Håkan Mogren Prize awarded to Caroline Nilsson
Paediatric allergist and KI researcher Caroline Nilsson has been awarded this year's Mogren Prize in Medicine, Sweden's largest prize for clinically active doctors. The prize money of SEK 250,000 is motivated by her work to link patient encounters directly to research, which has a life-changing effect on children with severe food allergies.
With a prize of SEK 250,000, the Mogren Prize is Sweden's largest prize for clinically active doctors. Caroline Nilsson, senior physician at Sachsska Children's and Youth Hospital and associate professor at the Department of Clinical Research and Education, Karolinska Institutet, is being recognised for her work in linking encounters with young patients directly to research, which has an immediate and life-changing effect on children and young people with severe food allergies.
”As a paediatric allergist, you are the children's advocate. After treatment, the child should be able to live their life, go out and buy a bun full of milk and eggs – it can feel incredibly scary if the family has had to live in constant fear of allergic reactions. Being a doctor is as much about treatment as it is about building trust,” says Caroline Nilsson.
Most important is to listen
”When you want to talk, I will listen – that's the most important thing I can say to my patient. When the child trusts me, not only does the treatment improve, but I also get exactly the right questions for my research. It is thanks to the trust and cooperation between us doctors and the children that we are now on the way to preventing and curing food allergies – it would have been impossible without trust”, says Caroline Nilsson.
Caroline Nilsson's clinical work and research contribute continuously to improved diagnosis and treatment of severe food allergies. She has published over 100 scientific articles, supervised eight doctoral students and is involved in developing treatment and investigation guidelines as well as preventive advice for allergies. Today, there is a good chance that food allergies can be completely prevented with the help of early intervention and new treatment methods, both with and without medication.
The Mogren Prize in Medicine is awarded annually to an active clinician who places great emphasis on empathy and patient contact. The prize money is personal.
Significant medical advances
”When patient encounters are characterised by empathy, sensitivity and trust, it not only results in healthier patients but also leads to significant medical advances. Caroline Nilsson's focus on gaining the trust of her young patients and directly using it to strengthen her research leads to highly relevant and maximally successful treatment for the children. It is an important reminder of how crucial patient encounters are to high-quality care,” says Karin Pettersson, chair of the nomination committee for the Mogren Prize in Medicine.
The Mogren Prize in Medicine will be awarded on 16 October 2025 at the IVA Conference Centre in Stockholm.
The motivation reads as follows:
”Caroline Nilsson helps children and young people with severe food allergies to finally live their lives to the fullest. By methodically building trust with young patients, she gets their help in asking the right questions in her research, and then takes the results back to the patients. Caroline Nilsson shows how crucial patient encounters are for high-quality care and research that has an immediate effect. For this, she is awarded the Mogren Prize in Medicine 2025.”