News archive

In the latest Swedish Research Council (VR) call, a total of SEK 660,747,160 has been granted to 143 KI researchers, an increase on last year’s SEK 625,904,933. All in all, VR granted SEK 1.37 billion in 2023, compared with 1.2 billion in 2022.

KI-researcher Pauliina Damdimopoulou has been awarded a EUR 2 million ERC Consolidator Grant (European Research Council) for the SAFER project (SAfeguarding female FERtility-development of human-relevant in vitro tools for reproductive toxicity). The research will investigate the impact of commonly occurring environmental chemical contaminants on women's reproductive health. The grant is awarded under Horizon Europe, the EU's programme for research and innovation.

Researchers at Karolinska Institutet have evaluated the possibility of alerting drones equipped with automated external defibrillators (AED) to patients with suspected cardiac arrest. In more than half of the cases, the drones were ahead of the ambulance by an average of three minutes. In cases where the patient was in cardiac arrest, the drone-delivered defibrillator was used in a majority of cases. The results have been published in the journal The Lancet Digital Health.

The programme is given in collaboration within the framework of the University Alliance Stockholm Trio; Karolinska Institutet (KI), KTH Royal Institute of Technology (KTH) and Stockholm University (SU).

The Federico Iovino group at Karolinska Institutet, and Therakind are initiating an exciting collaboration involving the identification of innate molecules with antimicrobial activity against antibiotic-resistant bacterial infections, with particular interest for brain infections considering the poor capability of current antibiotics to cross the blood-brain barrier.

Anti-rheumatic drugs used for rheumatoid arthritis might prevent the development of autoimmune thyroid disease, according to a new observational study by researchers from Karolinska Institutet published in the Journal of Internal Medicine.

Hi Carrie Tran, doctoral student at the Division of Family Medicine and Primary Care. On December 6 you will defend your thesis "Students' perceptions of interprofessional learning and virtual patients in primary healthcare". What is the main focus of the thesis?

This year, Forte has awarded funding to a total of 20 projects at Karolinska Institutet, including three researchers from the Department of Global Public Health, Anna-Clara Hollander, Sibylle Herzig Van Wees and Lene Lindberg.

A new study by Claudia Kutter’s research group at the Department of Microbiology, Tumor and Cell Biology (MTC) has identified potential pitfalls in the use of the gene editing technique CRISPR-Cas9, a gene scissors that is used for cancer treatments.

Global health is becoming increasingly complex, ranging from pandemics and climate change to wars, migration and deteriorating mental health. There is an urgent need for a new generation of global health leaders, equipped with the skills to navigate different political environments and drive change. The Stockholm School of Economics and Karolinska Institutet are now launching a new initiative to meet the challenges ahead.

The Unit for BioEntrepreneurship (UBE) at LIME is involved in a project that received a certificate of recognition from the European Parliament.

Gambling addiction can increase the risk of long-term sick leave for several years, according to a new study published in Psychological Medicine. Researchers from Karolinska Institutet behind the study point to the need to detect people with gambling addiction in time to avoid financial and health problems.

Anna Sjöström at the research group Experimental and Clinical Neuroendocrinology, the Department of Molecular Medicine and Surgery, will defend her thesis "Severe COVID-19 and routine biomarker patterns" on November 24, 2023.

Main Supervisor is Charlotte Höybye.

KI researcher Volker Lauschke has received the Swedish Research Council's Consolidation Grant for the research project "Modulation of Tissue Communication to Combat Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease" regarding the severe liver disease NASH. The Swedish Research Council's Consolidation Grant amounts to 7.4 million SEK over five years. This marks the fifth time Volker Lauschke has been awarded funding from the Swedish Research Council.

KI researcher Cristiana Cruceanu has been awarded the Swedish Research Council's establishment grant for the research project "The placenta as a mediator of the effects of psychological stress on neurodevelopmental reprogramming: lessons from human in vitro model systems." The Swedish Research Council's establishment grant amounts to 6 million over four years.

Congratulations to Igor Adameyko, Christopher Cederroth, Cristiana Cruceanu, Lars I Eriksson, Volker Lauschke, Jon Lundberg, Carl Sellgren, Camilla Svensson, and Eddie Weitzberg, researchers at the Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, on receiving grants from the Swedish Research Council's call in medicine and health for 2023. In total, 56.4 million has been awarded to the researchers at FyFa.

Katharina Susek from the Hematology unit, at the Department of Medicine, Huddinge (MedH), is defending her thesis "Strategies to optimize natural killer cell functions in the tumor microenvironment" on 24 November 2023. Evren Alici is the main supervisor (MedH).

There is a well-known relationship between good physical fitness at a young age and a lower risk of cardiovascular disease later in life. However, when researchers adjusted for familial factors by means of sibling analysis, they found a weaker association, although the link between high body mass index (BMI) and cardiovascular disease remained strong. The study, which was conducted by researchers from Karolinska Institutet and other universities, is published in JAMA Network Open.

It is common for middle-aged women with suspected myocardial infarction to be diagnosed with broken heart syndrome instead, which is triggered by stress and grief. Per Tornvall hopes that his research will result in more people receiving the correct diagnosis and fewer people suffering a relapse. He is now testing to see if internet CBT may help to heal the heart.

We congratulate the ten researchers at MedH who have been awarded grants from the Swedish Cancer Society (Cancerfonden) for the period 2024-2026. Together, the MedH researchers are awarded grants of just over SEK 33 million.

We wish to congratulate the six researchers at the Department of Biosciences and Nutrition (BioNut) at Karolinska Institutet, who has received funding from Cancerfonden for the years 2024 to 2026. Together the researchers at our department received more than SEK 21 millions.

During the autumn school break in November AIMES - Center for the Advancement of Integrated Medical and Engineering had a new exceptional opportunity to create a workshop at Tekniska Museet about the future of humanity. This was a new unique chance for our researchers to share their passion for science and inspire the next generation of scientists.

Dr Erdinc Sezgin (KBH) and Dr Federico Pietrocola (BioNut) receive prestigious Wellcome Leap Funding through the Dynamic Resilience Program.

In October, KI submitted suggestions to the government for its research and innovation policy bill, which will be presented at the end of 2024. KI stresses the importance of basic research and free competition on research funding as well as educational investment in the form of increased compensation per student and more university places. KI also suggests a national research programme for life science centred on research and technical development.

The Consolidator Grant within Medicine and Health from the Swedish Research Council has been awarded to Georgios Sotiriou at the Department of Microbiology, Tumor and Cell Biology at Karolinska Institutet. The project aims to develop a holistic therapy of chronic wounds using nanoengineered solutions.

Air pollution is the fourth largest risk factor for premature death. New research from the Institute of Environmental Medicine (IMM) shows that even very low levels of air pollution can be associated with increased risk. This does not only apply to larger cities, but also in smaller towns.

Monitoring brain injury biomarkers and glucose variation in patients who have suffered an acute cranial injury during the entire first week of hospitalisation can provide a more accurate picture of the pathological process. This is according to a paper by researchers at Karolinska Institutet published in The Lancet Neurology. It is hoped that their findings can eventually lead to more personalised treatment.

The Grand Prix Scientifique 2023 celebrates the work of a scientist or doctor who has made a significant discovery in the field of hearing. The Fondation Pour l'Audition has now awarded Professor Barbara Canlon, Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, the prize that rewards leading research.

Are you a caring person and like to help others? Are you interested in facilitating relationships between your corridor mates? KI Housing is looking for a new ”Residence Assistant” to KI Residence Solna as one of our current RAs will move out soon.

The Graphene Flagship project

Congratulations to the researchers at the Department of Neurobiology, Care Sciences and Society (NVS) who were awarded grants from The Swedish Research Council in the call for Medicine and Health 2023. Together they received in total 19,2 million SEK.

Researchers at Karolinska Institutet and SciLifeLab have combined artificial intelligence (AI) techniques used in satellite imaging and community ecology to interpret large amounts of data from tumour tissue. The method, presented in the journal Nature Communications, could contribute to more personalised treatment of cancer patients.

Diplomas, salutes and fanfares for 155 new KI doctors and 13 jubilee doctors! 10 November was a day of celebration, as they received their accolades to much pomp and ceremony in front of 1,000 guests in Stockholm City Hall’s Blue Hall.

Alexandra Argyriou, doctoral student at the Department of Medicine, Solna and Mireia Cruz De los Santos, doctoral student at the Department of Oncology and Pathology, have been awarded the Cilla Weigelt Scholarship for outstanding research in molecular mechanisms related to rare and under-treated diseases. The scholarships, 50,000 SEK each, will be awarded on November 13.

Neuroförbundet distributes close to SEK 14 million to three ALS research projects. The research should contribute to better nursing, new medicines and precision medicines.

KI researcher Stefan Skare receives funding from Barncancerfonden (the Swedish Childhood Cancer Fund) for the development of motion-robust MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) methods for examining awake children with brain and spinal cord tumors. The project receives a total of SEK 3.9 million over three years.

Congratulations to Kristiina Tammimies, Eric Herlenius, Ulrika Ådén and Jakob Stenman, researchers at the Department of women's and children's health, who receive funding from the Swedish Research Council's call for proposals in medicine and health in 2023.

Next spring, the National Museum of Science and Technology will be opening a branch – called The Cell – in Stockholm’s Hagastaden, with KI as knowledge partner. The Cell will be a venue where science meets art through fascinating and inspirational activities designed to educate and engage more people in the development of tomorrow’s life science field.

The Committee for Research at Karolinska Institutet has decided on recipients from the Jonas Söderquist scholarship foundation for basic research in virology and immunology.

More and more researchers understand the importance of including the patients' experiences when planning scientific studies. Meet three people who have been hired as experts in their own illness.

The most effective way to prevent cervical cancer is to give HPV vaccines to both boys and girls, reports a collaborative study involving researchers from Karolinska Institutet published in Cell, Host and Microbe. Beside personal immunity, such use of the vaccine also induces a herd immunity that will help to eradicate the carcinogenic virus types more quickly.

In the Swedish Research Council (VR) latest call for medicine and health and natural and engineering sciences 2023, research grants of 26 197 750 SEK were distributed to six researchers at the Department of Medical Biochemistry and Biophysics for the years 2023-2028.

Congratulations to the eight researchers at the Department of Biosciences and Nutrition (BioNut), Karolinska Institutet, who have received grants from the Swedish Research Council. Together they received more than SEK 27 million in total.

SSMF (Swedish Society for Medical Research) is aimed at researchers in all fields of medicine and supports basic research as well as applied research. In the autumn of 2023, seven researchers from Karolinska Institutet have been awarded grants.

In the Swedish Research Council's (VR) latest call for medicine and health 2023, research grants of 49 645 000 SEK were distributed to 11 researchers at the Department of Microbiology, Tumor and Cell Biology, for the years 2023-2028.

KI Housing is giving out cinema tickets to all tenants in the corridor/floor who have collaborated and achieved the cleanest common kitchen by the end of the competition period. The goal of this competition is to encourage collaboration in maintaining a welcoming and tidy kitchen!

KI researchers Anders Kvanta and Fredrik Lanner have been awarded a grant of SEK 10 million from the Erling-Persson Foundation for a clinical phase 1 trial on macular degeneration, a common age-related eye disease. By transplanting retinal cells from embryonic stem cells, the researchers hope to curb any further loss of vision and ultimately recover lost sight.

Karolinska Institutet and Professor Eleni Aklillu at the Department of Global Public Health leads a new initiative, that aims to enhance the oversight of medicines, medical devices, diagnostics, research ethics, and clinical trials in Tanzania and Rwanda.

MedTechLabs has granted SEK 35 million for two new medical technology research programmes. One will develop a new method for monitoring foetal oxygenation during labour. The other will develop a new method for early diagnosis of brain diseases using MR-Elastography.

The venue in Biomedicum was quickly filled with interested KI employees when the Centre of Excellence for Sustainable Health and the Centre for Health Crises welcomed them to the first policy lab on 26 October. The aim was to discuss and learn more together about how research can influence politics and society. The focus this time was on how the national Swedish political system is structured when it comes to health care issues and what ways there are to reach in with input from universities.