Today marks the inauguration of the NORPOD program, representing a significant stride forward in enhancing the interdisciplinarity and innovative capacity of molecular medicine research within the Nordic EMBL Partnership.

These 7 new postdoc positions offer young research talents the opportunity to take the lead in pioneering cross-disciplinary projects alongside two leading research environments at the forefront of molecular medicine research.

Comparative study of gut epithelium dynamics during inflammation," "Synaptic ubiquitin signaling for protein clearance during sleep," and "The organelle landscape of single cortical neurons" are among the seven projects in which DANDRITE is involved.

Each project, led by a DANDRITE Group Leader and a Group Leader based in one of the four other nodes, provides an opportunity for novel insights to enrich and expand existing knowledge in precision and personalized medicine.

Associate Professor and Team Leader at DANDRITE, Gilles Vanwalleghem, has teamed up with MIMS Group Leader Björn Schröder, and for Gilles, the collaboration opens a unique opportunity to expand the scope of a research area:

"NORPOD provides an opportunity to combine the expertise of the Nordic labs to expand what we can study, we are thrilled to take advantage of this program to kickstart the collaboration between Björn Schröder's lab and mine to study the gut immune response across model organisms. Björn will bring his expertise on the gut epithelium and mucus, and I will bring a neuroimmune lens to this project."

Designed to address complex health problems in the Nordics

The NORPOD programme is strategically designed to address key health challenges facing Nordic societies, many of which become more and more complex:

• Precision Medicine: Tailoring medical treatment and prevention strategies to individual characteristics, thereby optimizing efficacy and minimizing adverse effects
• Microbes to Infection Genomics: Investigating the intricate relationship between microbes and human health, with a focus on understanding infectious diseases at the genomic level
• Neuroscience: Delving into the complexities of the nervous system, from deciphering genetic and circuitry influences to unravelling disease mechanisms and developing innovative interventions

“All Nordic societies urgently need improved treatments and diagnostics for cancer, infections and neurodegenerative diseases. Across our Nordic partnership we have remarkable complementary research competence in these areas, which the NORPOD programme will connect. I am excited that we can now open a new chapter in Nordic research collaboration by building a community of molecular medicine researchers across borders,” says Oliver Billker, Director of MIMS, and the speaker of the Nordic EMBL Partnership. 

The programme is kindly supported by NordForsk, one of the major contributors to funding and cooperation among research institutions in the Nordic countries.

• Read more about NORPOD and see the open calls here
• Read more about the Nordic EMBL Partnership here