Register now for ‘Statistical methods in relatedness and pedigree analysis’

29. November, 2017

A report from the Center of Systems Biology in Reykjavik, Iceland

27. November, 2017

by Kjersti Rise, NTNU

I hadn’t really given a research stay abroad much thought when I started my PhD, it seemed like fun, but too much extra work in order to make it happen, and there were so many other things I already had to do. Then suddenly one day well into my second year everything changed, and I was writing applications and talking to scientists abroad, and about two months later I was on my way to the Center of Systems Biology in Reykjavik, Iceland!

Thanks to the travel grant from NORBIS, I ended up having the time of my life. I got to work in an exciting group, learning how to create and use genome scale models of cells, further develop code for these analyses, meet new people, and I got to discover Iceland! Working on a (for me) new topic was challenging, it required a lot of work, but I also learned way beyond what I had expected. It helped me learn a new programming language, a new way of thinking, getting a new perspective on possibilities in analysing biological data, and develop me as a scientist. Working together with brand new people with different backgrounds than myself was also very interesting, and I learned a lot from working with them. I made both new friends and new connections, and hopefully some of these new connections will become collaborators in the future.

Although the Icelandic climate is not all that different from the Norwegian one, and most of the people living in Iceland speak fairly understandable English, it was still a both strange and wonderful experience living in a foreign country for a while. Iceland is absolutely stunning, and learning Icelandic is really not for the faint at heart. I fell in love with the country, the science, the language, pretty much everything, and that’s all thanks to NORBIS who supported me financially, and made it possible. Travelling alone and figuring things out by yourself in a foreign country is always a good way of learning a lot about yourself, and the world around you. It changes perspective, not only in regards to science and work, but also in the way one sees the world. Yes, there was a bit of work required to make it happen (most of it when I came home, actually!), but not as much as I initially thought, and it was all so worth it. I’m so grateful I got to have this experience, and I can highly recommend some time abroad to anyone!

Kjersti Rise, September, 2017

Funding available for international exchange!

27. November, 2017

Once more, we encourage you as a NORBIS member to spend part of your PhD period (at least 3-6 months) at an institution abroad, to benefit from international expertise and to expand your international network. We have funding available for such an exchange, and we now invite you to apply for financial support for your stay. Read more and apply here by 1st March!

Registration now open for ‘Sequence comparison and database search’

23. November, 2017

NORBIS is happy to announce that registration now is open for our course ‘Sequence comparison and database search’ (NORBIS901), which will run in Bergen 29 January – 2 February.

This course provides insight into methods for aligning biological sequences. Its goal is to present an overview of the basic concepts of sequence alignments and some of their applications with a strong emphasis on homology based multiple sequence alignment modelling, one of the most widely used method in biology. The course is based on our previous course ‘An introduction to sequence comparison and database search‘, which was run in November 2015, but is more advanced and will also include RNA structure based alignments.

Read more and register here by 2nd January 2018

Feel free to share the invitation with anyone who might be interested.

Program and abstracts for Sommarøy now available!

2. November, 2017