News archive

An international team of researchers has found a genetic link to long-term symptoms after COVID-19. The identified gene variant is located close to the FOXP4 gene, which is known to affect lung function. The study, published in Nature Genetics, was led by researchers at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden and the Institute for Molecular Medicine Finland.

A donation of SEK 10 million from the Promobilia Foundation is to provide crucial funding for a project designed to help children, adolescents and adults with motor impairments identify more as physically active and included in sport. The project is led by Ferdinand von Walden, researcher at the Department of Women’s and Children’s Health, and Jessica Norrbom, researcher at the Department of Physiology and Pharmacology at Karolinska Institutet.

Welcome to Anna Zettergren's defense of the thesis ”Tobacco Exposure and Health – From Fetal Life to Adulthood”.

At this spring’s conferment ceremony in Stockholm City Hall, honorary doctorates were awarded to Margareta Persson and Leif Lundblad, both of whom are influential and leading figures in their respective fields. They were moved and proud to receive their hats, diplomas and tributes in the form of a cannon salute and applause from a packed Blue Hall. “My thoughts go to my dad today, he would’ve been so happy and proud,” said Margareta Persson after the ceremony.

At this spring’s most important academic ceremony, 143 doctors and two honorary doctors received their hats and diplomas at Stockholm City Hall. Each one has a story to tell of exciting challenges and many years’ devotion to their work. One of them is Martina Gustavsson. Raised on a farm in Västergötland, her journey to the City Hall podium involved many miles by motorbike through remote parts of Uganda.

When Martin Bergö and I entered office as, respectively, vice-president and president just over two years ago, we also entered an extensive dialogue with all the different parts of KI. This was a conscious strategy that gave rise, in part, to several focus areas for strengthening KI through the establishment of sustainable structures, greater collaboration, clarity and transparency.

Close ties between education and research are essential to a university, there being a mutually reliant relationship between them. There are environments with both a strong educational profile and a strong research profile at all KI departments, but there is not always close interaction between them. The Faculty Board has therefore decided to issue a call for funding to promote fruitful ties between such environments.

On 21 May, the quarterly test and maintenance on the sprinkler system in Neo will take place. The test will be done with the sirens turned off, but if the evacuation alarm and Delta Repeaters are triggered, you are not expected to evacuate.

Within the national quality assurance system, universities are responsible for initiating and organising external reviews of their educational programmes. KI has decided that all education must undergo an external review every eight years, and this year it is the doctoral education’s turn. KI has only one doctoral education, in medical science, so all departments are affected.

On 23 May, Akademiska Hus is offering KI employees a free bicycle service on the Solna campus.

The committee for higher education has decided to award Anders Sondén and Anna Pettersson KI's Pedagogical Prize in 2025.
The prize is awarded during the inauguration ceremony in Aula Medica in October.

New postdoc at the division of Neurogeriatrics.

The partnership between Johnson & Johnson Innovative Medicine (J&J) and Karolinska Institutet (KI) marks this year a decade of joint initiatives for promoting the development of tomorrow’s therapies. This long-standing collaboration between industry and academy has given rise to significant scientific advances in several fields of medicine.

KI researchers are invited to submit an expression of interest for new strategic research areas and clusters of excellence for groundbreaking technologies for the upcoming calls announced by the Government bill for research and innovation. The bill fits Karolinska Institutet’s ambitions and profile very well and provide great opportunity for KI to further strengthen and develop its research and innovative capacity. Deadline 27 May.

The tandem tour is a popular science initiative where researchers cycle through southern Sweden, giving lectures on ageing and health at libraries and community centres. The aim is to reach a broader audience, foster dialogue, and spark interest in the role of research in society. The tour, organised in collaboration with the graduate school SWEAH, runs from 4–27 May 2025 and is made possible thanks to support from the Sten K Johnson Foundation.

Oskar Swartling from the Integrative Cardiovascular, Cancer and Ageing Research unit (ICCA), at the Departmet of Medicine, Huddinge (MedH) is defending his thesis titled "Progression of Chronic Kidney Disease: Risk Factors, Sex Differences and Intervention", on 23 May, 2025. Main supervisor is Ylva Trolle Lagerros (MedH).

If you have invited external parties to collaborate in teams, you will shortly receive an email asking you to review these access permissions.

Manne Godhe, PhD student at the Sports Medicine research group, the Department of Molecular Medicine and Surgery, will defend his thesis "Physical Activity and Fitness Measurements in Healthy Older Adults and Osteoarthrities Patients Undergoing Total Hip Arthroplasty" on May 23, 2025. Main Supervisor is Eva Andersson.

David Wulliman from Center for Infectious Medicine (CIM), at the Departmet of Medicine, Huddinge (MedH) is defending his thesis titled "T Cell Immunity Induced by SARS-CoV-2 and Flavivirus Vaccination", on 23 May, 2025. Main supervisor is Hans-Gustaf Ljunggren (MedH).

The combination of air pollution, dense urban development and limited green spaces increases the risk of asthma in both children and adults. This is shown by a new study conducted as part of a major EU collaboration led by researchers from Karolinska Institutet. The paper is published in Lancet Regional Health-Europe.

A study from Karolinska Institutet reveals how cells adapt to nutrient scarcity by altering their genetic instructions. This discovery, published in Molecular Cell, sheds light on cellular stress responses and opens up new medical treatments.

The official kick-off meeting for the EDCTP3 funded UTI-Diag project, coordinated by Professor Tobias Alfvén and his team, was held at Karolinska Institutet from April 24 to 25, 2025. The event marked the beginning of the consortium's collaborative efforts, establishing a comprehensive roadmap and work plan for the next 40 months.

We would like to extend our heartfelt thanks to everyone who attended and presented at the very first Swedish Suicide Research Conference – a platform designed to promote high-quality, research-driven discussions on suicide and suicide prevention.

On Monday 26 May, starting at 18:30, the provider Artologik Survey & Report will conduct an update.

FyFa researcher Maria Lee has received a postdoctoral grant from the Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation: Wallenberg - Bienenstock Postdoctoral Fellowship Programme at Stanford. The grant funds two years of studies at Stanford.

The European Federation of Psychologists’ Associations (EFPA) has announced Professor Lars Bäckman, Karolinska Institutet, as the recipient of the Aristotle Prize 2025. This distinguished award recognises individuals who have made a substantial and original contributions to psychology, particularly in the field of cognitive ageing.

On Friday, 16 May, this spring’s doctoral degree conferment ceremony will take place in the Blue Hall at Stockholm City Hall, where newly conferred doctors and honorary doctors will be celebrated. Medical students Nora Khatibi and Gottfrid Rehnman are two of the evening’s marshals. Here, they share insights into their roles – and how they prepare for the event.

A new study published in JAMA Otolaryngology–Head & Neck Surgery has found that deficits in the sense of smell, known as olfactory impairment, are significantly associated with increased mortality in older adults. The findings, based on data from over 2,500 participants in the Swedish National Study on Aging and Care in Kungsholmen, suggest that olfactory testing could serve as a valuable early indicator of broader health decline.

Hi Anna Rennie, doctoral student at the Division of Clinical Geriatrics. On June 9 you will defend your thesis ”Does white matter matter? Neuroimaging in dementia with Lewy bodies and related conditions.” What is the main focus of the thesis?

Welcome to Signild Kvart´s defense of the thesis ”Non-standard employment and health: Exploring the pathways to health inequality” on May 16th.

Alexander Waldthaler from the Gastroenterology and Nutrition Unit (GUT), at the Departmet of Medicine, Huddinge (MedH) is defending his thesis titled "Advanced techniques in ERCP", on 23 May, 2025. Main supervisor is Annika Bergquist (MedH).

A new study in the European Heart Journal shows that people who develop type 1 diabetes in adulthood have an increased risk of cardiovascular disease and death, and that those diagnosed later in life do not have a better prognosis than those diagnosed earlier. The study, conducted by researchers at Karolinska Institutet, points to smoking, poor glucose control and obesity as the main risk factors.

In May, Tasmin Hoque started as Financial controller at the Department of Medicine, Huddinge (MedH).

Swedish Higher Education Authority (UKÄ) is satisfied with KI’s action report, following the thematic evaluation of the nursing programs, and considers the measures implemented by KI to be reasonable and appropriate.

Swedish cancer patients treated with CAR T-cell therapy show better survival rates and fewer side effects than seen in previous studies. This is shown in a new compilation of Swedish treatment results conducted by researchers in the SWECARNET network.

Björn Reinius and Joyce Noble have developed a synthetic protection for RNA molecules that is stable and can be stored at room temperature. Their innovation simplifies aspects of biomedical research and enables new analytical methods. They are now awarded the 2025 Prize for innovation and utilisation for their work.

On April 23rd, the Department of Laboratory Medicine launched the "LabMed Connect seminar series", an initiative aimed at bringing people across the department closer together.

In keeping with tradition, the group's master's students presented a summary of their theses during the final research group meeting of the term. This year, six students had the opportunity to share their work with twenty group members who attended the meeting in person and online.

In a recent study published in Developmental Cell, researchers at Karolinska Institutet created a comprehensive map of neuroblastoma at the cellular level by integrating single-cell transcriptomics, single-cell multi-omics, and spatial transcriptomics.

Silvia Maioli and Francesca Eroli, from the Division of Neurogeriatrics at NVS, have written a popular science article published on the news platform The Conversation.

The Department of Physiology and Pharmacology celebrated 75 years since its royal inauguration on the Solna campus during 2024. But FyFa's history goes further back than that - and looks forward to many years of community and outstanding research and teaching. On 23 April, the department celebrates with a full day of lectures and a Dragons’ Den.

Pregnant women with metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) have an increased risk of giving birth prematurely and the risk increase cannot be explained by obesity, according to a new study from Karolinska Institutet published in the journal eClinicalMedicine.

Currently, it is not possible to access news and calendar events from parts of ki.se. The bug will be fixed on Thursday evening, May 15th.

Hi there Clare Tazzeo! You will defend your thesis entitled "Investigating the interplay between frailty and healthcare utilization in older adults" on 26 May 2025. Could you tell us a little more?

The Crafoord Foundation 2025

A vitamin supplement that improves metabolism in the eye appears to slow down damage to the optic nerve in glaucoma. Promising results have been published in the journal Cell Reports Medicine. The researchers behind the study have now started a clinical trial on patients.

Karolinska Institutet has signed an agreement with Interflora for the purchase of bouquets and funeral flowers (dnr 2-4881/2024)

In the autumn of 2025, the training program "A Healthy School Start for Health and Learning" will be launched for the first time. It is aimed at school teams consisting of principals, school nurses, and teachers, offering a structured approach to support families in creating healthy habits.

We had a chat with the course leader Liselotte Schäfer Elinder to gain a deeper insight into the background of the training and what participants can expect.