News archive

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Professor Stefan Swartling Peterson was invited to present on “prevention” in Warsaw, Poland, as the World Bank’s Anna Koziel organized a seminar May 19th to inspire prevention stakeholders from Poland and Western Ukraine. The challenge is to conceive an Non Communicable Disease prevention agenda that involves more than health care and to develop Primary Health Care. We foresee further collaboration opportunities as this initiative develops.

The Aging Research Center at Karolinska Institutet, in collaboration with the National Competence Centre for Relatives (Nka), is launching a nationwide survey to gain a better understanding of the characteristics of older informal caregivers in Sweden.

Terese Stenfors and Lena Engqvist Boman are awarded the 2023 prize in recognition of their many years of contribution to excellent educational leadership in KI's educational activities. The prize will be officially awarded at KI’s installation ceremony, which is to be held in Aula Medica in October 2023.

Therese Scott Duncan, postdoc at the Department of Learning, Informatics, Management and Ethics, is in a new study investigating how Lead Patients self-care has been received by healthcare professionals. The study, ”Empowered patients and informal caregivers as partners? A survey study of healthcare professionals’ perceptions”, is published in BMC Health Services Research.

In a nationwide Swedish study of more than 12,000 patients with microscopic colitis (MC), researchers from Sahlgrenska University Hospital and Karolinska Institutet found an increased risk of acute pancreatitis compared to the general population. The study has been published in The American Journal of Gastroenterology.

Movement and physical activity were in focus when the KI Impact Challenge event was arranged for the first time after the pandemic. About 45 students from Karolinska Institutet were tasked to come up with what is needed to make young people become more physically active. To help them, they had 30 high school students and the various steps in design thinking, a systematic problem-solving method.

Vaccines against smallpox given until the mid-1970s offer continuing cross-reactive immunity to mpox (previously known as monkeypox), researchers from Karolinska Institutet report in a study published in the scientific journal Cell Host & Microbe.

A new Swedish study on the etiology of neuromuscular disorders has been published in the scientific journal Frontiers in Neurology. The study was carried out by researchers in the Rare Diseases group at the Department of Molecular Medicine and Surgery, Karolinska Institutet, in collaboration with doctors at Karolinska University Hospital.

Researchers at Karolinska Institutet have developed a molecular method able to detect whether or not bacteria respond to antibiotics within minutes. The findings are presented in the journal Nature Microbiology and the researchers now hope to develop a simple test for doctors to use.

This year’s Grand Silver Medals are awarded to Göran K Hansson och Jan-Inge Henter. The medal can be awarded to a person who has made tremendous efforts to support the activities of Karolinska Institutet’s mission and is awarded during the installation ceremony in Aula Medica on October 12.

Researchers at Karolinska Institutet have found further evidence for how the Epstein-Barr virus can trigger multiple sclerosis or drive disease progression. A study published in Science Advances shows that some individuals have antibodies against the virus that mistakenly attack a protein in the brain and spinal cord.

The European University of Brain and Technology, NeurotechEU, of which Karolinska Institutet is one of nine partners, is pleased to announce the availability of ten competitive funds for short-term travel for faculty, staff, postdoctoral fellows, students and/or trainees between the partner institutions to plan or conduct collaborative projects.

Anna Falk at the research group Thoracic Surgery, Department of Molecular Medicine and Surgery, will defend her thesis "Depression and delirium in cardiac surgery patients" on May 26th, 2023. Main Supervisor is Malin Stenman.

An important meeting was held on 11 May in Aula Medica for the KI-Region Stockholm management group. It turned out to be a packed strategy day that focused on common issues facing the group, including the work following on from the recently released Swedish Research Council audit, conducted under the ALF evaluation.

On May 12 more than 850 people gathered at Stockholm City Hall to celebrate Karolinska Institutet’s 152 new doctors and honorary doctors Wilhelmina Hoffman and Fredrik Lundberg.

Global Disaster Medicine - Health Needs and Response at KI was represented in several ways at this year’s WADEM (the World Association for Disaster and Emergency Medicine) congress, including with presentations and posters displaying new research conducted by the group.

Juliet Mwanga-Amumpaire is a paediatrician and Associate Professor of paediatrics at Mbarara University with over ten years of experience conducting clinical research. She is currently the director of Epicentre Mbarara Research Centre run by Médecins Sans Frontières that conducts health related research aiming to guide policy for stakeholders in health. She recently pursued her PhD where she studied the quality of care at private health facilities in Uganda.

New findings on how a subset of immune cells in the brain is involved in the establishment of a neuronal system controlling cognition.

Biobank Sweden has teamed up with the Swedish regions and the National Pandemic Centre (NPC) at Karolinska Institutet to produce a new process that gives researchers access to 1.5 million COVID-19 samples. The samples are stored at the NPC and researchers applying to use them must first seek ethical approval.

The third installment in the seminar series KI Contributes explored the health crises created by war and armed conflict, through the medium of visual art. An Armenian artist and a Swedish surgeon shared their experiences of war and how humans live through it and try to make sense of their difficult experiences.

350 cardamom buns awaited KI’s students as they gathered for a coffee and chat with the new president Annika Östman Wernerson, who had arranged the informal meeting with the student unions to encourage a closer dialogue with the university management.

Karolinska Institutet has decided to award Johan Hartman and Mattias Rantalainen the 2023 Prize for Innovation and Utilization. They are rewarded for improving cancer diagnostics with innovative research and inspiring working methods.

Between 13 and 19 March 2023, neuroscientists around the world took the initiative to spread the word about the importance of brain science as part of the "Brain Awareness Week". The Strategic Neuroscience Research Network (StratNeuro) at Karolinska Institutet took the opportunity to initiate a recurring outreach event to spark enthusiasm and raise awareness for neuroscience research, which was also part of the global campaign.

Researchers from Karolinska Institutet and Sachs’ Children and Youth Hospital have mapped the immune system in the gut of children with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). The results, which were published in Cell Reports Medicine, can be used to design more targeted therapies.

The first article based on the most recent SWEOLD data collection entitled “Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Swedish adults aged 77 years and older: Age differences in lifestyle changes”, has recently been published in the Scandinavian Journal of Public Health.

Alone, remotely, in the middle of a pandemic – this is how life in the Brussels office of the University Alliance Stockholm Trio began for the EU veteran Dan Andrée. It went at half-speed at first, but now, two and half years later, the office in the EU’s political cradle is bursting with activities.

Breast cancer is the most common cancer among women and the likelihood of surviving the disease is higher if the cancer is detected early and the tumour is relatively small and not very aggressive.

As part of the Swedish presidency of the EU's Council of Ministers, the health ministers of EU countries were invited to an informal meeting in Stockholm on the 4th and 5th of May. The meting concerned issues of preparedness and securing access to innovative and established medicines.

Associate Professor Charlotte Rolny, Associate Professor Ola Larsson and PhD Margarita Bartish has published a Perspective article in Nature Reviews Cancer. Perspective articles provide a forum for opinionated discussions of a field or topic, as well as describing historical foundations and influences, emerging research trends and techniques, and ethical, legal and societal issues.

Researchers at the Department of Physiology and Pharmacology (FyFa) is awarded the SSMF (Svenska Sällskapet för medicinsk forskning) Postdoctoral Grant of SEK 3 million for three years.

Sons of women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) have a twofold increased risk to develop obesity, according to a study published in Cell Reports Medicine. According to the researchers from Karolinska Institutet the findings highlight a previously unknown risk of passing PCOS-related health problems across generations through the male side of a family

Are international field hospitals always needed? And do we always need to send medicines to disaster-stricken areas? These were two myths that Johan von Schreeb discussed in his keynote when EU’s health ministers gathered in Stockholm.

Professor Magnus Ingelman-Sundberg has been awarded an ERC Proof of Concept Grant, which is aimed at researchers who have previously been funded by the European Research Council and now want to explore the innovation potential of their previous project. The grant will be used to further develop a hepatic model for liver disease and identify potential new drugs and drug targets.

An American donor has given USD 3 million to Karolinska Institutet and researcher Erik Berglund, who works at the Department of Molecular Medicine and Surgery and the Department of Clinical Science, Intervention and Technology. The free donation will go towards Dr. Berglund’s specialist fields in transplantation, autoimmunity, and cancer.

Researchers at Karolinska Institutet and Karolinska University Hospital have together with health economists at Linköping University analyzed costs for various methods to diagnose genetic causes of intellectual disability. The study, published in Scientific Reports, shows that the costs when using whole genome sequencing as a first-line diagnostic test were lower compared to chromosomal microarray analysis.

Several KI researchers at the department of Global public Health, are part of an international project that has been awarded 3.7 million Euros. The funding comes from the EU Horizon scheme to help young people aged 12-15 improve their mental health and reduce their risk of chronic illnesses.

Natalie Lundin at the Orthopaedics research group, the Department of Molecular Medicine and Surgery, will defend her thesis "Pelvic fractures : epidemiology and treatment" on May 12th, 2023.
Main Supervisor is Anders Enocson.

Karolinska Institutets former President Ole Petter Ottersen has received two nice recognitions: the 2023 Friend of Stockholm's students award from the Stockholm Federation of Student Unions (SSCO) and the "Order of the Rising Sun, Gold and Silver Star" from the Japanese government. Sten Lindahl, former professor at Karolinska Institutet, is also recognized with the Japanese order in the class "Gold Rays with Neck Ribbon."

On 21 March 2023, researchers from several universities around the country, the Swedish Agency for Health and Care Services Analysis and Region Jönköping, gathered at Karolinska Institutet in Solna for a symposium on person-centred and integrated care for older people. Moreover, keynote speakers from the UK and Australia set the scene on the topics of person-centred and integrated care.

When Rebecca Furaha was looking for programmes that could help her improve maternity care in Congo-Kinshasa, she found what she was looking for at KI. Now she runs collaborative projects to increase knowledge about sexual and reproductive health among the country’s young people.

The Karolinska Institutet University Board (konsistoriet) has gained two new members: director Sarah McPhee and Professor Emeritus Jan Nilsson. The decision was made by the government on 27 April in its appointment procedures for chairpersons and other external board members for 30 state higher education institutions. Their term office will run from 1 May 2023 to 30 September 2024.

The government’s decision to shorten the term of office for new board members for the country’s higher education institutions has sparked critical reactions from the sector. Annika Östman Wernerson, president of Karolinska Institutet, shares their concerns.

KI Housing is now a part of KI instead of being an independent company owned by KI Holding AB. Within the KI organization, the Housing office can now be found under the Property Management Unit at the Property and Facilities Office. Due to the transition, KI Housing has new contact details:

Why is it that certain mammals have an exceptional sense of smell, some hibernate, and yet others, including humans, are predisposed to disease? In a major international research project where researchers at Karolinska Institutet participated, has surveyed and analysed the genomes of 240 different mammals. The results, now published in 11 articles in the journal Science, shows which regions have important functions in mammals.

The KI Housing office is closed on Monday, May 1, due to Public holidays. If you have any urgent maintenance issues when the office is closed, we ask you to use the on-call service for your area.

On April 26 it has been seven years since Ahmadreza Djalali, a Swedish citizen who received his PhD in disaster medicine at Karolinska Institutet, was arrested during a visit in Iran. Karolinska Institutet and The Human Rights Committee of Sweden’s Scientific and Literary Academies now urge in an open letter to Sweden’s prime minister, foreign minister and education minister to try all means possible to ensure the release of Djalali.

The European College of Neuropsychopharmacology (ECNP) Rising Star Award honours two Early Career Scientists annually, whose research in applied and translational neuroscience has the potential to advance the science, treatment and prevention of brain disorders.

Janica Kallonen at the research group Thoracic Surgery, the Department of Molecular Medicine and Surgery, defended her thesis "Long-term follow-up after surgery for chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension" on May 5th, 2023.
Main Supervisor: Ulrik Sartipy.

Routine diagnostic analyses of mutations in cell-free DNA in patients with metastatic prostate cancer are now possible for the first time in Sweden. The test has been developed by researchers at Karolinska Institutet, and Karolinska University Hospital is now offering the analysis to hospitals around the Nordic region, giving more patients with certain gene mutations access to the cancer treatment they need.