The Nobel Prize

Students invited to Nobel lecture behind the scenes
As part of the Nobel Week, KI students were invited to a lecture on Alfred Nobel and on Katalin Karikó and Drew Weissman, this year's laureates in Medicine or Physiology. Thomas Perlmann, secretary of the Nobel Assembly and the Nobel Committee, shared his experiences of both the nomination process and calling surprised laureates in the middle of the night.

“Their discoveries have helped to save millions of lives”
The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine has been awarded this year to Katalin Karikó and Drew Weissman, whose research gave rise to effective mRNA vaccines that contained the COVID pandemic and saved millions of lives. A well-deserved honour, according to Karolinska Institutet.
Grants, prizes and donations

KI researchers Anders Kvanta and Fredrik Lanner awarded a SEK 10 million grant
KI researchers Anders Kvanta and Fredrik Lanner have been awarded a grant of SEK 10 million from the Erling-Persson Foundation for a clinical phase 1 trial on macular degeneration, a common age-related eye disease. By transplanting retinal cells from embryonic stem cells, the researchers hope to curb any further loss of vision and ultimately recover lost sight.

Two KI researchers are awarded distinguished professor grants
Professor Gonçalo Castelo-Branco and professor Jonas Frisén, Karolinska Institutet, are awarded distinguished professor grants from the Swedish Research Council, totalling just over SEK 62 million for the years 2024-31.
The Conversation

Why a holiday is good for you – even before you take time off
You have spent the past few days on a cloud over your forthcoming, well-deserved holidays, and will go back to daydreaming about them as soon as you finish this article. And the truth is that the benefits of a good holiday can be felt even before the trip begins.

Baby deaths in Tanzania: being born in a city no longer increases their chances of survival
Babies born in urban areas in Tanzania are less likely to survive than babies born in rural areas, writes a group of researchers including from KI in The Conversation. Several policy areas for action are presented.

Why understanding how spiders spin silk may hold clues for treating Alzheimer’s disease
KI researchers Michael Landreh and Anna Rising explain in The Conversation why they are studying spider silk to find important insights into diseases like Alzheimer's and Parkinson's.

More articles from KI researchers published in The Conversation
From cold-resistant genes to face masks, Karolinska Institutet researchers contribute to the global public discourse on a range of topics through our collaboration with the international news site The Conversation.
Selected top publications
HIV-1A6 is the sixth most common subtype of HIV in Sweden
Anders Sönnerborg et al, Eurosurveilance, December 2023
Ultralight enzymes can increase reaction rates 2-3-fold
Roman Zubarev et al, Angewandte Chemie International Edition, November 2023
Two-thirds of all miscarriages may be due to foetal chromosomal abnormalities
Andres Salumets, Masoud Zamani Esteki et al, Nature Medicine, November 2023
First description of placebo controls traced back to the Middle Ages
Karin Jensen et al, Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine, November 2023
Molecular 'blueprint' of circuits controlling movement speed in zebra fish discovered
Abdel El Manira et al, Nature Neuroscience, November 2023
More high-impact publications