On the Couch with the Vice President
In each newsletter we will be taking a light-hearted look at how ISSHP members spend their off duty hours. This time, it’s the turn of ISSHPs Vice President, Annetine (Anne Cathrine) Staff. Annetine is also the EPG (EuropeanPlacenta Group) Spokesperson and a member of the Global Collaborative organisation (CoLab).
Annetine defended her PhD thesis in 2000, entitled: “Preeclampsia and utero-placental tissues: lipids, oxidative stress, and trophoblast invasion”. She is the leader of the Research Centre of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at Oslo University Hospital in Norway and is a full-time Professor of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at the University of Oslo. She works part-time clinically as a Consultant at Oslo University Hospital.
The main research area of Annetine’s research group is the molecular understanding of pregnancy complications, in particular preeclampsia and pathological placenta function and relation to future maternal health. She has authored over 150 original articles, reviews and book chapters and has developed the national guidelines in Norway for the management of hypertension in pregnancy and severe pre-eclampsia.
If you hadn’t become a doctor, is there any other career that you might have chosen instead?
As long as the work gives me the opportunity to follow up interesting new challenges, I think I would have been happy. I thought Foreign Service was fascinating on a trip to Guatemala as medical student, and also some aspects of a legal career could have been fun to try. Perhaps working as a crime investigator? But all in all, I love the work I do as a medical doctor and I am never bored. The combination of clinical work and research allows me to explore plenty of interesting challenges.
What’s your favourite food?
Sushi, langoustines, anything tasty. French, Italian, Chinese, Asian, Mexican, Norwegian. And I like to taste new food and wine. Some of my best restaurant experiences have been in South Africa.
Favourite place?
I love anywhere with great outdoor nature and where I can hike and see new sights, such as from mountain tops.
Do you have a pet?
No, unless the wild moose in our front garden at our cottage by the Oslo Fiord counts as a pet?
Favourite movie?
What comes to my mind are some Swedish movies: “My Life as a Dog” (Lasse Hallstrøm) and Ingmar Bergman’s: “Fanny and Alexander”. Also, I have seen all James Bond movies; of sentimental reasons since I grew up with them. I however tend to shut my eyes during the most aggressive scenes, which are many, so I probably miss a lot of the action..
Ideal Sunday morning?
An early cross country skiing hike (in wintertime) from outside my house door in Oslo into the woods, to return in time to make dinner for my family with the family’s two grandmothers of 78 and 98 years old. In summertime, my favourite morning would be a sea kayak session around our primitive sea cottage at the outer Oslo Fiord.
If you didn’t live in Norway, where else would you like to live?
I am really privileged to live in Norway with the freedom and opportunities we take for granted, and it is a good place to live for my children. I however grew up in 5 different countries and 2 continents until the age of 13, so I know there are lots of lovely places where I would have enjoyed to live and work, for instance in a French, Spanish or English speaking society.
Cooking for friends – what do you cook?
I have some simple specialties, that tend to be repeated: Duck breast in Clementine sauce, Beef Wellington, Baked salmon in pesto sauce, Fresh langoustines with garlic butter, Indian curry and Nan bread, Oven baked lamb on root vegetables etc.
Stuck in a lift– alone or with others? Who?
I would prefer to walk the stairs… I am very impatient, so I suppose I would have preferred to be stuck with someone I could learn something from (such as asking them about what favourite book they would recommend), in order to pass the time ….unless climbing out of the lift was an option?.
Favourite book?
I enjoy very much the books by Ian McEwan, Paul Auster and Haruki Murakami. I love a wide range of books, and enjoy the recommendation of others. I discovered the wonderful world of books as I a child when I got access to my parents’ library of not always the most kid-friendly books .I wish I had a Kindle when I was a kid, as it annoyed me when I had finished all family books and the Public library only allowed me to borrow 25 books at a time (and then how to survive 8 weeks on summer holidays when 3 books can be read on the same rainy day…..).
Favourite song?
Not really, but I enjoy a wide range of music.
Crunchie or Twix?
Nothing we buy in Norway, and the Norwegian chocolate is great (try fridge-cold Milk chocolate from Freia, together with a glass of cold Norwegian milk…)
Sun or snow?
I am loyal to the cold Norwegian nature and answer “snow”, also because I love skiing activities. On the other hand, I do not mind the fantastic summer lights and sunshine and I also love all water activities, including sailing, diving, windsurfing, kayaking, although I am not especially talented in any of these activities. I like the challenge nature gives me, but I have high respect for safety issues and take no large risks.
Favourite gadget?
I use them because they are necessary for reading mails and news, but am not addicted. And I prefer to read a good book (on my Kindle) than to look for lots of news on Facebook that I do not really need.
Favourite holiday?
South Africa, the Cape Town area, Franshoek and Garden Route.
Beatles or Rolling Stones?
I grew up with The Beatles. I remember that the nurses were singing the popular “Obladi-Oblada” by the Beatles when I woke up from my appendicitis operation at the age of 5, and that they seemed very happy. And they gave me lots of sweet soda water during my 2 weeks hospital stay, which I was never allowed at home, so The Beatles have always given me good associations..
Favourite sport or hobby?
Many sport hobbies, but not enough time to improve my skills in any of them. I love skiing activities, cross-country (classical as well as skating style), downhill and snowboarding. I have tried most sports and master many at a simple level, and have proved to myself that the Olympics never missed a winner in me. I still have not tried golfing, which is probably good, as I love competitions and would hate not to have time to improve my “handicap”.
Favourite movie actress?
Meryl Streep, Scarlett Johansen, and the Norwegian Ane Dahl Torp.
Apple or android (this relates to mobile devices not body shape …)
Apple (default iPhone from the hospital)
What would you like to invent?
An efficient and research supportive hospital and University workplace without bureaucratic hurdles?
Pet hate?
Inefficiency in general and in special when there is no time to loose……
Moment of the day?
Early morning of any day, or Friday evening
The memory:
As a child, living at St Thomas, Virgin Islands: My mother warned us to get out of the water in haste if we cut ourselves on rocks when swimming, as the sharks would smell the blood and get to us. It turned out that her warning was real, we saw several sharks…. So the “Jaws” movies (and music) were never my favourites…
The advice:
“Just do it”…… and: “In the end, everything will be OK. If it is not OK; it may not be the end..””
The virtue:
Does swimming in ice cold water count?
The vice:
Good Champagne and good oysters (and not because they are expensive, but because good quality of both gives synergistic pleasure for body and soul)
