Annika Bergquist new Professor at MedH

Annika Bergquist recently passed the milestone of 30 years working for Region Stockholm. In the past, most of her time has been devoted to working in the region and she has spent less time at the university. Now that she has been appointed professor, it is going to be the opposite.

- I look forward to having the university as my main employer and to be able to work from the university perspective after a long time with the region as my main focus, says Annika.

She emphasizes the importance of good communication between the region and the university, which she believes is crucial for conducting good clinical research.

Multiple roles at MedH

Annika is head of the Gastroenterology and Rheumatology Unit at MedH, where she considers her role to largely be about supporting the development of the unit’s various researchers and research groups. She is also the director of the Center for Innovative Medicine (CIMED), which allocates funds and supports various research projects at Campus Flemingsberg.

Different perspectives for better understanding

Annika is also the group leader for the Annika Bergquist group, researching autoimmune liver disease with a focus on primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC) and bile duct cancer. The goal is to better understand PSC in order to be able to diagnose it and find a treatment.

- We have tried to build a multidisciplinary and multi-professional group with people who contribute with a broad set of different competences. This allows us to study the diseases from several different perspectives.

The group also works closely with the Center for Infectious Medicine (CIM) and Annika emphasises the importance of having strong collaborations with basic science researchers.

The aim is long-term research

Looking ahead at least ten years, Annika notes that her goal is to contribute to the positive development of research and the field of medical gastroenterology and hepatology.

- When I eventually retire, I want to know that there are many researchers who can continue to conduct successful research on liver and gastroenterological diseases.

For this to happen, Annika believes it is important to collaborate with basic science researchers and to become more integrated into some of the environments at the campus. Perhaps the new title can give her better opportunities to contribute to such a development.

- I think the title gives me a stronger connection to the university and I hope that it can somehow give me a stronger platform to work from.