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Grants, prizes and donations

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.

Agnes Wahrenberg presents her study at presented at the European Society of Cardiology’s annual congress in London 2024.

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Agnes Wahrenberg awarded ESC Young Investigators Award 2024

Congratulations Agnes Wahrenberg, PhD student of the Department of Clinical Science and Education, Södersjukhuset, on receiving the prestigious “Young Investigators Award in Atherothrombosis, Coronary, Aortic and Peripheral Artery Disease,” at the European Society of Cardiology’s annual congress in London.

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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.

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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.

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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 course also now forms part of doctoral education at KI.

Drawing of a person in a field of colours

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New study

No link found between popular diabetes medication and suicide

There has been concern that common diabetes drugs could increase the risk of suicide and self-harm. In a new study published in Jama Internal Medicine, no such risk increase was observed.

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New study

Rising temperatures in Africa may increase perinatal deaths

New research published in Nature Medicine reveals a worrying correlation between high temperatures in the final week of pregnancy among women in sub-Saharan Africa and an increased risk of stillbirth and early neonatal mortality.

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.

Photo: design Masoud Zamani Esteki, design and implementation: Luis GONÇALVES LOPES

New study

New technique allows comprehensive genetic testing of embryos

Researchers have developed a technique that enables the examination of embryos for all known genetic abnormalities with a single test. The new method is more accurate and faster than existing techniques, increasing the chance of a healthy child for parents at increased risk of inherited conditions.

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New study

A few samples reveal imbalances in vaginal health

A new study suggests that a few well-timed samples could help predict long-term imbalances in vaginal health, which is linked to various health issues.

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New study

Several advantages when medical abortion is started at home

Being at home is as safe as at the hospital when a medical abortion after twelve weeks of pregnancy is initiated. These are the findings of a study. When starting at home, day patient care is usually sufficient, and women are satisfied with the treatment.

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Ny study

Mechanisms of how morphine relieves pain mapped out

In a study published in Science, researchers describe the neural processes behind how morphine relieves pain. This is valuable knowledge because the drug has such serious side effects.

High-resolution cryo-EM structure of FZD7 reveals a functional cholesterol important in transmitting signals into the cell.

Photo: Illustration från artikeln.

New study

New knowledge about cell receptors paves the way for new drugs against intestinal tumours

A new study from Karolinska Institutet published in Nature Communications provides valuable insights into the activation of receptors on the cell surface. The knowledge opens up for new targeted therapies and drugs against intestinal tumours, among other things.

Photo: iStock

New study

Lower HPV vaccination coverage among girls with mental health conditions

Girls with mental illness or neurodevelopmental conditions are less likely than their peers to be vaccinated with the HPV vaccine that protects against future cervical cancer.

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.

Photo: shutterstock

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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New study

Hot flushes are associated with cardiovascular risk

Severe, lasting hot flushes during menopause are associated with atherosclerosis in the coronary artery, new research from Karolinska Institutet and Linköping University and published in the Journal of the American Heart Association reveals.

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New study

Precision therapy for metastatic prostate cancer improves survival

Men with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer should be treated primarily with second-generation hormone drugs, which offer better treatment response and longer life expectancy than chemotherapy. However, the effect depends on which mutations the patient’s tumour carries.

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.

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.

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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.

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.

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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: Fredrik Persson

Stronger together in this year's Pride parade

Students, alumni and staff from KI participated in the colourful Pride parade under the universities' Adacemic Pride flag in Stockholm on 3 August. The atmosphere was great and this year's theme was clear – we are stronger together.

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The search for an effective treatment for glaucoma

Pete Williams is one of few researchers in Sweden concentrating on glaukoma. The goal is an effective treatment, something that stops the degenerative process in the nerve cells of the eye.

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.