New initiative by the KK Foundation to support young researchers at Malmö University

“For the Faculty of Odontology, this is a significant contribution to our ambition to develop and ensure the next generation of researchers, and to be a world-leading university in this important field,” says Birgitta Häggman-Henrikson, professor in the Department of Orofacial Pain and Jaw Function, and the person responsible for the faculty’s application to the KK Foundation. 

Pär Olsson, associate professor of mechanics at the Faculty of Technology and Society, also sees great opportunities in the grant, which will partially fund the post of an assistant professor in machine learning with a focus on applied physics. Olsson was responsible for his faculty’s application to the foundation.

“The possibility of using machine learning in materials modelling or in the analysis of data from, for example, synchrotron experiments have potential, which may contribute to strengthening the innovative capacity and competitiveness of Swedish companies. This was also why  leading players in the Swedish materials and mechanical engineering industry chose to get involved in this application,” he says.

The seven projects that have now been awarded funding are the first under the KK Foundation’s new programme: Assistant Professorships. According to the funding body, the funding is intended to enable higher education institutions to both recruit an assistant professor and, at the same time, attach a PhD student to the relevant research area. All this is aimed at strengthening research capacity, increasing collaboration with industry and helping young researchers establish themselves.

“In addition to maintaining the critical mass required to sustain a leading research environment, we now wish to expand our research area to include phenotyping of patients with orofacial pain. The aim is to be able to provide personalised treatment in collaboration with our partners in industry and academia,” says Häggman-Henrikson.

Olsson highlights that the recruitment to the Faculty of Technology is important for increasing the volume of research. He believes it will play a key role in unifying materials research across faculty boundaries.

Footnote: The University hopes that the new assistant lecturers and PhD students will take up their posts next year. The titles of the two projects are Assistant Senior Lecturer in Phenotyping of Orofacial Pain (phenotyping is the mapping how a disease manifests itself in different individuals), and Recruitment of an Assistant Senior Lecturer in Machine Learning, specialising in Applied Physics.