News archive

Many people struggle to keep their weight in check as they get older. Now new research at Karolinska Institutet has uncovered why that is: Lipid turnover in the fat tissue decreases during ageing and makes it easier to gain weight, even if we don’t eat more or exercise less than before. The study is published in the journal Nature Medicine.

Karolinska Institutet’s Vice President Karin Dahlman-Wright has today requested to be relieved from her assignment as vice president with immediate effect. Consequently, KI’s University Board (Konsistoriet) agreed to relieve her from the assignment at an extra meeting today.

A complaint was filed in July 2018 against the vice president of Karolinska Institutet (KI), Karin Dahlman-Wright, for suspicion of research misconduct. In order to avoid conflict of interest, in August 2018, KI reached an agreement with the University of Gothenburg to manage the investigation.

On August 22, the Government appointed Carin Götblad as a new member of the Board of Karolinska Institutet. Carin Götblad replaces Liselotte Højgaard who has asked to be dismissed.

Two researchers at Karolinska Institutet, Per-Olof Berggren and Birgitta Henriques-Normark, receive a total of SEK 68 million in grants from the Swedish Foundation for Strategic Research, SSF. The Med-X research program is an interdisciplinary initiative in medicine and technical science. The purpose is to provide new solutions for clinical needs.

Researchers at Karolinska Institutet have, together with colleagues from Aalto University in Finland, developed a new method for creating images of molecules in cells or tissue samples. The method is based on the use of DNA snippets and is called DNA microscopy. The approach is currently described in the scientific journal PNAS.

In a new register-based study, Swedish and Danish researchers show that common drugs for Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD), so called TNF-α inhibitors, are not linked to increased risk of serious infections in children. Previous studies have shown an increased risk in corresponding adult patients. The results are published in The Lancet Gastroenterology & Hepatology.

Antibodies present in the blood years before development of painful chronic joint inflammation may cause early changes in the synovial tissue and bones, according to a study by researchers at Karolinska Institutet published in the journal Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases. The findings could pave the way for new methods of preventing development of the disease.

Young women with early stage ovarian cancer can undergo fertility-preserving surgery without affecting the safety of their cancer treatment, researchers from Karolinska Institutet in Sweden report in a national study published in the journal Gynecologic Oncology.

Expectation was in the air when the international students were welcomed to KI last week. The program included an intensive course in Swedish, workshops in cultural competence and of course "fika".

Three researchers at Karolinska Institutet have been awarded the ERC Starting Grant 2019: Jenny Mjösberg, Maria Genander, and newly recruited Pia Dosenovic. Their projects concern inflammatory bowel disease, esophageal cancers, and HIV vaccine, respectively. In all, the ERC will support 408 early-career researchers from around the world with its prestigious starting grant this year.

A study by researchers at Karolinska Institutet shows that a treatment adjustment algorithm based on lung function and symptoms in a mobile phone can be an efficient tool in managing uncontrolled asthma. For fuss-free measuring of lung function, the phone connects to a wireless spirometer and the app can register respiratory symptoms and provide visual feedback on treatment. The study is published in the highly respected European Respiratory Journal.

Hi Tobias Holmlund, PhD-student at the Division of Neurogeriatrics. On October 4 you will defend your thesis ”Energy Expenditure and Accelerometer Cut-points for Sedentary Behavior and Physical Activity in Spinal Cord Injury – Implication for Guiding and Prevention”, what's the main focus of the thesis?

Hi Lieke de Boer, PhD-student at the Division of Aging Research Center. On October 3rd you will defend your thesis ”Dopamine, decision-making, and aging : neural and behavioural correlates”, what's the main focus of the thesis?

Hi Lucas Morin, PhD-student at the Division of Aging Research Center. On 20 September you will defend your thesis ”Too much, too late? Drug prescribing for older people near the end of life”, what's the main focus of the thesis?

”It will be both fun and exciting to take up as a new head of department,” says Maria Ankarcrona. She wants to keep steady in the helm and hopes to do a good job.

Hi Lucas Morin, PhD-student at the Division of Aging Research Center. On 20 September you will defend your thesis ”Too much, too late? Drug prescribing for older people near the end of life”, what's the main focus of the thesis?

The new type of drugs for type 2 diabetes, the so-called SGLT2 inhibitors, are associated with a reduced risk of heart failure and death as well as of major cardiovascular events, a major Scandinavian registry study led from Karolinska Institutet reports in The BMJ.

The Fourth meeting of the European Burden of Disease Network was arranged by the research group Epidemiology of Psychiatric Conditions, Substance use and Social Environment (EPiCSS) together with WHO on the 20-21 August at KI.

Genes cannot be used to determine an individual’s sexual orientation. A study published in the journal Science found only five out of hundreds of thousands genetic variants occurred somewhat more often in people who had had same-sex partners. This suggests human sexuality is influenced by a complex mix of genetic and environmental factors, according to the researchers. The study is based on data from the UK Biobank, the U.S. company 23andMe and the Swedish Twin Registry at Karolinska Institutet.

Researchers have come one step closer to understanding how our immune system responds to acute dengue fever, a disease that has affected hundreds of thousands of people in Southeast Asia this summer. In a study published in Nature Communications, researchers at Karolinska Institutet and Duke-NUS Medical School show that so-called natural killer cells were especially active shortly after an infection. The discovery could hopefully contribute to the development of new vaccines and treatments.

An international team of researchers from Karolinska Insitutet and the University of Leeds, funded by the British Heart Foundation (BHF) may have discovered why some people experience muscle pain after taking statins. The research, published in JACC: Basic to Translational Science, could help doctors prevent a known side effect of statins and ensure people are able to reap the benefits of the life-saving drugs.

Bengt Winblad has been awarded the 2019 European Grand Prix for Alzheimer research by Fondation sur Recherche Alzheimer.
The prize consists - in addition to the honor - of a total of €100 000, of which €90 000 are intended for his lab research and €10 000 are regarded as a personal prize.

This year’s Sjöstrand lecture was held by Professor Jennifer Doudna, best known for having developed the CRISPR/Cas-9 tool with professor Emanuelle Charpentier. Apart from the lecture itself, she was also involved in several activities during the day at which she met researchers and students from SciLifeLab and Karolinska Institutet.
“I’ve read about her work and never thought I’d get to present my own project to such an important pioneer,” says KI researcher Mihaela Zabulica.

Hi Bárbara Avelar Pereira, PhD-student at the Division of Aging Research Center. On 16 September you will defend your thesis ”Multimodal imaging: Functional, structural, and molecular brain correlates of cognitive aging”, what's the main focus of the thesis?

SRP Diabetes researcher Juleen Zierath is awarded the Swedish Medical Society’s Jubilee Prize 2019 for her pioneering translational diabetes research. Her studies have led to new and important knowledge that can improve the health of many people living with diabetes.

The Amgen Scholars Program at KI is a summer research program for European undergraduate students at Karolinska Institutet (KI) funded by the Amgen Foundation.

Marie Hasselberg has been appointed Professor of Public Health Epidemiology at the Department of Public Health Sciences, from 1 July 2019.

The paper's motto was: ”Among women with diabetes and high HbA1c, there is a risk that the fetus too early the outside world will see”

The winning study was led by Professor Jonas F Ludvigsson, Department of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, KI, and shows that pregnant women with type 1 diabetes are at increased risk of pregnancy complications, including preterm birth. With increasing HbA1c the risk of preterm birth increased further.

Clear evidence that higher levels of physical activity - regardless of intensity - are associated with a lower risk of early death in middle aged and older people, is published by The BMJ today. The findings also show that being sedentary, for example sitting still, for 9.5 hours or more a day is associated with an increased risk of death.

The 2nd year ToxMaster students at IMM have together with teachers participated in the 2nd European Commission Joint Research Centre’s Summer school on Non-Animal Approaches in Science Challenges & Future Directions with in total 120 junior scientists in Ispra, Italy 21-24 May 2019.

Researchers at Karolinska Institutet now quickly generate new knowledge on clinically important drug-drug interactions associated to the anticoagulant warfarin.

Cytokines are a type of proteins that are important to the signaling between cells in the body's immune system, for example in the case of an infection or injury. A new study in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, by researchers researchers at Karolinska Institutet and Lund University, is now indicating that the cytokine interleukin(IL)-26 could be used as a biological marker (biomarker) for uncontrolled asthma in both adults and children.

Meet your colleagues, while getting some activity and fresh air.
Wednesday: Akademiska Stråket 1, Bioclinicum, Solna
Friday: Blickagången 16, NEO, Flemingsberg
@ 12 am, the walk will be 30-40 minutes and at an easy pace.

Professor Juleen Zierath, the Department of Molecular Medicine and Surgery, is awarded the Swedish Medical Society's Jubilee Prize 2019 for her pioneering translational diabetes research. Her studies have led to new and important knowledge that can improve the health of many people living with diabetes.

Fat-soluble statins can prevent liver cancer and reduce mortality in patients with chronic viral hepatitis. These are findings from a study conducted by researchers at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden, among others. The study is published in Annals of Internal Medicine.

Children with Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) run a greater risk of psychiatric disorders, according to a new study from Karolinska Institutet in Sweden published in JAMA Pediatrics. The researchers claim that more psychological support and longer follow-up is needed for the children affected and their parents.

The international collaboration project Equal Life has received SEK 120 million from EU-HORIZON 2020. Jenny Selander, researcher at IMM´s unit for occupational medicine, is the main applicant from Karolinska Institutet.

The hormone secreting part of the pancreas, the islets of Langerhans, has a unique cyto-architecture that allows functional interrelationships between the different cell types. Somatostatin is secreted by the delta cell and is an effective inhibitor of the insulin secreting beta cell and the glucagon secreting alpha cell. According to a novel study from Karolinska Instiutet, published in the journal Nature Communications, the delta cell can thereby indirectly affect glucose homeostasis

Researchers at Karolinska Institutet have discovered a new sensory receptor organ that is able to detect painful mechanical damage, such as pricks and impacts. The discovery is being published in the scientific journal Science.

Sten Linnarsson, professor of molecular systems biology at Karolinska Institutet, is trying to understand the development of the human brain. The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences is now giving him this year’s Torsten Söderberg Academy Professorial Chair in Medicine for his work in achieving a detailed map of the human brain. The grant consists of SEK ten million over a five-year period.

Cells exposed to cancer-driving mutations respond by triggering a stress reaction called cellular senescence, which halts cell proliferation and thereby constitutes the major protective barrier to cancer. Researchers at Karolinska Institutet have now discovered a previously unknown signaling pathway that controls cellular senescence in breast cancer.

Researchers at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden have investigated the long-term effect of hormonal therapy in women with the most common types of hormone-sensitive breast cancer. The results, presented in the journal JAMA Oncology, show that the treatment has a protective effect against distant metastatic cancer for both so-called Luminal A and Luminal B breast cancer subtypes, and a long-term effect for women diagnosed with Luminal A cancer.

Psychiatric comorbidity may play an important role in the increased risk of premature death in people with ADHD (attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder), according to a new extensive registry study conducted at Karolinska Institutet and Örebro University in Sweden. The results, which are published in JAMA Psychiatry, suggest that improved awareness and care of psychiatric comorbidities such as substance use disorders may help reduce serious outcomes associated with ADHD.

Gioele La Manno is awarded The Dimitris N. Chorafas Prize 2019. The Prize (USD 5.000) is meant to reward pre-graduate scientific contributions within the doctoral education. The candidate should not have reached the age of 32 years at the time he/she is nominated to the prize.

Professor Solvig Eklbad shares her concern and visions in an interview in the Swedish daily paper Svenska Dagbladet.

New study published in PLOS Medicine.

Circadian biology is becoming a critical factor for improving drug efficacy and diminishing drug toxicity.

A novel study, published in the scientific journal Cardiovascular Research, identifies that maternal androgen excess increases the risk of cardiovascular disease in female animal offspring. The findings could have important clinical implications for women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) and may explain why women with PCOS and their daughters have increased risk of developing cardiovascular dysfunction in adult life.