MOTIF - Main objective

International cooperation is a prerequisite for conducting successful top-level research in the fields of science and technology and one of the most effective ways to increase the scientific level of small research institutions. It enables sharing and transferring knowledge, creating innovation and shortening the distance to the best. Taking the above into consideration, the aim of the "A four-party training initiative focused on the mechanism of tissue and tumor fibrosis" ; acronym MOTIF") at the University of Bergen by creating a link with internationally-leading research institutions, namely University of Toronto (UoT) and University of California at San Francisco (UCSF). In order to entirely benefit from the project and to ensure the sustainability, a biotech company, Quorom Technologies Inc. will be incorporated into the project, taking advantage of their long-established successful collaboration with one of the network partners at UoT.

The established cooperation will considerably improve the scientific level and impact of UiB in terms of the research profile and quality, technical competence of the staff, international networking, innovations and societal impact. R&D initiatives underpinning this particular project thus address important societal challenges. Tissue fibrosis as a result of elevated production of extracellular matrix (ECM) molecules by activated fibroblasts and the devastating ECM accumulation in tissues, is responsible for remarkably large disease burden. In this context it has been increasingly recognized that wound healing, chronic fibrosis and cancer share some common mechanisms at the molecular level and recent findings towards understanding these processes in order to develop better treatment options, are very promising. Furthermore, the suggested network will considerably tighten cooperation between partners, to the extent that it would create a critical mass effect enabling new initiatives, tackling the identified challenges and contributing to the regional growth through innovation.