News archive

In the Swedish Research Council's latest call, SEK 96 000 000 was awarded to 13 researchers at the Department of Medicine, Huddinge (MedH) for the years 2024-2029.

The Collaborative Research Projects will support new multidisciplinary collaborations for ambitious yet feasible research projects in all areas of Neuroscience. The aim is to promote multidisciplinary research though new and innovative collaborations of outstanding scientific quality.

Karolinska Institutet has produced a new environmental policy to tackle present and future environmental and sustainability challenges. The environmental policy describes the intentions and directions of KI’s work with environmental sustainability. In integrating the environmental perspective throughout the organisation, KI will make an active health-focused contribution to addressing society’s key environmental and climate challenges.

Researcher, screenwriter and composer Sissela Nutley is awarded KI's Culture Prize for her work in uniting culture and science to convey messages about the brain and mental health, including through the school program “Det syns inte” (It is not visible) which is used in classrooms around Sweden. The prize was awarded during KI Culture Day on 30 October.

The National Centre for Suicide Research and Prevention announces the first Swedish Suicide Research Conference (SSRC), set to unite experts in suicide research from across Sweden and abroad. This event, partly supported by a Forte grant, will take place in Stockholm in May 6–7, 2025.

In a recently published study, researchers at Karolinska Institutet and KI University Hospital show that radiotherapy (RT) creates an "epigenetic memory" in skin fibroblasts which impairs skin healing in cancer survivors. They also found that by targeting this memory with antibodies the damage could be reversed. This finding can lead to new therapies for both preventing and treating RT-induced skin issues.

We at Dentmed and Unitand continue to reduce our negative environmental impact. The audit was conducted by Susanne Evergård from Intertek on October 22-24, 2024. It resulted in a continued certification, without deviations. This confirms that we are all making a difference!

Thuy Tran's research group at Karolinska Institutet has been awarded SEK 8 million over three years from the Erling-Persson Foundation to develop a precision-orientated, theranostic, method that integrates the diagnosis and treatment of advanced, solid tumours.

On 23 October, the Stockholm Trio University Alliance hosted a seminar at Karolinska Institutet on how interdisciplinary research and education can contribute to sustainable development. The seminar was organized by Stockholm Trio for Sustainable Actions, an initiative within the alliance that supports Karolinska Institutet, KTH and Stockholm University in their work to contribute to the UN's 17 global goals.

The Global Child Health and Sustainable Development Goals research group recently hosted a delegation of prominent guests from Shanghai, China, to exchange insights on health economics and childcare systems. Their visit aimed to deepen the understanding of the Swedish healthcare system, particularly in the context of children’s health.

Adrián Carballo Casla has recently been awarded a Forte Starting Grant 2024. His research project aims to tailor dietary recommendations to the unique needs of older adults, potentially leading to healthier and longer lives.

An abnormal BMI in children – be it high or low – can now be associated with impaired lung function, but if their BMI is normalised before they reach adulthood, the impairment can be offset, researchers from Karolinska Institutet report. Their results, which are based on data collected under the BAMSE project, are presented in The European Respiratory Journal.

In Clinicum's network there are advisers with many different backgrounds who contribute with their experience - all to enhance your research. We have talked to one of them, Stephen Nash, a statistician at MEB, and asked some questions about what to consider when submitting an application to Clinicum.

A new study from Karolinska Institutet shows that heart failure mortality has decreased in Sweden over the last 20 years. The study has been published in the European Journal of Heart Failure.

On June 17, the training program ‘Future Academic Leaders’ (FAL) for NVS concluded, after running for 1,5 years. 36 participants completed the program, which included a mix of new and already established managers, as well as employees on their way to potentially become leaders in the future. There is a basic FAL program at KI, which NVS has tailored to suit our needs. The results of the evaluations indicate that the participants were very satisfied with the program. Here are some comments.

Northern Nigeria has one of the highest mortality rates for children globally – in Jigawa, 1 in 6 children still die before their 5th birthday. The INSPIRING trial aimed to reduce child mortality with a package of interventions focused on participatory approaches to capacity building and empowerment.

After the freezer failure in Neo, the Health and Social Care Inspectorate (IVO) opened a supervisory case. The case has now been closed and IVO considers that the investigations carried out and the measures taken by Karolinska Institutet are sufficient to fulfil the requirements of the Biobanks Act.

A new study from Karolinska Institutet shows that global warming, combined with an aging population, could lead to a significant increase in people with severe electrolyte imbalances in the blood. The results are presented in the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology.

What are KI's important issues for the future and what forums do we need to work even better together? Take the chance to discuss these and other important topics with President Annika Östman Wernerson, Vice President Martin Bergö and University Director Veronika Sundström as they once again invite all employees to open dialogue meetings in Solna 3 December and in Flemingsberg 5 December.

The Swedish National Audit Office's reviews of, among other things, information security at Swedish higher education institutions have revealed major shortcomings. KI has therefore decided to raise the level of security in several areas. To achieve increased information security and better management and utilisation of resources, Coordinated IT will be implemented - the decision has been made by KI's University Director and the Consistory.

Tips from KI Grants Office regarding current calls

The Institute of Environmental Medicine (IMM) arranged a seminar during October’s Nobel Calling week for upper-secondary school science students. Over 800 participants from around the Stockholm region gathered in Aula Medica to hear the latest news and issues concerning young adults’ environments, lifestyles and future career choices with an overall focus on human health.

KI is working to increase the internationalization of its educational programmes. The aim is to increase quality and diversity and to prepare KI's students for work in a global labor market.

The Department of Medicine Solna has purchased some mobile gyms that can be borrowed within the department. Having exercise equipment nearby can be a good way to get a few minutes of exercise during the day - good for both body and mind.

This year, Karolinska Institutet celebrates 25 years of support for visiting researchers and overseas doctoral students. Sharing knowledge and experience leads to innovation and progress, which is why we cannot do without our international collaborations. There are many support functions in place for our visiting researchers and overseas doctoral students, all to ensure their reception is as good as we can make it.

Are you a student in one of KI's educational programs and want to participate in a group interview to give your views on how KI can build student engagement and develop the study environment?

Karolinska Institutet celebrates a remarkable achievement as two students have been honoured in the prestigious thesis competition Global Undergraduate Awards (GUA) programme. Muriel, a first-semester biomedicine master’s student, and Sophia, a final-semester medical programme student, have both emerged victorious in their respective categories thanks to their theses.

On 1 January 2025, a new organisation of KI’s Professional Services (PS) will come into force. Six existing offices will cease to exist and three new ones will be established. At the same time, working methods for increased coordination of cross-cutting issues within the professional services will be developed.

Donders Institute at Radboud University is part of NeurotechEU and collaborates with Karolinska Institutet. Recently, they held an event where KI researcher Gilberto Fisone presented his research.

How can a sustainable working life be created for people with depression and fatigue syndrome? Ridwandul Amin is one of five researchers who have now received a research grant from Afa Försäkring to develop more knowledge about this.

In a recently published study, researchers at the Institute for Environmental Medicine (IMM), Karolinska Institutet show that there are pronounced sex differences in the incidence rates of psychiatric disorders over the lifespan, which varied depending on age, type of psychiatric disorders, calendar period, and socioeconomic status.

Do you need to find a docent at KI in a specific subject area? You can easily extract a list in KI RIMS. Just as KI's research information system has been open for a year, the report ‘Docents at KI’ is released, which lists both employed and affiliated docents at KI.

Hello there, Christian Rück, who has been nominated for the August Prize in the category Swedish Non-Fiction Book of the Year for the book “Ett liv värt att leva” (A Life Worth Living - Why suicide became man's companion), Albert Bonniers Förlag. On 25 November, the award winners will be presented at the August Gala.

Rachael Sugars at the Department of Dental Medicine is this year’s recipient of the Catherine Everts Research Foundation Fund. The project is entitled “Clinical and Diagnostic Management of Oral Chronic Graft Versus Host Disease after Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation”.

Recent advancements in high-throughput sequencing technologies have enabled researchers to harness valuable omics data, paving the way for precision medicine. This approach aims to enhance diagnosis and treatment by tailoring therapies to individual patients, moving away from traditional, subjective methods. However, analyzing omics data for effective treatment personalization remains challenging due to disease variability and data complexity.

Join us at Café Jorpes between 8 am and 3 pm, week 43. When you're done, you return the tools and register you and your pumpkin for the competition and eagerly await the results that will be presented during week 44.

SSMF (Swedish Society for Medical Research) is aimed at researchers in all medical fields and supports basic research as well as applied research. In the autumn of 2024, 21 researchers at Karolinska Institutet have been awarded SSMF Consolidator Grants, Starting Grants and Postdoctoral Grants, respectively.

Region Stockholm and Region Uppsala have teamed up to further strengthen their joint life-science cluster. At a conference on 10 October, large sections of the life-science sector in Uppsala-Stockholm met to discuss how its development is to be effected.

Hi there Abigail Dove! You have recently defended your thesis entitled "Cardiometabolic disease and dementia risk: identifying compensatory factors". Could you tell us a little more?

We are happy to introduce new colleagues at the Department of Laboratory Medicine. Welcome everyone!

On a sunny Friday in October, KI was visited by Virginia Braun, professor of psychology at the Faculty of Science at the University of Auckland, New Zealand. She was invited by Doctoral Programme in Health Care Science (PUF-V) and Dalarna University to give a lecture on what is important in qualitative thematic analysis.

Hi Marcus Skribek, doctoral student at the Department of Oncology-Pathology. On November 8 you will defend your thesis ”Strategies for optimizing immune checkpoint inhibition in advanced non-small cell lung cancer”.

A new study published in the scientific journal Nature Communications shows that the inflammatory protein IL-1β has an important physiological function in fat tissue. Researchers at Karolinska Institutet have discovered that IL-1β helps the body manage energy storage by signalling cells to transform into new fat cells that can safely store energy.

On 4 November, Knut Steffensen will be taking up office as the director of the Karolinska ATMP Centre, a leading centre for advanced therapy medicinal products, with research, manufacture and treatment all under one roof.

The delivery phone and parcel handling at LIME will be unmanned on 1 November. This means that anyone who has ordered and is expecting a parcel on that day will need to answer the delivery phone and receive their parcel themselves.

Daniel Lundqvist, docent of clinical neuroscience at the Department of Clinical Neuroscience, will be employed as professor of neuroimaging as of November 1, 2024.

Tips from Grants Office regarding current calls

Sweden has reached the UNAIDS and WHO targets for the HIV epidemic, according to a study in Eurosurveillance by researchers at Karolinska Institutet and others. According to the researchers, Sweden is the first country in the world to achieve these targets.

Karin Holmsten at Karolinska Institutet has been awarded Pfizer’s and the Swedish Society for Urological Oncology’s (SFUO) newly established research grant for oncologists in urology. The grant of 50,000 SEK was awarded on October 17th at SFUO’s annual meeting in Stockholm.

Since 23 September Campus Solna has two new road names. Blombäcks väg has replaced Retzius väg and Liljestrands väg has replaced von Eulers väg.