News archive

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.

On March 11th, 2025, StratNeuro partnered with The Cell at Forskaren to host a dynamic and engaging event as part of Brain Awareness Week (March 10–16, 2025).

The Committee for Research at Karolinska Institutet has, after a careful inventory, decided to award Eric Thelin's research group, active at the Department of Clinical Neuroscience, SEK 730,000 from a donation bequeathed by Erik Gut.

In multiple sclerosis (MS), antibodies to the common Epstein-Barr virus can accidentally attack a protein in the brain and spinal cord. New research shows that the combination of certain viral antibodies and genetic risk factors can be linked to a greatly increased risk of MS. The study has been published in the journal PNAS and led by researchers at Karolinska Institutet, Sweden, and Stanford University School of Medicine, USA.

Researchers who are awarded a Göran Gustafsson Prize are among Sweden's foremost under 45 years of age in their field. One of this year's five Göran Gustafsson Prize winners is KI researcher Laura Baranello, who is being recognized for “groundbreaking studies on the regulation of topoisomerases and their role in tumor biology”. The aim of the research is a new strategy for less intrusive cancer treatments.

KI has been actively involved at different levels in drawing up a new strategy for research, development and education (RDE) at Karolinska University Hospital that aims to enhance the hospital’s academic environment, improve access to health data, double external research funding and promote early career development in research.

Researchers at Karolinska Institutet have identified a previously unknown mechanism that affects the ability of cancer cells to spread in the body. The study, published in EMBO Molecular Medicine, shows that a process called chaperone-mediated autophagy (CMA) may function as a natural defense mechanism against metastases.

Elevated concentrations of fluoride can occur in well water, and in some countries, it is added to drinking water to counteract caries in the population. A study from Karolinska Institutet now supports a few previous studies indicating that exposure to fluoride during the fetal stage or early childhood may impair cognition in children. The study is published in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives.

EuroJEM is a new infrastructure for occupational exposure matrices in Europe created within the EU Horizon 2020 project EPHOR.

In May, the Swedish Suicide Research Conference (SSRC) will take place, bringing together national and international experts and researchers in suicidology and suicide prevention – secure your ticket today.

Hi Elin Uzunel, doctoral student at the Division of Family Medicine and Primary Care, NVS. On March 14, you will defend your thesis ”Fragility fractures, self-rated health and treatment with a spinal orthosis in older women in primary health care”. What is the main focus of the thesis?

Researchers at Karolinska Institutet have identified a new mechanism that may improve the treatment of ischemic stroke. The study, published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation, shows that the growth factor PDGF-CC and its receptor PDGFRα play a crucial role in scar formation in the brain after an ischemic stroke.

The Shaffer Prize recognizes a researcher whose project best exemplifies the pursuit of innovative ideas in the quest to cure glaucoma.

Karolinska Institutet has decided to confer honorary doctorates on Margareta Persson, advocate for disability rights, and Leif Lundblad, entrepreneur and research backer. They will be awarded their honorary degrees at a conferment ceremony in Stockholm City Hall on 16 May.

Are you a student coder? Want to gain experience, improve neuroscience tools, and get paid this summer?

Researchers at Karolinska Institutet and Karolinska University Hospital have identified biomarkers in the blood that can be used to distinguish gallbladder cancer from inflammation of the gallbladder. This could lead to fewer unnecessary operations and better treatment decisions for patients with suspected gallbladder cancer. The study has been published in the journal JHEP Reports.

A new study reveals that a significant proportion of people living with HIV (PWH) on long-term antiretroviral therapy remain at risk of immune and metabolic complications despite successful viral suppression. The findings highlight a pressing need for precision medicine approaches to improve long-term health outcomes for PWH.

One in eight patients in hospitals in Africa is critically ill, and one in five of the critically ill die within a week, according to a new study in The Lancet. The researchers behind the largest study of critical illness in Africa to date conclude that many of these lives could have been saved with access to cheap life-saving treatments.

After six successful years, the PROFORMA project, coordinated by Professor Eleni Aklillu, has come to an end. To celebrate all the achievements and the new PhDs within the project, a closure symposium was recently held in Stockholm, Sweden.

Researchers from Karolinska Institutet have developed a new way to understand how cancer drugs interact with different forms of protein. The study has been published in Nature Communications.

On January 15, the application deadline for KI's global master's programs starting in the autumn semester of 2025 closed. Interest has grown compared to last year, with a larger number of applicants from outside the EU.

Simon Svedman from the research group Orthopaedics at the Department of Molecular Medicine and Surgery, will defend his thesis "Acute Achilles tendon rupture : predictors for outcome and plan for intervention" on 14 March 2025.

Main supervisor is Paul Ackermann.

KI Innovations – the company that helps researchers at Karolinska Institutet commercialise their discoveries – is to receive SEK 29 million from Vinnova (the Swedish governmental agency for innovation systems) for 2025 to 2029. “It’s proof of the quality of our business and the startups that we work with,” says Johan Weigelt, CEO of KI Innovations and KI Holding AB.

New research suggests that antidepressants can accelerate cognitive decline in people with dementia. At the same time, some drugs appear to be less harmful than others, which can help doctors make better treatment decisions, according to the study published in BMC Medicine.

A new study from Karolinska Institutet shows that severe mental illness is more common in patients with chronic kidney disease and negatively affects their health. The study has been published in the American Journal of Kidney Diseases.

A new study, published in the New England Journal of Medicine on 6 February, highlights the life-threatening disease haemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH) and the importance of early diagnosis and treatment.

We are pleased to invite you to the interdisciplinary NeurotechEU Summer School "Trust me! Neural Networks, Manipulation, and Ethics" at the University of Bonn, taking place 8-11 September 2025.

Researchers at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden have discovered a fundamental mechanism that affects the size of the pupil, namely our breathing. The study, published in The Journal of Physiology, shows that the pupil is smallest during inhalation and largest during exhalation – something that could affect our vision.

KI has been awarded grants for eight postdoc research posts under Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA), the EU’s flagship programme to promote international mobility among leading young researchers. The MSCA are part of the EU’s Horizon Europe innovation programme and KI has been awarded the grants in very tough open competition.

Researchers at Karolinska Institutet and Helmholtz Munich, among others, have developed a user-friendly portal with comprehensive data on human adipose tissue. The portal offers researchers and clinicians an opportunity to explore the biology of adipose tissue, right down to the individual cell level, without any requirement for knowledge in bioinformatics. The study is published in the journal Cell Metabolism.

When we are not doing anything in particular, the brain is still busy producing thoughts and daydreams. Research shows that mental chatter increase if we are sleep deprived and can sometimes even become a barrier to sleeping. But there are techniques for those who need a break from their thoughts.

In animal studies, researchers at Karolinska Institutet have found a possible mechanism for how the artificial sweetener aspartame may contribute to atherosclerosis – a common cause of cardiovascular disease and disease of the blood vessels in the brain. The study is published in the journal Cell Metabolism.

The Erling-Persson Foundation is donating SEK 8 million to KI researcher Johan Ericson to fund the verification of his ATMP (Advanced Therapy Medicinal Products) concept with the aim of producing a highly effective restorative Parkinson’s therapy.

Caterina Gregorio has received funding in the context of Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) Postdoctoral Fellowship within the area of intersecting biostatistics and ageing research for her project entitled "LETMEAGE- A complex system approach to metrics of aging for identifying personalised interventions”.

The developing fetus is more susceptible to external influences than previously thought. A new study, published in Science Advances, shows that factors such as stress could affect the development of the fetal brain.

KI has signed a letter of intent with University College London (UCL) within the framework of the Stockholm trio university alliance, comprising KI, KTH and Stockholm University. The new agreement aims to expand research collaboration between the universities, initially focusing on sustainability, the climate crisis, and mental health.

Carolina Maya-González, from the research group Rare Diseases at the Department of Molecular Medicine and Surgery, will defend her thesis "Novel genetic causes of childhood cancer predisposition" on March 21st, 2025.
Main supervisor is Ann Nordgren.

Six out of every ten people in the world lack access to safe medical oxygen which is contributing to hundreds of thousands of preventable deaths each year and reducing the quality of life for millions more, according to a new report published in The Lancet Global Health.

Children with avoidant restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID) have an elevated risk of developing psychiatric and physical conditions, a new study from Karolinska Institutet published in JAMA Pediatrics reports. The study highlights the importance of early identification to improve care of these children.