The 100 researchers at the top.

Hard work brings

great success Göran Bergström leads the giant project Scapis.

In the years 2017–2021, the 100 most successful researchers at the University of Gothenburg brought in SEK 4.2 billion in external grants.

Sahlgrenska Academy's researchers accounted for just over 2.4 billion of the funding.

GÖRAN BERGSTRÖM, Professor of Cardiovascular Research, is at the top of the top-100 list. He is the person responsible for Scapis, a unique knowledge database for researchers who want to investigate cardiovascular and pulmonary diseases.

– The database contains samples and images from 30,000 randomly selected healthy participants between the ages of 50 and 64 collected since 2012. They have undergone thorough medical examinations, including X-rays, ultrasound examinations and pulmonary function tests. They also had to answer lifestyle questions.

Anyone doing research in the field is welcome to apply to use the data. Amongst the approximately 1,500 variables, the researchers can select the ones in which they are interested. – The database will continue to grow, at least until 2040 but hopefully even longer, says Göran Bergström.

The main financier is the Hjärt-Lungfonden (the Heart and Lung Foundation), but the Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation, Vinnova and the Swedish Research Council also support the project. – I think that one reason why the project received so much funding is precisely the stated goal of sharing. Some researchers keep their data to themselves, but the very point of research is to contribute to public knowledge. Scapis is for everyone who is interested in cardiovascular and pulmonary diseases.

I think that one reason why the project received so much funding is precisely the stated goal of sharing.

GÖRAN BERGSTRÖM

Top 100. These researchers have raised most money over 5 years.

Project leader Faculty Total Project leader Faculty Total

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25. 26. 27. 28. 29. 30. 31. 32. 33. 34. 35. 36. 37. 38. 39. 40. 41. 42. 43. 44. 45. 46. 47. 48. 49. 50. Göran Bergström Gunnar Köhlin Fredrik Bäckhed Henrik Zetterberg Elisabet Carlsohn Lars Borin Monika Rosén Volpe Giovanni Staffan Lindberg Anna Wåhlin Maria Falkenberg Johan Ling Jonas Nilsson Johan Åkerman Gunnar Hansson Ruth Palmer Andrew Ewing Sven Enerbäck Niklas Pramling Maureen McKelvey Björn Redfors Thomas Nyström Katharina Stibrant-Sunnerhagen Johan Woxenius Ingmar Skoog Raimund Feifel Eva Forssell Aronsson Magdalena Taube Annika Rosengren Ulf Smith Kristina Sundell Linda Johansson Davide Angeletti Thierry Coquand Ann Hellström Kaj Blennow Peter Thomsen Sebastian Swart Claes Ohlsson Joakim Larsson Björn Burmann Romeo Stefano Ali Harandi Anders Ståhlberg Magnus Simrén Richard Neutze Adel Daoud Margit Mahlapuu Kristian Kristiansen Anders Rosengren Sahlgrenska Business Sahlgrenska Sahlgrenska Sahlgrenska Humanities Education Science Social Science Science Sahlgrenska Humanities Business Education Sahlgrenska Sahlgrenska Science Sahlgrenska Education Business Sahlgrenska Sahlgrenska Sahlgrenska Business Sahlgrenska Science Sahlgrenska Sahlgrenska Sahlgrenska Sahlgrenska Science Sahlgrenska Sahlgrenska IT Sahlgrenska Sahlgrenska Sahlgrenska Science Sahlgrenska Sahlgrenska Science Sahlgrenska Sahlgrenska Sahlgrenska Sahlgrenska Science Social Science Science Humanities Sahlgrenska 193 613 499 182 648 720 152 063 416 127 543 414 124 948 165 113 069 770 108 391 701 93 788 475 81 270 102 79 741 323 71 530 000 70 519 832 67 889 819 62 993 053 62 647 278 60 764 000 59 905 825 56 920 254 52 029 027 50 100 000 49 450 324 48 722 000 48 429 555 47 174 800 46 782 294 46 283 073 45 150 000 44 612 997 41 818 748 41 320 246 40 621 741 39 340 000 39 113 372 38 850 000 38 731 150 38 402 434 37 568 113 36 571 119 35 233 823 34 756 415 33 495 000 33 319 694 33 047 975 32 831 838 32 176 027 32 114 219 32 009 530 31 916 710 31 818 358 31 597 976 51. 52. 53. 54. 55. 56. 57. 58. 59. 60. 61. 62. 63. 64. 65. 66. 67. 68. 69. 70. 71. 72. 73. 74. 75. 76. 77. 78. 79. 80. 81. 82. 83. 84. 85. 86. 87. 88. 89. 90. 91. 92. 93. 94. 95. 96. 97. 98. 99. 100. Åsa Löfgren Bo Söderpalm Håkan Pleijel Märta Wallinius Shibuya Hiroki Jan-Eric Gustafsson Sebastian Westenhoff Anders Ekbom Martin Holmén Helena Carén Elmir Omerovic Lena Carlsson Martin Henning Karl Börjesson Jan Holmgren Göran Landberg Jan Borén Jonas Hugosson Magnus Gisslén Nir Piterman Claes Gustafsson Bengt Hallberg Mats Brännström Jenny Nyström Alyssa Joyce Jan Lötvall Liss Kerstin Sylvén Chandrasekhar Kanduri Ann Frisén Krefting Gemensamt Medicin Kerstin Persson-Waye Thomas Sterner Andrea Spehar Dag Hanstorp Per Arne Albertsson Leif Klemedtsson Marcus Lind Anna Martner Jörg Hanrieder Mattias Hallquist Anders Lindahl Linda Engström Ruud Anna-Carin Olin Emma Börgeson Paul Russell Sofia Movérare Per Karlsson Gunnar Steineck Volkan Sayin Milos Pekny Business Sahlgrenska Science Sahlgrenska Science Education Science Others Business Sahlgrenska Sahlgrenska Sahlgrenska Business Science Sahlgrenska Sahlgrenska Sahlgrenska Sahlgrenska Sahlgrenska IT Sahlgrenska Sahlgrenska Sahlgrenska Sahlgrenska Science Sahlgrenska Education Sahlgrenska Social Science Sahlgrenska Sahlgrenska Business Social Science Science Sahlgrenska Science Sahlgrenska Sahlgrenska Sahlgrenska Science Sahlgrenska Sahlgrenska Sahlgrenska Sahlgrenska Humanities Sahlgrenska Sahlgrenska Sahlgrenska Sahlgrenska Sahlgrenska 31 588 964 30 440 000 30 361 265 29 880 000 29 868 700 28 931 000 28 813 659 28 301 315 27 764 423 27 244 495 26 849 300 26 789 607 26 523 000 26 423 038 26 241 521 25 322 001 24 814 501 24 424 521 24 170 012 23 265 148 23 248 000 22 874 600 22 588 200 22 141 596 22 046 871 21 732 050 21 660 685 21 586 800 21 386 200 21 000 000 20 906 388 20 843 389 20 709 989 20 230 950 20 176 100 20 159 822 19 936 250 19 847 000 19 784 396 19 765 231 19 735 581 19 727 231 19 665 573 19 660 113 19 582 636 19 504 600 18 800 000 18 716 664 18 386 709 18 328 785

The data comes from the EKO database and measures how large annual amounts research leaders have raised 2017–2021. Amounts that have been posted at a department or a unit are not included. The statistics do not show the extent to which the funds have been used. 

Henrik Zetterberg Fredrik Bäckhed Monica Rosén

The role of the lead researcher is important, says Göran Bergström. – Running a major research project is a very hard job and requires both energy and endurance. While having the ultimate responsibility, you also have to be inclusive and incorporate all the good ideas from your colleagues. A lead researcher must collaborate with all the different experts within the project and build a strong team that works towards a common goal.

Göran Bergström's own research is about finding models to predict who is at risk of heart disease.

AMONG THE MANY researchers who collaborate with Scapis is Fredrik Bäckhed, Professor of Molecular Medicine. He researches the impact of gut bacteria on health and disease. To a large extent, it is about translational research, and very close collaboration with the clinic. – We are trying to find causal links between gut bacteria and, for example, type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Among other things, we study how microbial composition affects processes in organs such as the liver, adipose tissue, muscles and pancreas, both in healthy people and in people with metabolic diseases.

One reason for the success is the location of the research team with premises at Sahlgrenska University Hospital.

– WE HAVE ACCESS to both worlds, both researchers in molecular biology and microbiology, as well as practising clinics. We can run into each other in the corridor, talk about a problem and solve an issue, without booking a meeting. Moreover, we invest in the long term, instead of scratching the surface, we try to understand the very mechanisms that cause disease.

The lead researcher's task is to function as a coach, says Fredrik Bäckhed. – You point out the direction and are responsible for raising money. But without a team it is not possible to be a coach. All our colleagues are skilled in their field, whether it is microbiology, physiology or bioinformatics. My team is also very international with employees from 12 different countries, which contributes to different perspectives. We set a high bar and sometimes our discussions can be very lively.

FREDRIK BÄCKHED is also involved in research communication. Recently, his research team launched the website Livet i tarmen (Life in the Gut) with popular science facts and answers to common questions. – The third task is very important. But it has little significance when it comes to research grants, where good research and well-formulated applications are what matter.

HENRIK ZETTERBERG, Professor of Neurochemistry, researches neurodegenerative diseases. Among other things, his team has developed a simple blood test for diagnosing Alzheimer's disease and is now working on trying to develop tests for other cognitive diseases as well. – About 15 years ago, few people cared about Alzheimer's disease. But in recent years the field has really taken off and developed very quickly. The fact that things happen is of course interesting for funding bodies. We have received funds from both Swedish and international financiers, including the Gates Foundation. The more grants we get, the more we can do, which leads to even more grants; we are quite simply in an upward spiral.

Although the lead researcher is important, Henrik Zetterberg emphasizes the importance of the team. – When you apply for a grant, you specify what expertise the team possesses. Having talented colleagues simply increases the chances of getting grants.

In fifth place on the list is Elisabet Carlsohn in her role as Head of Core Facilities. – The fact that we are so successful when it comes to attracting external funding is partly due to long-term work, tremendous commitment and the extensive skill of our experts, and partly to our close collaboration with research teams that conduct high-quality research. The visible result is the overall allocation of external funding to our research facilities and would not have been possible without our fantastic experts, who backed and promoted the applications, Elisabet Carlsohn explains.

CORE FACILITIES supports research teams mainly in the life sciences, including through expert advice and training. This provides access to advanced equipment, techniques and support for projects in terms of experimental design, sample preparation, data collection and analysis. Core Facilities is open to all researchers, at the University of Gothenburg, other universities and also within industry.

Text: Eva Lundgren Photo: Johan Wingborg