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Information about the corona virus for staff and students

Research on COVID-19

Persistent T cell response to omicron after infection and vaccination

The omicron variant can partly evade the antibody response provided by vaccination or infection with previous variants of SARS-CoV-2. However, T cells still recognise omicron, scientists at Karolinska Institutet report in a study published in the journal Nature Medicine.

KI researchers studied baricitinib as possible COVID treatment – gets green light from WHO

WHO experts are now recommending using the drug baricitinib to treat severe COVID-19 infection. Researchers at Karolinska Institutet were involved in the early analysis of the drug’s efficacy against the disease: “I myself would’ve benefited from it when I got COVID-19,” says adjunct professor Ali Mirazimi.

Protective gene variant against COVID-19 identified

An international metastudy led by researchers at Karolinska Institutet has identified a specific gene variant that protects against severe COVID-19 infection. The researchers managed to pinpoint the variant by studying people of different ancestries, a feat they say highlights the importance of conducting clinical trials that include people of diverse descents. The results are published in the journal Nature Genetics.

Asymptomatic healthcare workers may have contributed to the spread of SARS-CoV-2

Researchers at Karolinska Institutet have charted the number of healthcare workers in Stockholm who were on duty during the first wave of the pandemic despite being infected with SARS-CoV-2, having been asymptomatic at the time. The results of the study, which is published in the journal PLOS ONE, present very low figures but the researchers believe that this could still have affected the spread of infection.

Spotlight on COVID-19

In early 2020, a new coronavirus was identified in the city of Wuhan in the Hubei province in China. The official name for this virus is SARS-CoV-2, and the disease that is caused by the virus is called COVID-19. Here we present some news and features about Karolinska Institutet's research on the new coronavirus.

Grants and prizes

Two KI researchers receive the Folk Educator of the Year award

The Swedish Skeptics Association’s (VoF – Föreningen Vetenskap och Folkbildning) award "Folk Educator of the Year" for 2021 is awarded to Maria Ahlsén and Jessica Norrbom for their work on the book and podcast Frisk utan flum (Health in a Nutshell).

Awarded the ERC Starting Grant for research on killer T cells

KI researcher Marcus Buggert has been awarded the prestigious ERC Starting Grant for his research on human cell-mediated immunity against virus diseases. In all, the European Research Council through this call will invest EUR 619 million in 397 young research leaders.

SEK 18 million awarded from the Sjöberg Foundation

Five researchers from Karolinska Institutet have been awarded grants from the Sjöberg Foundation, in total a sum of SEK 18.1 million. The foundation supports research with a focus on cancer, health and the environment.

Georgios Sotiriou receives prestigious Research Environment grant

Georgios Sotiriou, researcher at the Department of Microbiology, Tumour and Cell Biology, has received Research Environment grant for interdisciplinary research from the Swedish Research Council. He receives SEK 30 million for the years 2022-2027 for the project "Nanoengineered precision therapies of lower respiratory tract infections".

International cancer award to two KI researchers

KI researchers Bennie Lemmens and Kirsty Spalding have been granted 2021 ASPIRE Awards from The Mark Foundation for Cancer Research for their innovative and bold ideas on cancer research. They are two of a total of 25 award recipients who will jointly receive nearly $9.5 million (SEK 86 million).

Large international evaluation shows AI accurately diagnoses prostate cancer

KI researchers and international collaborators report in the journal Nature Medicine that AI systems can identify and grade prostate cancer in tissue samples from different countries equally well as pathologists. The results suggest AI systems are ready to be responsibly introduced as a complementary tool in prostate cancer care, researchers say.

Effects of morning and evening exercise mapped in mice

An international research team including researchers from Karolinska Institutet have mapped how signalling signals are released by different organs in mice following exercise at different times of the day. Their atlas of exercise metabolism, published in the journal Cell Metabolism, may in the long term contribute to more effective exercise therapies that are timed to the body clock.

New study reveals how the lung's immune cells develop after birth

From our first breath, our lungs are exposed to microorganisms, such as bacteria and viruses. Thanks to immune cells in the lungs, so-called macrophages, we are protected from most infections at an early age. In a new study published in the Journal of Experimental Medicine, researchers from Karolinska Institutet show how lung macrophages develop; new findings that can help to reduce organ damage and that are significant for the continued development of important lung disease treatments.

New findings may contribute to better diagnosis and treatment of liver cancer

In a new study, researchers at Karolinska Institutet have identified the presence of a specific connection between a protein and an lncRNA molecule in liver cancer. By increasing the presence of the lncRNA molecule, the fat depots of the tumor cell decrease, which causes the division of tumor cells to cease, and they eventually die. The study, published in the journal Gut, contributes to increased knowledge that can add to a better diagnosis and future cancer treatments.

Modern humans developed a more effective protection against oxidative stress

Very few proteins in the body have a change that makes them unique compared to the corresponding proteins in Neanderthals and apes. Researchers at KI and the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology have now studied one such protein, glutathione reductase, which protects against oxidative stress. They show that the risk for inflammatory bowel disease and vascular disease is increased several times in people carrying the Neanderthal variant.

KI in the debate

KI constantly engages in the public debate and comments on current issues concerning our operations. On this page you find published opinion pieces and comments.

Top-publications list

A limited selection of recent publications in high impact journals to which researchers at KI have contributed.

New explanatory model for mild COVID-19 in children and adolescents
SARS-CoV-2 infections in children: understanding diverse outcomes, Brodin P, Immunity, January 2022

Antibody-based tool could help efforts for malaria control and elimination
Distinct kinetics of antibodies to 111 Plasmodium falciparum proteins identifies markers of recent malaria exposure, Yman V et al, Nature Communications, January 2022

New mechanism underlying overexpression of cancer genes identified
Canonical WNT signaling-dependent gating of MYC requires a noncanonical CTCF function at a distal binding site, Göndör A et al, Nature Communications, January 2022

Cancer protein MYC uses topoisomerases to fuel cellular growth and cancer
MYC assembles and stimulates topoisomerases 1 and 2 in a “topoisome"
Subhendu K. Das et al, Molecular Cell, December 2021

Folding patterns of the genome give clues on identify of brain cells
Cell-type specialization is encoded by specific chromatin topologies
Warren Winick-Ng, Alexander Kukalev, Izabela Harabula, et al, Nature, November 2021

More high impact publications

KI in the media

The Macchiarini case: timeline

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View a summary of the events and decisions in the Macchiarini case.

President‘s blog

The Conversation: Genes decide how often you need to go

In a new study, researchers from Karolinska Institutet looked at how often people poo – or their “stool frequency” – and how this correlates with their genes. In a news article for The Conversation, the researchers explain how these findings provide clues as to the genetic risk factors associated with IBS, irritable bowel syndrome.

Spotlight on Vaccine Research

Vaccines have saved lives for more than 200 years, but the research area continues to evolve with new discoveries that provide more effective and safer vaccines. Doors are now opening to develop vaccines against, for example, cancer, dementia and cardiovascular disease. The COVID-19 pandemic has given vaccine research a real boost.

Sustainable development

KI contributes to sustainability through research, education and collaboration. Our vision is to advance knowledge about life and strive towards better health for all. This includes current and future generations and means environmental and social responsibility in the way KI conducts its activities.

Meet our researchers

What causes depression and why is fat cells so hard to study? These are some of the questions that researchers at KI are interested in. Find interviews and articles prevously published here at the news site or in our popular-science magazine, Medicinsk Vetenskap.

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