Driv - Center for Women's Health Research
Driv - Center for Women鈥檚 Health Research 鈥 is a driving force for women鈥檚 health and stands behind research that makes a difference. Through collaboration between the university, primary healthcare services and specialist healthcare services, and in partnership with the University of Bergen, Haukeland University Hospital, Haraldsplass Deaconess Hospital, Western Norway University of Applied Sciences and the City of Bergen, the center brings together and strengthens leading research environments in biomedical and translational research, clinical research and public health research.
Affiliation
About the research centre
Driv 鈥 Center for Women's Health Research aims to promote research that helps eliminate gender-based disparities in the healthcare system. The purpose of the research is to ensure that all aspects of women鈥檚 health are understood, treated, and prioritized on an equal footing with other health areas.
For us, women鈥檚 health encompasses a broad range of issues, including diseases that affect only women, diseases that affect women more often than men, and diseases that manifest differently in women than in men.
DRIV 鈥 Research that is Transforming Women鈥檚 Health
What do we really know about women鈥檚 health, and where are the knowledge gaps still significant? In this film, you will get an up-close and inspiring insight into the work at DRIV 鈥 Center for Women鈥檚 Health Research. The film is in Norwegian
Here you will meet researchers who, across the disciplines of social medicine, translational research, biomedicine, and clinical research, work purposefully to strengthen the knowledge base on women鈥檚 health.
Together, they challenge established truths, highlight overlooked issues, and develop new insights that can lead to better prevention, more precise treatment, and more equitable health services.
Research on women鈥檚 health is not only about women; it is about quality of life, justice, and sustainable health services for society as a whole.
Watch the film and be inspired by how research can create real change
Our Research Focus
Researchers affiliated with Driv conduct groundbreaking research on women's health in both primary and specialist healthcare services. The research is interdisciplinary and focuses on core areas such as clinical research, translational research, biomedical research, as well as research in public health and primary healthcare.
Read more about our core areas of research:
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Official partners
- (Norwegian)
DRIV Podcast - Cutting-Edge Research for Women's Health
How is women鈥檚 health in Norway, and what does the latest research tell us? Find out in DRIV Podcast, a new series from DRIV - Center for Women鈥檚 Health Research at the University of Bergen (黑料吃瓜资源).
DRIV Podcast publishes regular episodes on YouTube and Spotify, with an archive available on DRIV鈥檚 Norwegian website. The series features internationally recognized researchers presenting cutting-edge studies in women鈥檚 health. So far, episodes have covered topics such as breast cancer, cardiovascular diseases and high blood pressure, migraine, and lipedema. In May, upcoming episodes will focus on Graves鈥 disease and multiple sclerosis.
Recorded live at the Learning Lab studio at 黑料吃瓜资源, Marion Solheim, communications advisor at the Faculty of Medicine, hosts conversations with DRIV-affiliated researchers. These discussions [in Norwegian] provide up-to-date, research-based insights into women鈥檚 health, spanning disciplines, diagnoses, and stages of life.
DRIV Podcast is available on , , and the DRIV Norwegian website.
DRIV Breakfast Seminar on Women鈥檚 Health Research
DRIV Breakfast is a new and timely seminar series highlighting the latest research on women鈥檚 health. The first seminar will take place on May 26, from 08:30 to 09:20 in the Boardroom at the Faculty of Medicine, Armauer Hansens Hus (黑料吃瓜资源). The seminar will be held in English. The topic is autoimmune diseases and women鈥檚 health, featuring contributions from Professors Eystein Husebye, Silke Appel, and Britt Ellen R酶d, researcher PhD, MD, as well as Associate Professor Anne Kristine Hjorteseth Halse.
The seminar series is held twice per semester, both in-person and online, and of course, breakfast will be served.
DRIV Breakfast Seminar on Autoimmunity in Women鈥檚 Health 鈥 Current Perspectives and Research Status
Featured
Events
Projects
Translational research
Driv has multiple affiliated researchers who does exciting work through research projects and other initiatives in translational research.
Find projects and other initiatives in translational research
Biomedical research
Driv has multiple affiliated researchers who does exciting work through research projects and other initiatives in biomedical research.
Clinical research
Driv has multiple affiliated researchers who does exciting work through research projects and other initiatives in clinical research.
Public Health Research
Driv has multiple affiliated researchers who does exciting work through research projects and other initiatives in public health and primary care research.
Find projects and other initiatives in public health and primary care research
Trond Mohn projects
Early embryonic epimutations and female cancer
Principal Investigator: Stian Knappskog, Faculty of Medicine, University of Bergen
This project aims to explore how epigenetic changes occurring during fetal development may be a cause of aggressive cancers such as triple-negative breast cancer. A recent breakthrough in the field has shown that 5鈥10% of healthy women have normal cells with epimutations scattered like a 鈥渕osaic鈥 throughout the body. This significantly increases the risk of developing triple-negative breast cancer. The project could open new research areas beyond breast cancer, as the results may also be relevant for other cancer types 鈥 and potentially for other women-specific symptoms due to similar epigenetic changes.
Young women with premature menopause 鈥 call for action to improve diagnostics and improve fertility
Principal Investigator: Eystein Husebye, Faculty of Medicine, University of Bergen
Premature menopause and hormonal disturbances鈥攔eferred to in medical terms as POI (Premature Ovarian Insufficiency)鈥攁ffect 3% of women under the age of 40. In addition to infertility, consequences include increased risk of cardiovascular disease, osteoporosis, dementia, and autoimmune disorders. Hormone therapy can alleviate menopausal symptoms associated with POI, but no treatment currently exists to restore or improve fertility. The cause remains unknown in most women, and the disease mechanisms are under-researched. This project, through interdisciplinary national and international collaboration, aims to gain unique insights into this condition, uncover sex-specific characteristics of the immune system, and develop new diagnostic tools to help preserve fertility.
Safe Treatment for Women needing Antiseizure medications 鈥 a multimodal translational and epidemiological approach
Principal Investigator: Marte-Helene Bj酶rk, Faculty of Medicine, University of Bergen
The aim of this project is to close knowledge gaps and improve safety for fertile women using antiepileptic drugs. These medications are used to treat epilepsy, bipolar disorder, headaches, pain, and other neurological and psychiatric conditions commonly affecting women. However, if taken during pregnancy, these drugs can lead to congenital malformations and neurodevelopmental disorders. The project is divided into three work packages: evaluating the safety of antiepileptic medications, identifying markers of fetal harm, and validating epigenetic markers in a large multinational cohort.
Rethinking Ovarian Cancer: Developing Diagnostic and Functional Tools and Designing Innovative Multimodal Treatment Strategies
Principal Investigator: Line Bj酶rge, Haukeland University Hospital
Around 500 women in Norway are diagnosed with ovarian cancer annually, but survival rates are low, and most patients experience relapse. To improve immunotherapy treatment, a better understanding of tumor variation and the suppressive tumor microenvironment is essential. This project aims to enhance our knowledge of the immunobiology of ovarian cancer, develop tools for identifying biomarkers and testing immunotherapies, and establish methods for combining surgery with immunotherapy. The project consists of three components: developing personalized immune profiling tools, modeling tumor interactions to test immunotherapies, and developing a local immunotherapy method using CAR-T cells. Results from preclinical tests will form the basis for a clinical program to be launched by the end of the project period.
Publications
Loss of vimentin expression in preoperative biopsies independently predicts poor prognosis, lymph node metastasis and recurrence in endometrial cancer
Loss of vimentin expression in preoperative biopsies independently predicts poor prognosis, lymph node metastasis and recurrence in endometrial cancer
Peripheral blood leukocyte signatures as biomarkers in relapsed ovarian cancer patients receiving combined anti-CD73/anti-PD-L1 immunotherapy in arm A of the NSGO-OV-UMB1/ENGOT-OV30 trial
Peripheral blood leukocyte signatures as biomarkers in relapsed ovarian cancer patients receiving combined anti-CD73/anti-PD-L1 immunotherapy in arm A of the NSGO-OV-UMB1/ENGOT-OV30 trial
Asthma and Asthma Symptoms Associated with Endometriosis and Dysmenorrhea in a Nordic-Baltic Population
Asthma and Asthma Symptoms Associated with Endometriosis and Dysmenorrhea in a Nordic-Baltic Population
Lip酶dem. Klinisk oversikt. Tidsskriftet 2025:145;8
Denne kliniske oversikten presenterer diagnostikk og behandling av lip酶dem basert p氓 klinisk erfaring og publisert internasjonal konsensus,
People
Centre manager
Anette Susanne B酶e Wolff Leader
Centre members
Nina Grytten Torkildsen Centre coordinator
Administrative resource from Haraldsplass Deaconess Hospital
Helen Koldal Administrative resource from Bergen municipality
Steering committee
Marit Bakke Chair, Dean of the Faculty of Medicine, University of Bergen
Clara Beate Gram Gjesdal Deputy Chief Executive Officer, Haukeland University Hospital
Petter Lave Thornam Deputy Chief Executive Officer, Haraldsplass Deaconess Hospital
Kjell A. Wolff Director of Municipal Services, Department for Elderly, Health, and Care, Bergen Municipality
Marjolein Memelink Iversen Vice Dean for Research, Faculty of Health and Social Sciences, Western Norway University of Applied Sciences
Academic Strategic Council
Silje Skrede Chair, Professor, and Vice Dean for Research, Faculty of Medicine, University of Bergen
Vibeke Vold Research Director, Haukeland University Hospital
Karl Johan Tronstad Professor, Faculty of Medicine, University of Bergen
Camilla Krakstad Professor and Head of the Bergen Gynecological Cancer Research Group, Faculty of Medicine, University of Bergen
Jone Trovik Senior Consultant at the Women's Clinic and Professor, Haukeland University Hospital and Faculty of Medicine, University of Bergen
Inger Haukenes Professor, Faculty of Medicine, University of Bergen, and Senior Researcher II at NORCE
Eva Gerdts Senior Consultant and Professor, Department of Cardiology, Haukeland University Hospital and Faculty of Medicine, University of Bergen
Ida Sangnes Head of Research, Haraldsplass Deaconess Hospital
Trond Egil Hansen Municipal Chief Medical Officer, Bergen Municipality
Linn Marie S酶rbye Associate Professor, Faculty of Health and Social Sciences, Western Norway University of Applied Sciences
Everline Konyo Mj酶men User representative
Contact
The public, researchers, users of healthcare services and research results, politicians, media, and others seeking information about the center or contact with researchers can reach out to Nina Torkildsen, nina.torkildsen@uib.no, tel: 944 87 372
- Phone number
- +4794487372
- Emails
- nina.torkildsen@uib.no