The week when the Nobel Prizes are announced is a highlight. Not only for the scientific community but also for scientific outreach. It creates a natural arena for showcasing how the discoveries teach us more about how our body works and how to use them for increased health. Medfarm’s skilled scientists often help journalists to explain complex processes and make them understandable.
The Nobel Prize rewards research of the highest quality. However, measuring research quality is not an easy task. There is a risk we focus too much on the number of publications, placements in author lists, impact factors or other indices. This can shift focus from the scientific content to deceptively simple parameters. Expert reviews require careful attention, and discussions about how we perform peer reviews must be constantly kept alive. The skills to do this are sought after by research funders, and the Swedish Research Council currently invites nominations for review panels. Please do so!
Right now, we are gearing up for the 2022 evaluation of the quality of clinical research, which is the basis for 20% of the ALF funding. ALF stands for the agreement on medical education and research, signed by the government and the seven regions that train physicians. Together with Region Uppsala, we will now highlight our best publications and report on how clinical research in Uppsala has been significant and beneficial to society. Clinical research is here defined as “research that requires the structures and resources of healthcare, and has the goal of solving an ill health problem, or identifying factors that lead to increased health”. This includes large parts of Medfarm and, therefore, we expect a broad commitment so that Uppsala will come out as strong as possible.
Our education programmes are very active. The work is long-term, and we have a responsibility to provide healthcare with highly trained professionals. Therefore, it is satisfying that work to establish a new three-year programme for occupational therapists is advancing, and Uppsala University is now applying for a degree permit at UKÄ. We have had joint discussions between the university, region and Uppsala municipality about designing the programme to best meet the changing needs in healthcare and the increasing demand for occupational therapists nationally. This is just one of many examples of how Medfarm is preparing for the future.