News archive

The 5D Heart Patch Project, led by Prof Kenneth Chien, has identified human ventricular progenitor (HVP) cells that can create self-assembling heart grafts in vivo. The research has the potential to offer hope to millions of people suffering from heart failure.

Tips from KI Grants Office about current calls.

A hitherto unknown mechanism for DNA folding is described in a study in Nature published by researchers from Karolinska Institutet and the Max Planck Institute for Biophysics. Their findings provide new insights into chromosomal processes that are vital to both normal development and to prevent disease.

Close on 500 colleagues in the cancer field from Karolinska University Hospital and Karolinska Institutet gathered in Aula Medica during this year’s Karolinska CCC conference on 30–31 March. Also attending were Sahlgrenska CCC and Skåne CCC.

A new Swedish biobank act comes into force on July 1. It is expected to make it easier for researchers to use biobanks – i.e. collections of samples of human and fetal tissue – and to collaborate.

Scheduled maintenance work for IDAC on April 20, between 12:00 and 22:00 will take place.

During this day, it will be possible to search for employees / students and use the "Reset password" service in the IDAC portal. Please, we do not ask you to use the remaining services in the IDAC portal between 13:00 and 22:00.

In a Swedish systematic review published in Acta Paediatrica, researchers from Karolinska Institutet, University of Gothenburg, Umeå University, and the Swedish agency for health technology assessment and assessment of social services, mapped the current knowledge of hormonal treatment in youths <18 years with gender dysphoria.

University of Rwanda and the Swedish Embassy in Kigali celebrated 20 years of cooperation. At the three day-celebration in Rwanda were representatives from the University of Gothenburg, Chalmers University of Technology, Uppsala University among others. Following the celebration, KTH held a two-day workshop as a kickoff for expanded and deepened cooperation under a new agreement that was signed. Stefan Swartling Peterson and Giulia Gaudenzi report from their trip to Rwanda.

This is a short report from the project team working on the implementation of KI RIMS. The posts are aimed at those who are interested in the work of adapting the product Elements from Symplectic to KI's requirements and conditions and want to follow the development process.

Welcome to Singapore 22-25 November 2023 and get the latest research from the International Association for Dental Research Southeast Asian Division and the International Oral Health Consortium (The University of Hong Kong, Karolinska Institutet, National Dental Center Singapore, Nanyang Technological University, University of Melbourne, Tohoku University).

Come along and submit your research contribution for oral and poster presentation!

Veronika Sundström is Karolinska Institutet’s new university director as of 17 April. Her job is to lead KI’s central administration consisting of ten offices and over 500 staff. The president, vice-president and university director together comprise the university’s senior management.

Jelena Misic, PhD in Nils-Göran Larsson Group at the Department of Medical Biochemistry and Biophysics at Karolinska Institutet, has been selected to participate in the Lindau Nobel Laureate Meetings in June 2023. Jelena studies different aspects of mitochondrial gene expression in mammals.

In a nationwide Swedish study of 207 births to women with an earlier diagnosis of colorectal cancer (CRC), researchers found an increased risk of both maternal and neonatal adverse outcomes. The study was published in eClinicalMedicine and is a collaboration between Washington University in St Louis and Karolinska Institutet.

This newsletter is primarily addressed to doctoral students. The purpose is to inform about news and practical details regarding doctoral education at KI.

In a recently published article published in Nature Reviews Drug Discovery, Professor Yihai Cao’s research group at the Department of Microbiology, Tumor and Cell Biology, charts the information about drug development for the treatment of a number of human diseases by targeting new blood vessel formation.

Welcome to register your interest in becoming a supervisor to a research-interested high school student during the summer of 2023 (26 June – 28 July). Doctoral students who register their interest are presumed to have made an agreement with his/her supervisors and research group leader.

The newborn care researchers in the team Global Child Health and Sustainable Development Goals, have visited research colleagues at the Phu San Hospital in Hanoi, Vietnam. The visit included meetings with the director and vice-director of Phu San, Dr Nguyen Duy Anh and Dr Nguyen Thi Thu Ha, visits to hospital departments, presentation of ongoing and upcoming research, workshops, simulation trainings and planning of studies including the NeoSpirit project and future Vietnamese PhD candidates.

Predictions are becoming more and more a part of our lives, and they are becoming increasingly useful in medical science as the science evolves. Increased understanding of disease and its treatments allows us to use predictions based on predictive biomarker signatures to optimize treatment outcomes for increasingly specific subject groups.

Early diagnosis and treatment of Alzheimer’s disease requires reliable and cost-effective screening methods. Researchers at Karolinska Institutet have now discovered that a type of sugar molecule in blood is associated with the level of tau, a protein that plays a critical role in the development of severe dementia. The study, which is published in Alzheimer's & Dementia, can pave the way for a simple screening procedure able to predict onset ten years in advance.

Deadline for applications: 25 April, at 2 p.m.

Do you want to contribute to hands-on, interactive activities during Researchers’ night (ForskarFredag) in Stockholm on 29 September? ForskarFredag is an opportunity for the general public (primarily students from high school) to meet scientists.

On 15 March, 2023 we announced for a coordinator to lead Labmed's redeployment of localities within ANA Futura in connection with new research groups moving in.

The risk of developing cardiovascular disease is lower in people with obesity who have a genetic predisposition for high BMI than people with obesity influenced mainly by environmental factors such as lifestyle, researchers from Karolinska Institutet report in eClinicalMedicine.

Currently, there are problems with accessing the personnel applications in VIS (https://vis.ki.se)

Troubleshooting is ongoing at the supplier.

Tips from KI Grants Office about current calls.

In March 2023 the Department of Medicine, Huddinge (MedH) hosted a successful visit by teachers from the College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Bahir Dar University, Ethiopia, as part of the teacher exchange within the Linnaeus-Palme Programme.

In an experimental study published in Science Signaling, researchers at the Department of Physiology and Pharmacology have studied basic mechanisms for cellular communication along a highly conserved pathway that regulates embryonic development and stem cell regulation. Based on the published data, we have already created new biosensors that present important tools for future drug development efforts and molecular screening.

The web page Research Support & Services has recently been developed to provide an overview of the support and specialised competences available to all researchers, both at their departments and at other units at KI.

The group of expert coordinators at the Centre for Health Crises keeps growing. The expert coordinators manage the work that is done within their field of expertise. The latest area of expertise to be added to the Centre is laboratory and diagnostic preparedness, with Jessica Alm as expert coordinator.

Same support, different name. The Student Health Centre at Karolinska Institutet has been renamed Student Wellbeing Centre to better reflect the services they provide.

While the work is in progress, an elevator will be used, but shorter interruptions may occur when switching or if technical faults occur temporarily.

Welcome to Kristina Linkyte - new Financial controller at the Department of Medicine, Huddinge (MedH). Kristina is part of the Economy team at the Central Administration at C2:94 in the Karolinska University Hospital in Huddinge.

Deadline for applications: 1 June at 2 p.m.

“We’re delighted, and the VR’s rating gives us even more leverage for our work,” says Anders Gustafsson, former vice president of KI, who has helped lead the work on the national evaluation of the quality of clinical research that has now been published by the Swedish Research Council (VR). The ALF evaluation is based on the agreement that regulates KI’s collaboration with Region Stockholm on medical training, clinical research and care development.

The StratNeuro Start-up Grant is intended to support outstanding Neuroscience researchers at the beginning of their careers, who have received a Vetenskapsrådet (VR) starting grant or a Karolinska Institutet faculty-funded assistant professor grant.

Region Stockholm has been given a high-quality rating by the Swedish Research Council (VR) in its evaluation of the quality of clinical research and how it is transformed into patient and societal benefit. The evaluation is important in many respects, including to the distribution of government ALF (Agreement on Clinical Research and Training) funds.

Acetylcholine regulates blood flow, but the source of blood acetylcholine has been unclear. Now, researchers at Karolinska Institutet have discovered that certain T cells in human blood can produce acetylcholine, which may help regulate blood pressure and inflammation. The study, which is published in PNAS, also demonstrates a possible association between these immune cells in seriously ill patients and the risk of death.

Tips from Grants Office regarding current calls

Congratulations to all our newly admitted master students at KI.

Elin Larsson has been appointed to the Scientific and Technical Advisory Group (STAG) to the HRP, i.e. the UNDP/UNFPA/UNICEF/WHO/World Bank Special Programme of Research, Development and Research Training in Human Reproduction.

We are looking for respondents for interviews about faculty’ experiences of active student participation in online doctoral courses during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Three professors at Karolinska Institutet – Gonçalo Castelo-Branco, Maria Eriksson and Björn Högberg – have been awarded ERC Advanced Grants, one of the most prestigious and competitive EU funding schemes. The funds, totaling more than 8 million euros, will support the use of innovative basic research methods to further our understanding of disease mechanisms and the tiniest building blocks of DNA.

At KI, it is possible to establish research centres within special research areas. As from 1 March 2023, there are new guidelines and instructions for the formation and management of internal research centres and research centres controlled by KI.

Some employees see temporary files in OneDrive after moving from the home directory (H:).

Inspiration day for all employees on the theme "Balancing a changing and challenging world".
The day begins with a few words from the University Management followed by lectures on the theme by researchers at KI

The FM newsletter is sent to all employees working in Biomedicum about twice a semester and includes news from the Facility Management. 

In order to make the FM service even more efficient we have created a new team, Team Laboratory Service. Johanna Steen is head of the new team which is divided in two groups: Laboratory safety and Dishwashing and sterilization facility.

Meet our new co-worker Helena Hatziantoniou, responsible for the Supply Center in Biomedicum.

Alzheimer’s disease is the most prominent cause of dementia affecting millions of people worldwide. As the changes in the brain function starts 10-20 years before the clinical onset of Alzheimer’s disease, there is a strong interest in the identification of early markers that can be predictive of future mental health/cognitive decline. This may be something that some KI researchers are on the lookout for. Their latest study is now published in Nature Reviews Neurology.

Mareia Talvitie at the Vascular Surgery research group, Department of Molecular Medicine and Surgery, will defend her thesis "Abdominal aortic aneurysms : sex and gender disparities in surveillance, treatment and outcome" on March 31st, 2023.
Main Supervisor is Rebecka Hultgren.