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KI one of Sweden's 100 most attractive employers

For the third year in a row, Karolinska Institutet has been placed on the list of Sweden's 100 most attractive employers according to students and young academics. This is in fierce competition with, among others, Ikea, Google, Spotify and Astra Zeneca. This is shown by the annual Young Professional Attraction Index.

Photo: Yanan Li

World-leading Alzheimer's researchers celebrated the Goodes Prize at KI

Some of the world’s most prominent Alzheimer’s researchers congregated recently in Stockholm for the tenth anniversary of the prestigious Goodes Prize. The programme included a seminar day and a study visit to Karolinska Institutet followed by a social event in Stockholm City Hall.

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New study

Iron given to pregnant women intravenously is more effective than iron taken orally

Researchers found that a medicine called ferric carboxymaltose given in drip through the vein works faster and better than an iron tablet taken by mouth for the treatment of anaemia – and it is as safe as the tablet, a new study shows.

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Ranking

KI climbs in annual reputation survey

When the research company Verian presents this year's reputation index for universities and colleges, KI has increased by four points. With an estimate of 70, KI is well above the average of 63.

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.

Grants, prizes and donations

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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.

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Six ERC Starting Grants awarded to KI researchers

The European Research Council (ERC) has announced this year’s recipients of Starting Grants for young scientists and scholars across Europe. Six project applications submitted by researchers from Karolinska Institutet have secured grants totalling 9.8 million Euro – an important recognition for KI.

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Professor Juleen Zierath receives prestigious award for diabetes research

Professor Juleen Zierath is this year's recipient of the prestigious Diabetes Prize for Excellence, awarded by the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD) research network and the research foundation Novo Nordisk Foundation. Juleen Zierath receives the prize for her groundbreaking research on physical activity and diabetes.

Photo: Stefan Zimmerman

The 2024 Senior Jahre Award goes to Thomas Helleday

KI professor and cancer researcher Thomas Helleday is awarded the 2024 Anders Jahre Award for Medical Research. He shares the prestigious award with Lauri Aaltonen, a cancer researcher and professor at the University of Helsinki.

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ERC Proof of Concept for the second time to KI researcher Georgios Sotiriou

Docent Georgios Sotiriou is awarded the ERC Proof of Concept grant from the European Research Council (ERC). The aim of the Photocure project is to investigate whether a light-activated nanocomposite film can be an effective treatment for severe, infected wounds such as diabetic foot ulcers. But also to prepare the step from innovation to medical device. This is the second time Georgios Sotiriou has been awarded the prestigious grant, and the third time he has received funding from the ERC.

Photo: Yanan Li.

Ceremony

HM the Queen presents diplomas to graduates from KI’s dementia courses

At a ceremony at Drottningholm Court Theatre on 3 September, HM Queen Silvia awarded diplomas to two doctors, a dentist, an audiologist and a dietitian, marking the end of Karolinska Institutet’s dementia courses, which were produced jointly with the Stiftelsen Silviahemmet foundation.

Curious about ageing

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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.

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How old are you - really?

You might be 50 years old, but your body could be as fresh as a 40-year-old’s ‒ or vice versa. Biological ageing has its own pace and rhythm. How we live our lives, what we experience, and the quality of medical treatment we receive all influence how quickly we wear out.

Photo: Alexander Donka

The curious link between animal hibernation and ageing

When the cold and dark winter is setting in, some of us envy animals that can hibernate. This long, deep rest is an example of how nature develops clever solution to difficult problems – and is something that science can learn from, according to KI researcher Peter Stenvinkel.

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New study

Gene therapy effective in hereditary blindness

Bothnia dystrophy is a form of hereditary blindness, prevalent in the region Västerbotten in Sweden. A new study shows that gene therapy can improve vision in patients with the disease.

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New study

Breaking the trend: Skin cancer incidence in young adults declines

The risk of skin cancer for adults under the age of 50 is now decreasing for the first time in Sweden, according to a new study.

Illustration of MAIT-cells in various tissue.

Photo: Johan Sandberg

New study

New study reveals specialisation of immune cells in different tissues

A new study from Karolinska Institutet has mapped how a specific type of immune cells, MAIT cells, adapt and specialise in different tissues of the human body.

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New study

New research explains differences between men's and women's immune systems

In a recent study published in Nature, Swedish researchers demonstrate the role of sex hormones in regulating the immune system. This newfound knowledge explains differences between men and women and can be used to develop new immunological medications according to researchers.

Photo: Försvarsstaben,Hampus Andersson/Försvarsmakten

Collaboration

Environmental physiology becomes part of KI

The research field of environmental physiology is returning to Karolinska Institutet after having belonged for many years to the Royal Institute of Technology. The move marks the start of an extended partnership between the Swedish Armed Forces and KI.

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.

Research on dementia

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A healthy lifestyle may counteract diabetes-associated brain ageing

A new study shows that type 2 diabetes and prediabetes are associated with accelerated brain ageing, something that may constitute an early warning sign for dementia. The good news is that this may be counteracted by a healthy lifestyle.

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Increased risk of dementia after acute kidney injury

Acute kidney injury is associated with an increased risk of developing dementia, according to a new study published in the journal Neurology by researchers at Karolinska Institutet and others.

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Alzheimer’s drug may slow down cognitive decline in dementia with Lewy bodies

Drugs known as cholinesterase inhibitors have the potential to slow down cognitive decline in dementia with Lewy bodies, a type of dementia that is similar to both Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease.

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Collaboration

KI’s collaboration with IVI increases knowledge about vaccines in low- and middle-income countries

The International Vaccine Institute (IVI) will be teaming up with specialists from KI again this year for a vaccinology course aimed at healthcare professionals and researchers from around the world.

The Conversation

Microscopic of Neural network Brain cells, Human nervous system.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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My Best Day - Generation Pep's new online training for school children

Generation Pep wants all children and young people in Sweden to have the opportunity and desire to live an active and healthy life. They collaborate with established knowledge partners, including Karolinska Institutet. Generation Pep now presents the online training programme My Best Day, developed in collaboration with researchers at KI and others, with the aim of improving young people's health.

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Challenge for researchers to keep up with the green transition

In the wake of the green transition, new risks are emerging in people's work environments, says Karin Broberg, professor at the Institute of Environmental Medicine at Karolinska Institutet. "It goes very quickly from a pilot to being scaled up to become the next generation of fuel or to become the next plant for how to recycle plastic," she says. At the end of the year, her research team will publish a study on the work environment in Sweden for those involved in recycling metals.

Photo: Amnesty International/Ulf Sirborn.

Ahmadreza Djalali

KI president: Strengthen the activities for Ahmadreza Djalali

In a debate article, President of Karolinska Institutet Annika Östman Wernerson and other leading representatives of the board of the Association of Swedish Higher Education Institutions call for continued and strengthened activities for the researcher, doctor, KI alumnus and Swedish citizen Ahmadreza Djalali. Since 2016, Djalali has been imprisoned on fabricated charges in Iran, in the prison that the Prime Minister recently described as hell on earth.