This autumn, the Institute of Basic Medical Sciences chose a new leader and only one candidate stood for election. Philippe Collas, professor and Head of the Department of Molecular Medicine declares that he is highly motivated to tackle all the tasks awaiting him over the next four-year period from the New Year.
PHILIPPE COLLAS
- Professor of biochemistry since 2003 and current Head of the Department of Molecular Medicine
- 58 years old, originally from France and resident in Norway since 1994
- PhD from the University of Massachusetts in 1991
- Over 220 Pubmed publications in the field of nuclear cell biology and epigenetics
- Has worked as a researcher in industry in the USA, at the Norwegian Veterinary College and at IMB
- Deputy director of the Centre for Stem Cell Research for nine years
- Member of the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters since 2006
- Takes over the post of Head of Institute at the Institute of Basic Medical Sciences in January 2025
– The Institute is facing several major challenges going forward. The number of medical students is increasing. KPM, UiO’s joint animal department, is to be organized in a new way. In addition, costs are continuing to rise without our budget being increased. This means that we must work even harder to secure external funding, says the incoming leader.
More interaction
Collas decided to apply for the role of Head of Institute partly because he felt ready to do something different after more than 20 years as a professor and partly because he was looking for a wider arena in which to work.
– I like working to motivate people at all levels and I place great emphasis on cross-functional interaction. It is important to value everyone, whatever their position. I also want to promote IMB’s interests, says the 58-year-old professor.
Collas hopes that his background as active researcher and his experience as Head of Department will benefit the institute. He stresses that although his experience is from MolMed, he will also be actively engaged in the other three departments at IMB.
– I want to examine how we can draw more benefits from cooperation across disciplines. I will hold meetings with the Heads of Department and others in the departments to devise the best platform to achieve this aim, says Collas.
Will introduce students and researchers to teaching
The incoming Head of Institute points out that the common denominator of the four departments is teaching.
– More students require a greater or better use of available resources for teaching. I envisage that medical research students, PhD students and postdocs can help. This way, they become a teaching resource and gain valuable experience, he says – win-win.
Collas admits that the budget for the coming years will be a challenge.
– We must cut down on costs. This may involve postponing appointments or not advertising new positions. We will have to be even more careful with how we use our funds, he says.
The professor also believes that a number of tasks can be simplified and made more efficient, for example certain administrative procedures. Collas emphasises, however, that there are currently no plans to change the decentralized financial model, whereby the departments themselves manage much of the Institute’s funds.
More researchers must be encouraged to apply to NFR
The Research Council of Norway (NFR) has moved away from fixed deadlines for applying for FRIPRO funds and has switched to accepting applications on an ongoing basis. This poses an unforeseen challenge.
– It appears that the number of applications from IMB has decreased. This may be because many researchers now put off applying until they have one more article published so as to increase their funding chances. We will have to do something about this.
Collas is keen for researchers to be forward-looking in their research and to explore new areas. This, in addition to choosing projects relevant to the needs of society, will be ever more important when it comes to applying for funds.
Another focus area of the incoming leader is to promote the interests of IMB vis-à-vis the Faculty of Medicine and others at UiO, such as the Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences.
– Much had to be sorted out internally after the reorganization of the Faculty of Medicine from ten to three institutes some years back. IMB acquired many new units that had to find their place in the structure. The previous two Heads of Institute have used a lot resources on that. But now, it is possible to work on external relations and that is what I intend to invest in, Collas says.
No obligation to learn French
What kind of leadership can we expect from the future leader?
– I am enthusiastic, responsive, efficient and realistic, he says.
If you want to make small talk with Collas, two winning topics are tennis and carpentry.
Finally, we have to ask the question: both the Head of Institute and the Head of Office will now be French speakers – does this mean that the staff must learn French?
– Non, non – pas du tout, replies Collas with a laugh: –No, no – not at all!