News archive

A new thesis from Karolinska Institutet advocates end-of-life care that prioritizes the highest possible quality of life, avoids unnecessary or preventable risks and respects patient wishes.

Meet Anna Smed Sörensen, research group leader at the Division of Immunology and Allergy, Department of Medicine, Solna.

Meet Johan Askling, research group leader at the Division of Clinical Epidemiology (KEP), Department of medicine, Solna.

A collaborative study involving researchers from Karolinska Institutet has charted the prevalence of severe physical symptom burden amongst Scandinavians for up to two years after a SARS-CoV-2 infection. Most affected were people who had a severe COVID-19 infection, while the researchers found no elevated prevalence of long COVID in those who had never been bedridden. The study is published in The Lancet Regional Health – Europe.

The EPIC project (Eukaryotic Post-TranscrIptional Code) has been awarded a ERC Synergy Grant of EUR 10 million to be shared by Vicente Pelechano, Karolinska Institutet, and his two partners Kevin Verstrepen, VIB-KU Leuven, Belgium, and Julien Gagneur, Technical University of Munich, Germany.

The project CartoHostBug (Funtional cartography of intestinal host-microbiome interactions) has been awarded an ERC Synergy Grant of EUR 10 million, which is shared between four researchers, among them Eduardo Villablanca, senior researcher at Karolinska Institutet. The aim of the project is to map how disturbances in the gut microbiome can lead to inflammatory bowel disease and colorectal cancer.

The project D2Smell (Digitising Smell: From Natural Statistics of Olfactory Perceptual Space to Digital Transmission of Odors) has been awarded an ERC Synergy Grant of EUR 11.8 million, which is shared between three researchers: Johan Lundström, Karolinska Institutet, Noam Sobel, Weizmann Institute of Science, Israel, and Jonathan Williams, Max Planck Society, Germany. The interdisciplinary collaboration aims to digitally transfer scents to recreate them in another location.

The Aging Research Center (ARC) is an interdisciplinary research centre established in 2000 by Karolinska Institutet and Stockholm University, and a division of the Department of Neurobiology, Care Sciences and Society at KI. ARC is now launching a new website which can be found at ki.se.

Times Higher Education in the UK has published its World University Rankings by Subject 2024, based on both hard data and reputation surveys. KI has improved its position in "Clinical and Health" both in Europe and globally.

Researchers from Karolinska Institutet, among others, have developed a prognostic model that identifies the children most at risk of severe RSV infection. The study, published in Lancet Digital Health, can show which children will benefit most from new methods to prevent a serious infection.

Karolinska Institutet organizes every fall an Installation Ceremony where new professors at KI are presented and academic prizes are awarded. Leader for the research group Global Child Health and the Sustainable Development Goals Tobias Alfvén was one of the 17 new professors that were ceremoniously installed at KI on 12 October.

KI researcher Carl Sellgren has been awarded the Bjarne Ahlströms Minnesfonds pris 2023 (Bjarne Ahlström Memorial Fund Prize 2023) for his research in clinical neurology and how the loss of synapses (contacts between cells) in the brain could be a possible cause of schizophrenia.

On a sunny afternoon in October, several hundred people gathered in the Aula Medica at Karolinska Institutet in Solna. Study participants in the extensive SNAC-K study had been invited by the Stockholm Gerontology Research Center foundation and Karolinska Institutet (KI) to hear about the latest research findings from the study.

In recent years, there have been rapid advancements in the field of computational pathology, which refers to the application of computational methods in pathology workflows. Traditional pathology involves the study of diseases by examining tissues, organs, and bodily fluids. In computational pathology, digital pathology images are analyzed using computer algorithms to extract meaningful information.

Max Gordon, Associate Professor at the Department of Clinical Sciences, Karolinska Institutet, and Chief Physician at Danderyd Hospital, is awarded for his research on artificial intelligence (AI) in healthcare. The Swedish AI of the Year award (Årets AI svensk) is presented to a person who has contributed to the development and visibility of Swedish AI.

Maria Creignou from the Hematology Unit (HERM) at the Department of Medicine, Huddinge (MedH) is defending her thesis: "Improving prognostication for patients with myelodysplastic syndromes" on 27 October 2023. Main supervisor is Professor Eva Hellström Lindberg (MedH).

Taking place in Stockholm on 11-12th October the ENBEL transdisciplinary conference brought together researchers, policy makers, NGOs and private sector representatives to present and discuss climate change effects on health, as well as adaptation, societal consequences, and opportunities for climate resilient development. One of the main objects of the EU-funded project is to enhance collaboration between health, environmental and climate research.

Hi Lisa Herulf Scholander, doctoral student at the Division of Occupational Therapy. On November 10 you will defend your thesis ”Narrative relations: resources for meaning-making and person-centred practices in geriatric care”. What is the main focus of the thesis?

Professor Lisa Juntti-Berggren at Karolinska Institutet is awarded the Swedish Society of Medicine's Jubilee Prize 2023 for her studies on Apolipoprotein CIII and diabetes mellitus. The awardee is rewarded with SEK 150,000 and the SLS centenary medal in silver.

A training programme hosted by KI and partners in Kenya, Malawi, Ethiopia and Uganda has led to concrete changes at policy level and on the ground. “It is having a huge impact”, says Dr. Miriam C.A. Wagoro, Associate Professor at the University of Nairobi in Kenya and part of the coordinating committee.

Researchers at Karolinska Institutet and KTH Royal Institute of Technology have developed a microscale device for implantation in the eye, which presents new opportunities for cell-based treatment of diabetes and other diseases. The study is published in the journal Advanced Materials.

We congratulate Virginia Stone, who has been awarded the 2023 Johnny Ludvigsson Prize for Younger Childhood Diabetes Researchers in Sweden.

A new thesis from Karolinska Institutet focuses on cancer prevention by investigating the factors and outcomes associated with false-positive mammography recalls, a fairly common event where women are called back for additional tests after an initial screening, but no cancer is detected during the follow-up. A second aim of the thesis was to further our understanding of the association between breast cancer risk factors in women and cancer risk among their relatives, particularly sisters.

KI and Karolinska University Hospital have signed a memorandum of understanding with Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, one of Europe’s largest and most eminent university hospitals and medical universities. The signing of the MoU intensifies cooperation between the organisations.

First the hot dogs – then the diplomas, speeches, fanfares and applause. Tradition prevailed on 12 October as 17 new professors were ceremoniously installed at KI.

The survival rate in lung cancer has increased considerably, albeit from low levels. Oncologist Simon Ekman wants to contribute to better treatments in the future by studying two problems in lung cancer: drug resistance and brain metastases.

Global Child Health and Sustainable Development Goals group member Anna-Theresia Ekman had her halftime seminar October 9 for her PhD project titled: Prevalence, associated risk factors, and early detection of developmental delay and disabilities among young children living in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Tobias Alfvén researches to improve the health of the world’s children. His research ranges from studies on clinical improvements to organisational issues on how to conduct development collaborations in society.

The immune system of individual organs may be something entirely different from the immune system that circulates the blood. Niklas Björkström is conducting research into the immune system of, among other things, the liver and the uterus.

Computer games and social media are designed to draw us in and keep us engaged – something that can be particularly difficult for people with neuropsychiatric disorders. Lisa B. Thorell researches ADHD and the link between digital media and mental health problems.

Peter Bergman is charting mechanisms of the nonspecific immune system and the genetics behind immunodeficiency diseases. His research on endogenous antibiotics can give rise to new treatments to combat multidrug-resistant bacteria.

Mattias Lissing from the Gastroenterology and Rheumatology Unit, at the Department of Medicine, Huddinge (MedH) is defending his thesis: "Liver transplantation, cancer risk and comorbidity in acute porphyria" on 20 October 2023. Main supervisor is Staffan Wahlin (MedH).

On October 5, the Department of Global Public Health at Karolinska Institutet organized a roundtable discussion on the political economy of adolescent mental health and well-being in Sweden. Around thirty key stakeholders contributed to an afternoon of discussion, insightful perspectives and to building bridges for collaboration.

It began with a text message in the early hours of the morning. A few hours later he was on a plane to Morocco, reading the first reports and trying to start a secondary data analysis of the situation. Within the 48 hours after the earthquake, he was in the most affected region. He had barely gotten back from that mission, when he was asked to go to Libya and to do the same thing all over again, this time in a heavily flooded town.

Chewing gum, acupressure, vaccine. There have been numerous attempts to stop nausea. We have interviewed the researchers who are examining an important revolutionary mechanism that makes us feel sick.

A team of researchers from Karolinska Institutet and University of Glasgow has developed a new test that can accurately measure biological aging in a clinical setting. The discovery was made while studying patients for the aging effects of chronic kidney disease.

In two parallel projects, researchers at Karolinska Institutet have been involved in creating the most comprehensive atlases of human brain cells to date. The two studies, which are published in Science, provide clues on different brain diseases and give hope for medical advancements in the future, such as new cancer drugs.

Mattias Günther, an anaesthetist at Södersjukhuset and researcher at Karolinska Institutet, is interviewed in Radio Sweden P1's Kropp och Själ (Body and Soul) and explains, among other things, how to stop heavy or hard-to-reach bleeding using a balloon called REBOA.

Occupational exposure limits (OELs) for chemicals are based on 8 hours of work per day, 5 days per week, day time. However, many people have ”unusual” working hours, i.e. work more than 8 hours per shift, more than 40 hours per week, or at night. The Nordic Expert Group (NEG) has reviewed the scientific support for combined effect of unusual working hours (shift work or extended working hours) and chemical exposure.

Marcus Carlsson is using magnetic resonance imaging in cases of heart failure – to understand the disease better in all its forms and to match the right treatment to the right patient.

Hi there Federico Triolo! You are soon to defend your thesis entitled "Depression and chronic diseases in old age: understanding their interplay for better health". What is the main focus?

In his research, Ulrik Kihlbom dissects ethical healthcare issues, often those concerning the patient perspective and powers of decision-making, as a means of improving healthcare guidelines.

With only six years left until 2030 when the Sustainable Development Goals are to be achieved, this year's Sustainability Forum was organised with a focus on the role of universities in sustainability work. The organisers were the University Alliance Stockholm Trio. 

Dementia diseases cost society around SEK 80 billion per year, according to Linus Jönsson’s calculations. With his research on health economics, he hopes to help make the utilisation of healthcare resources as effective as possible.

Anders Svenningsson has laid the groundwork for the evidence-based use of the substance rituximab in the treatment of MS, leading to better health for the patients and lower costs for society.

Studying signalling within cells can predict the risk of adverse drug reactions of novel obesity and type II diabetes treatments before they reach the patient, according to a new study from Karolinska Institutet published in Nature Communications.

KI researchers Gunnar Nilsson and John Skår are awarded this year's silver medal. The medal is awarded to people who have made excellent efforts in support of KI's activities. The researchers will receive their medals at the ceremony for Diligence and Devotion in February 2024.

Karin Jensen uses brain imaging to understand why chronic pain occurs and what happens in the body when placebo, the patient's positive expectations, affect the outcome of a treatment.

Volker Lauschke uses three-dimensional models of human organs to study drug candidates and disease mechanisms. The models are called spheroids and when combined can provide answers as to how organs influence each other in health and disease.

Treatments that boost the immune system help some cancer patients, but not others. Andreas Lundqvist researches the causes of these differences in order to help make existing therapies more effective and to enable the development of new ones.