News archive

Young people with high screen time develop poorer sleep habits, which in turn can lead to increased levels of depression – especially among girls. This is shown in a study from Karolinska Institutet published in PLOS Global Public Health.

We are proud to announce that Natalia Hernandez-Pacheco, a postdoctoral researcher at the Department of Clinical Research and Education, Södersjukhuset, has been awarded the Klosterfrau Group Award for Research of Airway Diseases in Childhood 2025.

The European Renal Association (ERA) just announced that Dr. Anne-Laure Faucon will receive the “ERAC Award for Young Investigators – Young Nephrologist”. The prize is awarded to a young nephrologist/researcher who has made a scientific contribution in the field of nephrology.

The Swedish Society for Medical Research (SSMF) provides financial support to promising researchers in medicine who are at the beginning of their careers and supports both basic and applied research. Silvia Angori receives 3 million SEK distributed over three years for her project titled "Uncovering the role of SAMHD1 in tumor suppression and therapy resistance in cutaneous melanoma."

Researchers at Karolinska Institutet have demonstrated how specific biomarkers in the blood can predict the development of dementia up to ten years before diagnosis, among older adults living independently in the community.

Applications to universities and colleges are now open, and KI welcomed prospective students to the Open Day at KI Campus Flemingsberg on March 26. There was great interest and many questions as visitors from Sweden and Europe learned more about their dream programmes.

Ebba Rehfeldt graduated from the midwifery program at Karolinska Institutet (KI) in January 2025. She has since moved from Stockholm to southern Sweden and started working as a midwife in a delivery ward.

Federico Triolo has received a postdoctoral grant from the Swedish Society for Medical Research (SSMF), a non-profit organisation that has supported medical research since 1919. The purpose of the grant is to help early-career researchers to build their independence and develop their own line of research. The grant amounts to 3,950,000 SEK over three years, including a two-year research stay abroad, followed by one year back in Sweden.

Research from the Institute of Environmental Medicine (IMM), Karolinska Institutet shows that air pollution and traffic noise together may pose a greater risk for stroke than either factor alone. The researchers found that even at low levels – below the EU’s air quality standards and around WHO noise recommendation levels – the risk of stroke increased significantly.

Congratulations Mikael Rydén, who has been granted an extension as a Wallenberg Clinical Scholar. The extension entails SEK 3 million per year for five years.

On 3 April, Formas will be bringing together experts and researchers for a breakfast seminar titled 'Research across borders - what is needed in turbulent times?' (in Swedish). The Centre for Health Crises will be one of the speakers.

This week, the third edition of the book “To start a research career within medicine and health” ("Att börja forska inom medicin och hälsa") is released. Author is Jonas F Ludvigsson, pediatrician and professor at the Department of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics and the book is aimed at doctoral students and prospective researchers in medicine and health.

Inga Rødahl from the Center for Infectious Medicine (CIM) at the Departmet of Medicine, Huddinge (MedH) is defending her thesis titled "Features of innate lymphoid cells in human fetal tissues and adult respiratory infection", on 4 April, 2025. Main supervisor is Jakob Michaëlsson (MedH).

Researchers at Swedish institutions, including Karolinska Institutet, have identified gene variants that increase the risk of atherosclerosis. The goal is for these new findings to enable earlier detection of atherosclerosis and improved treatment of cardiovascular diseases such as heart attack and stroke. The study has been published in the journal Nature Communications.

A recent study by KI-researchers Nadia Davoody and Sravya Katta reveals significant gaps related to healthcare professionals' awareness of gender diversity, proper communication strategies, the specific needs of transgender, nonbinary, and intersex (TNBI) individuals, and the societal and structural challenges they face.

In a new study, researchers from Karolinska Institutet have shown that so-called interval cancers, which are detected between two screening sessions, account for a significant proportion of breast cancer cases and that certain risk factors may increase the likelihood of developing this type of cancer. The study was published in the journal JAMA Oncology.

A team of researchers at Karolinska Institutet has developed a novel tool for genetic research. The study, published in Nucleic Acids Research, introduces BLU-VIPR, a method that allows researchers to control the gene-editing tool CRISPR using light. This innovation could significantly enhance our understanding of gene functions in complex organisms.

Early diagnosis of COPD, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, increases the quality of life of the patient and the efficacy of available treatments. Researchers at Karolinska Institutet have now shown that material from nasal lavage provides a basis for assessing COPD. The study, which has been published in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, could lead to a simple diagnostic method for early assessment of COPD.

Certain widely used drug combinations may either slow down or worsen the progression of Alzheimer’s disease, but their effects differ between sexes. A new study from Karolinska Institutet, published in the leading journal Alzheimer’s & Dementia, highlights these important findings.

Viktor H. Ahlqvist, postdoc at the Institute of Environmental Medicine (IMM), receives 3,000,000 SEK in a Postdoctoral Grant from the Swedish Society for Medical Research (SSMF) for the project “Advancing cardiovascular drug safety in pregnancy through cutting-edge computational statistics, causal inference, and drug-target genomics (DRUG-SAFE).

In a study published in Nature, researchers at Karolinska Institutet and SciLifeLab, among others, have identified a new mechanism for how cells deal with stress. This could have implications for treating certain hereditary, neurodegenerative diseases, but may also be relevant for future cancer treatment.

Helene Lindfors, PhD student at the Endocrine Surgery research group, the Department of Molecular Medicine and Surgery, will defend her thesis "Tumor burden, thyroglobulin and Ki-67 as prognostic indicators in papillary thyroid cancer" on April 2025.
Main supervisor is Ivan Shabo.

The Swedish Society for Virology has awarded the Pandemifonden Fenyö Prize for 2024 to Daniel Sheward, Assistant Professor at the Department of Microbiology, Tumor and Cell Biology, Karolinska Institutet.

Researchers at Karolinska Institutet have discovered a new mechanism behind blood vessel damage in type 2 diabetes. The study, published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation, shows that small vesicles from red blood cells can transfer harmful signal molecules to the blood vessels and impair their function.

The debate on nature versus nurture has never ceased, particularly in discussions about neurodevelopmental conditions (NDCs) such as autism and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). These lifelong conditions emerge in childhood, and while they mostly have genetic nature, environmental factors may play a role.

A new study from Karolinska Institutet, published in BMJ Global Health, shows that one in eight patients admitted to hospitals are critically ill, and most of these patients are cared for outside intensive care units. The researchers behind the study believe that simple but underutilised care could save many lives at a low cost.

The room in Biomedicum at Karolinska Institutet campus in Solna was packed on 20 March, when researchers and members of staff from government agencies and county councils gathered to share their experiences of register-based research and data release during the COVID-19 pandemic. Many had encountered similar problems, especially with long lead times and the difficulty of obtaining real-time data, but there were also several successes to highlight and learn from.

A comprehensive study from Karolinska Institutet shows that people with fatty liver disease have almost twice the mortality rate of the general population. They have an increased risk of dying from both liver diseases and common diseases such as cancer and cardiovascular disease, according to the study published in The Journal of Hepatology.

In a study on ovarian cancer cells, researchers from Karolinska Institutet demonstrate how the tumor environment influences how cancer cells respond to drugs by using AI. The study has been published in the journal Communications Biology.

This year, the Swedish Rheumatism Association (Reumatikerförbundet) is awarding almost SEK 14 million to research into rheumatic diseases. What unites many research projects is a clear focus on personalised diagnostics and treatment. Of the total of 87 research projects in this year's allocation, 32 are conducted at KI.

Andri Papakonstantinou has been awarded the Pfizer and Swedish Society of Oncology’s (SOF) research scholarship in oncology for postdoctoral researchers in 2025. The scholarship was presented at SOF's annual meeting in Sundsvall on March 20th.

Professor Rolf Kiessling at Karolinska Institutet has been selected as the recipient of the 2025 CIMT Lifetime Achievement Award for his groundbreaking discovery of natural killer (NK) cells, which has significantly advanced our understanding of the immune response to viruses and cancer cells.

Women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) find it harder to get pregnant, have more frequent miscarriages and have a higher risk of developing endometrial cancer. Now, in a new study published in Nature Medicine, Swedish researchers have shown that the uterine lining of these women differs in terms of both the composition of individual cells and gene expression. The results open the door to new drug treatments.

In an evaluation presented on 19 March, the Swedish Higher Education Authority (UKÄ) states that certain areas of biomedical analyst programmes throughout the country need to be improved in order for students to receive the best possible education. At the same time, there are strengths in the programmes that can inspire further development, according to the results from UKÄ.

On Saturday, March 15th, StratNeuro hosted the annual En Resa Genom Härnan event as part of Brain Awareness Week 2025.

The biotech company Magnephy is developing new methods to analyze tissue biopsies using optical 3D microscopy and sample clearing. This technique enables whole-tissue diagnostics and in-situ drug testing.

Rebecka Hultgren has been appointed as Head of the Department of Molecular Medicine and Surgery, MMK. The decision was signed by Dean Carl Johan Sundberg on March 7, 2025. Rebecka Hultgren will take over the assignment as head from Anders Franco-Cereceda on June 1, 2025.

In autumn of 2022, Jennie Gustavsson was diagnosed with rectal cancer. In March 2024, she learnt that the disease was incurable.

A few years ago, Krister Sjörén started having a pain in his back and shoulder, especially when he worked out where certain movements became difficult to perform. At the health centre, the doctor could not provide any explanation. He did not take a PSA test either, which Krister find difficult to forgive him for.

Lisa Sand is a social worker who has worked as a counsellor with terminally ill and dying patients since the 1980s. She completed her PhD and defended her thesis in which patients were interviewed about the existential crisis that arises when death becomes a reality.

Malin Eneslätt wants to initiate more conversations about death, dying and grief. This can be done, for example, with the help of the DöBra card deck, which will now be produced in digital form.

Children who are dying often understand that they are indeed dying. A major task for healthcare professionals is to help children, parents and siblings to talk about it. But how do you do that?

We have all been born, and we will all die. But how do we want to die, and how can the final period be as good as possible? Researchers in palliative care aim to improve the quality of life for people with incurable diseases. Another important task is to achieve more equitable access to this care.

Medical history researcher and general practitioner Jonatan Wistrand at Lund University is awarded the prize for his outstanding doctoral thesis 'Doctors as Patients', which explores doctors' own experiences of illness throughout history.

Patients who have been treated for heart failure and experience an improvement of their pump function, are still at higher risk of heart-related death or hospitalisation if they stop taking heart failure medications. This is according to a new study from Karolinska Institutet published in the top-ranked journal Circulation.

Olga Rivera Ballesteros from the Center for Infectious Medicine (CIM) at the Departmet of Medicine, Huddinge (MedH) is defending her thesis titled "Circulating and Resident Memory T cell functions in viral diseases", on 21 March, 2025. Main supervisor is Marcus Buggert (MedH).

This year's awarded research grant from the Swedish Kidney Foundation (Njurfonden) was a record amount, seven and a half million SEK for kidney research. About half, SEK 3,450,000, goes to projects at Karolinska Institutet.

NASP and The Swedish Suicide Research Conference (SSRC) is excited to announce the recipients of its early-career researcher scholarships. These scholarships aim to support promising researchers by providing financial assistance to attend the conference and present their work.

Hanna Gräs, 24, has always had a passion for medicine and research. How she would get there, however, was not as clear. From growing up in a Stockholm suburb to studying in the English-taught master's programme in translational physiology and pharmacology, her ongoing journey towards a career in life sciences is both exciting and challenging.

The aim of the newly established Centre for AI Innovation at Karolinska Institutet is to support and expedite the development of AI innovations in healthcare. “While AI has huge potential, there are many factors to take into account before AI solutions can become practicable,” says the centre’s director Johanna Furuhjelm.