The Neuro-SysMed laboratory
The Neuro-SysMed laboratory provides critical infrastructure required to support the clinical and translational research taking place at the Centre. The offices and the laboratory benches of the Neuro-SysMed laboratory currently host more than 40 people, including laboratory engineers and researchers at all levels, from master-level students to senior scientists.
The Neuro-SysMed laboratory comprises a state-of-the-art wet-lab and computational facilities. We have a dedicated Lab Manager in charge of the day-to-day management of the facilities, in addition to technicians assisting with both the sample processing from the clinical trials and translational research.
The wet-lab facilities include the following functional units:
- General purpose molecular biology laboratory
- Tissue processing and morphology/microscopy laboratory
- Cell-culture facilities including induced pluripotent stem cell work
- Biomarker facility including a Simoa Quanterix digital biomarker detection platform
- Genomics facility including a dedicated 10X Chromium platform for high-throughput parallel single-cell analyses
- Ultra-freezer facility hosting a human brain and tissue bank
The computational unit comprises expert bioinformaticians who perform a complete range of big data analyses – from raw-data pre-processing to sophisticated supervised and unsupervised analytical approaches.
Clinical Trials Unit
At the heart of Neuro-SysMed are the clinical trials. In 2023, the Centre had 31 investigator-initiated clinical trials in addition to more than 15 industry sponsored trials. To administer this substantial number of trials, we have two trial coordinators as part of our core team, in addition to our twelve research nurses. Practical planning of the clinical trials (including protocols, ethics approvals, site recruitment,
monitoring, etc.), patient recruitment and execution, data monitoring and analysis are coordinated by our clinical trials unit together with the PI of each study. We have a dedicated medicine room, administered by our trial coordinators for the storage, packaging, and labelling of trial medications. The unit plans trials initiated by Neuro-SysMed PIs in collaboration with external investigators or the industry, enabling patient participation in national and international multi-centre trials. The Research and Development Department at Haukeland University Hospital assists in coordinating and negotiating industry-sponsored clinical studies.
The role of the trial coordinators
Our two trial coordinators work full time in the clinical treatment trial teams and play a vital part in planning and executing of the clinical trials across diseases. They monitor the clinical trials from planning to completion and provide support for the management and PIs. Their job is to ensure that our clinical trials comply with current national guidelines and within the guidelines from Haukeland University Hospital, and the University of Bergen. They help with contracts and financial agreements with other sites and departments. In addition, they provide the study teams on the different sites with the essential documents and ensure that team members have the correct training and certificates.
The importance of Neuro-SysMed’s research nurses
Neuro-SysMed has a team of nurses, nurse specialists and staff with master degrees in nursing working as research nurses. They work in clinical treatment trial teams and are specialised in MS, PD, ALS and dementia. Thus, participants in our studies meet a highly trained and specialised team of highly skilled nurses that has specialised knowledge and experience in the different diseases, contributing to patient safety and helping to make the participant feel well cared for.
The research nurses plan the logistics for the clinical studies, perform testing and clinical assessments, gather data, maintain essential documents, and provide therapy in the different trials. They also provide input throughout the planning process with focus on feasibility and the patients.
There are many different departments and professions working together in a clinical treatment trial, and the nurses are often the ones that link them all together. In our multicentre studies, the nurses at Neuro-SysMed also provide support for nurses at other sites. It is crucial to have dedicated nurses with expertise in neurology facilitating patient recruitment, patient satisfaction and secure efficient study logistics.
Neuro-SysMed administration
During 2023, our Research Advisor, Yamila Torres Cleuren, has been also acting as Centre Coordinator, taking care of both pre- and post-award phases of our external funding. In addition to the personnel actively involved with the lab, data, and clinical trials coordination and management, Neuro-SysMed has a Communications Officer (Eli Vidhammer), and a Research School Coordinator (Nina Grytten Torkildsen). The administration is further supported by administrative teams from the host and partner institutions regarding economy, HR, and general administration.