BOARD MEETING 2/ May 2011 MINUTES

Transcription

1 BOARD MEETING 2/ May 2011 MINUTES

2 Title: Meeting of the Board of FIMM 2/2011 Time: Tuesday, 3 May 2011, at Place: FIMM Meeting Room D307a, Biomedicum Helsinki 2U (3 rd floor), Tukholmankatu 8, Helsinki Chair: Vice Rector, Professor Kimmo Kontula, University of Helsinki Members (Vice Members:) Research Director, Professor Anna-Elina Lehesjoki, Neuroscience Center, University of Helsinki Professor Kimmo Porkka, Institute of Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Helsinki Act. Chief Medical Officer, Chief Research Officer, Professor Lasse Viinikka, HUS Senior Scientist, Head of Public Health Genomics Unit Anu Jalanko, THL Vice President, Professor, R&D Biotechnology Anu Kaukovirta-Norja, VTT Member of the Board Pekka Mattila, Strategic Centre for Health and Well-being, SalWe Oy Director, Professor Eero Vuorio, Biocenter Finland, left in item 6 IT Designer Anne Leinonen, FIMM Technology Centre Permanent Expert: Director, Professor Olli A. Jänne, Biomedicum Helsinki, University of Helsinki Experts: Dr Aarno Palotie, FIMM and Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute (UK); item 5, left in item 6 Financial Manager Marja Medina, FIMM Presenter: Director, Professor Olli Kallioniemi, FIMM Secretary: Administrative Manager Reetta Niemelä, FIMM 2(8)

3 Meeting of the Board of FIMM 2/ Opening of the meeting and presence of a quorum 2 Approval of the agenda 3 Approval of the minutes of the previous meeting 4 Announcements 5 Discussion on the future of the Human Genomics Research Area 6 Discussion on the SAB visit on 17 May Other business 8 Dates of the next meetings 9 Closing of the meeting 3(8)

4 1 Opening of the meeting and presence of a quorum Proposal: Decision: It was proposed that a quorum be present when the Chair of the meeting as well as at least half of the other members are present (FIMM regulations 5 ). It was recorded that a quorum was present. 2 Approval of the agenda Proposal: Decision: It was proposed that the agenda be approved. As proposed. 3 Approval of the minutes of the previous meeting Proposal: Decision: It was proposed that the minutes of the previous meeting held on 25 February 2011 is approved (Annex 1). As proposed. 4 Announcements 4.1 The Board discussed the position of the Research Director in Diagnostics Development at its meeting on 25 February 2011 based on the recommendations of the international Evaluation Committee and Expert Panel and recommended Olli Kallioniemi to start the recruitment negotiations with Johan Lundin, MD, PhD (FIMM, HUS and Karolinska Institutet). Dr Lundin will start as Research Director on 1 May 2011, until 31 December The Board approved the content of the FIMM Annual Report 2010 at its meeting on 8 April Some minor modifications were made based on the comments received from the Board. The printed version of the Report was available at the meeting on 3 May MIT Consulting Ltd has performed an investigation of the FIMM and THL possibilities to translate patient clinical, genetic and life style data. The results of the work consisting of two workshops and background research were discussed in a wrap-up session on 13 April FIMM representatives, as well as experts from THL, HUS and the University of Helsinki participated in the work. The final report proposes the development of a clinical decision support (CDS) tool for interpreting genetic, clinical, laboratory and life style information, primarily for physician use. As an example a system for identification of individuals at major risk of coronary heart disease (CHD) was proposed. The proposed concepts will be further developed. 4.4 The Project Agreement Negotiations of the PREDECT project (IMI-JU) have been finalised, and the Grant Agreement signatures are almost completed. After withdrawal of Pfizer, other EFPIA partners (Sanofi Aventis and Johnson & Johnson) are approached to complement a balanced EFPIA in-kind contribution to the project. The Project Goals have been discussed with a distinguished Scientific Advisory Board at the AACR in Orlando Florida in April. A postdoc recruitment campaign using Nature and Nature Reviews in Cancer advertisement campaign and PREDECT webpages ( is ongoing. International and local press releases are expected to be released in early May. 4.5 FIMM is involved in the BioMedBridges proposal submitted to the EU s 7 th Framework Programme s Capacities Programme on 23 November 2010 (INFRA : Implementation of common solutions for a cluster of ESFRI infrastructures in the field of life sciences). The 4(8)

5 project, coordinated by Professor Janet Thornton (EMBL-EBI), has now been invited to contract negotiations. The requested EU funding for FIMM in the proposal was and 11,9 M for the whole consortium for However, 12 % decrease to the originally proposed requested EC contribution has been suggested, i.e. 10,5 M for the consortium. 4.6 FIMM is involved in an European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) project coordinated by Culminatum Innovation Oy Ltd. The project is entitled Elämän merkit - Terveyden edistäminen diagnostisiin biomarkkereihin pohjautuvilla uusilla palveluilla. The contract negotiations will start in early May. The sum applied for FIMM is which is 70 % of the FIMM's part of the project's budget. Total budget of the project, i.e. including all consortium members, is The second call for Biocenter Finland (BF) technology platform grant applications has been published on 5 April at The deadline for applications is at 4 pm on June 10th, BF s international visitor programme for doctoral and postdoctoral trainees provides funding to support short (6 month 1 year) visits of prospective doctoral trainees from abroad who are interested in conducting research in Finnish Biocenters and in obtaining a doctoral degree in Finnish Biocenter Universities. Funding can also be used for short (6 month 1 year) visits of postdoctoral scientists into research groups in Finnish Biocenters. Funding available for FIMM is euros for 2011 and euros for Researchers and teachers at the University of Helsinki may apply for Chancellor s travel grants to cover the costs of foreign travel for academic purposes. Based on the Rector s decision of December 2010 (203/2010) in 2011 the applications are processed for the first time at Faculty/Institute level, not in the Central Administration of the University. The Dean of the Faculty/Director of the Institute decides on the travel grants. FIMM was allocated only 2000 for The deadline for applications was on 31 March FIMM received altogether 33 applications and the total requested funding was roughly The plan is that FIMM will provide additional funding to support travel grants. The decision is planned to be done by the end of May. 4.9 The FIMM National Network Meeting was arranged on 19 April Extensive discussion on the future of the Network was undertaken The preparations of the Symposium A Global View of Disease Genomics as a tribute to Academician of Science, Professor Leena Peltonen-Palotie (18 19 May 2011, Helsinki) are progressing well. The registration is open until 12 May at and there were about 425 participants by early May MIMS (Laboratory for Molecular Infection Medicine Sweden) Opening Ceremony will be arranged in Umeå on 31 May Olli Kallioniemi has been asked to give a presentation about FIMM as well as participate in a meeting with the media Representatives of the met on 23 August 2010 in Copenhagen and discussed preliminarily accession of Denmark to the Partnership. Based on information received from Denmark in March 2011, the plans to establish a Nordic Node in Denmark are progressing well The FIMM, MIMS and NCMM opened a joint call for PhD students in January The deadline for applications was on 15 February 2011 and FIMM received altogether 243 applications. The interviews of the seven top applicants was arranged on 21 April and three top applicants were identified based on the interviews. The planned starting date of the new students is in August (8)

6 4.17 The Board of the University of Helsinki appointed in its meeting on 16 March 2011 an International Advisory Board (IAB) until 31 December Members of the IAB are: Professor Hans-Dieter Daniel, ETH Zurich and University of Zürich, Switzerland Director General, Rolf Heurer, CERN, Switzerland Professor Barbara Kehm, University of Kassel, Germany Secretary General Wilhelm Krull, VolkswagenStiftung, Germany Executive Director Göran Sandberg, Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation, Sweden Professor Sue Scott, Glasgow Caledonian University, Great Britain Professor Masla Singh, The Open Univesity, Great Britain/South Africa Vice Rector Amy B.M. Tsui, Hong Kong University, Hong Kong Professor Hans Wigzell, Karolinska institutet, Sweden Professor Michael Grätzel, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale Lausanne, Switzerland 4.18 The Scientific Council of the European Research Council (ERC) has confirmed on 12 April the election of Professors Carl-Henrik Heldin and Pavel Exner as new ERC Vice Presidents. Their term of office runs until the end of the seventh Framework Programme for Research (December 2013). Professor Carl-Henrik Heldin is Member of the Scientific Advisory Board (SAB) of FIMM New appointments at FIMM: FIMM Research Groups: Minttu Kaloinen, Laboratory Technician, Group Kainov ( ) Päivi Östling, Senior Researcher, Group Kallioniemi ( ) Disha Malani, Doctoral Student, Group Kallioniemi ( ) Riikka Karjalainen, Doctoral Student, Group Knowles ( ) Kristiina Saarela, Trainee, Group Kuznetsov ( ) Ashwini Nagaraj, Project Researcher, Group Verschuren ( ) Tea Pemovska, Doctoral Student, Group Wennerberg ( ) Biobank Kimmo Pitkänen, Head of Development (until further notice, ) Projects: Heli Salminen-Mankonen, Research Coordinator (95 %: ), Biomedinfra project Antti Suutala, Project Researcher, Group Lundin ( ), Biomedinfra project Administration: Sanni Hyppönen, Department Secretary ( ) Mika Frederiksen, Research Liaison Officer ( ), two-year pilot project with the Research Services of the University of Helsinki 4.20 The Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute Board of Management has approved Dr Samuli Ripatti s nomination as an Honorary Faculty member. Discussions are underway to prepare a joint appointment to FIMM. Also an institutional agreement between the Sanger Institute and FIMM has been planned. 6(8)

7 4.21 Rector Thomas Wilhelmsson s decision of 27 April 2011 (70/2011) on the University s infrastructure funding, second phase ( e): Professor Denis Bamford, Integroitu virusten ja suurten makromolkyylikompleksien puhdistusjärjestelmä, Viikki Campus ( e) Professor Eero Castrén, Finnish Animal Bahvior and Brain Imaging Infrastructure (FABBI), Viikki Campus ( e) 5 Discussion on the future of the Human Genomics Research Area Olli Kallioniemi asked Professor Aarno Palotie (Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute and FIMM) in April 2010 to coordinate the planning of the Human Genomics research area and called an expert group. The expert group was comprised of experts of FIMM, the Faculty of Medicine/University of Helsinki, HUS and THL. The working group has been asked to advice FIMM on the steps to undertake in the future, e.g. links to THL and the Faculty of Medicine, what kind of group leader and other key positions need to be filled, as well as how to ensure that the major national and international scientific networks and infrastructure programs. Professor Aarno Palotie gave an update to the Board of the expert group s work on 25 October 2010 and was invited to the Board meeting on 3 May The final report of the working group in Annex 2. It was proposed that the Board discusses the future on the Human Genomics Research Area based on the final report of the working group and Professor Aarno Palotie s presentation. Decision: The Board discussed the report and suggested that is should be sent to the Scientific Advisory Board (SAB) of FIMM as part of the background documentation for the SAB visit on 17 May Discussion on the Scientific Advisory Board s (SAB) visit on 17 May 2011 The Scientific Advisory Board s (SAB) will visit FIMM on 17 May The Chair of the Board, Professor Kai Simons and four of the five members, Professors Cornelia van Duijn, Carl-Henrik Heldin, Edison Liu and Nadia Rosenthal will attend the meeting. FIMM Annual Report 2010 will serve as a background document. In addition, supplementary information will be provided, e.g. FIMM-EMBL Group Leaders and PIs progress reports and future plans as well as FIMM National Network s reports. The preliminary agenda for the meeting in Annex 3. Also one-two Members of the Board are welcome to the meeting. It was suggested that the Board discusses the background documentation/material to be provided as well as the specific questions to be presented to the SAB. 7 Other business There was no other business. 8 Dates of the next meetings Meeting and planning/strategy seminar on Wednesday 15 June 2011, at (Kalastajatorppa, Helsinki) Meeting on Monday 19 September 2011, at (FIMM, Meeting Room D307a). Meeting on Friday 11 November 2011, at (FIMM, Meeting Room D307a). 7(8)

8 9 Closing of the meeting The Chair closed the meeting at Helsinki Kimmo Kontula Professor, Vice Rector Chair, Board of FIMM Olli Kallioniemi Professor Director of FIMM Presenter Reetta Niemelä Administrative Manager of FIMM Secretary 8(8)