News archive

On August 27th, new international students, students at the global programs, and exchange students at Karolinska Institutet were invited to a Digital Introduction Ceremony which was broadcast live from Aula Medica in Solna.

The Nature Communications Editors’ Highlights webpage showcases a small number of articles recently published in the journal that the editors believe are particularly interesting or important, on Multidisciplinary, Life Science and Physical Sciences research.

Prolonged exposure to air pollution can be linked to an increased risk of stroke and coronary heart disease, even when levels are below the limits specified by the EU and WHO. This has been shown, among others, by researchers at Karolinska Institutet and Helmholtz Zentrum München in a large European study published in The Lancet Planetary Health.

On 8 September, the German President, H.E. Frank-Walter Steinmeier and H.M. King Carl XVI Gustaf visited Karolinska Institutet and Karolinska University Hospital.

Unfortunately, there have been a number of thefts both from the bicycle garage and from other places in Biomedicum during the past month.
We therefore ask you to think about locking your bikes and electric scooters properly, to not leave any valuables in the open, and
call the Biomedicum security guard if you see anything suspicious or someone unauthorized in the building.

After several years of planning and construction, 316 new apartments are now ready for researchers and students at KI to move into. Collins Santhansamy is one of the newly arrived students at KI Residence Solna.

In this consensus article, Federico Pietrocola, at the Department of Biosciences and Nutrition, KI, and colleagues explore the pathophysiological relevance of autophagy in human illnesses, while highlighting the therapeutic potential of autophagy-centred strategies in the clinic. This article represents a remarkable collective effort by the international autophagy community, serving a guide for basic and clinical scientists to get more insights on this fascinating process.

Neuroblastoma is a type of childhood cancer that develops in infants and young children. Whilst it is a relatively rare form of cancer, it is still responsible for approximately 15 percent of all cancer deaths in children. In a new study published today in Nature Communications, researchers at Karolinska Institutet have discovered that low-risk and high-risk neuroblastoma have different cell identities, which can affect the survival rate.

We are looking for you, who want to coordinate the pick‐up service i.e. giving international students a good first welcome to KI!

The Animal Rights Alliance (Djurrättsalliansen) is currently running a campaign to “retire” five monkeys used for research at KI. The campaign includes appeals on social media and distribution of leaflets on the Solna campus. KI uses monkeys for medical research, such as that conducted for vaccine development, when no other options are available.

Due to the difficult situation in Afghanistan, Karolinska Institutet is now starting a fundraiser to provide Afghan researchers with the opportunity to conduct their research at KI. This is being done through a collaboration with the Scholars at Risk (SAR) network.

For the spring term 2022, the alternative selection for the medical programme (PIL), which has been cancelled for the past three terms due to the corona pandemic, is being reintroduced. However, the number admitted via PIL will be lower compared to a typical admissions cycle.

Gonçalo Castelo-Branco at the Department of Medical Biochemistry and Biophysics (MBB) at Karolinska Institutet, receives the 2021 Eric K. Fernström prize for young, especially promising and successful researchers, for his significant research in the oligodendrocyte/myelin field and multiple sclerosis.
Note that the prize 2020 was advanced to 2021.

This year’s Grand Silver Medals are awarded to professors Gunnar Grant and Rune Toftgård. The medal recognises excellence in support of Karolinska Institutet and is awarded during the installation ceremony in Aula Medica on October 14.

The Swedish Panel Study of Living Conditions of the Oldest Old – SWEOLD – was conducted for the first time in 1992. The aim was, and still is, to investigate what the living conditions of the population over 75 years of age look like in today's Sweden and what changes have taken place in recent years. The researchers behind the study can now describe developments over the past 30 years, a period during which there have been clear changes in welfare.

Screening for atrial fibrillation in 75- and 76-year-olds could reduce the risk of stroke, severe bleeding and death, according to a study at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden that has been published in the journal The Lancet.

Researchers at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden can now report the results of a unique pilot project where drones were used to deliver defibrillators to real-life alerts of suspected cardiac arrest. The drones were dispatched in more than a fifth of the emergencies and arrived on target and ahead of the ambulance in most cases. The results are published in the European Heart Journal and presented today at the European Society of Cardiology congress.

Hi there, Ceren Emre, PhD student at the Division of Neurogeriatrics! On September 1 you will defend your thesis ”Resolving inflammation - analysis of mechanisms in relation to Alzheimer pathology and aging”. What is the main focus of your thesis?

High-throughput omics technology has revolutionized biological and biomedical research and large volumes of omics data have been produced. For this, computational tools to manage and analyze the omics data have been developed and there are big challenges in how to process and interpret the omics data in the best way. Wenjiang Deng has worked to develop novel statistical methodologies and algorithms for omics data analysis, using both simulated and real cancer data to test the methods.

Emma Andersson, senior researcher at the department of Cell and Molecular Biology, and Karin Mangold, PhD student, have recently published an article in Cell Reports Methods in which they developed a new technique to reduce the use of mice and to get faster results.

Patients with chronic rhinosinusitis sometimes suffer from the growth of polyps in the nasal cavity. These polyps are difficult to treat and often require surgical intervention. Even after removal by surgery, polyps can return and present a significant health burden for patients.

In a week, the autumn term will begin and Karolinska Institutet welcomes back both new and returning students to campus.

Andreas Jangmo has looked at Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), which is a common childhood-onset developmental disorder in some 5-7% of all children, to find out more about the outcomes later in life. He has focused on school performance and occupational outcomes. He has also studied how school performance is affected by pharmacological treatment, and how educational attainment (e.g., university completion) affects occupational outcomes.

Researchers at Karolinska Institutet have identified eight primary factors that increase the risk of a common bleeding complication after heart attack. Some of these factors are already known, but using machine learning techniques, the researchers have found additional predictors, such as smoking, blood pressure and blood glucose.

Assistant professor Nicolas Pillon at the Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, has been awarded the prestigious Novo Nordisk Foundation Future Leaders Award from the European Foundation for the Study of Diabetes (EFSD).

In a nationwide study of more than 44,000 patients with celiac disease and 412,000 individuals with a normal small intestinal mucosa, researchers at Karolinska Institutet, Sweden, Calgary University in Canada, Columbia University and the Mayo Clinic in the Unites States, examined the incidence of celiac disease over a 25-year-period and the role of celiac disease awareness. The findings have now been published in the journal Gut.

In the overall, annual ranking of the world universities in ARWU (Academic Ranking of World Universities – also called the Shanghai ranking), published in mid-August, Karolinska Institutet ranks at position 42 (45 the year before).

Fyfa professor Magnus Ingelman- Sundberg has been appointed honorary doctor at the University of Southern Denmark.

Assistant Professor Rongrong Fan at the Department of Biosciences and Nutrition is among the 4 grantees in Europe who have received 5 million DKK for 5 years from the EFSD / Novo Nordisk Future Leaders Award program in 2021. This highly competitive grant supports young and promising researchers of excellence who wish to further develop their career in Europe to investigate the mechanisms of diabetes.

Thomas Hatschek, Associate Professor at the department of Oncology-Pathology together with colleagues has recently published an article in JAMA Oncology where they show that a new treatment for breast cancer with an antibody linked to a cytotoxic drug is as good as the previous combination, but with less side effects.

Welcome to the second edition of Stockholm Skillbridge, the case competition where Sweden's top-tier schools within medicine, communication, engineering, and economics solve problems together.

Assistant Professors Nicolas Pillon at Department of Physiology and Pharmacology and Rongrong Fan at Department of Biosciences and Nutrition have both been awarded the 2021 Future Leaders Award by EFSD (European Foundation for the Study of Diabetes)/Novo Nordisk Foundation. This is a competitive 5-year grant to support PIs to become future leaders in diabetes research.

Congratulations to Marco Gerling, Andreas Lennartsson and Staffan Strömblad at the Department of Biosciences and Nutrition (BioNut), who have received the Translational Seed Funding grant / Blue Sky Research grant from Cancer Research KI.

This year Ulf von Euler lecture; "Molecular genetic studies of central nervous system vascular development and disease" is held by Professor Jeremy Nathans, Professor of molecular biology and genetics, neuroscience and ophthalmology at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine (Baltimore, MD. USA). He is also a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator.

Hi there, Elin Jakobsson, PhD student at the Division of Occupational therapy! On September 1 you will defend your thesis ”Voices in the wake of eHealth: older adults’ and occupational therapists’ perceptions of using information and communication technology”. What is the main focus of your thesis?

Researchers at Karolinska Institutet recently reported that magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) could reduce overdiagnoses and thereby improve prostate cancer screening. Now, the same research group has published a study in The Lancet Oncology, which shows that the addition of a novel blood test, the Stockholm3 test, can reduce the number of MRIs performed by a third while further preventing the detection of minor, low-risk tumours.

Researchers at Karolinska Institutet, the German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE) and Columbia University Irving Medical Center have found an unexpected link between spinal locomotor network activity and adult neurogenesis in the adult zebrafish spinal cord. The study has recently been published in Nature Communications.

Haohao Wu is awarded the prize for her thesis "The molecular basis of the development and diversity of proprioceptive neurons: a story of surviving and thriving”.

The discovery that the anaesthetic ketamine can help people with severe depression has raised hopes of finding new treatment options for the disease. Researchers at Karolinska Institutet have now identified novel mechanistic insights of how the drug exerts its antidepressant effect. The findings have been published in the journal Molecular Psychiatry.

It is well known that fat cells can influence our sensitivity to insulin. Now, researchers at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden have discovered that there are three different subtypes of mature fat cells in white adipose tissue and that it is only one of these, called AdipoPLIN, that responds to insulin. The findings may be relevant for future treatments of metabolic diseases such as Type 2 diabetes.

Here you will find some pictures from the get-together for doctoral students within health and health care sciences on October 7, 2021 organized by PUF-V and FiH. The purpose of the day was that the doctoral students and the supervisors would meet.

Gunnar Schulte, professor in receptor pharmacology at FyFa was interviewed by Dr Yamina Berchiche earlier this year in the podcast Dr. GPCR.

Spider silk is one of the strongest materials available and researchers have long tried to develop artificial spider silk, for example, for medical and industrial use. In a study published in Materials Today, researchers at Karolinska Institutet and Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU – Sveriges lantbruksuniversitet) have now developed spider silk that can be produced in larger volumes without strong chemicals.

Patients with vitamin D deficiency who received vitamin D supplements had a reduced need for pain relief and lower levels of fatigue in palliative cancer treatment, a randomized and placebo-controlled study by researchers at Karolinska Institutet shows. The study is published in the scientific journal Cancers.

For a cell to grow and divide, it needs to produce new proteins. This also applies to cancer cells. In a new study published in Science Advances, researchers at Karolinska Institutet have investigated the protein eIF4A3 and its role in the growth of cancer cells. The study shows that by blocking or reducing the production of this protein, other processes arise that cause the growth and cell division of cancer cells to cease and eventually die.

As in previous years, several of Stockholm’s higher education institutions are participating under the joint Academic Pride banner to draw attention to LGBTQI-related issues. Academic Pride 2021 arranges a seminar on breaking binary gender norms with language as well as social events for students. The Pride flag will be hoisted at all participating schools throughout the festival program, including KI’s campuses in Flemingsberg and Solna.

Background

For PhD students it is fundamental to improve their reading skills and gain practice in critiquing and appraising research. One common method used for enhancing skills in interpreting research data is participating in journal clubs. Virtual journal clubs can be a safe space where PhD students can improve their presentation and communication skills, they can expand their professional network and practice the skills of interpreting research data.

Karolinska Institutet has signed a collaborative agreement with the Hungarian National Institute of Oncology, NIO. The planned collaboration will primarily take place within the framework of Karolinska Comprehensive Cancer Centre together with Karolinska University Hospital.

Obesity increases the risk of developing cancers of the digestive system and it is the person’s fat mass, rather than size, that is the main obesity-related risk factor for these cancer types, according to a new study published in the journal PLOS Medicine by researchers at the University of Cambridge and Karolinska Institutet.

Researchers at Karolinska Institutet have developed a detailed molecular atlas of the fetal development of the brain. The study published in the top journal Nature is based on so-called single-cell technology and has been done on mice. In this way, researchers have identified almost 800 different cells that are active during fetal development – many times more than previously known.