Camilla Björkegren new Head of the Department of Cell and Molecular Biology
Camilla Björkegren has been appointed Head of the Department of Cell and Molecular Biology (CMB), starting June 1, 2024.
The decision was signed by Vice President Martin Bergö on May 14, 2024. Camilla will take over as Head of the Department from András Simon on June 1, 2024, and the appointment is for five years.
"I am very happy and grateful for the appointment and look forward to working with colleagues within and outside CMB for the continuous development of the department and KI," says Camilla Björkegren.
The journey from there to here
Camilla obtained her PhD in natural science in 1997 at the Department of Cell Biology, Wenner-Grens Institute, Stockholm University. From there, she then moved with her family to Vienna, Austria in 1999 for a three-year postdoctoral position in Prof. Kim Nasmyth's group at the Institute of Molecular Pahtology (IMP). During this period, Camilla switched her research focus from investigating cell motility to analyzis of basic mechanisms of chromosome stability, organization and dynamics.
Back in Sweden, she started her research team at CMB in 2002 after a year as a guest researcher at Södertörn University College. Camilla continued her work in the field of chromosomes, which today has led to the discovery of an intricate interplay between the structure of the DNA helix and the three-dimensional organization of chromosomes.
Camilla became Professor of Cell and Tumor Biology at KI in 2010 and is also a Visiting Professor at the University of Tokyo in Japan since 2022. This Visiting Professorship stems from a long-standing collaboration with a Japanese research team, which also has resulted in the establishment of UTokyo-KI LINK, a program that stimulates research and educational exchanges between the two universities.
On June 1, 2024, she will take over as Head of Department, a position that will benefit from her extensive experience and expertise. With an impressive career spanning several decades and continents, Camilla is well equipped to lead the department towards new heights of research excellence and academic activity.