Søren Falch Prize to global health pioneer
Central to the creation of Centre for International Health, Professor Nilsen is most proud of his role in establishing the multidisciplinary doctoral title.
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Educated as a dentist and a pathologist, Rune Nilsen took his doctorate on the basis of the immunological research at Gade’s Institute.
"One has to highlight Rune Nilsen's leadership skills - his abilities for creating productive milieus and his capacity for strategic thinking - making Centre for International Health emerge as a centre that gets noticed and listened to both nationally and internationally," said Nina Langeland, Dean of the Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry and chairman of the fund that awards the prize.
Many of the researchers at Centre for International Health are today part of the Centre of Excellence for Intervention Science in Maternal and Child Health.
Søren Falch Senior Prize consists of a diploma and a check of price is 250,000 NOK. The fund that awards the prize places particular emphasis on works that are of great scientific or social significance.
"This is a well-deserved prize. Professor Nilsen has been instrumental in promoting multi- and trans-disciplinary research while developing cooperation with academic institutions on other continents," says academic coordinator of UiB Global, Gro Lie.
Multidisciplinary doctorates
In addition to his work with Centre for International Health, the jury also emphasised Professor Nilsen’s work as Pro-Rector at the University from 2001-2005. According to the jury, he contributed in this period to the harmonization of doctoral education both at UiB, but also nationally and internationally.
"It is the work with doctoral degrees that I am most proud of. Doctorates were usually closely connected to each department, but I managed to change the way we think about PhD research as something institutional and interdisciplinary. In this way we have moved from a focus on an individual’s research towards seeing talented scientists in research groups," says Nilsen.
Cross-disciplinary knowledge
Today, he is on a two-year research leave at Telemark University College where he, not surprisingly, works on the development of an interdisciplinary doctoral program in environment, ecology and climate.
"It is when we work together, across faculties, that we achieve the best knowledge. Centre for International Health is proof of this. The centre has dentists, nurses, doctors and social scientists working together to achieve the same goal," says Professor Nilsen.
Translated from the Norwegian article by Solrun Dregelid.
