News archive

On Monday July 4, Vita Verita will begin ventilation checks of all the biological safety cabinets.

We are approaching summer, and we start to prepare for the half-year closing of the books and would like to take the opportunity to remind you of some important information regarding finances and HR.

A new study from the Department of Neuroscience at Karolinska Institutet characterises a novel neuronal population in the basal ganglia, responsible for the interaction between two types of neurotransmitters, GABA and acetylcholine. The study was recently published in Cell Reports.

Using gene expression data from different cell types in the inner ear and brain, researchers have been able to identify the cell types that mainly contribute to hearing loss. The findings confirm that hearing loss does not derive from the brain but from a distinct compartment in the cochlea, called the stria vascularis, which is the “powerhouse” of the inner ear. The study has been published in the American Journal of Human Genetics.

In collaboration with KI occupational health care Avonova, FM now offers courses in Cardiovascular Rescue (CPR) training in September 2022 for employees working in Biomedicum.

Heart progenitors spontaneously regenerate cardiac muscle via a tight junction “honeycomb” in salamanders. Whether there are endogenous adult heart progenitors that can replenish damaged muscle cells remained controversial.

Sophie Erhardt is interviewed in The Scientist in the article "Is the immunesystem to blame for Schizophrenia?

The interplay between science and culture in various forms is very central to a university. Cultural, as well as interprofessional and interdisciplinary activities bring students and staff together, and contribute to "we-feeling" and broader perspectives. Medical science as well as Medicine attributes its roots to both the humanities and the natural sciences.

Tinnitus is the experience of annoying sounds that no one else can hear, a kind of phantom sound. The problem is increasing, probably due to exposure to high noise levels.

The Selivanova's group at MTC recently established a multidisciplinary collaboration together with Dr. Marie-Stéphanie Aschtgen, microbiologist in the Henriques-Normark groups (also at MTC) to study the interplay between bacteria and cancer, focusing on how specific bacterial systems influence host tumor supressors. Together they recently got their first collaborative paper accepted in Oncogene, entitled "Enterobacteria impair host p53 tumor suppressor activity through mRNA destabilization".

The new routine consists of a QR-code found on the visitor badge that can be used for exit through speed gates on the 3rd floor.

A new e-mail list is now available for everyone working in Biomedicum: Forum Biomedicum. Here you can share and receive information about equipment, cultural events at KI, get advices etc.

Georgios Sotiriou, researcher at the Department of Microbiology, Tumour and Cell Biology, has received Research Environment grant for interdisciplinary research from the Swedish Research Council. He receives SEK 30 million for the years 2022-2027 for the project "Nanoengineered precision therapies of lower respiratory tract infections".

If you had your portrait picture taken in November 2021 in Biomedicum, it is now available for download and publication on your personal profile page at ki.se. Follow the instructions below.

The Strategic Research Programme in Diabetes at Karolinska Institutet started a new initiative earlier this year – the SRP Diabetes Postdoctoral Fellowship Programme. With this postdoctoral program SRP Diabetes aims to support the next generation of exceptional young scientists within the diabetes area, including both experimental and clinical research.

Johanna Bylund is filling in as MBB's Communications Officer for Tabea Kemna when she is on parental leave. The leave is from 15 December to the Fall of 2022.

The work environment group in Biomedicum together with FM will perform safety rounds in the building, starting on Friday December 3rd.
No preparation or participation is needed during the rounds. Focus will be on general order, storage and waste handling.

On November 24, H.M. Queen Letizia of Spain, H.M. Queen Silvia and H.R.H. Crown Princess Victoria Karolinska Institutet and Karolinska University Hospital.

FM is expanding its service.

Biofabrication and Tissue Engineering (Biofab) is a new core facility at Biomedicum, Karolinska Institutet.

As informed earlier (2021-03-01), FM no longer offers autoclaving of waste as a standard service in Biomedicum.

Six researchers at FyFa have been granted project funds from the Swedish research council to the amount of 22 million SEK.

Federico Iovino, Assistant Professor and group leader at the Department of Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, has been recognised "World Expert" in the field "Streptococcus pneumoniae” by Expertscape, a website that objectively ranks physicans, researchers and institutions by their expertise in more than 29,000 biomedical topics.

Medicinska Föreningen (MF) in Stockholm is the largest student union at Karolinska Institutet. Every year MF awards a teacher with the award Mäster, to someone who has been teaching for an extended period of time, in an inspirational and pedagogical way or who initiated and implemented lasting improvements in the education. This year the award goes to Ellinor Kenne. It's the first time in a long time that someone at FyFa receives this award, and with the large amount of teaching that the departm

Ten researchers at MTC have been granted project funds from the Swedish research council to the amount of 66 800 000 SEK during 2022 to 2024/-26.

Between November 22nd and December 3rd there will be evacuation exercises (fire drills) in Biomedicum. Exact times and dates for when the exercises will be conducted will not be announced.

Biomedicum's glass facade will be cleaned starting week 45.

Gunnar Schulte and Pawel Kozielewicz are the editors of a recent edition of The Handbook of Experimental Pharmacology, entitled “Pharmacology of the WNT Signaling System”.

Sophie Erhardt has recieved a research grant from SSF, Swedish Foundation for Strategic Research. The name of the project is “Neuroprotective properties of the proteasome activator PA28α”.

Between 15-26 November, all employees in Biomedicum can have their picture taken by a professional photographer on site in Biomedicum, room CO335. Further instructions and a booking request will be sent out soon.

Ina Schuppe Koistinen has received a research grant from SSF, for a project that aims to determine how the composition of the vaginal microbiome differs in healthy women from women diagnosed with bacterial vaginosis and candida infections.

Please check your labs if you have any bottles that can be handed in for dish washing.

The European Association for the Study of Diabetes Association honors Juleen Zierath for her outstanding contribution to diabetes research over many years.

Professor Juleen R. Zierath receives the 2021 prestigious EASD Claude Bernard Award. This award recognizes an individual’s innovative leadership and lifetime achievements in diabetes research and is the EASD’s highest award.

Four questions to FyFa employees Rebecka Jakobsson, HR-partner and Duarte Ferreira, Assistant professor, about their experiences participating in FyFa Health Challange.

Jill Ziesmer, PhD student is interviewed in Karolinska institutets podcast Medicinvetarna no 77. The podcast is available on Spotify and podcasts.nu, among others.

Unfortunately, there have been a number of thefts both from the bicycle garage and from other places in Biomedicum during the past month.
We therefore ask you to think about locking your bikes and electric scooters properly, to not leave any valuables in the open, and
call the Biomedicum security guard if you see anything suspicious or someone unauthorized in the building.

Patients with chronic rhinosinusitis sometimes suffer from the growth of polyps in the nasal cavity. These polyps are difficult to treat and often require surgical intervention. Even after removal by surgery, polyps can return and present a significant health burden for patients.

Assistant professor Nicolas Pillon at the Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, has been awarded the prestigious Novo Nordisk Foundation Future Leaders Award from the European Foundation for the Study of Diabetes (EFSD).

Fyfa professor Magnus Ingelman- Sundberg has been appointed honorary doctor at the University of Southern Denmark.

This year Ulf von Euler lecture; "Molecular genetic studies of central nervous system vascular development and disease" is held by Professor Jeremy Nathans, Professor of molecular biology and genetics, neuroscience and ophthalmology at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine (Baltimore, MD. USA). He is also a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator.

Gunnar Schulte, professor in receptor pharmacology at FyFa was interviewed by Dr Yamina Berchiche earlier this year in the podcast Dr. GPCR.

In a recently published review article in Nature Reviews Endocrinology, two researchers at the Department of Physiology and Pharmacology at KI, concludes where the field of research is today regarding causes behind and development of, Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) and how epigenetic processes can contribute to the development of the syndrome.

New results presented by the Schulte lab at Karolinska Institutet in collaboration with researchers in Shanghai and Montréal, help us understand how the cell surface receptor FZD7 is activated and provides a platform for drug discovery to inhibit this process for therapeutic purposes.

Andrea Carmine Belin, researcher at the Department of Neuroscience, has been nominated and elected to the International Headache Society's Board of Directors for a two-year period (2021-2023), which will also be announced in conjunction with the Members' Annual Meeting on September 9, 2021.

Researchers from Karolinska Institutet have discovered how platinum-chemotherapy can enhance the treatment resistance of ovarian cancer cells, by progressively changing the cancer cell-intrinsic adhesion signaling and cell-surrounding microenvironment.

An article in Nature Reviews Nephrology summarizes the significant role of nitric oxide in the regulation of renal function and the link to cardiovascular disease and diabetes. Mattias Carlström, Associate Professor of Physiology at KI, is the author behind the article.

Hi there, Haohao Wu, PhD student at the Department of Neuroscience at Karolinska Institutet! You will defend your thesis entitled "The molecular basis of the development and diversity of proprioceptive neurons : a story of surviving and thriving" on 21 May 2021.

Researchers at Karolinska Institutet show how a certain type of immune cells, macrophages, can be recruited into breast cancer tumors, where they are reprogrammed to support and drive tumor growth. In a study published in the scientific journal PNAS, they describe that low levels of the tumor suppressor protein TAp73 lead to hyperactivation of NFkB signaling and an inflammatory condition in breast cancer as well as secretion of molecules that recruit tumor-promoting macrophages into the tumor.

AIMBE fellows represent two percent of the top scientists working in medicine and life science, and are regularly recognised for their contribution in teaching, research and innovation. Yihai Cao was recently elected to become one of them.