News archive

In a new study in Nature Communications, researchers at Karolinska Institutet and the Institute for Basic Science in South Korea have shown how short-term expression of gene editing tools can be used to repair the mutation that causes progeria.

Björn Meister at the Department of Neuroscience is awarded the 2022 prize for his long-standing commitment to teaching at several of Karolinska Institutet's educational programmes.

Christine Reus at the research group Urology, Department of Molecular Medicine and Surgery, will defend her thesis "Rethinking the artificial urinary sphincter : from current knowledge to the development of a new smart device" on June 3, 2022. Main Supervisor is Pierre Mozer.

About half of the Swedish population feels a strong climate worry. This is normal because the climate threat is real, says researcher Fabian Lenhard, who is starting a study on climate change. The research project will be attempting to channel worry about climate change into sustainable development.

Researchers at Karolinska Institutet have identified a new vaccine candidate against pneumococci, bacteria that can cause pneumonia, sepsis, and meningitis. The vaccine molecules comprise nano-sized membrane vesicles produced by the bacteria and provide protection in mice, a new study published in PNAS reports.

Researchers from Karolinska Institutet identify an epigenetic regulator controlling the very first cell type specification in the human embryo. The study is published in Nature Cell Biology.

Researchers at Karolinska Institutet have developed an improved single cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) method to further enhance the ability to map cell types and genetic programs in health and disease. According to the researchers, the method, described in a paper in the journal Nature Biotechnology, offers a more affordable alternative to studying individual cells than current protocols without compromising data quality.

Bringing together expertise, offering attractive training and providing a hub for collaboration. This is the vision for the Stockholm Trio for Sustainable Actions - a new initiative from Karolinska Institutet, KTH and Stockholm University to further contribute to sustainable societal development.

Some 35 years ago Professor Göran K Hansson, his then graduate student Lena Jonasson, and colleagues discovered the presence of T lymphocytes in human atherosclerotic plaques. Their foundational observation set the stage for over three decades of sustained exploration of immunity and inflammation in atherosclerosis. This field has burgeoned, matured, and has reached the stage of clinical translation.

The nervous system is known to communicate with the immune system and regulate inflammation in the body. Researchers at Karolinska Institutet now show how electrical activation of a specific nerve can promote healing in acute inflammation. The finding, which is published in the journal PNAS, opens new ways to accelerate resolution of inflammation.

5-alpha-reductase inhibitors (5-ARIs), Finasteride and Dutasteride, are commonly used to treat lower urinary symptoms in older men with benign prostate hyperplasia. There has long been concern that these drugs may increase the risk of more aggressive forms of prostate cancer. In a new study recently published in JAMA Oncology, researchers at Karolinska Institutet found no increased risk of dying from prostate cancer for men treated with the drugs and lower risk with longer treatment duration.

What is your favourite memory from your time at KI? What are your plans after graduation? At KI more than a thousand students will be graduating this summer. We asked some of them to share their memories from their time as students and plans after graduation.

Friday May 20, doctoral student Daniel Helldén had his halftime seminar at the Department of Global Public Health. Using a Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Synergies Approach and interviews with stakeholders, Daniel aims to investigate the views and perceptions on the linkages between SDGs, different sectors and child health in Cambodia. Through machine learning, he also investigates non-health risk factors of morbidity from infectious diseases.

KI participates in Stockholm's Pride Parade on Saturday 6 August. Together with the Student Associations Medicinska Föreningen and Odontologiska Föreningen and a number of other universities in the Stockholm area, KI participates under the slogan Academic Pride. KI is now looking for two students who want to work during the day and support our participation in the parade.

A mobile app that shows a child's weight development in real-time for children with obesity provides greater weight loss compared to conventional care. The fact that both families and healthcare professionals can follow the same data facilitates individualised extra support when needed. This is shown by a study from Karolinska Institutet published in the International Journal of Obesity.

Researchers at Uppsala University and Karolinska Institutet are one step closer to explaining why COVID-19 patients have a substantially increased risk of blood clots. The study, published in Nature Immunology, shows that a gene variant in the innate immune system influences the risk for blood clots in the lungs of severely ill COVID-19 patients.

Partnership and cooperation are necessary to accelerate the work to achieve the global goals – and this is where academia plays an important role. This emerged during the seminar "New Partnerships for Human and Planetary Health" arranged by Karolinska Institutet, KTH and Stockholm University in May.

The Every Breath Counts Coalition Research Group is launching a PhD and early career researcher network to support emerging researchers working across any discipline in the area of pneumonia. The purpose is to promote networking and publish a monthly blog where early career researchers, and new research in the field are highlighted.

The Centre for Research on Health Care in Disasters has had three articles published so far during the month of May. One covers the development of quality assurance tools for ICUs in Lebanon, whilst the other looks at the experiences of moral challenges among disaster health care responders, and the consequences thereof. The third reviews autotransfusion in low income areas.

A new study from the Department of Neuroscience at Karolinska Institutet characterises a novel neuronal population in the basal ganglia, responsible for the interaction between two types of neurotransmitters, GABA and acetylcholine. The study was recently published in Cell Reports.

When others run away from bad things, Johan von Schreeb can be found dashing towards them. He has a wealth of experience in bringing order to chaotic situations – but as an administrator, he’s a complete disaster. Meet the professor who wants to control the health crises of the future.

Microscopic colitis is the most recently recognized inflammatory condition of the large intestine in which abnormal reactions of the immune system cause inflammation of the inner lining of the colon. At present, more than 10,000 people in Sweden are estimated to be living with the disease. Previously, insufficient awareness and knowledge of microscopic colitis have led to underdiagnosis of the disorder, leaving patients untreated.

Several high-profile cases of intimidation, harassment and imprisoned researchers demonstrate that academic freedom is under considerable pressure. In May 2022, KI highlighted the situation during the seminar "Academic freedom and international collaboration in a turbulent world."

Congratulations to researchers at the Department of Biosciences and Nutrition, Karolinska Institutet, who have received grants from "Henning och Johan Throne-Holst stiftelse" 2022.

For the first time, Swedish higher education institutions have conducted a joint national survey on the prevalence of gender-based and sexual harassment in the academic sector. The responses from a total of almost 39,000 employees and students show that young people, women and students (including doctoral students) are particularly at risk.

Now that the application and nomination deadlines have passed, the recruitment process for KI president has moved on to the interview stage.

On April 21, the 2nd Swedish Meeting for Alzheimer's Research was organized in Aula Medica by the Center for Alzheimer Research at NVS. In total, around 450 attendees participated, of which about 300 were researchers.

On Thursday, May 19, starting after 7 pm, an update will be made of ki.se incl. education.ki.se, staff.ki.se, nyheter.ki.se and kise-drupalkurs.ki.se. Visitors and editors will not be able to access the sites while the update is in progress.

EIT Health Scandinavia International has awarded SEK 23 million in research grants to support international collaboration in precision prevention in rheumatology, with almost half of the grant distributed to Karolinska Institutet and Region Stockholm. The scope of the project includes creating the conditions for the early diagnosis of risk factors for developing RA (rheumatoid arthritis) and enabling patients at risk of developing RA to manage the risk through lifestyle changes.

A doctoral thesis at Karolinska Institutet has investigated whether Acceptance Commitment Therapy (ACT) can be used for individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder. The results show that the treatment can be carried out in both a school environment and in psychiatric outpatient care and can have an effect on, among other things, perceived stress.

Using gene expression data from different cell types in the inner ear and brain, researchers have been able to identify the cell types that mainly contribute to hearing loss. The findings confirm that hearing loss does not derive from the brain but from a distinct compartment in the cochlea, called the stria vascularis, which is the “powerhouse” of the inner ear. The study has been published in the American Journal of Human Genetics.

Hi Pernilla Sönnerfors, PhD student at the Division of Physiotherapy, NVS. On June 17 you will defend your thesis ”eHealth support for physical activity and exercise training in people with COPD”, what's the main focus of the thesis?

The day before the UN’s Stockholm+50 international conference in early June, KI, Stockholm University, KTH Royal Institute of Technology and Stockholm Environment Institute are arranging a hybrid conference focusing on how scientists, academics and students can influence decision-makers and drive progress towards a sustainable society.

Heart progenitors spontaneously regenerate cardiac muscle via a tight junction “honeycomb” in salamanders. Whether there are endogenous adult heart progenitors that can replenish damaged muscle cells remained controversial.

Vaccines based on inactivated SARS-CoV-2 virus are commonly used in resource-poor countries due to their low cost. New research from Karolinska Institutet shows that a booster shot of mRNA vaccine to individuals who have received two doses of inactivated vaccine offers the same level of protection against COVID-19 as three doses of mRNA vaccine. The findings are published in the journal Nature Communications.

A new study shows that the menstrual phase has effects on the microbiome. “This will be very important for planning future studies, both in basic science and for interventions aiming to improve the vaginal microbiome”, corresponding author Ina Schuppe Koistinen at the Department of Microbiology, Tumor and Cell biology at Karolinska Institutet, says.

Six predictors could help determine the amount of lithium needed to treat patients with bipolar disorder, according to a large study led by researchers at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden. The study, published in the journal The Lancet Psychiatry, also pinpoints genetic markers that seem to influence how quickly the body eliminates lithium from its system.

Researchers at Karolinska Institutet, Germany’s Technical University of Munich (TUM) and AstraZeneca, among others, have identified a unique therapeutic approach with the potential to restore heart function following a heart attack. The new findings rely on so-called human ventricular progenitor (HVP) cells to promote novel heart tissue and reduce scarring after injury. This pre-clinical study is published in the journal Nature Cell Biology.

A team of scientists including at Karolinska Institutet has used mini-kidneys simulating those of diabetic patients to further our understanding of the link between diabetes and COVID-19. The researchers found that diabetic mini-kidneys have a higher susceptibility to SARS-CoV-2 infection than non-diabetic mini-kidneys. The study, which is published in the journal Cell Metabolism, also identified genetic evidence for the essential role of the ACE2 receptor in COVID-19.

Researchers at Karolinska Institutet have studied how the screen habits of US children correlate with how their cognitive abilities develop over time. They found that the children who spent an above-average time playing video games increased their intelligence more than the average, while TV watching or social media had neither a positive nor a negative effect. The results are published in the journal Scientific Reports.

Screen time is often associated with poor health in young people, but it is more complicated than that, say researchers. We are affected, but differently and not just negatively. What we do on our phones – and what we do when we are not using them – also plays a role in our well-being.

Hi Richeng Jiang, PhD student at the Division of Neurogeriatrics, NVS. On May 30 you will defend your thesis ”Interplay between autophagy and amyloid beta metabolism in Alzheimer’s disease”, what's the main focus of the thesis?

The pandemic still effects people around the world, but as restrictions are lifted, there are new challenges. At Karolinska Institutet, teachers are faced with hybrid teaching, researchers will return to previous research and students will find their way back to routines on campus. Here, they talk about the time before and during the pandemic and after restrictions were lifted.

The Doctoral Programme in Health Care Science (PUF-V) and the Research School in Health Science (FiH) recently welcomed Professor Andreas Gerber-Grote with colleagues and ten doctoral students from the School of Health Professions at the Zurich University of Applied Sciences (ZHAW). The purpose of the visit was to discuss collaboration in different areas of doctoral education, and to increase opportunities for internationalization.

Professor David Lane at the Department of Microbiology, Tumor and Cell Biology at Karolinska Institutet, has been elected to the National Academy of Sciences in the USA.

Researchers at Karolinska Institutet recently published a study in NPJ Biofilms and Microbiomes, that describes the findings of an enzyme that breaks down lipids.

Hi Andrea Porserud, PhD student at the Division of Physiotherapy, NVS. On June 3 you will defend your thesis ”Taking physical rehabilitation after abdominal cancer surgery further – by enhanced recovery and physical activity”, what's the main focus of the thesis?

Few physiotherapists provided rehabilitation services remotely to older adults or patients with neurological diseases during the pandemic, according to a new study from Karolinska Institutet published in BMC Health Services Research. The result sheds light on the importance of strengthening the expertise regarding remote rehabilitation services among physiotherapists, and to develop user-friendly digital tools for rehabilitation.

Researchers at Karolinska Institutet have mapped how the parasite Trypanosoma cruzi forms new variants that are more effective at evading the immune system and causing disease. Their findings can give rise to new methods for diagnosing, preventing and treating Chagas disease, which affects millions of people in Central and South America, causing thousands of deaths every year. The study is published in the journal eLife.

Hi Minh Tuan Hoang, PhD student at the Division of Clinical Geriatrics, NVS. On May 25 you will defend your thesis ”Health Inequalities in care for persons with dementia”, what's the main focus of the thesis?