News archive

A new study shows weak associations between psychiatric symptoms and selected inflammatory biomarkers in patients with chronic pain. The study found that sickness behavior contributed more to explaining psychiatric comorbidity.

A new study from Karolinska Institutet shows that 45 genes may play a crucial role in the prognosis of patients with adrenal cancer. The findings, published in the journal ESMO Open, give hope for a better diagnostic tool than is currently available.

Steven N Kabwama, a PhD student in the research group GlobalChild Health and the SDGs attended the Global Health Security Conference that was held between 18th – 21st June 2024, Sydney Australia. He presented a poster on maintaining essential health services in Uganda that is part of hes doctoral research.

In 2021, Makerere University in Uganda and Karolinska Institutet established the Centre of Excellence for Sustainable Health based on their strong partnership. The Centre aims to develop capacity and mobilise actions to drive the agenda for sustainable health. We asked the current and former Chairs of the steering committee about the Centre's significance and its impact.

Björn Högberg has been assigned the role of Head of Department of Medical Biochemistry and Biophysics (MBB), starting on July 1, 2024.

Björn Högberg har fått uppdraget som prefekt vid institutionen för medicinsk biokemi och biofysik (MBB), med start den 1 juli 2024.

During the summer, the opening hours for Aula Medica are changed.

From July 1 to August 9 Aula Medica is open 8:00 AM to 3:00 PM.

Fanna Ndow Norrby had never smoked or used snus when she was 30, but then she started using nicotine pouches. Here she talks about her journey in and out of addiction.

Principal Satu Harnesk has noticed an increase in snus use among students. But when she tries to talk about the health aspect, it is difficult to get through.

Anna-Karin Trångteg works as a tobacco cessation counsellor at a youth clinic. Here she explains how the young people she meets view different types of nicotine addiction.

The use of new nicotine products such as white snus and e-cigarettes has increased significantly among young people in Sweden. Marketed as tobacco-free, these products often contain high levels of nicotine and are flavoured in ways that attracts new target groups. But what do we really know about the risks?

Karin Garming-Legert researches mucosal changes in the mouth. She explains that those who use white snus nicotine pouches sometimes exhibit a different type of oral alteration not previously seen.

Tanja Tomson and her colleagues have developed a support tool for healthcare professionals whose patients want to quit nicotine.

Considering the urgent need to address emerging health crises, the Rwanda Food and Drug Authority (FDA) has intensified efforts to strengthen regulatory activities, particularly in the area of clinical trial monitoring. The Rwanda FDA has collaborated with regional and international partners on important partnerships aimed at building capacity for clinical research and promoting ethical conduct.

The students have left for summer, and the study year 2023/2024 is now in its final phase, with exam corrections and summing up activities. A sincere thank you to everyone who has contributed to MBB’s teaching activities during this period.

Seven new research projects, four of which are led by researchers at Karolinska Institutet, will investigate how sick leave due to mental illness can be reduced among workers and white-collar workers in the private sector. It is part of the new R&D programme "The road to mental health in working life: Preventive, rehabilitative and strengthening efforts", which is funded by Afa Insurance and Alecta.

Older people with type 2 diabetes who are treated with GLP-1 agonists have a decreased risk of developing dementia, according to a new study from Karolinska Institutet published in the journal eClinicalMedicine.

CIMED's review of the applications for the 2025-2027 project grants and clinical research months has now been completed and a decision on distribution of funds has been made by CIMED’s Board of Directors.

Nine researchers from around the world have published a summary of the most recent progress in diagnosing and treating cluster headache, as well as understanding the development of the disease. The review article was recently published in Lancet Neurology.

In a debate article, President of Karolinska Institutet Annika Östman Wernerson and other leading representatives of the board of the Association of Swedish Higher Education Institutions call for continued and strengthened activities for the researcher, doctor, KI alumnus and Swedish citizen Ahmadreza Djalali. Since 2016, Djalali has been imprisoned on fabricated charges in Iran, in the prison that the Prime Minister recently described as hell on earth.

We congratulate researchers at MedH, including BioNut, who have been awarded CIMED project grants and clinical research months for the period 2025-2027.

“Ageing in a transforming world” was the theme of the 27th Nordic Congress of Gerontology (ageing research), hosted by Karolinska Institutet on 12–14 June. Drawing over 800 delegates from 44 countries to Aula Medica, the now international conference was opened by Queen Silvia, who talked about the importance of the research to dignity in ageing.

Congratulations to the 9 excellent researchers at Labmed receiving project grants from CIMED.

Sustainability, inclusiveness, integration for University support services (SiiUss) is the name of a project and joint initiative between University of the Philippines Diliman (UPD). After the successful running of the pilot project in 2023, with ten delegates, five from each partner institution, SiiUSS recently took its show to Japan.

CIMED has allocated clinical research time to Mattias Ulmner and project funds to Ronaldo Lira-Junior.

This is a summary of the digital information meeting that prof Maria Eriksdotter, head of the project steering group held together with Petter Höglund, head of MedH, Janne Johansson, head of BioNut and Agneta Wallin Levinovitz, Project manager on 18 June, addressing all staff at BioNut and MedH.

This spring, we embarked on an important and comprehensive change process to optimise our internal resources and to create even better conditions for our core activities and departments. This work is now entering a more concrete phase.

Linda Sandberg and Kristina Dalin Eriksson were awarded best posters at the 27th Nordic Gerontology Congress, June 12 - 14.

Administrative news for staff and affiliates at the Department of Neuroscience (June 2024).

On Tuesday 11 June, a team from the Aging Research Center (ARC) participated in Blodomloppet 2024.

Summer is almost here and with it the much-needed holiday.
After the summer, Eva Palmer will no longer be the head of FM in Biomedicum
So we say good bye to Eva, but also hello to Johanna, the new head of FM.

In the first week of August, the HR Pulse physical work environment is sent out to all employees with a three-week response time. Here you can see which activities are in progress or have been completed.

During summer Restaurang Nanna Svartz, Café Erik Jorpes and Svarta Räfven will be closed. You can find the respective dates below.

As of June 24 the commute bus runs on summer time table

How do carers reason when deciding to treat patients with borderline personality disorder (BPD) under compulsory care? Is compulsory care ethically defensible? A new thesis by psychiatrist Antoinette Lundahl tries to answer these questions and concludes that there is much to indicate that compulsory care does not help patients with BPD and can even increase the risk of suicide.

Researchers at the Institute of Environmental Medicine (IMM) have published two studies on the connection between depression and cardiovascular disease. The first study explores the physiological mechanisms behind the link between general depression and cardiovascular disease. The second examines the increased risk of cardiovascular disease in women affected by perinatal depression. The results emphasize the importance of understanding and treating depression to prevent serious physical illness.

Femke Hormann has been awarded a prestigious Junior Research Grant by the European Hematology Association (EHA). The grant totals € 150 000 over three years.

In first-time mothers requiring vacuum-assisted delivery, a lateral episiotomy (angled cut) in the tissue between the vaginal and anal opening more than halves the risk of obstetric anal sphincter injury, a severe form of perineal trauma between the vulva and anus. This according to a randomised clinical study led by researchers at Karolinska Institutet and Stockholm’s Danderyd Hospital, the results of which are published in The BMJ.

The Swedish Heart-Lung Foundation has been supporting research into diseases of the heart and lungs in various ways since 1904, in part through generous research grants. This year, the foundation is celebrating its 120th anniversary, one of the high points of which is the creation of a new large research grant. Three of the six research teams to be awarded the foundation’s Jubilee Grant work at Karolinska Institutet.

In April, 30 participants finished the course "Leadership for research group leaders". This course is run every second year and is part of KI’s efforts to strengthen the scientific leadership at the research group leader level.

As of June 17th we have a new catering framework agreement for KI Nord.

The StratNeuro Retreat 2024, held from June 3rd to June 5th at the picturesque Djurönäset Hotel, was a resounding success. With over 250 participants, this retreat offered an exceptional opportunity for networking, scientific exchange, and relaxation in a stunning location.

The KI Housing office is closed on Friday, June 21, for the celebration of Midsummer Eve. If you have any urgent maintenance issues when the office is closed, we ask you to use the on-call service for your area.

KI researcher Rickard Sandberg has been elected as a member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. Academy of Sciences in the Medical Sciences category. In his research, he has developed new methods for studying genes in individual cells.

Photos from the party on June 13 when Dentmed celebrated 50 years since the dental program moved to Huddinge and summer party for the employees

Fang Fang, professor in epidemiology at the Institute for Environmental Medicine in Solna, is awarded the prize for her outstanding efforts in epidemiology, as a researcher in neurodegenerative diseases, especially ALS.

Eleven years ago, KI researcher Beatrice Uusma published her book The Expedition: A Love Story exploring the fate of Andrée’s balloon expedition to the North Pole at the end of the 1800s. This August, she and a group of researchers from the Norwegian Institute for Cultural Heritage Research and the University Museum of Bergen will be returning to Vitön (Kvitøya) for more answers about the ill-fated expedition. Bea Uusma, at KI’s Medical History and Heritage Unit, tells us more.

On Tuesday, June 11, OSK challenged colleagues at Bite Physiology at Eastman in the Blodomloppet at Djurgården, a challenge that OSK won. Five people from each clinic ran 5.3 km in cold weather with occasional light rain.

The Swedish Medical Society has decided to appoint Catharina "Cia" Ihre Lundgren as the new president of the Swedish Medical Society, SLS. She takes office on July 1, 2024 and succeeds Tobias Alfvén, who is leaving the post after four years as president.

Junior researchers are invited, by the Internationalisation board, to apply for funding for collaboration with partners in low- and middle-income countries in Africa in 2025. The level of funding is 50,000 to 100,000 SEK.