Published: 09-12-2022 10:02 | Updated: 09-12-2022 10:06

Marcus Carlsson, new Professor at MMK

Marcus Carlsson, Professor of Clinical Physiology
Marcus Carlsson, Professor of Clinical Physiology

We warmly welcome Professor Marcus Carlsson to the Department of Molecular Medicine and Surgery. Marcus Carlsson was appointed Professor of Clinical Physiology on November 7, 2022 and he combines the professorship with a position as senior consultant at the Department of Clinical Physiology, Karolinska University Hospital. Marcus Carlsson was nominated to KI from the National Institutes of Health, USA, where he led the research group "Clinical Physiology".

From January 1, 2023, Marcus Carlsson will act as research group leader for the Clinical Physiology research group at MMK.

Research area

In recent years, several important therapies have been introduced for heart failure and valvular disease, but heart failure still has a poor prognosis and morbidity is high. Improved understanding of the underlying mechanisms is important for selecting the right patient for the right treatment at the right time. Advanced biomarkers from MRI technology could help with this, but how these markers are linked to the development of heart failure and how they might predict the outcome of valve surgery is not known.

His area of research is to advance the understanding of heart failure, with and without valvular disease, primarily using cardiovascular magnetic resonance imaging technology so that appropriate therapy can increase the well-being of patients with heart failure. 

The overall question is whether advanced and new biomarkers for the heart's perfusion, blood flow, pump function and heart damage have prognostic information in heart failure and can be used to predict treatment effect in heart valve disease.

Previous experiences and positions

Marcus Carlsson has, for 20 years, been working at the University Hospital in Lund, today Skåne University Hospital, where he led the department of Clinical Physiology and Nuclear Medicine. Further, he has been chairman of both the Swedish Heart Association and the Swedish Society of Clinical Physiology. He was selected expert for "cardiac imaging" of the National Board of Health and Welfare when the National Guidelines for Cardiac Care were outlined.