Elham Rostami joins FyFa – leads the initiative for the new HumanLab
Neurosurgeon and researcher Elham Rostami is back at FyFa, where she once began her career. She now combines her research into traumatic brain injuries with her clinical work and her role as director of FyFa's new HumanLab.
Elham Rostami has a long history at the Department of Physiology and Pharmacology. Even before her doctoral studies, she was at FyFa and learned microdialysis from Professor Urban Ungerstedt—a method that later became central to her research. She also taught several different courses at the department, which she enjoyed.
“I know that at FyFa you have to be both a researcher and a teacher, which is a combination I like. For example, I am really looking forward to becoming course coordinator for FyFa’s new AI course on the master’s program,” says Elham Rostami.
Neurosurgeon and researcher
She received her doctorate in 2012 from the Department of Neuroscience and currently divides her time between clinical work as a neurosurgeon at Uppsala University Hospital and research at Karolinska Institutet. Her main area of research is traumatic brain injury (TBI), where she and her research team are working to better understand different types of brain trauma and improve the ability to predict patient outcomes and identify and develop more individualised treatment strategies.
"An important value in my research is that I work both clinically and preclinically experimentally. This creates a strong translational bridge where hypotheses can be generated at the patient's bedside, tested preclinically and returned to the clinic," says Elham Rostami.
Director of HumanLab – FyFa's initiative in translational human physiology
At FyFa, Elham Rostami will continue her research and will be involved in teaching at the department, but in addition to this, Elham is now taking on the role of director of FyFa's HumanLab initiative, which aims to become a world-leading core facility for research on humans.
"As director, I want to create an environment where users have access to advanced methods and professional support that enable them to conduct research at the highest level. My ambition is to bridge the gap between experimental and clinical research so that hypotheses can be quickly tested and translated into both preclinical and clinical studies. HumanLab will be a place where these perspectives truly meet, where collaboration between the lab and the clinic takes place smoothly and without unnecessary obstacles. It should be easy to initiate and conduct high-quality human studies,"
says Elham Rostami.
Head of department Sophie Erhardt emphasises the importance of the initiative and Elham's role:
"Elham Rostami is a key person in FyFa's HumanLab initiative, but she also strengthens research at FyFa in general. Her work contributes to the translational research that is central to our vision – Pioneering physiology and pharmacology to drive next generation discoveries and health care. In this way, she is an important force in our goal of driving research from bench to bedside."