News archive

Patients with the inflammatory bowel disease ulcerative colitis have a higher risk of dying from colorectal cancer, despite modern therapy, even though the risk has declined in recent years. This is according to a new study published in the scientific journal The Lancet by a team of Swedish and Danish researchers.

A recent paper published in Science Advances by scientists at Karolinska Institutet in a large joint effort with Hungarian, Japanese, Swedish and American researchers demonstrates a previously unknown mechanism by which cells can protect proteins from irreparable damage by oxygen. Because this damage occurs in diseases such as cardiovascular, neurodegenerative conditions and cancer, the mechanism helps us to better understand these diseases.

Researchers at Karolinska Institutet have developed a method based on artificial intelligence for histopathological diagnosis and grading of prostate cancer. The AI-system has the potential to solve one of the bottlenecks in today’s prostate cancer histopathology by providing more accurate diagnosis and better treatment decisions. The study, presented in The Lancet Oncology, shows that the AI-system is as good at identifying and grading prostate cancer as world-leading uro-pathologists.

Annika Hanberg, IMM, Programme director for the ToxMaster programme, was awarded ”Mäster 2019” by the Student Union at KI Medicinska Föreningen at their Lucia ball on the 13 December 2019.

Arne Holmgren, Senior Professor at Karolinska Institutet, died on January 6, 2020, 79 years old. Dr. Holmgren was widely known as one of the groundbreaking scientists establishing the rapidly growing field of redox biology.

Using a trick involving detergent and mass spectrometry, a research group has been able to wash and weigh protein molecules to determine which lipids make the protein work. The findings may help design molecules that stick to individual membrane proteins and pave the way for the development of new drugs including antibiotics and cancer therapies. The study is published in Angewandte Chemie International Edition.

Researchers at Karolinska Institutet have come one step closer toward understanding how the part of our brain that is central for decision-making and the development of addiction is organized on a molecular level. In mouse models and with methods used for mapping cell types and brain tissue, the researchers were able to visualize the organization of different opioid-islands in striatum. Their spatiomolecular map, now in Cell Reports, may further our understanding of the brain’s reward-system.

Researchers at Karolinska Institutet have deciphered the diabetogenic role of a certain type of calcium channel in insulin-secreting beta cells. The researchers believe that blockade of these channels could be a potential new treatment strategy for diabetes. The study is published in the scientific journal PNAS.

Christina H. Opava summarized her career at KI in an entertaining talk prior to her retirement, led by Yvonne Enman, journalist and honorary doctor at KI.

Systembolagets Alkoholforskningsråd has awarded projects grants to four research projects at the Department of Global Public Health.

Researchers at SciLifeLab report in the journal Science that they have created a detailed blood atlas of the proteins in human immune cells. The open-access database offers medical researchers an unprecedented resource in the search for treatments for diseases.

Glutamine could help people with obesity reduce inflammation of fat tissue and reduce fat mass, according to a new study at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden and the University of Oxford in the U.K. The researchers also show how glutamine levels can alter gene expression in several different cell types. However, more research is needed before glutamine supplementation may be recommended as a treatment for obesity. The study is published in the journal Cell Metabolism.

During one of few sunny days in November, about 290 Alzheimer researchers and other interested people from all over Sweden gathered in Aula Medica. It was Center for Alzheimer Research that had invited to the Swedish Meeting for Alzheimer research on 20 November.

Congratulations to Associate professor Susanna Brighenti at CIM who receives research grants for her group´s studies on new concepts for host-directed therapy in tuberculosis.

Researchers at Karolinska Institutet, together with colleagues from the EU-funded project HUMAN, recently published a study on a new animal model for studies of human lipoprotein metabolism and pharmacodynamics. The study is a result of the EU project HUMAN using a new animal model and new technologies to study aging and cardiometabolic diseases.

She receives the grant for ”New diagnostic tools and treatment for Alzheimer's disease, traumatic brain injury and small vascular disease” and it is distributed over three years.

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) for patients with social anxiety not only helps to reduce anxiety levels but also seems to protect against accelerated cellular ageing, a study involving researchers at Karolinska Institutet published in the journal Translational Psychiatry reports.

The search for a cure to AIDS has partly focused on ways to eradicate infected cells. Now, new research from Karolinska Institutet in Sweden and the University of Pennsylvania in the U.S. shows that this approach may not be necessary for a functional cure. In a study focusing on a subset of HIV-positive individuals who can live with the virus without needing treatment, the researchers found that these people’s lymphocytes suppress the virus but do not kill off infected cells.

Two KI researchers receive research project grant for international collaboration within rare diseases (EJP Rare diseases) from the Swedish Research Council.

Two researchers at Karolinska Institutet are awarded the Strategic Mobility Grant from the Swedish Foundation for Strategic Research (SSF). The aim of the SSF mobility programme is to increase exchange between Swedish universities and industry by funding researchers’ work with a project managed by the other part.

Jakob Wikström at KI is one of this year’s three Wallenberg Clinical Fellows. The purpose of the program is to encourage clinical research by Swedish physicians. The funding is for three years and is provided by the Marianne and Marcus Wallenberg Foundation.

This year's silver medals are awarded to senior professors Lena von Koch and Björn Klinge. The medal is awarded to a person who has made excellent efforts to support the activities of Karolinska Institutet. The medals are awarded in conjunction with the ceremony for Diligence and Devotion.

As part of the EU Horizon 2020 funded project IMPACT TB, a policy dialogue was held in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Knut Lönnroth, Kristi Sidney Annerstedt, Kerri Viney and Olivia Biermann of the Department of Global Public Health are involved in IMPACT TB.

Professor Christina Dalman from the EPiCSS Research Group participated in round-table discussions on current research on mental illness at the Ministry of Social Affairs on 20 November.

What do KI researchers Alicja Wolk, Peter Stenvinkel, and Magnus Ingelman-Sundberg have in common with historical super-celebrities such as Sigmund Freud and Albert Einstein? They are all on the highly cited researchers list of h-index 100 or more in Google Scholar.

Researchers at Karolinska Institutet and from the Netherlands have developed a simple tool that shows the survival probability of a person with dementia disease over three years. This, they hope, will facilitate dialogue with the most seriously affected and help doctors and others plan the necessary care. The study is published today in the scientific journal Neurology.

Researchers at Karolinska Institutet have developed a new method for identifying which proteins are affected by specific drugs. The tool and the results it has already generated have been made freely available online. The method is described in the scientific journal Nature Communications.

Tuberculosis is the world’s leading infectious killer. An estimated 3 million people with TB are never diagnosed and treated. To find those “missing” millions with TB, one strategy is to do active case-finding, also known as systematic community-based TB screening. A review published in BMJ Open explores the antecedents, components and influencing factors for active case-finding policy development and implementation.

Per Nilsson, at the Division of Neurogeriatrics, NVS, receives 1 000 000 SEK in grants from Torsten Söderberg's Foundation.

On the 29th of November 2019 the annual event ”Silvia Master Academy Day” took place. During a full day, Silvia Doctors, Silvia Occupational therapists and Silvia Physiotherapists with a master’s degree in dementia care from KI, met at the Silviahemmet foundation. The purpose is to share experiences, gain new knowledge and network.

The Deutsche Tinnitus Stiftung Charité has announced the creation of “The Research Prize in Tinnitus and Hearing”, awarded to outstanding achievements in the research areas covering causes, early detection and therapy of tinnitus and hearing damage.

Researchers from Karolinska Institutet participate in capacity building projects fincanced by Erasmus+

Four researchers at Karolinska Institutet have been granted a total of SEK 28 million in additional funding from the Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation (KAW). Two of these researchers are also promoted from Wallenberg Academy Fellows (WAF) to Wallenberg Scholars.

When Nobel prize winner Michael Kremer initially looked at the data of his now famous 1990s Kenya school study, he felt shocked and disappointed. The data showed that more textbooks did nothing to improve educational outcomes, contrary to what most researchers believed. But rather than succumbing to disillusionment, Kremer dug deeper into Kenya’s schooling system to uncover what measures truly did make an impact and found his answer: targeted help for weak students.

KI researcher Thomas Gustafsson, professor at the Department of Laboratory Medicine / Division of Clinical Physiology and Stefan Arver, Associate Professor at the Department of Medicine and Chief Physician at ANOVA Karolinska University Hospital Huddinge, are responsible for a study examining changes in muscle mass, muscle composition and strength in transgender persons during hormone treatment.

In three brilliant Nobel Lectures, the laureates describe how research into the systems cells use to deal with hypoxia can lead to improved treatments for anaemia, vascular atrophy and cancer.

Myriam Aouadi and Camilla Svensson have been awarded the European Research Council’s Consolidator grant 2019 for research on the role of macrophages in liver disease and how autoantibodies contribute to chronic pain, respectively.

During 1–6 of December 2019, Maria Eriksdotter, Dean at KI South, participated in a state visit to India together with the King and Queen of Sweden. The programme of the visit focused on sustainable innovation and ageing.

Patients with ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis) often suffer from type 2 diabetes. This phenomenon has since long remained mechanistically enigmatic. Now, researchers at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden have identified a molecular mechanism linking these two diseases. The study is published in the scientific journal PNAS.

Women who have C-sections are no more likely to have children who develop obesity than women who give birth naturally, according to a large study by researchers at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden published in the journal PLOS Medicine. The findings contradict several smaller studies that did find an association between C-section deliveries and offspring obesity but did not consider the numerous maternal and prenatal factors that the researchers did in this study.

KI researcher Marta Roczniewska has received funding from FORTE for her project "Job crafting interventions − what is required for employees to be able to design and redesign their work?"

On Friday December 18, Elisa Longinetti will defend her thesis "Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and multiple sclerosis associated neuroinflammation: nationwide epidemiological studies on etiology, comorbidities, and treatment"

Hi, there Melody Almroth, doctoral student at the Department of Global Public Health at Karolinska Institutet. On Friday 6 December you will defend your thesis. Tell us, what is your thesis about?

On the 27 November, the Centre for Tuberculosis Research held a seminar for doctoral students and post docs working on tuberculosis at Karolinska Institutet.

Daughters of women with polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) are five times more likely to be diagnosed with PCOS as adults, and the generational transmission is driven by high androgen levels during pregnancy, researchers at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden report. Their results, which are based on register-based and clinical studies as well as transgenerational animal studies, are published in Nature Medicine.

Six of the 29 new Wallenberg Academy Fellows appointed in 2019 will conduct their groundbreaking research at Karolinska Institutet. The five-year grant is financed by the Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation to provide the young and talented researcher leaders with long-term research funding in Sweden.

Researchers at Karolinska Institutet have developed an online Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) programme for the difficult-to-treat pain syndrome fibromyalgia. In her doctoral thesis, Maria Hedman-Lagerlöf shows that patients who receive the treatment experience fewer symptoms and enjoy better quality of life.

There is a strong correlation between high blood pressure in patients in the emergency room and an increased risk of future cardiovascular disease, researchers from Karolinska Institutet report in a large registry study published in the journal Hypertension. Their conclusion is that blood-pressure measurements in the emergency room can be used as a tool for reducing morbidity and mortality rates through early preventive intervention.

Older people can improve their lifestyle and adopt healthier behaviours with the support of an online coach. This can help improve risk factors related to cardiovascular disease and dementia. An international group of researchers, including the Division of Clinical Geriatrics and Aging Research Center at the Center for Alzheimer Research, has reported these findings today in The Lancet Digital Health.

Researchers have long known that some genes can cause cancer when overactive, but exactly what happens inside the cell nucleus when the cancer grows has so far remained enigmatic. Now, researchers at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden have found a new mechanism that renders one canonical driver of cancer overactive. The findings, published in Nature Genetics, create conditions for brand new strategies to fight cancer.