News archive

During Kulturnatt Stockholm (Culture Night) on 20 April, The Cell opened to visitors. The Cell is a place where art helps to explain the complex world of life science. The National Museum of Science and Technology is responsible for the initiative and Karolinska Institutet is involved as a knowledge partner and a bridge between the world of research and the public events at The Cell.

Tips from KI Grants Office about current calls.

Are you tormented by an exaggerated fear of harming your child? Relax – it’s common and research shows that it’s also treatable.

Following extensive investment in custom-built facilities, the Small Molecule Mass Spectrometry Core Facility (KI-SMMS), is operating at full speed as of Fall 2023.

This is a summary of the digital information meeting that prof Maria Eriksdotter, head of the project steering group, together with the departmental heads of MedH and BioNut held on 16 April addressing all staff at BioNut and MedH. President of KI, Annika Östman Wernerson and University Director, Veronika Sundström also joined the meeting for dialogue and questions.

After 4 semesters with committed participants, the leadership development program FAL Nord (Future Academic Leaders Nord) has now ended. Kristiina Tammimies from KBH participated and has brought valuable knowledge with her to her current and future leadership.

April 15 was the last day to apply for programmes starting in the autumn term 2024. By the end of the day, more than 23 000 people had applied for a programme or independent course at Karolinska Institutet. KI also achieved high rankings in a new survey on students' dream workplace.

Last Friday, 12 April, the internal investigators looking into the freezer malfunction that occurred in the Neo building over the 2023 Christmas break presented their report. The researchers and personnel most affected were invited to a staff meeting where, among others, Dean of KI South Matti Sällberg and Chief Security Officer Magnus Håkansson, who led the investigation, gave an account of their findings.

Hi Malin Aspö, doctoral student at the Division of Clinical Geriatrics. On May 3 you will defend your thesis "Life changing moments - transitions and critical points in young-onset dementia". What is the main focus of the thesis?

Bacterial meningitis is a devastating infectious disease because, even when cured, most survivors live with permanent neurological disabilities such as motor impairment, cognitive delay, hearing and vision loss, seizures, and psychiatric disorders, due to neuronal damage caused by the infection. Researchers at Karolinska Institutet have now revealed new insights into the mechanisms of bacterial brain invasion and neuronal damage during bacterial meningitis.

The SciLifeLab bioinformatics platform (NBIS) arranges weekly drop-in sessions, open for anyone doing academic research with questions about bioinformatics.

The theme was sustainability.
Deans of dental programmes, education and research managers from universities in Norway, Denmark, Finland and Iceland gathered for the second Nordic Dean Meeting here in Sweden. The programme included lectures on sustainability and group discussions that resulted in cross-border collaborations.

Professor Emeritus Gunnar Bjursell received the Bernadotte Award on 10 April. He is awarded the prize for his many years of research and major educational efforts on cultural engagement and its effects on the brain, well-being and health.

On April 1, Mattias Carlsten and his research group moved from Department of Medicine, Huddinge (MedH) to the Department of Laboratory Medicine (Labmed).

Microsoft recently adjusted the storage volume included in the user licences that apply to Swedish higher education institutions.

Several of KI’s programmes include on-site training as one of the teaching methods. On-site training is sometimes called VFU, which is the abbreviation of the Swedish term, and was previously known as clinical education. We asked two KI students, physiotherapy student Elin and psychology student Jonas, what it’s like to do on-site training and what to think about before going on your first placement.

Time flies and we are already halfway through the spring term 2024. Courses run as usual, although there is a new, minor involvement for MBB in the three-week course Medical Scientific Theory and Methodology in term 6 of the medical programme (Björn Högberg).

As the current Director of doctoral education at NVS, Erik Sundström, chooses to step down as Director, in connection with his retirement in August 2024, a new Director of doctoral education has now been appointed. It will be Ulrica Nilsson, professor at the Division of Nursing - who has been the deputy Director of doctoral education in recent years - who will now take on the role of Director of Studies. By her side, she will have Grégoria Kalpouzos, docent at the Department of ARC.

A lorry explodes on the E4 motorway, there is a fire at the Hovet arena, someone takes hostages at Tom Titts, there's an explosion at Arlanda - it all happens at the same time and the medical services in Region Stockholm have to deal with a large number of injured patients at once. Fortunately, it was all just an exercise. The exercise, which is part of the TKS course, now aims to be developed into a national course concept.

Thursday 21 March KI President Annika Östman Wernerson, Vice- President Martin Bergö and University Director Veronika Sundström, met with representatives from MBB to talk about the departments’ activities and on how we can strengthen our dialogue and cooperation going forward.

The Committee for Doctoral Education have revised the requirements for a PhD compilation thesis to be defended at KI. The new requirements allow the inclusion of more types of papers to be included in a PhD compilation thesis, while still requiring that at least two have been accepted for publication at the time the application for dissertation is sent in to the Dissertation Committee of KI. A new requirement that a description of how the PhD learning outcomes have been met, is also added.

Angelique has a background in KI, where she obtained her medical degree, her path has been paved through many years of clinical service at Karolinska University Hospital and she is a specialist in both gynecology & obstetrics and gyneoncology.

The American Society of Clinical Investigation, ASCI, has appointed Göran K. Hansson as an honorary member at the society's annual conference in Chicago.

The deadline for incoming fee-paying students to apply for accommodation from KI Housing is June 16.

Dr Joseph Kabatende is a Health Products and Regulatory Systems Specialist working for the WHO. He completed his PhD in 2023 from Karolinska Institutet, Sweden after defending his doctoral thesis entitled “Pharmacovigilance of Mass Drug Administration for Control of Schistosomiasis and Soil Transmitted Helminths in Rwanda".

This qualitative study aimed to investigate the implementation of, and satisfaction with, a telephone-based peer support program for new fathers.

A new handbook on interprofessional learning (IPL) is now available for healthcare professionals. The handbook can be used for guidance, both in daily work and in meetings with students.

On 12 April, the internal investigation into the freezer failure during the Christmas holidays in 2023 was presented in the Neo building at Karolinska Institutet. The investigation has been led by KI's head of security and it points to clear technical as well as organisational shortcomings. Taken together, a chain of these shortcomings caused the breakdown that led to the destruction of research material and the loss of years of research work. The inquiry recommends a number of measures.

Researchers’ Grand Prix is a competition that challenges researchers to present their research in the most comprehensible, captivating and inspiring way – in just four minutes. The competition will be held during the event "Forskarfredag" organized by Vetenskapens hus on September 27th.

Three researchers at Karolinska Institutet have been awarded the prestigious ERC Advanced Grant. ERC grants are the preeminent European grants for individual principal investigators. The researchers will each receive EUR 2.5 million over a five-year period.

Tips from KI Grants Office regarding current calls

For 2 years the Translational Seed Funding Grant 2023 will support the collaborative project between the Schulte lab at Fyfa and the research team of Prof Matthias Löhr at CLINTEC.

On April 22-24 IMM, together with the Swedish Chemicals Agency, will host an international meeting within the EU project PARC.

SJ will make a system change in its booking flow, and this affects several other operators and systems

When the QS World University Ranking by Subject for 2024 is published, KI retains its leading position among the world's and Europe's universities. Among other things, KI maintains its position as the EU's leading medical university.

Call for applications for the Santander International Exchange Grants

The Karolinska Stem Cell Organoids (KISCO) facility recently moved from Bionut to Labmed. The KISCO facility focuses on services related to human embryonic stem cells (hESC) and human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSC).

Researchers from the Institute of Environmental Medicine at Karolinska Institutet have found that low influence and opportunities for development at work (job control) and heavy physical workload are important explanatory factors for educational disparities in all-cause and heart disease mortality.

Drugs known as GLP-1 analogues have become increasingly popular to treat diabetes and obesity, but there have been concerns that they might increase the risk of thyroid cancer. Now an extensive Scandinavian study led by researchers at Karolinska Institutet has found no evidence of such a link. The study is published in The BMJ.

In the largest epidemiologic study to date of the risk of giving birth to a child with autism, ADHD or intellectual disability following acetaminophen use during pregnancy, researchers found no association. The study is now published in JAMA.

For heart attack patients, treating only the coronary artery that caused the infarction works just as well as preventive balloon dilation of the other coronary arteries, according to a new large study by researchers at Karolinska Institutet and others. The results are published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

Swedish Minister for Migration Maria Malmer Stenergard and Minister for Education Mats Persson visited Karolinska Institutet on 8 April to present a forthcoming investigation about the opportunities for foreign citizens to work and study in Sweden. KI welcomes the investigation, whose mission is in line with previously expressed views by the university, however KI emphasizes that changes are urgent.

Hi María Latorre Leal, doctoral student at the Division of Neurogeriatrics. On April 26 you will defend your thesis "The role of oxysterols in neurodegeneration : implications for cognitive function, maternal effects, and sex-specific differences". What is the main focus of the thesis?

Niklas Björkström's research group at the Department of Medicine, Huddinge (MedH) has conducted a study that provides new knowledge about how the immune system in the uterus works. This knowledge contributes to a better understanding of how pregnancy complications such as pre-eclampsia occur.

Half of all patients discharged from hospital after a heart attack are treated with beta-blockers unnecessarily. This is according to a new study published in the New England Journal of Medicine.
"I am convinced that this will influence future practice," says Tomas Jernberg, Professor at Karolinska Institutet and lead researcher of the study.

A recent study from the Institute of Environmental Medicine published in the Journal of Affective Disorders shows worrying trends in common mental illness among social workers in Sweden.

KI researcher, author and science writer Emma Frans has been awarded the 2024 Popular Science Prize from Natur & Kultur. She receives the award for her broad and lively communication of research and science. The prize money is SEK 250,000.

Welcome to Mu Nie's doctoral thesis defence at Karolinska Institutet on April 23.

People suffering from post-COVID have been discouraged from exercising because early observations suggested it could be harmful. In a study published in JAMA Network Open, researchers from Karolinska Institutet show that post-COVIDdoes not mean that exercise must be strictly avoided.

The Swedish Childhood Cancer Fund (Barncancerfonden) has decided to grant funding to eight research positions at KI for paediatric oncology research over the next two to six years. The goal is, among other things, to improve current treatment methods with the help of precision medicine that is based on the characteristics of the cancer and the individual child's genetics.