News archive

The government decided on Thursday 16 February to appoint Annika Östman Wernerson president of Karolinska Institutet. She will assume office on 1 March 2023.

Thanks to donations from numerous actors, Karolinska Institutet is now able to create a new professorship in prevention medicine. The professorship is named after its patron, HRH Prince Daniel.

Many patients with the autoimmune disease ANCA-associated vasculitis (AAV) suffer a high risk of disease relapse despite treatment. KI researchers have now identified T cells that contribute to the destruction of kidney tissue in patients with AAV and suggest the possibility of T cell screening to identify individuals at high risk. The study was published in Kidney International.

Researchers from Karolinska Institutet have discovered that the genes encoding our T cell receptors vary greatly between persons and populations, which may explain why we respond differently to for example infections. The findings, presented in the journal Immunity, also demonstrate that some gene variants are inherited from Neanderthals.

Aristeidis Grigoriadis, from the Gastroenterology and Rheumatology Unit at the Department of Medicine, Huddinge (MedH) will defend his thesis "Magnetic resonance imaging as a tool for diagnosis, evaluation and prognosis in patients with primary sclerosing cholangitis" on February 17, 2023. Main Supervisor is Annika Bergquist (MedH).

Meet Elisabet Svenungsson, research group leader at the Division of Rheumatology, Department of Medicine, Solna.

When Harriet Nakigozi heard about the course “Managing innovation for sustainable health”, she was in the middle of her postgraduate studies. Despite that, she applied to join the course. It soon turned out to be the right decision as the two courses supported each other.

Following a request from KI's President, the Centre for Health Crises has produced the report Improved preparedness for the next health crises – lessons learned at KI during the COVID-19 pandemic. The report outlines the changes that were made and the lessons learned from the work KI did during the COVID-19 pandemic. It is now available to read online in its entirety.

The Centre for Health Crises at KI has published its first annual report, covering activities at the Centre during 2022. Since it is the centre's first year in operation, the report also outline the background to the establishing of the centre, the centre's organisational structure and introduces the staff.

The Swedish government is strengthening the work with dementia by allocating SEK 8 million in a new investment for strengthened elderly care. In this initiative, SveDem will be granted SEK 2.5 million in 2023 to develop the Swedish Register for Cognitive Diseases / Dementias (SveDem) and support the municipalities' improvement work in healthcare and care for people with dementia.

When Tewodros Seyoum wanted to improve his competence and leadership skills as a midwife, a KI education was the obvious choice. The training opened the door to a more active leadership style and knowledge that contributes to improving the Ethiopian healthcare system.

Patients with heart failure often suffer from co-morbidities, which places a great strain on the healthcare services, a multinational study published in Heart reports. The researchers, who are based at Karolinska Institutet, identify an urgent need to improve risk management of the disease.

Physical activity at the right time of the day seems able to increase fat metabolism, at least in mice. A new study from Karolinska Institutet in Sweden and the University of Copenhagen in Denmark shows that mice that did exercise in an early active phase, which corresponds to morning exercise in humans, increased their metabolism more than mice that did exercise at a time when they usually rest. The results are published in the journal PNAS.

Type 2 diabetes is a common disease, affecting 10 % of the adult world population, in which heredity and overweight are known risk factors. In a new study at Karolinska Institutet, researchers show that women and men with a predisposition to diabetes have different risk factors forecasting type 2 diabetes and prediabetes. The results were recently published in the journal Frontiers in Endocrinology.

The StratNeuro Bridging Grant at the consolidator level is a funding initiative where StratNeuro awards outstanding researchers in the field of neuroscience at Karolinsk Institutet, who have not been awarded the KI consolidator grant or equivalent, giving them the opportunity to consolidate their research.

The interplay between sex steroid hormones, psychiatric- and neurodevelopmental disorders and adverse behavioral outcomes is in focus in a new thesis from Karolinska Institutet.

Infants whose mothers have used snus (a moist oral tobacco product) during pregnancy run three times the risk of sudden infant death, according to a comprehensive registry study from Karolinska Institutet published in the journal Pediatric Research. The risk was much lower if the mother had stopped taking snus before the first antenatal visit. The researchers conclude that all types of nicotine products should be avoided during pregnancy.

A new semester means new plans for the student unions at Karolinska Institutet. The focus will, among other things, be to renovate the premises, expand the introduction weeks, and continue their work to make members feel at home.

The Ministry of Health and Social Affairs has decided on new appointments for all 14 members of the Government's Council on Geriatric Research and appointed Mats Thorslund as a new member. This means that NVS has four representatives on the council.

Are you interested to know what it's like to study abroad? Then you should check out the Study Abroad blog, where KI students share their lives as exchange students. New Zealand, London, and Spain are some of the places where the current KI students are spending this spring semester.

This year's first edition of Barnläkaren, the Swedish Paediatric Assosiaction's magazine, is published. The theme of the latest issue is global health and the Global Child Health and Sustainable Development Goals research team leader Tobias Alfvén was the guest editor. Download the paper to read about the research from the child health team members.

Minister for Education Mats Persson met researchers and students when he visited Karolinska Institutet on 1 February. Topics of discussion with the students included the conditions relating to clinical placements, student funding rules and the situation for overseas students and doctoral students. The researchers, for their part, talked about the progress being made in areas such as precision medicine and about KI’s preparedness for new health crises.

CAR T-cell therapy, a certain kind of cancer treatment in which the immune system’s T cells are programmed to attack tumour cells, is effective in mice with ovarian cancer, according to a study published in The Journal for ImmunoTherapy of Cancer. The researchers, who work at Karolinska Institutet, hope that the discovery will pave the way for a clinical trial to see how effective the treatment is for women with the disease.

PhD student Pradeepa Pushparaj, in Gunilla Karlsson Hedestam’s group at the Department of Microbiology, Tumor and Cell Biology, is the first author of a study recently published in Immunity. The study explains how antibody genes can influence the ability to make neutralizing antibodies to SARS-CoV-2.

There is currently no drug for treating non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, which affects many people with type 2 diabetes and which can result in other serious liver diseases. A study led by researchers from Karolinska Institutet has now identified a drug candidate for the treatment of fatty liver. The preclinical study, published in the Journal of Hepatology, indicates that an antibody that blocks the protein VEGF-B presents a possible therapeutic option for fatty liver disease.

Patients can experience 30 per cent fewer serious adverse reactions if their drugs are tailored to their genes, reports a study published in The Lancet. A European collaboration involving researchers from Karolinska Institutet suggests that a genetic analysis prior to drug therapy could significantly reduce suffering and healthcare costs.

ARFID is strongly influenced by genetic factors, according to a twin study examining this relatively new type of eating disorder. The study has been published in the journal JAMA Psychiatry by researchers at Karolinska Institutet.

Dariia Chernovska was following her dream, studying medicine at Bogomolets National Medical University in Kyiv, when Russia invaded Ukraine and she was forced to flee. Now she is carrying out an internship at the department of physiology and pharmacology in Daniel Andersson's lab and has her sights set on studying medicine at Karolinska Institutet in the autumn.

You can drown in someone's eyes, or they might burn a hole right through you. The gaze is a shortcut to people's inner world, something researchers try to exploit to learn more about, for example, autism.

Frailty can be defined as an aging-related syndrome of physiological decline, characterized by marked vulnerability to adverse health outcomes. It is becoming an important public health concern as the aging population increases.

Beta blockers, which are widely used to treat heart conditions and high blood pressure, are associated with a lower risk of being charged with a violent crime, according to a new register-based study from Karolinska Institutet and the University of Oxford. The results have been published in PLOS Medicine.

Hi Yang Gao, PhD student at the Division of Neurogeriatrics. On February 24 you will defend your thesis "Alzheimer Disease: Subcellular Aβ mechanisms and treatment strategies", what is the main focus of the thesis?

On January 26th, the Centre for Health Crises welcomed a distinguished panel of both national and international researchers and civil servants to the second KI Contributes seminar. The seminar featured short presentations and discussions around the complex issue of extreme heat, with a focus on how to shape and evaluate heat adaptation plans.

Two KI researchers – Simon Elsässer and Magda Bienko – have been awarded 2022 European Research Council (ERC) Consolidator Grants totaling four million euro (nearly 45 million Swedish kronor). The funds will support two ambitious basic research projects that aim to further our understanding of the complex nature of our cells.

The Swedish presidency of the EU began in the new year and so much is evident, especially when it comes to issues of healthcare. Anna Martling, chief physician and professor of surgery at Karolinska Institutet, will be leading the EU Cancer Congress, which kicks off in Stockholm on 1 February.

Anna Bergström is the new head of the Institute for Environmental Medicine (IMM).

In September 2O22 the HoliCare project was launched under the coordination of KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Sweden and gathering 14 partners across Africa and Europe including Karolinska Institutet. The project’s ambition is to tackle the challenge of diagnostics, treatment and prevention of Respiratory Tract Infections (RTIs), the leading cause of death in Low- and Middle-Income Countries (LMICs).

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a common neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by developmentally inappropriate levels of inattentiveness, hyperactivity, and impulsivity. Symptoms of ADHD often persist into adulthood and psychiatric comorbidities as well as adverse somatic outcomes can emerge across the lifespan.

Memories to cherish, new friends, and a fantastic experience. Aurora Hirvonen and Lorete Krasniqi are two KI students who went on exchange during their studies at KI. Their description of their respective exchange experience is inspiring and also award-winning. They recently got chosen for KI's best travel report 2021/2022.

Prostate cancer is a major global health concern and is the most common cancer-related cause of death in Sweden. Prostate cancer screening using PSA reduces prostate cancer mortality but also leads to significant overdiagnosis and overtreatment of low-risk cancers. The pathological evaluation of prostate biopsies determines the therapeutic course of treatment for prostate cancer patients.

Dads are more likely to feel depressed when their kids are toddlers if their coparenting relationships are poor in the months after birth, a new study by researchers at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden shows. The findings are published in the Journal of Affective Disorders.

Researchers from Karolinska Institutet have compared high dose exercise therapy versus low dose in patients with symptomatic knee osteoarthritis. The study published in the journal Annals of Internal Medicine show that both groups had similar results. However, high dose exercise therapy provided superior outcomes related to function in sports and recreation in the short term, with results subsiding after six months.

KI follows the national trend of more applicants to 2023 year’s international master’s educations compared to 2022.

On January 27 Emma Cedstrand presents her thesis "Evaluating occupational health interventions: design, implementation, and effects".

Karolinska University Hospital and Karolinska Institutet are creating Sweden’s first innovation environment for the development of precision medicine technologies. The decision to establish a join innovation environment for healthcare, research and precision medicine technologies in Solna and Huddinge is a vital step in growing the field of precision medicine.

Hi Sandra af Winklerfelt Hammarberg, PhD student at the Division of Family Medicine and Primary Care. On February 17 you will defend your thesis "Aspects of common mental disorders in primary care" what is the main focus of the thesis?

From January 1st, 2023, the Swedish government has changed the regulations regarding which categories of international students and researchers that may be offered accommodation from the universities.

Nataliia Petryk ran a private clinic in Kyiv helping women give birth when she was forced to flee Ukraine when Russia invaded her country. By following a call by the European Research Council for EU teams to take in Ukrainian scientists, she is now able to conduct research to prevent miscarriage at Karolinska Institutet. Her experience is an example of how science knows no borders.

Who actually needs protein shakes? Tommy Lundberg, researcher in physiology, clears up misconceptions about a controversial nutrient.

Welcome to Marcus Dahlquist's doctoral thesis defence on Friday 27 January 2023 at 9:00 in aulan, Danderyds hospital.