News archive

At the occupational and environmental medicine spring meeting on May 30, three researchers from the Institute of Environmental Medicine (IMM) received awards for Best thesis, Innovative research and Life time achievement.

Professor Jonas F Ludvigsson has been awarded H.M. The King's Medal of the 8th size in the Order of the Seraphim ribbon for outstanding research contributions in paediatrics and inflammatory bowel diseases. At the same time, Professor Göran K Hansson receives H.M. The King's Medal of the 12th size in the Order of the Seraphim ribbon for leading contributions to Swedish academia.

NVS-PUF V, Karolinska Institutet, Sweden, welcomes all doctoral students and researchers at KI, and other interested parties, to a webinar series focusing on Health Literacy. The webinars will consist of lectures and discussions between lecturers and participants, and some self-studies will be conducted prior each webinar. In English, and certificate of participation possible.

A recent study by researchers at Karolinska Institutet and Karolinska University Hospital, published in the International Journal of Surgery, shows that survival rates after surgery have significantly improved over the years, even though patients have become sicker and older. One contributing factor is the continuous development of perioperative care, which encompasses patient management before, during, and after surgery.

Tips from KI Grants Office regarding current calls

The proposal discussed with affected staff is that five offices will cease to exist and three new ones will be formed from 1 January 2025. The aim is to equip KI's operational support to meet increased demands and rapid changes in the outside world through more effective coordination, and to contribute to a stronger sense of unity throughout KI.

As of June 1st, KI researchers can publish with prepaid open access in Rockefeller University Press’ three own journals.

Ljubica Matic and Anton Razuvaev from the Vascular Surgery Group at the Department of Molecular Medicine and Surgery, Karolinska Institutet, have been awarded with the Swedish Heart-Lung Foundation 120 years Jubilee grant for their project that aims to reveal novel mechanisms and develop therapeutic targets and biomarkers for personalised treatment in lower limb peripheral arterial disease.

This week, Karolinska Institutet, reached an agreement on a new exciting multiyear partnership with Carl Bennet AB in support of academic collaboration between Karolinska Institutet and Universitas Airlangga in Surabaya, Indonesia. President Annika Östman Wernerson signed the agreement with Carl Bennet outlining a four year program, totalling 8 million Swedish kronor.

Claudia Hanson, research group leader for IMPAQT at GPH, had her inaugural lectureship as Professor at London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine on 23 May. She shared her experience of moving through different disciplines, institutions, and countries – always with the passion to improve health for women, mothers, and their babies in low- and middle-income settings. We asked her a few questions about her research.

On June 3rd and 4th, international vascular surgeons, scientists and trainees gathered in the Sune Bergström Auditorium to present and discuss translational vascular research. This was the third time the Vascular Surgery group at the Department of Molecular and Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, hosted the meeting, in 2020 in a virtual format, in 2022 and this year in the welcoming venue of Bioclinicum.

Welcome to a SDU - KI joint symposia on structural biology and cancer research
Monday 17 June at 10.15 - 17.00 at BioClinicum J3:14, Kerstin Hagenfelt Auditorium
No registration needed. Coffe/tea and lunch is served.

Welcome to a SDU - KI joint symposia on structural biology and cancer research
Monday 17 June at 10.15 - 17.00 at BioClinicum J3:14, Kerstin Hagenfelt Auditorium
No registration needed. Coffe/tea and lunch is served.

Joanna Rorbach, Principal Researcher at the Department of Medical Biochemistry and Biophysics at Karolinska Institutet, receives The Ascending Investigator Grant from Novo Nordisk 2024.

Remember to register for this autumns training courses in management, leadership and work environment issues. We warmly welcome both new and experienced managers and leaders within KI to register. As an HR professional, you are also welcome to explore our courses.

Take the chance to develop your skills and create valuable networks.

At the Learning HUB you can find our course catalogue and find out which courses you have not yet taken.

Hi Jasper Holleman, doctoral student at the Division of Clinical Geriatrics. On June 18 you will defend your thesis "Novel biomarkers associated with stress : from normal aging to Alzheimer's disease ". What is the main focus of the thesis?

Craig Wheelock has been appointed as a “Fellow of the European Respiratory Society”.

Hi Johanna Mayer, doctoral student at the Division of Neurogeriatrics. On June 17 you will defend your thesis "The role of autophagy in Aβ and tau metabolism in Alzheimer’s disease ". What is the main focus of the thesis?

Christabel Khaemba is a doctoral student at Karolinska Institutet, with a PhD project entitled “Active Safety Surveillance of Drugs Used in Lymphatic Filariasis Control Programme in Kenya.” Currently, she serves as the Principal Regulatory Officer and Head of Pharmacovigilance at the Pharmacy and Poisons Board, Kenya’s national medicine regulatory agency.

Roughly three times as many male athletes are banned for doping as female. A new doctoral thesis from Karolinska Institutet shows that one possible reason for this is that the doping tests in use fail to take account of women’s varying hormone profile. Instead, an alternative is proposed that includes a blood test and a limit value that allows doping tests for both elite athletes and casual sportspersons.

As summer approaches, it’s essential to plan ahead. Here are some key considerations from the finance and HR departments.
During summer, administrative staff at LIME and KI may be on vacation, affecting their presence. Expect longer response times in email inboxes, and note that there will be auto-replies directing urgent matters.

In this spring's call for grants for international postdocs in medicine and health, the Swedish Research Council approved 9 out of 42 applications. Of these nine, four, Daniel Helldén, Klara Lenart, Yunbing Shen and Miranda Stiernborg, are researchers at KI. In total, almost SEK 36 million was granted for the period 2024–2027.

Miranda Stiernborg, researcher in molecular biology at the Translational Psychiatry group, Department of Molecular Medicine and Surgery, receives an international postdoc grant of SEK 3.9 million from the Swedish Research Council to study recurrent urinary tract infections in women.

After being LIME's Acting Head of Department for 4 months Sabine Koch has been appointed as ordinary Head of Department as of 1st July 2024.

We are approaching summer and the half-year closing of the books and would like to take the opportunity to remind you of some important information from Finance and HR.

University of Bonn awards scholarships to NeurotechEU-students for an on-site Intensive German language course in September 2024

When Inger Kull was a new nurse in the early 1980s, researchers were looking for risk factors. Today she is a professor and prefers to talk about health factors. Thirty years of research on the Bamse-children have provided answers to many questions, but not the most difficult: Why do children develop allergies?

On May 25, the Swedish Institute (SI) hosted a diploma ceremony at Stockholm's City Hall, celebrating its scholarship recipients. Among the scholars were seven students from Karolinska Institutet (KI) on site.

The IT Office is further broadening the software portfolio with three popular software products that have a large number of users at KI.

Robin Zenlander from the Gastroenterology and Rheumatology Unit at the Department of Medicine, Huddinge, is defending his thesis titled "Biomarkers in hepatocellular carcinoma", on 13 June, 2024. Main supervisor is Per Stål (MedH).

New research reveals that scar formation after spinal cord injuries is more complex than previously thought. Scientists have identified two types of perivascular cells as key contributors to scar tissue, which hinders nerve regeneration and functional recovery. These findings, published in Natural Neuroscience, are also relevant for other brain and spinal cord injuries and could lead to targeted therapies for reducing scarring and improving outcomes.

The SciLifeLab board has appointed Professor Jan Ellenberg as the new director. Alongside this role, Professor Ellenberg will also be appointed as a professor at Karolinska Institutet and affiliated professor at Stockholm University and KTH (Royal Institute of Technology). He succeeds Professor Olli Kallioniemi, who has served as SciLifeLab director since 2015.

KI's Education Congress is aimed at those who are involved in teaching at KI or interested in educational issues. The venue is campus Solna and this year we focus on the theme ‘Exploring the Human Dimensions of Education’. Register now!

That was the title of the KI-Lifestyle4Health open seminar on June 3rd, 2024. The answer, as perhaps expected, was yes, but participants also got the opportunity to listen and discuss research-based examples and practical trials.

Last week of May four researchers from Ukraine came to Karolinska Institutet for a week of research exchange and collaboration. They are part of the Doc-Stud-Ukraine project funded by the Swedish Institute, focused on supporting Ukrainian PhD students and young researchers to contribute effectively to health systems strengthening, particularly for children and adolescents in deoccupied territories in Ukraine.

Hi there Jonatan Gustavsson! You have recently defended your thesis entitled "Determinants of age-related brain iron accumulation and links to neurocognitive functions". Could you tell us a little more?

This spring, the Vinnova-founded Competence Center, NextGenNK underwent a comprehensive five-year evaluation. The evaluation report, presented on 30 May, praised the center and recommended five more years of funding for NextGenNK.

Researchers at Karolinska Institutet, in collaboration with Sophiahemmet University and LongLife Active AB, have developed an AI-assisted mobile health app with the potential to promote lifestyle behaviours.

KI has presented this year’s sustainability award to Assistant Senior Lecturer Emma Swärdh for her dedication and leadership in the field of sustainable development. Created in 2023, the award was presented at KI’s Sustainability Day on 22 May for the second time. “I hope that it will inspire more people to get involved in sustainability issues,” she says.

Today, 5 June, we celebrate World Environment Day. Fittingly, the 2024 report from the Planetary Health Report Card (PHRC) was completed a couple of weeks earlier. Since its publication in May, the KI students who led the work can proudly present improved grades for the medical programme and one new programme in the report: the physiotherapy programme.

Karolinska Institutet has been invited by STINT (The Swedish Foundation for International Cooperation in Research and Higher Education) to nominate two candidates and a backup candidate to participate in the exchange programme for teaching staff called Teaching Sabbatical.

Last Thursday and Friday brought more excitement than ordinary weekdays and we have the graduating students to thank for it. It was time for the graduation ceremonies for all KI’s study programmes.

This is a summary of the digital information meeting that prof Maria Eriksdotter, head of the project steering group, together with the departmental heads of BioNut and MedH on 28 May addressing all staff at BioNut and MedH.

On June 3rd, the Theranostics Trial Center (TTC) was inaugurated as a new section within the Department of Nuclear Medicine and Hospital Physics, Medical Diagnostics Karolinska (MDK) with an academic base within the Department of Oncology-Pathology at Karolinska Institutet.

While mentally stimulating activities and life experiences can improve cognition in memory clinic patients, stress undermines this beneficial relationship. This is according to a new study from Karolinska Institutet published in Alzheimer’s & Dementia: The Journal of the Alzheimer’s Association.

Researchers at Karolinska Institutet and the University of Innsbruck have developed a simpler and more effective screening method for cervical cancer than the method used today. A comprehensive study published in Nature Medicine shows that the test detects significantly more cancers and precancerous stages.

Anna Kågesten, Elin Larsson, and Anna Mia Ekström recently attended the official launch of the ENGAGE project during its inception meeting in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. This 4-year project aims to co-design a differentiated care package for vulnerable groups of adolescent girls and young women with HIV, addressing their poorer outcomes and higher rates of vertical HIV transmission.

Some 40,000 Swedes live with severe asthma, a disease that causes considerable suffering. Thanks to grants from the Swedish Heart-Lung Foundation, KI researcher Jenny Mjösberg has discovered a specific cell that is thought to play a major part in non-allergic asthma. Further examination of these cells can help to optimise the use of drugs and reduce suffering for people with severe asthma. She has now been awarded the Heart-Lung Foundation’s grand research grant to continue her research.

ARC junior researchers, which includes research assistants, PhD students and postdoctoral researchers, spent the day at Grand Hotel Saltsjöbaden for a writing retreat on Friday 31 May 2024.

Welcome to Ida Karlsson's defense of the thesis ”A problem-solving intervention for employees on sickness absence due to common mental disorders: effects, ethics and process” on June 14.