points slightly upwards.

15 869 women were diagnosed with cancer in 2018.

These are the most common cancer types among women:

  • Breast cancer, 22,3%
  • Colon cancer, 10,1%
  • Lung cancer, 10,0%
  • Melanoma, 6,8%
  • Skin cancer, non-melanoma, 6,4%

There has been a 5,6% increase in the rates among women from the previous five-year period to the most recent one. This reflects increased rates of breast, colon, lung and skin cancer.

Cancer rates by immigrant group

This year the report Cancer in Norway presents cancer rates by immigrant group for the first time.

At the beginning of 2019 immigrants represented 14,3% of the Norwegian population. According to Statistics Norway, about 48% of the immigrants are from Europe, 14% from Africa and 34% from Asia, leaving another 4% from the rest of the world.

Immigrants from outside Europe tend to have lower cancer rates than people born in Norway, the report shows.

In the report foreword Giske Ursin, Director of Cancer Registry of Norway, writes:

“Cancer is predominantly a disease caused by western lifestyle and environment, and many immigrants bring with them a healthier lifestyle associated with lower cancer rates. We may all profit from learning and adapting to a healthier lifestyle.”

Although long-term trends among immigrants tend to be favourable, there are some noteworthy exceptions, according to the report. Immigrants from countries with high smoking prevalence, such as a number of the Eastern European countries, have higher rates of lung cancer.

Socioeconomic factors also matter

The special issue of the report goes in depth on rates among immigrants and also by socioeconomic factors. These factors also matter, according to Giske Ursin:

“We know that socioeconomic status plays a role for several cancers, and a key question is whether there are independent effects linked to income, education and immigrant status. We therefore examine all three factors. We found that a number of cancers are more common among those who have short education or low income. However, we found that the differences between immigrant groups remain after adjustment for socioeconomic factors.”

This information can be used to reduce cancer risk, according to the Cancer Registry – but one size does not fit all in terms of prevention. Ursin writes:

“We need a more targeted approach if we are to prevent cancer in all population subgroups at higher risk of cancer.”

Read the report

  • Cancer in Norway 2018 – Cancer incidence, mortality, survival and prevalence in Norway is available in a printed version. The report is free of charge, and can be ordered by sending an email to kreftregisteret@kreftregisteret.no
  • Or download the report, in English and Norwegian, from the website of the Cancer Registry of Norway
  • The special issue part about immigrants and socioeconomic factors is only available in Norwegian for the time being

 

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From the left: Bjørn Klem, General Manager, and Janne Nestvold, Laboratory Manager, are thrilled that their incubator is among Europe’s top 20 biotech start-up ecosystems.

Among Europe’s finest 

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Björn Klem and Janne Nestvold celebrate that the Oslo Cancer Cluster Incubator has been nominated among Europe's 20 best incubators.

OCC Incubator was recently rated among the top 20 European biotech incubators. Here’s why!

Every year, the biotech website Labiotech makes a top 20 list of the best biotech incubators in Europe. Oslo Cancer Cluster (OCC) Incubator is the only Norwegian incubator on the list this year, together with well established incubators in Belgium, Switzerland, Great Britain, Germany, Sweden and other European countries.

Labiotech.eu is the leading digital media covering the European biotech industry, with over 150,000 visitors every month.

Size and relevance matters

We asked Clara Rodríguez Fernández, Senior Reporter in Labiotech, about the selection criteria. She replied:

“We aim to include the most relevant incubators across different European countries. We selected those based on their size and relevance within their country’s biotech ecosystem and also based on feedback from the industry contacts we sent our preliminary list to.”

See the full top 20 list on labiotech.eu.  

Means a lot in Norway

In Norway, the list has attracted attention.

“This means a lot. We have a strong and attractive ecosystem around Oslo Cancer Cluster on research and commercialization of pharmaceuticals. The latest success story is the tech company OncoImmunity that was bought by the tech giant NEC this summer.” Håkon Haugli, CEO Innovation Norway

Read more about NEC OncoImmunity in this news story.

Håkon Haugli continues:

“We also recognize that Norway, through Oslo Cancer Cluster, is positioned very well for the European Union’s next big endeavour, ‘Missions’, which will be launched next year. Cancer is one of five focus areas, which the European Union will channel considerable project resources into, to resolve one of our time’s big societal problems.”

The European Union has defined five research and innovation mission areas, inspired by the Apollo 11 mission to put a man on the moon. The missions aim to deliver solutions to some of the greatest challenges facing our world, such as cancer, climate change, healthy oceans, climate-neutral cities and healthy soil and food.

You can read more about the European research and innovation missions on this official website.

A boost of motivation

For OCC Incubator, being on the top 20 list is a nice boost of motivation. Bjørn Klem, General Manager OCC Incubator, puts it this way: 

“We are excited about being rated among the best biotech incubators in Europe. It motivates us to become the most attractive space for innovations in the field of cancer!” 

 

Want to read more about biotech incubators and start-up opportunities? 

 

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Thermo Fisher Scientific Norway was one of many stops during the guided tours through Oslo Cancer Cluster Innovation Park for students of Ullern Upper Secondary School.

A peak into the cancer research world

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ThermoFisher Scientific Norway lectures students at Ullern

Ullern Upper Secondary School is unique, because it shares its building with world-class cancer researchers. Last month, all new Ullern students got to experience this first-hand.

This year’s School Collaboration Days in Oslo Cancer Cluster Innovation Park were held right before the autumn holiday. All the first-year classes at Ullern Upper Secondary School were given a guided tour around the Innovation Park to get to know the companies that they share their everyday lives with.

The purpose of the School Collaboration Days is to give the first-year students at Ullern Upper Secondary School an understanding of what the different companies in the Innovation Park and departments of Oslo University Hospital do.

The common denominator for all of them is cancer and many are developing new cancer treatments. While the Cancer Registry of Norway are collecting statistics and doing cancer research, Sykehusapotekene (Southern and Eastern Norway Pharmaceutical Trust) produce chemotherapy and antibodies for patients that are admitted to The Norwegian Radium Hospital and the Department of Pathology (Oslo University Hospital) gives the cancer patients their diagnoses.

 

IN PICTURES

The student guided tours of Oslo Cancer Cluster Innovation Park

Jonas Einarsson lecturing to students at Ullern

True to tradition, Jónas Einarsson, CEO of the evergreen fund Radforsk, opened the School Collaboration Days in Kaare Norum auditorium with a common lecture. In this image, Einarsson is talking about the development of the Montebello area, which Oslo Cancer Cluster Innovation Park is a part of. The first Radium Hospital was opened in 1932 and the following year Ullern School was moved from Bestum to the same place that houses Oslo Cancer Cluster Innovation Park today.

 

Kreftregisteret lecturing to students at Ullern.

Elisabeth Jakobsen, Head of Communications of the Cancer Registry of Norway, tells the first year students about what they do and the risk factors for developing cancer. Also, she asked the students several questions about how to regulate the sales of tobacco, e-cigarettes and many other things.

 

Thor Audun Saga is the CEO of Syklotronsenteret (“the Norwegian medical cyclotron centre”). He told the students about what they do, what a cyclotron is and how they use cyclotrons to develop cancer diagnostics.

 

ThermoFisher Scientific Norway lectures students at Ullern

The management of Thermo Fisher Scientific Norway are also housed in the Oslo Cancer Cluster Innovation Park. They told the students about the Norwegian invention called “Ugelstadkulene”. This is both the starting point for million of diagnostic tests across the world and revolutionary (CAR T) cancer treatments, 45 years after they were invented.

 

Students guided through the Oslo Cancer Cluster Incubator Laboratory

The tour was ended with a walk through the laboratory of the Oslo Cancer Cluster Incubator. The students were given an inside look at the work done and instruments used by the cancer researchers in the lab. This area is only one or two floors above their regular class rooms. The student could see first-hand the opportunities there are in pursuing a career in research, entrepreneurship and innovation.