News archive

Researchers at Karolinska Institutet have developed a new method to separate between two different types of a common herpes virus (HHV-6) that has been linked to multiple sclerosis. By analyzing antibodies in the blood against the most divergent proteins of herpesvirus 6A and 6B, the researchers were able to show that MS-patients carry the herpesvirus 6A to a greater extent than healthy individuals. The findings, published in Frontiers in Immunology, point to a role for HHV-6A in MS development.

Recently discovered immune cells called MAIT cells play a key role in group A streptococcal toxic shock, researchers at Karolinska Institutet report. The results, which are published in the journal PNAS, have potential implications for the diagnosis and treatment of this life-threatening condition.

Nicola Orsini, associate professor of medical statistics at the Department of Global Public Health , is one of the researchers at KI that qualify for the annual list of highly cited researchers compiled by Web of Science.

Two SRP Diabetes researchers will take part in this unique show to explore science through music, improvisation and art. The event takes place on November 24 and is organized by researchers from Karolinska Institutet.

The program team for "Patient in the driver's seat" met with Dana Lewis, a passionate advocate of patient-centered, patient-driven and patient designed research, to discuss co-created research.

Inducing labor after 41 instead of 42 full weeks of pregnancy appears to be safer in terms of perinatal survival, according to new research from the University of Gothenburg, Sahlgrenska and Karolinska Institutet in Sweden. The current study is expected to provide a key piece of evidence for upcoming decisions in maternity care.

Pregnant women with eating disorders should undergo extended pregnancy screenings considering their increased risk of complications. That is the conclusion from a study by researchers at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden published in the journal JAMA Psychiatry. The researchers were, for example, able to show that children to mothers with eating disorders had an increased risk of premature birth and being born with a small head circumference.

Two SRP Diabetes researchers will take part in a unique show to explore science through music, improvisation and art. The event takes place on November 24 and is organized by researchers from Karolinska Institutet.

On Friday December 6, 2019 Cecilia Radkiewicz defended her thesis "Sex differences in cancer risk and survival".

From Januari 1, 2020 SLL will charge KI employees using the gym facility in Norrbacka.

Twelve researchers at Karolinska Institutet qualify for the annual list of highly cited researchers compiled by Web of Science.

On 1 December the Department of Public Health Sciences will change name to the Department of Global Public Health to clarify the department’s work with global issues.

Karolinska Institutet strengthens its position in two recently published rankings of universities worldwide.

KI's internationalisation work was presented at the Internationalisation Days in Gothenburg November 5-6.

On November 12th, Cancerfonden granted 9 million sek to researchers at BioNut for their projects. The grants cover the years 2020-2022.

On Tuesday December 10, Gabriel Isheden will defend his thesis Statistical models of breast cancer tumour growth and spread".

Progeria is a very rare disease that affects about one in 18 million children and results in premature aging and death in adolescence from complications of cardiovascular disease. In a study on mice and human cells, researchers at Karolinska Institutet and IFOM, the FIRC Institute of Molecular Oncology in Italy, have identified how antisense oligonucleotide therapies could be used as a new possible treatment option for the disease. The results are published in Nature Communications.

The five-year Million Microbiome of Humans Project (MMHP) is now underway, as KI researchers begin leading the efforts to construct a genome atlas of the human microbiome.

On November 21, the IT Office will move the Department of Physiology and Pharmacology's shared folders (G:) to a new server. All existing documents on G: are moved with and the folder structure remains the same. Computers connected to the lab network will not be able to access G:.

Lung cancer remains the leading cause of cancer-related deaths globally, and this is often due to late detection, leading to the inability to receive curative treatment. Researchers from KI, Karolinska University Hospital and Umeå University have made strides in identifying pre-diagnostic symptoms and sensations of significance for the identification of primary lung cancer.

Children who have received radiotherapy for a brain tumour can develop cognitive problems later in life. In their studies on mice, researchers at Karolinska Institutet have now shown that the drug lithium can help to reverse the damage caused long after it has occurred. The study is published in the journal Molecular Psychiatry and the researchers are now planning to test the treatment in clinical trials.

The 50th Union World Conference on Lung Health took place from 30 October – 2 November 2019, in Hyderabad, India. The SPARKS Network was well represented at the conference with an in-person meeting held on 30 October at the Radisson Hyderabad Hitec Hotel and a symposium chaired by Professor Knut Lönnroth on 1 November.

Industrialist Fredrik Lundberg donates SEK 25 million to Karolinska Institutet. The donation goes to research on diseases of the aorta.

Those with a family history of schizophrenia and men with lower IQ are more likely to struggle with treatment resistant schizophrenia than others with the mental disorder, according to a study by researchers at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden published in the journal Molecular Psychiatry. The researchers say the findings could be important in efforts to design novel drug treatments that improve cognition.

Children who suffer mild brain injury due to oxygen deprivation at birth normally do not receive cooling therapy to reduce the risk of permanent damage. Now, researchers at Karolinska Institutet and University College Cork report that these children have significantly impaired cognitive outcomes at 2-3 years of age and therefore should be included in future clinical trials of neuroprotective therapies. The study is published in JAMA Pediatrics.

Hi Emelie Karlsson, PhD-student at the Division of Physiotherapy. On December 6 you will defend your thesis ”Well begun is half done: Preoperative Physical Performance and Home-based Exercise in Older Adults undergoing Abdominal Cancer Surgery”, what's the main focus of the thesis?

Three researchers from the Division of Innovative Care Research travelled to Australia along with Professor Rebecca Hilton, choreographer at the Stockholm University of the Arts, to present their work in the DöBra research program at the 6th Public Health Palliative Care International conference in the Blue Mountains, Australia.

Every year, almost 800 000 children die of pneumonia before the age of five; this is more than HIV, malaria and tuberculosis combined. Therefore, if Sustainable Development Goal 3.2 – ending all preventable child deaths - is to be achieved, tackling the causes and improving the diagnosis and management of pneumonia must be a core strategy.

People with multiple sclerosis (MS) who also have depression are more likely to suffer debilitating symptoms early than people with MS who are not depressed, according to a study at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden that is published in the journal Neurology. The findings highlight the need for early recognition and treatment of depressive symptoms in patients with MS.

Jesper Z. Haeggström, professor at the Department of Medical Biochemistry and Biophysics at Karolinska Institutet receives the Outstanding Achievement Award, for “his work on Leukotriene Biochemistry and their Role in Inflammatory and Allergic Diseases”. The prize is awarded by the International Eicosanoid Research Foundation (ERF) based in the US.

Whole-genome sequencing can be used to diagnose intellectual disability more accurately than other methods of genetic analysis, researchers at Karolinska Institutet report in the scientific journal Genome Medicine. Whole-genome sequencing using analytical tools developed by the researchers will now be introduced for first-line clinical diagnosis at Karolinska University Laboratory in Sweden.

Karolinska Institutet is among three new members joining the M8 Alliance, the academic foundation of the World Health Summit.

The Swedish Research Council has awarded a little more than SEK 46 million to researchers at the Karolinska Institutet in the areas of science and technology; humanities and social sciences; project grants for international collaborations in antimicrobial resistance; and project grants for international collaborations in personalized medicine.

Sofia Vikström, senior lecturer at the Division of Occupational Therapy and deputy Chairman and Departmental Educational Coordinator (GUA) at NVS, is the recipient of KI's Work Environment and Health Award 2019, which is awarded for the fifth year.

Refugees and other migrants who move to Sweden are initially less likely to be diagnosed with alcohol or drug addiction than the native population but over time their rates of substance abuse begin to mirror that of the Swedish born population. That is according to a new study by researchers at UCL in the U.K. and Karolinska Institutet in Sweden published in the journal PLOS Medicine.

Researchers at Karolinska Institutet have identified 10 tumour-specific potential drug targets for the brain tumour glioblastoma. The results are presented in the scientific journal Cell Reports.

Researchers at Karolinska Institutet have developed a new research tool for studying how mitochondrial protein synthesis is affected by disease, pharmaceuticals, ageing and different physiological situations such as exercise and diet. The study is presented in the scientific journal Cell Reports.

In October 2019 a delegation from Karolinska Institutet visited China to recruit scholars.

High levels of traffic exhaust at one’s residence increases the risk of stroke even in low-pollution environments, according to a study by researchers at Karolinska Institutet and other universities in Sweden. The study, published in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives, suggests that it is mainly black carbon from traffic exhaust that increases the risk for stroke, and not particulate matter from other sources.

SOLIID, a research group at the Medical Management Centre (MMC) at the Department of Learning, Informatics, Management and ethics, receives funding from Vinnova for the project "Utveckla framtidens utveckling - En arena för organisatoriskt lärande om innovativ utveckling inom vård och omsorg", loosely translated “Develop future development - an arena for organisational learning on innovative development in healthcare and social services".

Jesper Eisfeldt from the research group Rare Diseases will defend his thesis "Characterization of structural chromosomal variants by massively parallel sequencing" on November 8th, 2019. Main Supervisor is Anna Lindstrand.

A type of immune cell called neutrophils could be responsible for controlling bacterial numbers of an antibiotic-resistant strain of Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) on human skin before the bacteria get a chance to invade, according to a new study from Karolinska Institutet published in Cell Reports. The results could provide an explanation for why this superbug is only carried transiently by some people.

We are now initiating the recruitment of seven new professors in a strategic effort to reinforce the educational development of our programmes and to improve the conditions for a close collaboration between research and education.

John Övretveit, involved in the programme Patients in the driver's seat! Implementing patient-driven co-care innovations, have written a chapter in the book Patient Engagement-How Patient-provider Partnerships Transform Healthcare Organizations, which was published at Palgrave Macmillan in October 2019.

Hi Tina Lundberg, PhD-student at the Division of Family Medicine and Primary Care. On November 22 you will defend your thesis ”Psychosocial well-being in bereavement among family members with a special focus on young adults who have lost a parent to cancer”, what's the main focus of the thesis?

More than 700 students from KI’s study programmes took part in IPL Day on 22 October. This day is one feature of KI’s action plan for interprofessional learning.

The Swedish Research Council has granted 118 researchers at Karolinska Institutet a combined 500 million kronor for the years 2019-2024. In total, the council is allocating almost 1.1 billion kronor to 254 people for research within medicine and health.

Researchers at Karolinska Institutet have discovered the essential role of the ribonuclease REXO2 in mitochondrial RNA degradation. The enzyme is essential for life, as a deficiency of it in mice has shown to be embryonic lethal. The study is published in the journal Molecular Cell.