News archive

KI is ranked 41 in the 2022 Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU), also known as the Shanghai ranking. This means that Karolinska Institutet (KI) retains its position as one of the world's 50 highest-ranked universities, where the ranking has varied between positions 38 and 45 over the past five years (2021: position 42). KI is also one of Europe's and the EU's highest-ranked universities. ARWU is based, among other things, on publication- and citation data and scientific awards.

Researchers at KI and SLU have discovered that spider silk proteins can be fused to biologically active proteins and be converted into a gel at body temperature. One of the goals is to develop an injectable protein solution that forms a gel inside the body, which could be used in tissue engineering and for drug release, but also make gels that can streamline chemical processes where enzymes are used. The study is published in Nature Communications.

Annachiara Malin Igra researches the health effects of early-life metal exposure in children in Bangladesh. Her research provides important evidence that growth, bone health and pubertal development of children can be negatively affected by cadmium from food at exposure levels relevant for millions of children around the world. Now she wants to see a new risk assessment for metal exposure where child health is included.

On Aug. 11, the election committee presented two final candidates in the hunt for a new president of Karolinska Institutet. Annika Östman Wernerson at KI and Eva Tiensuu Janson at Uppsala University were selected among some 100 potential candidates. University board chairperson Göran Stiernstedt in the election committee and Professor Erika Franzén in the search committee comment on the recruitment process.

Karolinska Institutet’s Election Committee has selected KI’s Professor Annika Östman Wernerson and Uppsala University’s Eva Tiensuu Janson as the two final candidates for the position of university president.

Researchers at Karolinska Institutet present new insights into the role of small molecules, microRNAs, in skin wound healing. The study, published in the journal eLife, highlights possible future approaches for treating venous ulcers, a common type of chronic non-healing wounds.

Researchers at Karolinska Institutet, among others, have studied the benefit of adding an established drug as a novel targeted therapy in the treatment of acute myeloid leukaemia (AML). The results suggest that the drug hydroxyurea can increase treatment efficacy at a relatively low cost. The results, which were published in the Journal of Internal Medicine, could have significant implications for cancer treatment, including in low-income countries.

Researchers at Karolinska Institutet present the results of a refined clinical COVID-19 test, which has been used to track the spread of the Omicron variant in real time in the Swedish population. The study, published in the journal Med, provides new insights into the dominance transition of Omicron sublineages that occurred consistently across the world.

To track and analyze caesarean section trends and thus improve maternity care, the Robson classification is used worldwide. A study from Karolinska Institutet in Sweden shows differences between Sweden and Canada, and that the classification system can be further developed to take into account more important variables. The study, published in PLOS Medicine, may contribute to improved and more equal maternity care in the future.

During Pride Week in Stockholm in early August, Karolinska Institutet raised the rainbow flag over campus and participated in the parade together with several other universities under the Academic Pride flag.

Hearing the word ‘war injury’, one might think of bullet wounds, torn off limbs or burns from explosions. And whilst injuries such as these certainly feature in the palette of suffering that war brings, the reality is more complex, and to some extent perhaps also less cinematic.

Using proteomics and other advanced tools of molecular biology, an international team of researchers led by a group from Karolinska Institutet have found a novel way to diagnose Alzheimer’s disease by blood analysis, with a potential to uncover the underlying cause of the disease and prevent its development.

In a recently published review article in Cell, researchers Jon Lundberg and Eddie Weitzberg at the Department of Physiology and Pharmacology at Karolinska Institutet summarize research in nitric oxide (NO) with a focus on what is happening right now.

Turning down the thermostat seems to make it harder for cancer cells to grow, according to a study in mice by researchers at Karolinska Institutet. The study, published in the journal Nature, found that chilly temperatures activate heat-producing brown fat that consumes the sugars the tumors need to thrive. Similar metabolic mechanisms were found in a cancer patient exposed to a lowered room temperature.

The students' association IFMSA runs the Vår hälsa brinner (Our health is on fire) campaign to raise awareness and educate about the health impacts of climate change. Students see a need to work concretely on the issue, not least during their medical training. They have made an alphabet series illustrating the impact of climate change on public health and hold educational workshops. During Politician's Week in Almedalen, they held a workshop and distributed posters with the alphabet.

To investigate the long-term benefit of hormone-lowering treatment, researchers at Karolinska Institutet have done a 20-year follow-up of premenopausal women with breast cancer. The study, published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, indicates that the treatment provides protection even after a longer period of time and that different patients seem to benefit from different hormonal treatments.

Both children with type 1 diabetes and their closest family members are at increased risk of mental health problems compared with those without the disease, according to a large study by researchers at Karolinska Institutet published in the journal Diabetes Care. The findings underscore the need for psychological consulting for both children and their families in diabetes care.

Women with reduced kidney function received a diagnosis of chronic kidney disease to a less extent than men in the same situation. Women were also less likely to have their kidney function monitored, to visit a nephrologist and to use recommended treatments for chronic kidney disease. This according to a new study by researchers from Karolinska Institutet published in the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology.

The Swedish Media Council (Statens medieråd) in collaboration with NASP has produced a research review about suicide, internet-based communication about suicide and how suicidal individuals can be identified online.

In a new study, researchers at Karolinska Institutet show that the activation of specific cell surface proteins – cortisol, oestrogen and vitamin A – in mice with human neuroblastoma cells results in the neuronal differentiation of cancer cells which leads to reduced mortality. The results, published in the Journal of Experimental and Clinical Cancer Research, could, in the future, lead to a more gentle and effective treatment of this severe form of cancer in children.

Patients who have indwelling urinary catheters often suffer from urinary tract infections, which can be difficult to treat. Now, researchers at Karolinska Institutet have discovered that the synthetic peptide CD4-PP has a good bactericidal effect against urinary tract bacteria, even those resistant to antibiotics. The study, published in the journal Cellular and Molecular Life Sciences, opens up for new possible treatment methods.

In a study recently published in Cell Reports Methods, co- authors Björn Önfelt, Niklas Sandström and Valentina Carannante, researchers at SciLifeLab and the Department of Microbiology, Tumor and Cell Biology at Karolinska Institutet, describes a new miniaturized method for high-content screening combined with high-resolution imaging, all in the same microchip.

Professor Stefan Swartling Peterson at the Department of Global Public Health has been elected to the Swedish Crown Princess Couple's Foundation's expert council for the years 2022-2025.

Patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) treated with the drug rituximab had a significantly lower risk of relapse compared with MS patients receiving standard treatment. This has been shown in a phase 3 clinical trial by researchers at Karolinska Institutet and Danderyd Hospital in Sweden published in The Lancet Neurology. Rituximab is not approved as an MS drug, but has proven to be effective in smaller studies and is therefore largely prescribed “off label”.

Karolinska Institutet’s Silver Medal for 2018 is awarded to Fredrik Brolund and Lotta Widén Holmquist. The medals are awarded to those who have made a special contribution to supporting KI’s activities.

A study from Karolinska Institutet, among others, presents the theory that egg-sperm fusion, a crucial feature of sexual reproduction in plants and animals, may have originated from an ancient form of genetic exchange that involved the fusion of bacteria-like microorganisms called archaea. The results, published in Nature Communications, may open an entirely new perspective on the evolution of sex.

The Swedish Military Conscription Register contains data on some 2 million individuals. Conscripts underwent extensive testing, data that can be used in epidemiological research. Now researchers from Karolinska Institutet, Uppsala University and Lund University publish a review about the register in the European Journal of Epidemiology.

Distinct neuron types in the auditory organ are necessary for encoding different features of sound and relaying them to the brain. Researchers at Karolinska Institutet provide evidence of an early, neuronal activity-independent, emergence of the different subtypes of auditory neurons, prior to birth in mice. The findings have recently been published in Nature Communications.

The clinical outcome and severity of COVID-19 cannot be explained by a single factor like age, gender, or comorbidities. A new study from Karolinska Institutet in Sweden has identified potential determinants of COVID-19 severity at the cellular level using advanced systems biology analysis. The findings, published in the journal Cell Systems, offer insights into the metabolic tug-of-war in the human body and its association with disease severity.

For a drug to be effective and not harmful it needs to be administered at the right dosage. Certain enzymes in the body eliminate drugs, and the activity of these enzymes vary between individuals. Researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Germany and Karolinska Institutet in Sweden have studied two enzymatic variants which eliminate drugs less efficiently and show that the these enzyme variants are inherited from Neandertals.

The Board of Sven and Ebba-Christina Hagberg's foundation has decided to award Elizabeth Arkema and Marcus Buggert the foundations personal prize and a research grant, for a total of SEK 470,000 each. The prize will be awarded at the annual Installation Ceremony at the Karolinska Institutet in October 2021.

Jiayao Lei is awarded The Dimitris N. Chorafas Prize 2020. The Prize (USD 5.000) is meant to reward pre-graduate scientific contributions within the doctoral education. She will receive the prize at the Installation Ceremony on October 15, 2020.

Associate Professor Tobias Nordström is awarded the European Association of Urology (EAU) "Prostate Cancer Research Award 2022" for the Stockholm3-test, a blood test that in a better way can identify men who have an increased risk for prostate cancer.

In precision medicine, predicting the risk of an event during a specific period may help, for example, to identify patients that need early preventive treatment. Modern machine learning (ML) techniques are therefore ideal for building these predictions.

We congratulate these researchers at MedH and Campus Flemingsberg who are the recipients of the CIMED project grants 2023-2025.

Congratulations to the researchers at BioNut who received funding from CIMED for 2023-2025.

Researchers at Karolinska Institutet have linked resistance to treatment for a deadly form of kidney cancer to low mitochondrial content in the cell. When the researchers increased the mitochondrial content with an inhibitor, the cancer cells responded to the treatment. Their findings, which are published in Nature Metabolism, offer hope for more targeted cancer drugs.

Infants who were given a taste of peanut, milk, wheat and egg from the age of three months had a lower risk of developing a food allergy at the age of three years than controls, reports a study by researchers from Karolinska Institutet in Sweden and the University of Oslo in Norway published in The Lancet.

On May 18, Dan Jibréus, who travelled to North America on behalf of the KI to return the remains of two persons, returned to Sweden. He describes the trip as very successful, and the two remains, from the Arikara and Miami peoples respectively, have now been returned to their places of origin.

Karolinska Institutet researches several aspects of how extreme weather, pollution, extreme heat, and other environmental and climate factors impact our health. Here we gather resources at KI that can contribute with their knowledge on the subject matter.

Roberta Filograna has been awarded a grant from the Loo and Hans Osterman Foundation.

Researchers at Karolinska Institutet and SciLifeLab describe in a study published in Science how they have improved the ability of a protein to repair oxidative DNA damage and created a new protein function. Their innovative technique can lead to improved drugs for diseases involving oxidative stress, such as cancer, Alzheimer’s disease and lung diseases, but the researchers believe it has even greater potential.

EU's new Partnership for the Assessment of Risks from Chemicals (PARC) is a 7-year partnership, aimed at reducing exposure to hazardous chemicals and their effects on human health and the environment.

On 18-20 May 18 2022 we were excited to finally host the annual StratNeuro retreat at Runö in Åkersberga. This year's retreat was somewhat special. Many were eager to meet again, and the organisers worked hard to make this meeting a productive and memorable one.

Patients with low socioeconomic status who have undergone mechanical aortic valve replacement, AVR, have a higher risk of bleeding complications, such as fatal intracranial hemorrhage, shows a study done by researchers at Karolinska Institutet. The study is now published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, JACC.

Severe acute COVID-19 is very rare in children, but SARS-CoV-2 infection can trigger a novel post infectious condition called Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (MIS-C). MIS-C is a potentially serious condition, and so far, little has been known on risk factors for developing MIS-C.

The Swedish Foundation for Strategic Research, SSF, has appointed the eight generation of "Future research leader", three researchers from Karolinska Institutet. The researchers receive 15 million SEK each during a five year period and will join a leadership training program.

In March 2022, André Thunberg had his ISP seminar at the Department of Global Public Health. His research focuses on the prevalence and management of severe paediatric illness in Malawi. Besides his doctoral studies, André also works at Astrid Lindgren Children’s Hospital as a resident doctor.

Infants living at addresses in Stockholm with elevated levels of air pollution have impaired lung function already at six months of age.  Earlier research has shown that exposure to air pollution during infancy negatively affects lung function in children, adolescents and young adults, but this study is the first to show similar associations already in infants.  The results indicate that further measures are needed to reduce the levels of air pollution in urban areas.

As in previous years, several of Stockholm's academic institutions are joining together with a united theme during Pride week to draw attention to LGBTQI issues. Academic Pride 2022 is organising a seminar on LGBTQI-inclusive work and study environments and joint participation in the Pride Parade. The Pride flag will also be flown at all participating universities throughout the week of this festive week.