News archive

Researchers at Karolinska Institutet have discovered how cells can adjust their gene activity to survive when oxygen runs low. The study, published in Nature Cell Biology, reveals that cells use a previously unknown mechanism to control which proteins are produced – and how quickly.

A new study from Karolinska Institutet, published in npj Precision Oncology, shows that support cells in the adrenal gland can regenerate hormone-producing tissue after birth. The same cells may also act as a starting point for adrenal tumors, offering new insights into cancer development and potential treatment strategies.

Nearly 240 participants gathered in the Eva & Georg Klein Hall at Karolinska Institutet on 14 October to mark the 50th anniversary of the discovery of natural killer (NK) cells. The full-day symposium featured presentations on scientific advances, offering both historical reflections and future outlooks.

Medical digital twins are computerised versions of patients, enabling different treatments to be tested and the most effective one identified, without any risk to the patient’s health. And in the future, we will each have our own, according to researcher Mikael Benson.

Drugs targeting the glucagon-like peptide 1 receptor (GLP-1R) offer several positive effects for individuals with type 2 diabetes, including the lowering of blood glucose and the reduction of body weight and of cardiovascular risk. In a study in mice, researchers at KI SÖS and Södersjukhuset have shown that the specific weight loss properties of these treatments are key to also improve neurological recovery after suffering from stroke.

The KI Housing office is closed on Friday, October 31, due to the All Saints´ Day holiday. If you have any urgent maintenance issues when the office is closed, we ask you to use the on-call service for your area.

The Nordic Health Crises University Network aims, among other things, to strengthen interdisciplinary collaboration between Nordic universities in the field of health crises. Over the next two years, it will be possible to apply for funding for a short-term exchange. The visits should focus on health crises, last between 2–6 weeks, and the total cost may not exceed SEK 30,000.

A new international study led by researchers at Karolinska Institutet demonstrates that it is possible to detect subtle changes in the brain and identify early signs of hereditary frontotemporal dementia using advanced brain imaging techniques. The study has recently been published in Molecular Psychiatry.

At the installation ceremony for KI’s 22 new professors, Aula Medica was filled with music, laughter and academic pride. The annual professorial installation is as much a tribute to knowledge, diversity and research as it is a ceremonial occasion. Also honoured during the evening were the recipients of various awards, including KI’s Grand Silver Medal, Silver Medal and the Lennart Nilsson Award.

When KI's inauguration ceremony was held on Thursday, October 9, NVS Head of Department Maria Ankarcrona was present to honor three distinguished individuals from NVS during the reception following the stage program.

Researchers at Karolinska Institutet have discovered that some natural killer cells, NK cells, temporarily reside in our organs and then leave them via the lymphatic system. The study, published in Nature Immunology, shows that our immune system is more dynamic than previously thought. The results may contribute to better treatments that direct the immune system where it is needed.

Infective endocarditis following valve surgery is a rare but life-threatening infection. In a new doctoral thesis from Karolinska Institutet, PhD student Lisa Bearpark from the Department of Molecular Medicine and Surgery investigates which patient groups are at particular risk for infective endocarditis.

The 2025 Nobel prizes in Chemistry and Physics both have medical implications. While the former rewards versatile molecular frameworks able to combine treatment and diagnosis, the latter concerns discoveries that can provide tools like quantum computers and quantum sensors. Applications in health and life science are being explored at a national collaboration centre based at Karolinska Institutet.

Self-promotion can often be a challenge, but speaking about oneself to secure a job, a place on a
study programme, or a scholarship carries even greater pressure.

The motivation from the jury: "For identifying key viral mechanisms used by hantaviruses and SARS-CoV-2 to disrupt cellular functions, thereby laying the foundation for the development of new antiviral drugs."

Access to cervical cancer screening in low- and middle-income countries can be improved with the help of AI, according to a new study from Karolinska Institutet, Uppsala University and the University of Helsinki, published in The BMJ. However, the technology requires support from functioning healthcare systems to be effective.

Tilen Trselic, a doctoral student at the Department of Medicine, Solna, has been awarded the 2025 Cilla Weigelt Prize for his research on Sjögren’s syndrome, a rare rheumatic disease that primarily affects women. The prize includes a personal scholarship and a research grant to promote scientific exchange.

Eating a healthy plant-based diet may lower the risk of dementia in older people with cardiovascular diseases, type 2 diabetes, or stroke. This is shown by a new study from Karolinska Institutet, published in JACC: Advances, which compared different types of plant-based diets.

Sergiu Catrina, associate professor of endocrinology at Karolinska Institutet and medical director at the Center for diabetes, has been awarded a three-year research grant of just over USD 1 million from the American organisation Breakthrough T1D. The grant funds a study investigating the effect of the drug roxadustat on kidney oxygenation in individuals with type 1 diabetes.

Researchers from Karolinska Institutet and Albert Einstein College of Medicine have shown that glioblastoma, the most aggressive form of brain cancer, not only affects the brain but also erodes the skull and alters the immune system in the bone marrow. The findings are published in Nature Neuroscience.

AI can be an excellent tool to use in your studies, but you need to stay alert as to how it’s affecting your learning – and to where it crosses over into plagiarism or other forms of cheating. The KI University Library (KIB) has lots of tips on the effective and responsible use of AI and real examples of what is not acceptable.

When Times Higher Education (THE) in the UK publishes its ranking of the world's best universities regardless of specialisation, KI lands in 53rd place among more than 2.000 higher education institutions in 115 countries. In the EU, KI ranks 6th and is the foremost place among higher education institutions in the Nordic region.

Pregnant women who use proton pump inhibitors, a common medicine for heartburn, run a slightly higher risk of developing infections during pregnancy and after childbirth. This is shown in a new registry study from Karolinska Institutet, published in the journal The Lancet Obstetrics, Gynaecology & Women’s Health.

On 1 October, over 200 dedicated employees from Karolinska Institutet and Region Stockholm gathered for this year's Educators' Day at the Flemingsberg campus. The participants came from different parts of the organisation with teaching assignments or involvement in educational issues, and the day offered lectures, workshops, discussions and networking.

On Wednesday 8 October, The Swedish Armed Forces and Karolinska Institutet signed a declaration of intent to strengthen and broaden their collaboration in research and education in the field of defence-related medicine. The two organisations have a long history of collaboration in commissioned medical research, and in light of a changing global security situation and the expanding concept of total defence, they are now taking the next step.

Researchers at Karolinska Institutet, in collaboration with colleagues in South Africa, have investigated whether tuberculosis can be traced in exhaled air. The results, published in the scientific journal Open Forum Infectious Diseases, show that a new method may help identify people with infectious tuberculosis directly in primary care.

The year’s Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine rewards discoveries that reveal how our immune system is kept in check – in other words, how the body protects itself from attack by its own immune cells. The discoveries pave the way for possible new therapies for many conditions, including autoimmune diseases like type 1 diabetes, MS and cancer.

Welcome to Linus Wiklunds presentation of his thesis ”Advancing assessments of endocrine disruptors using adverse outcome pathways and novel methodologies”.

A previously unknown group of nerve cells in the brain has been shown to play a crucial role in aggressive behaviour among mothers. The study, led by researchers at Karolinska Institutet, SciLifeLab, and Stockholm University and published in Nature Communications, demonstrates that these "silent" nerve cells can be activated to influence how a mother defends her offspring.

Hi Kajsa Söderhielm, dcotoral student at the Division of Occupational therapy. On October 24 oktober you will defend your thesis ”Supporting person-centred, team-based stroke rehabilitation with ICT : implementation and evaluation of F@ce 2.0”. What is the main focus of the thesis?

The medical programme and the Bachelor’s programme in biomedicine had the fourth and fifth highest first-choice admission points this autumn, according to the Swedish Council for Higher Education (UHR).

Infections in the risk and prognosis of multiple sclerosis and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

Many young people in Sweden do not get enough sleep – a factor that can affect both health and academic performance. A study conducted by the National Centre for Suicide Research and Prevention has explored how schools and students in Stockholm County view the possibility of starting the school day slightly later in the morning.

The Nobel Assembly at Karolinska Institutet has decided to award the 2025 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine jointly to Mary E. Brunkow, Fred Ramsdell and Shimon Sakaguchi for their discoveries concerning peripheral immune tolerance.

On Friday, September 26, StratNeuro and StratRegen proudly took part in ForskarFredag in Stockholm, held at AlbaNova and Vetenskapens Hus

On 29 September 2025, Isabelle von Saenger, postdoctoral researcher at the Aging Research Center (ARC) at Karolinska Institutet, had the opportunity to share key insights from her thesis examining the evolution of care provision for older people in Sweden over the past three decades. The event, coordinated by Omsorgsforum, brought together an influential group of stakeholders committed to shaping the future of elderly care.

On 1 October, researchers, decision-makers and representatives from industry and international organisations gathered at KI for the high-level meeting Vaccines for All: Health. Security. Growth. Benjamin Dousa, Sweden's Minister for International Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade, participated in the important meeting, organised by Karolinska Institutet and the Stockholm School of Economics in collabotation with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Four junior researchers at the Department of Medicine, Solna, have each been awarded a three-year research grant from the Swedish Rheumatism Association as part of a special initiative focusing on rheumatic systemic diseases.

A new thesis from Karolinska Institutet studied how mental health problems run in families. Using nationwide Swedish registers, the researchers followed millions of parents and their children over decades, revealing several important findings about how and why mental health problems pass from parents to children, and importantly, how to interrupt this cycle.

Professor Emerita Sigbritt Werner has died at the age of 86. Sigbritt Werner was known as a highly skilled clinician and appreciated teacher. Between 2001 and 2003, she was KI's first female vice president.

A new study from Karolinska Institutet shows that an heart rhythm disorder, POTS, is particularly common in people with long COVID. The majority of those affected are middle-aged women. The study has been published in the scientific journal Circulation: Arrhythmia and Electrophysiology.

Karolinska Institutet, KTH and Stockholm University (SU) are launching a new investment fund through their respective holding companies for early-stage deep tech ventures. The fund, Trio Impact Invest, is co-financed by the Swedish Agency for Economic and Regional Growth (Tillväxtverket), the European Regional Development Fund and private investors, and will address a critical financing gap for research-intensive ventures based in Sweden.

Knut Steffensen heads up the newly opened Karolinska ATMP Centre, which has been established to convert research on cell and gene therapy into actual treatments. Equipped with experience from both academia and the pharmaceutical industry, he wants to combine the best of both worlds.

When children are diagnosed with cancer, it is not only the disease itself that poses a threat. During treatment, the immune system becomes weakened, and infections can become life-threatening. To better understand why some children are more severely affected, researchers at Karolinska Institutet and Astrid Lindgren Children’s Hospital are working together with colleagues at Mbarara Regional Referral Hospital in Uganda.

A new study from the Institute of Environmental Medicine (IMM) at Karolinska Institutet shows that women with premenstrual disorders have significantly lower quality of life compared to women without such conditions. The more severe form, premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD), has the most negative impact on well-being.

Two research infrastructures, one that Karolinska Institutet coordinates and one it participates in, have been awarded a grant in the Swedish Research Council’s call for research infrastructure of national interest: the Chemical Biological Consortium and Protein Production Sweden 2.0. Seventeen other infrastructures have also been granted financing.

In early September 2025, NASP’s team from Karolinska Institutet travelled to Pisa, Italy, for the third and final review meeting of the EXPERIENCE project, hosted by the University of Pisa. Running from January 2021 to June 2025, the project was funded under the EXCELLENT SCIENCE – Future and Emerging Technologies (FET) call within the Horizon 2020 framework of the European Commission.

Hi Melissa Kotte, doctoral student at the Division of Nursing. On October 24, you will defend your thesis ”Reaching cancer survivors where they are : effects and experiences of live-remote exercise”. What is the main focus of the thesis?

People who sleep poorly are more likely than others to have brains that appear older than they actually are. This is according to a comprehensive brain imaging study from Karolinska Institutet, published in the journal eBioMedicine. Increased inflammation in the body may partly explain the association.

A recent study from Karolinska Institutet reveals how a gene associated with several rheumatic diseases affects how cells move, providing new insights into disease mechanisms and potential future therapies. The study was recently published in the scientific journal PNAS.