News archive

During January, NVS will move their BSL2 lab and BSL2/Isotope lab from floor 8 to floor 7 in Neo. They will also move their lab-offices down to floor 7.

Too little sleep during school days and poor sleep quality can be linked to an increased risk of depression and suicidal thoughts among middle school students, shows a study conducted at the National Centre for Suicide Research and Prevention (NASP).

KI researcher Birgitta Henriques Normark is a newly elected fellow of IVA (the Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences). IVA works to build bridges between academia, business and politics, and promotes people's ability to make a positive contribution to society through technical and economic sciences.

A group with broad expertise in the field of health crises, consisting of people from fifteen Swedish universities, gathered at Karolinska Institutet on Tuesday 5 December, when the Centre for Health Crises hosted a meeting about how universities can contribute before, during and after health crises. During the meeting, experiences were shared and the foundation was laid for a health crises network.

The Indian Embassy in Sweden is delighted to announce the registration for Swedish research delegation to India with a focus on life sciences is now open! The visit is planned from 11 to 13 March 2024 and further details about the registration and the delegation are below and on the attached invite.

The authors of KI's first Planetary Health Report Card (PHRC) are twelve students from KI's various educational programmes. The commitment comes from a common interest and concern for the environment, climate, and planetary health.

During October, KI together with Mayo Clinic organized an event designed to empower educators and learners to advance health professions education teaching and learning, through innovative use of generative AI. In the spirit of "We are better together" it was an opportunity to experiment with generative AI and together with 200 educators across the world co-constructe a repository of prompts.

Advice and suggestions on generative AI in teaching and assessment are now available. They can serve as a guide in questions related to the technology of generative AI.

THANK YOU to all 152 employees who responded to the spring survey on sustainable development with a focus on the environment and climate! Employees of different ages, professions, and positions and from all departments responded.

Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) is a common mental disorder, affecting around 20% of the population worldwide. Several causes that can lead to MDD, and patients display a wide range of symptoms as well as responses to treatments. This diversity makes it challenging to pinpoint the root causes, understand the underlying mechanisms, and tailor treatments effectively. Suicide is a pressing public health concern, impacting not only individuals living with MDD but also the general population.

The discoveries of Katalin Karikó and Drew Weissman made possible the first COVID-19 vaccine. But it was just one of the many things that can be done with mRNA, explained the Nobel laureates in Physiology or Medicine in their Nobel lectures.

On the 4th and 5th of December, national and international researchers, experts, and stakeholders met to listen to and discuss good examples of suicide prevention interventions within railbound traffic. The event was organized by the National Centre for Suicide Research and Prevention (NASP) at Karolinska Institutet and Region Stockholm.

A successful KI Alumni China Chapter 2023 networking event was arranged in Shanghai in November, gathering a large crowd from all over China.

Kaixuan Zhao at the research group Signal Transduction, the Department of Molecular Medicine and Surgery, will defend her thesis "The role of T-type calcium channels in human pancreatic β cell maturity" on December 15, 2023.

Main Supervisor is Shao-Nian Yang.

As previously announced, IMM received research grants during the autumn from, among others, Forte and AFA Insurance. New grants have now been received from The Swedish Research Council, The Swedish Cancer Society, The Swedish Heart Lung Foundation and FORMAS.

Newer diabetes medicines do not appear to increase the risk of birth defects. The largest comparative study to date found no increased risk compared to treatment with insulin, which is considered safe during pregnancy. The study was published in JAMA Internal Medicine.

A successful doctoral student and supervisor day was organized on the 23 November 2023 by FiH & PUF-V. Participants from various institutions and the research school in health science attended. The theme was generative AI and its implications on doctoral education

Successful SFO-V kick-off! Eight new fellows presented their research projects, received task information, and the SFO-V report was presented.

The Mälardalen Area Doctoral School in Healthcare Science (MoF-V) welcomed everyone to their kick-off event which took place on the 4th and 5th of December at the Clarion Hotel Sign, Stockholm.

On November 9, the seminar ”How can Sweden contribute to Global Neonatal Research” was organized on the initiative of Global Youth and Child Health, a section of the Swedish Paediatric Society and the Swedish Network for Global Child Health. Around 50 physical participants and up to 70 online with different engagements in global newborn health attended the seminar. From researchers and academics to clinicians working for NGOs and public health specialists participated.

Tigist Wodaje from the Endocrinology Unit at the Department of Medicine, Huddinge (MedH), is defending her thesis "Hereditary hypercholesterolemia and cardiovascular disease: functional and epidemiological aspects", on 14 December 2023. Main supervisor is Jonas Brink (MedH).

Congratulations to the six researchers from the Department of Medicine, Hudinge (MedH), who receive grants from the Swedish Heart Lung Foundation 2024-2026! Together they receive SEK 9 300 000 in grants.

Congratulations Christian Giske at the Department of Laboratory Medicine, who received funding from the Swedish Heart Lung Foundation 2024-2026.

Some people seem to age faster than others. Whilst “chronological age” describes the time that has passed since someone was born, “biological age” tells us how old their body appears. We can measure biological age using standard clinical data such as blood test results and blood pressure readings. Alternatively, we can measure biological age using information about DNA methylation, which are marks on our DNA that change over time.

A new method, developed at Karolinska Institutet, KTH Royal Institute of Technology and SciLifeLab, can identify unique immune cell receptors and their location in tissue, a study published in the journal Science reports. The researchers predict that the method will improve the ability to identify which immune cells contribute to disease processes and open up opportunities to develop novel therapies for numerous diseases.

A new study from Karolinska Institutet has found no evidence that a common drug used to protect the ovaries of women undergoing chemotherapy increases their chances of having children after cancer treatment. The study is published in eClinicalMedicine.

In December, Kenneth Chien is leaving his professorship in cardiovascular research after ten years at Karolinska Institutet. He will now devote himself wholeheartedly to developing new mRNA therapies in the biotechnology industry.

As part of the Nobel Week, KI students were invited to a lecture on Alfred Nobel and on Katalin Karikó and Drew Weissman, this year's laureates in Medicine or Physiology. Thomas Perlmann, secretary of the Nobel Assembly and the Nobel Committee, shared his experiences of both the nomination process and calling surprised laureates in the middle of the night.

Ann-Helen Patomella, senior lecturer, receives SEK 4,400,000 from the Kamprad Family Foundation for Entrepreneurship, Research & Charity for the project "Engagerande vardagsaktiviteter, livskvalitet och hälsosamt åldrande för hela befolkningen- Stroke prevention i primärvården" (Engaging everyday activities, quality of life and healthy ageing for the whole population - Stroke prevention in primary care). Congratulations!

Administrative news for staff and affiliates at the Department of Neuroscience (December 2023).

Hannes Asplund, Financial controller in the administraion team, is GPH's new health ambassador. The health ambassador acts as a link between GPH and KI's health promotion team aiming to encourage health initiatives and contribute to a healthy work environment. We asked our new Health Ambassador to share his best tips for creating a sustainable and healthy working environment.

We congratulate Daniel C Andersson, Johanna Lanner, Jon Lundberg, Carl Johan Sundberg, and Eddie Weitzberg, researchers at the Department of Physiology and Pharmacology (FyFa), for securing grants from the Swedish Heart Lung Foundation in 2023. In total SEK 5,9 million has been awarded the researchers at FyFa.

Carl Henrik Ek has recently been appointed visiting professor of AI/machine learning at the Department of Clinical Science and Education, Södersjukhuset (KI SÖS), Karolinska Institutet. To take advantage of the new technology, development must take place in synergy between mathematics, computer science and medicine, says Carl Henrik Ek, who also leads a research group in machine learning at the University of Cambridge, UK.

Congratulations to Principal researcher and research group leader Francois Lallemend, who has been appointed Professor of Neurobiology of Sensory Systems at the Department of Neuroscience at Karolinska Institutet from 1 December 2023.

Carsten Daub is newly appointed scientific director for SciLifeLab. He will act as the link for the collaboration between one of Sweden's largest research centers and Karolinska Institutet.

On 8 January, 2024, ten of KBH's research groups will move their lab operations from Bioclinicum to premises in Biomedicum.

Sverker Johansson, Division of Physiotherapy, receives SEK 1 115 318 in the call Clinical Therapy Research. He receives the grant for his project ”One size” passar ingen – utveckling av en personcentrerad adaptiv mobilhälsolösning för fysisk aktivitet efter stroke eller transitorisk ischemisk attack”. Congratulations!

Tips from KI Grants Office about current calls.

The use of AI makes it possible for women with a high risk of breast cancer to be identified in mammography screening examinations so that the cancer can be caught earlier. An international research group led from Karolinska Institutet in Sweden can now show that the method is effective in different European countries. The study is published in The Lancet Regional Health – Europe.

Eight researchers at the Department of Neuroscience have been awarded project grants from the Swedish Research Council in the category of medicine and health.

One year after the registration of the emergency contact (ICE) was made, an e-mail reminder should be sent out asking to update the contact(s) if necessary. The wrong e-mail message has now been sent out and the system provider is working to correct this. The e-mail message that has now been sent out is wrong and can be ignored.

At the end of November, Jenny Broman started as Financial controller at the Department of Medicine, Huddinge (MedH).

New search engine available in Canvas: Smartsearch.

The large number of external research grants this autumn give the researchers at the Department of Medicine Solna (MedS) the possibility to continue their important work and to start up new projects that will contribute to new knowledge benefitting development of medicine and the society.

Are you thinking about how to move forward in your research career? Working internationally and building networks can create new opportunities, says Cecilia Linde, Senior Professor.

This year's MedS Day, held on October 16, gave employees and affiliates at the Department of Medicine Solna a long-awaited opportunity to meet and take part in the department’s ongoing activities.

A new laboratory for MRI examinations was recently inaugurated at Karolinska University Hospital in Huddinge. The purchase of a new MRI scanner, following a donation from the Erling Persson Foundation, creates completely new opportunities for the Stockholm Region and Karolinska Institutet for both doctors and researchers.