News archive

Matilda Ernkrans, minister for Higher Education and Research, visited KI on 23 October. She met students, faculty, researchers and the university management, who described how they had adapted to the ongoing pandemic.

The Blue Sky Grant for Innovative Cancer Research is a one-year grant, providing SEK 500 000, to support projects aimed at exploring new research territories and demonstrating proof of principle. This year the internal organisation Cancer Research KI has awarded six Blue Sky grants, three of them to researchers at the Department of Medical Biochemistry and Biophysics (MBB).

Summary of publication in CID by Helena Bergsten et al.

“An important finding of the study was that any type of parental mental illness strongly increased the risk of childhood socioeconomic adversity.” says Kyriaki Kosidou, researcher at KI and corresponding author of the newly published article about parental mental illness and its association with socioeconomic adversity among children in Sweden.

Charlotte Rolny’s and Ola Larsson’s research teams at the Department of Oncology-Pathology has published an article in PNAS.

In her thesis, Camilla Wiklund aims to extend the knowledge about the relationship among body mass index (BMI), gastrointestinal complaints, and diet, and how these factors contribute to the emergence and maintenance of eating disorders.

People with cancer who exercise generally have a better prognosis than inactive patients. Now, researchers at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden have found a likely explanation of why exercise helps slow down cancer growth in mice: Physical activity changes the metabolism of the immune system’s cytotoxic T cells and thereby improves their ability to attack cancer cells. The study is published in the journal eLife.

Researchers at Karolinska Institutet and Danderyd Hospital have studied the risk of additional myocardial infarctions and early death in severely obese patients who undergo metabolic surgery following a myocardial event. The registry study covering 1,018 individuals shows a lower risk of additional myocardial infarctions and improved survival that cannot be simply attributed to the loss of weight. The study is published in the journal Circulation.

In a new study published in the journal Cell Death & Differentiation researchers at Karolinska Institutet have conducted a translational study that identified a new mechanism for controlling the breakdown of glucose in several different cancer forms. The discovery could lead to new therapeutic strategies aimed to reduce cancer growth.

Hi Xin Li, PhD student at the Aging Research Center (NVS). On October 28 you will defend your thesis “The relation between aging, dopamine-regulating genes, and neurocognition”. What’s the main focus of the thesis?

Martin Enge’s research group at the department of Oncology-Pathology has developed a new method for joint analysis of a cell’s state and accumulated genetic variation in single cells, applied to childhood leukemias and other cancers. The article is published in the journal Molecular Cell, October 16th.

Among women participating in cervical cancer screening in Sweden, those with a diagnosis of invasive cervical cancer had an increased risk of iatrogenic injuries (as a consequence of medical intervention) and non-iatrogenic injuries (caused by accidents and self-harm) requiring hospitalization, according to results published in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention.

A diary containing the final entries by polar adventurer Andrée is now to be subjected for the first time to analysis using modern techniques. It is hoped this will solve once and for all the mystery of what caused the deaths of the expedition members on an island in the Arctic Ocean in 1897.
“We’re getting lots of new information, it’s really exciting,” says Bea Uusma, who is leading the project at Medical History and Heritage, Karolinska Institutet.

Andres Salumets has been appointed as Professor of Reproductive Medicine at the Division of Obstetrics & Gynecology, Department of Clinical Science, Intervention and Technology - CLINTEC.

The chair was established with a generous grant from a Swedish Company - Vitrolife (10 MSEK/5 years) and will be co-financed by the Center for Innovative Medicine - CIMED.

A year has passed now since Karolinska Institutet, the Royal Institute of Technology (KTH) and Stockholm University formed the university alliance Stockholm trio. Together, the three academic institutions seek to develop and promote the international research and education environment of the Stockholm region, and will establish a joint office in Brussels. Veteran of the EU scene, Dan Andrée is now laying the foundations of the office.

Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation (KAW) launches a new research initiative and donates SEK 3.1 billion over 12 years to support data-driven life science and SEK 600 million to extend the existing funding to Science for Life Laboratory and to the Wallenberg Centers for Molecular Medicine. Many new research positions will be established.

The Tobias Foundation grant in 2020 has been awarded to Magnus Tobiasson and Eva Hellström Lindberg, both researchers at Karolinska Institutet. The grant amounts to SEK 10 million over a five-year period. It will support research on early detection of relapse after stem cell transplantation for patients with myelodysplastic syndrome.

A comprehensive comparison of cancer survival between the Nordic countries shows improvements for all countries over time with previously observed differences attenuated. The reasons for these improvements are likely multifactorial. Previous studies comparing cancer survival between the Nordic countries have found marked differences, with a notably poorer survival in Danish patients.

People with multiple sclerosis (MS) gradually develop increasing functional impairment. Researchers at Karolinska Institutet have now found a possible explanation for the progressive course of the disease in mice and how it can be reversed. The study, which is published in Science Immunology, can prove valuable to future treatments.

Hi Helena Hildenwall, one of the authors of the publication and member of the Global Child Health and SDG’s research group at the Department of Global Public Health. What are the most important results of your study?

Causal inference is important in medical research to help determine if treatments are beneficial and if natural exposures are harmful. In many settings, data collection makes causal inference difficult without making overly optimistic or idealistic assumptions. In a new article published in the Journal of the American Statistical Association, researchers at Karolinska Institutet develop new statistical methods to make causal inference possible in some settings without making such assumptions.

On Monday 12 October, the Stockholm County Administrative Board arranged a programme of royal visits to see how the local health authority is handling the COVID-19 pandemic. Their first stop was Karolinska Institutet.

Hi Helena Cleeve, PhD student at the Division of Occupational Therapy (NVS). On November 6 you will defend your thesis “Mundane mattering : how materialities come to matter in everyday life in dementia care units and in end of life care”. What’s the main focus of the thesis?

Researchers from Karolinska Institutet demonstrate that genetic risk score for ADHD can influence how autistic individuals respond to standard interventions and the specific program on social skills training KONTAKT®. This study is now published in npj Genomic Medicine.

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, NAFLD, affects nearly one in four adults in Europe and the U.S. Earlier research has demonstrated an increased risk of death in patients with NAFLD and advanced fibrosis or cirrhosis. Now, researchers at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden and Massachusetts General Hospital in the U.S. show that mortality increases with disease severity, but even mild fatty liver disease is linked to higher mortality. The findings have been published in the scientific journal Gut.

Researchers at Karolinska Institutet rapidly generate new knowledge on the importance of different groups of drugs and the development of hyponatremi. In the present study, lithium treatment was compared between 11,213 individuals hospitalized due to hyponatremia and 44,801 controlls. Interestingly, lithium treatment was half as common among individuals with hyponatremia. The results were recently published in Journal of Psychopharmacology.

Georgios Sotiriou, Researcher at the Department of Microbiology, Tumor and Cell Biology receives the Smoluchowski award for his research contribution to the fields of aerosol science and technology. The award consists of a certification and a personal prize of 2.000 €.

A study lead by KI researcher and SciLifeLab Fellow Simon Elsässer elucidates a new flavour of heterochromatin, used by embryonic stem cells to silence ‘parasitic’ DNA-elements within the context of their highly dynamic pluripotent chromatin. The study was recently published in Nature Communications.

The Royal Swedish Academy of Scientists have decided to award the 2020 Nobel Prize in Chemistry to Emmanuelle Charpentier and Jennifer A. Doudna. Here, KI researchers who uses the method in their own research comment on this year’s prize. “It’s what we’ve been waiting for,” says Fredrik Lanner.

KI researchers receive 52 120 000 SEK in Forte's yearly call within the areas of responsibility: health, working life and welfare. The purpose of the call is to allow for analysis of advanced knowledge and to contribute to such knowledge in designated research areas or issues.

Eleni Aklillu is Professor in Tropical Pharmacology and research group leader at Department of Laboratory Medicine and has been awarded the prestigious RSTMH Donald Mackay Medal.

The 2020 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine is awarded the discovery of the hepatitis C virus. Thanks to the work of the laureates, it is now possible to detect the virus in blood and to provide an effective treatment for the infection. It has saved the lives of millions of people. The prize also focuses on the importance of research into viruses.

NVS congratulates Ann-Helen Patomella, Lena von Koch, Maria Hagströmer and Neda Agahi!

Hi Hanna Johansson, PhD student at the Division of Physiotherapy, NVS. On October 23 you will defend your thesis “Balance and gait in Parkinson’s disease : from perceptions to performance”. What’s the main focus of the thesis?

The Nobel Assembly at Karolinska Institutet has today decided to award the 2020 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine jointly to Harvey J. Alter, Michael Houghton, and Charles M. Rice for their discoveries of the Hepatitis C virus.

Meet Agneta Richter Dahlfors, director of a new interdisciplinary research centre with the focus on societal benefits, that was inaugurated on 30 September. What is AIMES?

The Center for the Advancement of Integrated Medical and Engineering Sciences, AIMES, is a collaboration between KTH Royal Institute of Technology and Karolinska Institutet, in partnership with Getinge, with the vision to enhance the exchange of expertise within academia and industry. The center was officially inaugurated on 30 September 2020, in Biomedicum, Solna (and via Youtube).

Researchers at Karolinska Institutet have identified a protein in the brain that is important both for the function of the mood-regulating substance serotonin and for the release of stress hormones, at least in mice. The findings, which are published in the journal Molecular Psychiatry, may have implications for the development of new drugs for depression and anxiety.

Herwig Schüler, Department of Biosciences and Nutrition, KI, is co-applicant in a project lead by Umeå University, which are about to receive almost SEK 30 million in project grant from the Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation (KAW) for a project on "Decoding bacterial toxin-antitoxin systems: from high-throughput discovery to molecular mechanisms and biotechnology".

Spinal cord injury often leads to permanent functional impairment. In a new study published in the journal Science researchers at Karolinska Institutet show that it is possible to stimulate stem cells in the mouse spinal cord to form large amounts of new oligodendrocytes, cells that are essential to the ability of neurons to transmit signals, and thus to help repair the spinal cord after injury.

Women vaccinated against HPV have a significantly lower risk of developing cervical cancer, and the positive effect is most pronounced for women vaccinated at a young age. That is according to a large study by researchers at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden published in New England Journal of Medicine.

A study published in Nature shows that a segment of DNA that causes their carriers to have an up to three times higher risk of developing severe COVID-19 is inherited from Neandertals. The study was conducted by researchers at Karolinska Institutet and Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology.

Four major research projects at Karolinska Institutet are to receive project grants from the Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation (KAW) this year. A total of almost SEK 143 million over a five-year period is to be invested in KI projects on cellular ageing, cerebral decision-making mechanisms, stem-cell fate and antibody-producing cells.

A type of anti-bacterial T cells, so-called MAIT cells, are strongly activated in people with moderate to severe COVID-19 disease, according to a study by researchers at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden that is published in the journal Science Immunology. The findings contribute to increased understanding about how our immune system responds against COVID-19 infection.

Karolinska Institutet, in collaboration with KTH - Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm, is opening a new research centre. The aim of the centre, called AIMES – Center for the Advancement of Integrated Medical and Engineering Sciences, is to promote inter-disciplinary research and its translation to societal impact.

Women receiving fertility-sparing surgery for treatment of borderline ovarian tumours were able to have children, a study from Karolinska Institutet in Sweden published in Fertility & Sterility shows. Natural fertility was preserved in most of them and only a small proportion required assisted reproductive treatment such as in vitro fertilization. Survival in the group was also as high as in women who had undergone radical surgical for treatment of similar tumours.

Barbara Canlon was elected as a foreign member of the medical science class at the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences on March 12, 2020.

More than 10 percent of young and previously healthy people who develop severe COVID-19 have misguided antibodies that attack the immune system itself, and another 3.5 percent carry a specific genetic mutation. This is according to new research published in Science by an international consortium involving researchers at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden.

Researchers at KI have received funding from the United States Army for the development of genetic engineering methods to alleviate or cure the disease Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), the most common form of genetic neuromuscular disease in children.

In a study published in JAMA researchers at Karolinska Institutet and Karolinska University Hospital have examined the association between a positive SARS-CoV-2 test during pregnancy and complications in mothers and their newborn babies. Almost two out of three pregnant women who tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 were asymptomatic and the researchers found no higher prevalence of complications during delivery or of ill-health in the neonates. However, preeclampsia was more common in infected women.