| Karolinska Institutet

The Nobel prize 2024

The 2024 Nobel laureates in Physiology or Medicine (from left) Gary Ruvkun and Victor Ambros.

Photo: Joshua Touster och UMass via AP,AP

The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2024: “A groundbreaking discovery that has finally been rewarded”

Gary Ruvkun and Victor Ambros share this year's Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. They are being awarded for their discovery of microRNAs, which play a crucial role in the development of complex organisms. Research is underway at Karolinska Institutet on how these small molecules can be applied clinically.

The 2024 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine is awarded to Victor Ambros and Gary Ruvkun

Photo: Cecilia Odlind

The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2024 to Victor Ambros and Gary Ruvkun

The Nobel Assembly at Karolinska Institutet has decided to award the 2024 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine jointly to Victor Ambros and Gary Ruvkun for the discovery of microRNA and its role in post-transcriptional gene regulation.

The 2024 Nobel laureates in Chemistry are announced: David Baker (University of Washington, USA), Demis Hassabis (Google DeepMind, UK) and John M Jumper (Google DeepMind, UK).

Photo: Foto: Christine Olsson/TT,TT NYHETSBYRÅN

The Nobel Prize in Chemistry helps us understand the building blocks of life

David Baker, USA, has succeeded in creating entirely new proteins – the building blocks of life that control all biological processes in the body. He shares the Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2024 with Demis Hassabis and John M. Jumper of Google DeepMind, UK, who have developed the AI tool AlphaFold. “Now it can take minutes instead of years to get a good idea of what a protein looks like and how it may function,” says KI professor Luca Jovine, who intitiated a collaboration with DeepMind early on.

Photo: N/A

Don't miss Nobel Calling 2024

In October the recipients of the Nobel Prizes are announced. In connection with this, the Nobel Prize Museum organizes inspirational events and instructive meetings in collaboration with, among others, Karolinska Institutet. The full programme can be found here.

Photo: Creative commons

The extraordinary life of Alfred Nobel

Alfred Nobel, the inventor and entrepreneur has left a lasting legacy with the annual prizes he established in 1901 for physics, chemistry, physiology or medicine, literature and peace. But life wasn’t always so illustrious for Alfred Nobel, writes Professor Jonas F. Ludvigsson in The Conversation.

Grants, prizes and donations

Photo: Getty Images.,Getty Images

Seven KI researchers receive grants for basic research from the Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation

New, effective, personalised cancer immunotherapy, better treatment for inflammatory bowel disease and improved protection against infections and viruses are some examples of basic research that is now being funded by the Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation. Of the total of 30 projects sharing SEK 835 million, seven are run by researchers at Karolinska Institutet.

A mans standing in the entrance to a tent. The tent is a field hospital

Photo: Jorge Durand

KTH Great Prize to Johan von Schreeb

Johan von Schreeb, professor of Global Disaster Medicine at Karolinska Institutet, is awarded KTH Great Prize 2024 "for his efforts to reduce suffering in the world".

Photo: DDKI

Two innovation environments at KI win Vinnova grants

Vinnova is investing in precision medicine and awarding grant funding to six innovation environments. Two of them are at Karolinska Institutet, and both focus on treating cancer. The aim of the grants is to fund efforts to bring greater precision to the diagnosis and treatment of common diseases.

Illustration of doctors examining an artery.

Photo: Getty Images.

Prize for study showing new cause behind vascular complications in type 2 diabetes

The Swedish Society of Medicine (SLS) awards researchers John Pernow and Aida Collado Sánchez at Karolinska Institutet with the Alvarenga Prize 2024. The laureates are rewarded for a research article on a study that shows a new cause behind vascular complications in type 2 diabetes and possible future treatment to prevent this.

Photo: Getty Images

KI researchers lead a pilot HPV self-screening programme in Ukraine

Cervical cancer ranks as the fourth most common cause of cancer-related deaths among women, despite the disease being largely preventable. Now, researchers from Karolinska Institutet have received funding from the UICC to investigate how an HPV self-screening programme can be implemented in war-torn Ukraine.

Photo: Fredrik Persson

Academic ceremony

New KI professors will be sharing their knowledge with future generations

Centre stage at this year’s professorial installation ceremony at KI were stately academic tradition, prestigious medals and evocative entertainment – as well as intergenerational mingling between KI researchers and students at a much-appreciated hot dog truck outside Aula Medica on a chilly October evening.

current research on adhd

Photo: Emma Hanquist

A clearer picture of ADHD: focus on function

Over the past 15 years, the number of ADHD diagnoses has risen sharply in Sweden. Is this development reasonable? And what might be the cause? Whilst asking these questions, researchers would also like us to focus less on the diagnosis and more on the functional capacity of people with ADHD.

Photo: Emma Hanquist

Female sex hormones a wild card in ADHD

Can fluctuating levels of female sex hormones worsen ADHD symptoms in women? That is what researchers at Karolinska Institutet want to investigate.

Photo: Emma Hanquist

Untreated ADHD is a costly affair

ADHD can be a lifelong condition and have a significantly negative impact on life. However, maturity plays a role in this context. Approximately half of those diagnosed as children continue to have pronounced ADHD symptoms into adulthood.

Photo: Mayo Clinic

Collaboration

KI-Mayo Clinic: Better together for 30 years

Every year, hundreds of doctoral and postdoctoral trainees and researchers cross the Atlantic for conferences, lectures – and fika. They can be alternately seen at Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm and at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. The collaboration between the two top-ranking institutions is now celebrating its 30th anniversary at Karolinska Institutet. Some of the pioneering spirits who were on board from the start look back upon its near demise and what has made it a success.

Sylvie le Guyader, senior research infrastructure specialist, at the microscope in the darkened laboratory.

Photo: Martin Stenmar

New titles for the hidden specialists behind KI's research

They work with highly specialised equipment for facilities that they have often built up themselves. Although not themselves researchers, their expertise, experience and international contacts render them indispensable for research at KI. A year ago, new titles were created for this important category of employee.

Photo: Getty Images

New study

New study shows how muscle energy production is impaired in type 2 diabetes

A new study shows that people with type 2 diabetes have lower levels of the protein that breaks down and converts creatine in the muscles. This leads to impaired function of the mitochondria, the 'powerhouses' of the cell.

Photo: Getty Images.,Getty Images

Ranking

KI retains top spot in THE ranking

When Times Higher Education in the UK publishes its ranking of the world's best universities, KI is ranked 49th out of more than 2,000 universities in 115 countries. This means that KI has the highest ranking in the Nordic region.

Photo: Getty Images

New study

Key molecule in wound healing identified

A new study from Karolinska Institutet and the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences has identified an RNA molecule that is important for skin wound healing. The research may have implications for the treatment of hard-to-heal wounds.

Photo: Martin Stenmark

Ylva Trolle Lagerros receives Sweden's only professorship in prevention

A new donation professorship in prevention is being established at Karolinska Institutet. It will be named Prince Daniel's Professorship in Cardiovascular Prevention and will be awarded to researcher and obstetrician Ylva Trolle Lagerros, who took up the position on 1 October. The aim is to reduce the incidence of cardiovascular diseases in Sweden.

Photo: N/A

New study

New hope for patients with chronic pain

KI researchers have developed a comprehensive mapping of genetic activity for understanding the causes of chronic pain. The study opens way to more efficient non-addictive treatment for chronic pain and potentially headache disorders.

Photo: Getty Images

New study

New cardiovascular disease risk marker discovered in older women

Researchers have identified a new potential risk marker for cardiovascular disease in women. A new study shows an association between low levels of an anti-inflammatory antibody and the risk of heart attack and coronary heart disease.

Photo: Fredrik Persson

KI Biobank turns 20: “A goldmine for researchers”

The KI Biobank in Solna turns 20 this year. No fewer than 8.5 million samples from 750,000 individuals are preserved in its freezers. “The biobank is absolutely crucial to meeting tomorrow’s research needs,” says Sanela Kjellqvist, head of the KI Biobank.

Photo: Lars Svankjær

Lectureship

This year's Ulf von Euler Lectureship with Jens Juul Holst

This year's Ulf von Euler Lecture ‘Treatment of Metabolic Diseases with Gut Hormones’ will be given by Jens Juul Holst, Professor of Medical Physiology at the Department of Biomedical Sciences, and Senior Group Leader at the Novo Nordisk Foundation Centre for Basic Metabolic Research, both at the University of Copenhagen. The lecture will take place on 8 November.

The Conversation

Microscopic of Neural network Brain cells, Human nervous system.

Photo: Getty Images

How a common infection tricks the immune system into attacking the brain

Epstein-Barr virus infection appears to be a major risk factor for developing multiple sclerosis (MS). Research from Karolinska Institutet brings us closer to understanding why some people get MS and may contribute to the development of better treatments and even cures.

Photo: Getty Images.

Go with the flow for better health

New research seems to confirm that regular flow, losing yourself in time and space during an activity, has positive health effects. For example, lower risk of cardiovascular disease and depression. At the same time, there are factors that complicate this picture. What is clear, however, is that what brings us joy is good for us.

Photo: Getty Images.

The gender-equality paradox: Psychological sex differences defy social change

In an equal opportunity country with a good economy, women and men should have increasingly similar characteristics and interests. But the reality is much more complex than that.

Photo: AI Dalle

Erections: what we learned from mice could help with sexual health in men

Researchers have delved into the role of penile fibroblasts, the most abundant cells in the human penis, about which little was previously known.

Photo: Getty Images

Who will live to 100?

Those who wish to live to 100 cannot rely on chance. Instead, it is essential to keep biomarkers associated with ageing and disease in check. By the age of 60, it may already be too late.

Photo: Fredrik Persson

Get to know the new KI professors

On 3 October, 18 new professors were inaugurated at Karolinska Institutet during a formal ceremony in Aula Medica. The installation ceremony is one of the highlights of the academic calendar. Read the interviews with them taken from the booklet ‘From Cell to Society 2024’, which was handed out at the ceremony.

Photo: Martin Stenmark

Petter Brodin wants to understand your immune system

Is your immune system functioning as it should? The question is not as simple to answer as one might think. Professor Petter Brodin is trying to understand more about it. At the same time, he hopes to help patients that are severely affected with post-COVID and other conditions where the regulation of the immune system is not working.