News archive

In a recent study researchers from Karolinska Institutet, among others, have characterised the new omicron variant BA.2.75, comparing its ability to evade antibodies against current and previous variants. The study, published in the journal The Lancet Infectious Diseases, suggests that BA.2.75 is not more resistant to antibodies than the currently dominating BA.5, which is positive news.

The fall term of 2022 started 29 August and most of the accepted students have arrived in Stockholm. We are very happy to see new international students on campus!

Honoring the renowned Swedish diabetes scientist Rolf Luft, SRP Diabetes wishes to support the most excellent younger Principal Investigators (consolidator level) in the field of diabetes and metabolism at Karolinska Institutet to obtain critical instrumentation for their research.
Deadline to apply: October 1

Congratulations to Professor Jan Zedenius who has been elected President of the International Association of Endocrine Surgeons, IAES. IAES is an integrated society of the International Society of Surgery ISS/SIC and the inauguration ceremony was held at the International Surgical Week in Vienna on August 16, 2022.

Hi Therese Johansson, PhD-student at the Division of Nursing. On September 9 you will defend your thesis ”A 'new public health' perspective on building competence for end-of-life care and communication : how death literacy can be developed and measured”, what's the main focus of the thesis?

People with long-term neuropathic pain took significantly fewer sick days from work after treatment with spinal cord stimulation, according to a study by researchers at Karolinska Institutet published in the journal PAIN. The findings suggest that the treatment has the potential to increase life quality for chronic pain patients and reduce costs to society, the researchers say.

Using a novel 3D imaging technology, researchers at Karolinska Institutet, among others, have been able to comprehensively characterize a part of the brain that shows perhaps the earliest accumulation of tau protein, an important biomarker for the development of Alzheimer's disease. The results, published in the journal Acta Neuropathologica, may make it possible in the future to have a more precise neuropathological diagnosis of the Alzheimer’s disease spectrum at a very early stage.

Ulrica Nilsson is a professor in nursing at NVS, and a specialist nurse in anesthesiology. She also currently serves as deputy director of doctoral education at the department. Ulrica is proud and honored to have been elected to the prestigious organization.

Esophageal cancer is the seventh most common cancer world-wide and a lethal malignancy causing a considerably high number of deaths. There is currently no promising method for prevention, early detection, or screening of esophageal cancer so most patients are diagnosed at an advanced stage, which is associated with a poor prognosis.

Prof. Kevin Eva is awarded the 2022 Karolinska Institutet Prize for Research in Medical Education (KIPRIME). Prof. Eva is Associate Director and Senior Scientist in the Centre for Health Education Scholarship, and Professor and Director of Educational Research and Scholarship in the Department of Medicine, at the University of British Columbia. He is also Editor-in-Chief of the journal Medical Education.

Bacterial meningitis is a life-threatening infectious disease of the brain that leaves many survivors with long-lasting neurological impairments. Now, researchers at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden show in a study on rats that the brain’s tool for waste clearance, the glymphatic system, malfunctions during bacterial meningitis, causing a buildup of toxic garbage that damages brain cells. The findings are published in the journal mBio.

On 24 August 1922, the pioneering photographer and KI community member Lennart Nilsson (1922-2017) was born. Just in time for his 100th birthday, the retrospective exhibition of his photographic work "Med blick för det stora i det lilla – Lennart Nilsson 100 år" opened at Sergelgatans Konsthall in Stockholm, organised by Jan Broman, founder of Fotografiska Museet, Per Lydmar and Vasakronan.

Many participated in KI:s introduction week for new students, which was the first one to take place in person since COVID-19. Meet some of KI:s new students and read about why they chose to study at KI, and what they though about the introduction to their new University so far.

The national MEG lab at Karolinska Institutet is already the only lab in Sweden with equipment to measure neuronal brain activity in real time across the entire brain. Now, a new sensor-system upgrade to its technical equipment will make the lab an international leader in the field.

Karolinska Institutet (KI) has been assigned the task of hosting the national node for data-driven life science in precision medicine and diagnostics. By developing and providing support and optimal conditions, the aim is to drive research in this area forwards regionally, nationally and internationally.

New study from researchers at Karolinska Institutet published in Science Advances show that inactivation of a protein complex that controls gene repression leads to loss of neuronal identity of dopamine-producing cells and to motor symptoms typical of Parkinson's disease.

A new immunological treatment against hepatitis B and D viruses, both of which can cause liver cancer, shows promising results in animal models. Results from the treatment, which is being developed by researchers at Karolinska Institutet, have been published in the journal Gut.

Women with a breast cancer diagnosis undergoing procedures for fertility preservation are not at increased risk of recurrence of the disease or disease-specific mortality. This has been shown in a study by Karolinska Institutet that followed the participants for five years on average. The results, published in the journal JAMA Oncology, could in the future provide safety and new hope to women who want to preserve their fertility after cancer treatment with chemotherapy.

The remains of a famous Sami woman have been identified amongst Karolinska Institutet’s anatomical collections. Representatives from the medical history and heritage department visited Malå on friday the 19:th of August to present the findings and initiate a repatriation process.

This year, the Swedish Brain Foundation (Hjärnfonden) is awarding SEK 105.3 million in research grants spread over 99 projects. Karolinska Institutet receives 40 of these, eight of which go to NVS.

KI researchers Niklas Mejhert and Zhichao Zhou are among the 4 European grantees receiving 5 million DKK each for 5 years from the European Foundation for the Study of Diabetes (EFSD)/Novo Nordisk Future Leaders Award program in 2022.

Researchers at Karolinska Institutet are developing a coronavirus vaccine designed to be less sensitive to mutations and equipped for future strains. The vaccine showed promising results in mice in a newly published study in EMBO Molecular Medicine, and the researchers now hope to be able to take it to safety studies on humans.

Use of hazardous preservatives in chemical products has increased dramatically in the years 1995–2018. Several of these are potent skin sensitizers and may cause lifelong allergy that affects work ability and quality of life. A new study from the Institute of Environmental Medicine (IMM) draws attention to the need for action for protection of human health and the environment.

Researchers at Karolinska Institutet present new findings about alcohol consumption reduced by training. The three related papers, published in Drug and Alcohol Dependence, report findings from the randomized controlled trial, FitForChange.

A new study published in Cell Chemical Biology describes an alternative approach to treat diabetes by identifying drugs directly increasing the number of incretin-expressing cells. The work results from researchers at Karolinska Institutet.

Children who suffer a relapse of the aggressive cancer known as neuroblastoma have small chances of survival. However, a group including researchers at Karolinska Institutet have now shown that DHODH blockers, which are well-tolerated in humans, can cure neuroblastoma in mice if administered in combination with chemotherapy. The study, published in the journal JCI Insight, paves the way for clinical trials of this combination therapy.

Researchers at Karolinska Institutet and the University of Bristol have investigated the relationship between mode of delivery and sexual well-being several years after childbirth. The study, published in the journal BJOG, showed no difference in sexual frequency or sexual satisfaction in women who were delivered vaginally or by caesarean section.

We are delighted to announce that Olle Ljungqvist has been awarded the prestigious international ISS/SIC Prize 2022 from the Société Internationale de Chirurgie.

Svenska Läkaresällskapet (The Swedish Medical Society, SLS) has decided to award Professor Jonas F Ludvigsson at Karolinska Institutet with the society's prestigious Jubilee Award. The prize winner is awarded SEK 150,000 and the SLS century medal in silver.

The remains of a famous Sami woman have been identified amongst Karolinska Institutet’s anatomical collections. Representatives from the medical history and heritage department visited Malå on friday the 19:th of August to present the findings and initiate a repatriation process.

The Alzheimer's Association® will present seven awards at the Alzheimer's Association International Conference® (AAIC®) 2022, recognizing researchers for their varied expertise, noteworthy achievements and innovative contributions to the field of Alzheimer's and dementia science. Agneta Nordberg, Division of Clinical Geriatrics, received one of them.

In a new analysis, Karolinska Institutet is ranked number eight in a list of organizations with the most published articles on COVID-19 and the immune response. KI also stands out as one of the universities that has had the most international collaborations in the field. The analysis was conducted by Chinese researchers without a connection to KI and is published in the journal Frontiers in Public Health.

Congratulations to the researchers at NVS who received funding from CIMED for 2023–2025

An ongoing effort to create detailed molecular atlases of individual cells in different tissues aims to better understand how diseases develop. Now, a team of researchers from Yale and Karolinska Institutet, has developed a technology that brings that goal one step closer. The findings were published in Nature.

In a new thesis from the Department of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Chen Wang used nationwide Swedish register data to assess the long-term health of children conceived with assisted reproductive techniques (ART) and attempted to develop prediction models of pregnancy complications among women undergoing ART.

Eivind Gottlieb at the Department of Molecular Medicine and Surgery is awarded the prize for his thesis "Improved surgical treatment of oesophageal cancer"

New research from Yihai Cao research group at the Department of Microbiology, Tumor and Cellbiology, MTC, shows that the so-called brown fat in the human body seems to be able to prevent cancer tumors from growing. The result is published by Nature and has been widely disseminated in the media lately.

For the second time, on June 7-8, 2022, the Vascular Surgery Research Group organized this translational meeting for vascular science, this time with a focus on Critical Lower Limb Ischemia (CLTI).

Epigenetic clocks based on DNA methylation data are widely used aging biomarkers useful to assess biological age in population-based cohorts. However, their utility has been limited by technical noise. In this paper, we present a method that produces high-reliability clocks for applications such as longitudinal studies and intervention trials.

Uppsala University and Karolinska Institutet are organizing the DevRes conference which aims to promote networking and collaboration between researchers, public agencies, policy makers, organisations and practitioners, in order to find solutions for poverty and develop strategies for the future of sustainable development.

KI is ranked 41 in the 2022 Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU), also known as the Shanghai ranking. This means that Karolinska Institutet (KI) retains its position as one of the world's 50 highest-ranked universities, where the ranking has varied between positions 38 and 45 over the past five years (2021: position 42). KI is also one of Europe's and the EU's highest-ranked universities. ARWU is based, among other things, on publication- and citation data and scientific awards.

Researchers at KI and SLU have discovered that spider silk proteins can be fused to biologically active proteins and be converted into a gel at body temperature. One of the goals is to develop an injectable protein solution that forms a gel inside the body, which could be used in tissue engineering and for drug release, but also make gels that can streamline chemical processes where enzymes are used. The study is published in Nature Communications.

Annachiara Malin Igra researches the health effects of early-life metal exposure in children in Bangladesh. Her research provides important evidence that growth, bone health and pubertal development of children can be negatively affected by cadmium from food at exposure levels relevant for millions of children around the world. Now she wants to see a new risk assessment for metal exposure where child health is included.

On Aug. 11, the election committee presented two final candidates in the hunt for a new president of Karolinska Institutet. Annika Östman Wernerson at KI and Eva Tiensuu Janson at Uppsala University were selected among some 100 potential candidates. University board chairperson Göran Stiernstedt in the election committee and Professor Erika Franzén in the search committee comment on the recruitment process.

Karolinska Institutet’s Election Committee has selected KI’s Professor Annika Östman Wernerson and Uppsala University’s Eva Tiensuu Janson as the two final candidates for the position of university president.

Researchers at Karolinska Institutet present new insights into the role of small molecules, microRNAs, in skin wound healing. The study, published in the journal eLife, highlights possible future approaches for treating venous ulcers, a common type of chronic non-healing wounds.

Researchers at Karolinska Institutet, among others, have studied the benefit of adding an established drug as a novel targeted therapy in the treatment of acute myeloid leukaemia (AML). The results suggest that the drug hydroxyurea can increase treatment efficacy at a relatively low cost. The results, which were published in the Journal of Internal Medicine, could have significant implications for cancer treatment, including in low-income countries.

Researchers at Karolinska Institutet present the results of a refined clinical COVID-19 test, which has been used to track the spread of the Omicron variant in real time in the Swedish population. The study, published in the journal Med, provides new insights into the dominance transition of Omicron sublineages that occurred consistently across the world.

To track and analyze caesarean section trends and thus improve maternity care, the Robson classification is used worldwide. A study from Karolinska Institutet in Sweden shows differences between Sweden and Canada, and that the classification system can be further developed to take into account more important variables. The study, published in PLOS Medicine, may contribute to improved and more equal maternity care in the future.

During Pride Week in Stockholm in early August, Karolinska Institutet raised the rainbow flag over campus and participated in the parade together with several other universities under the Academic Pride flag.