News archive

Last autumn, KI announced an new internal funding for work on sustainable development initiatives. After fierce competition, five applications have now been selected to share one million SEK.

The causes of the serious muscle disease ALS still remain unknown. Now, researchers at Karolinska Institutet and KTH Royal Institute of Technology, among others, have examined a type of cell in the brain blood vessels that could explain the unpredictable disease origins and dynamics. The results indicate a hitherto unknown connection between the nervous and vascular systems. The study, published in Nature Medicine, has potential implications for earlier diagnoses and future treatments.

Karolinska Institutet has signed an agreement with Wellcome Leap that enabled KI to join the Leap Health Breakthrough Network. This global network comprises many leading academic and research institutions across six continents, that are committed to solving the world’s most serious global health challenges.

Since March 2020, healthcare has acted "front line" in the fight against COVID-19. Many KI students have worked extra in healthcare during this period, and at the same time, they had to adapt to new routines with distance learning. One of the students who managed to juggle distance learning with an extra job within healthcare is the medical student Oscar Dwyer.

Francesca Castoldi, at the Department of Biosciences and Nutrition (BioNut), KI, has been awarded a research grant of 300 000 SEK from the Alex and Eva Wallström Foundation for scientific research and education.

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, NAFLD, is associated with several health risks. According to a new registry study led by researchers at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden, NAFLD is linked to a 17-fold increased risk of liver cancer. The findings, published in Hepatology, underscore the need for improved follow-up of NAFLD patients with the goal of reducing the risk of cancer.

Simplifying processes for research-related agreements is one of the main goals of the sub-project within the programme Harmonized professional services.

Histones are tiny proteins that bind to DNA and hold information that can help turn on or off individual genes. Researchers at Karolinska Institutet have developed a technique that makes it possible to examine how different versions of histones bind to the genome in tens of thousands of individual cells simultanously. The technique was applied to the mouse brain and can be used to study epigenetics at a single-cell level in other complex tissues. The study is published in Nature Biotechnology.

Good cholesterol, which is transported in HDLs (high-density lipoproteins), plays a key part in the prevention of atherosclerosis and thus the risk of cardiovascular disease. However, according to a new paper co-authored by researchers at Karolinska Institutet and published in the journal Circulation, the anti-inflammatory properties of HDLs could be an even better biomarker for future cardiovascular events.

New weapon in the fight against Covid-19, while waiting for the vaccine. Listen to what Professor Qiang Pan-Hammarström at the Department of Biosciences and Nutrition, Karolinska Institutet, says in an interview in the newspaper Expressen.

A study involving researchers at Karolinska Institutet and IMBA – Institute of Molecular Biotechnology of the Austrian Academy of Sciences – demonstrates how zika and herpes viruses can lead to brain malformations during early pregnancy. The researchers used 3D models of human brains to study which mechanisms are involved in virus-induced microcephaly, a condition where babies are born with smaller-than-usual heads. The results are published in the journal Cell Stem Cell.

Jaakko Patrakka and his research group at the Department of Laboratory Medicine have together with Professor Rickard Sandberg's group at the Department of Cell and Molecular Biology got a publication accepted in Nature Communications about single cell sequencing unravels molecular identity of rare renal cell types.

Hi there Emma Granström and congratulations to recently defending your thesis "From patient to person – Perspectives on the role of quality data, patient experience and patient involvement in the improvement of chronic care".
Can you tell us a little bit more about yourself and your research?

Ten researchers at Karolinska Institutet are granted funding through the Swedish Childhood Cancer Foundation's latest funding call, which in total distributes a little more than SEK 65 million. The grants include a six-year research position and several postdoctoral positions.

Eight months after mild COVID-19, one in ten people still has at least one moderate to severe symptom that is perceived as having a negative impact on their work, social or home life. The most common long-term symptoms are a loss of smell and taste and fatigue. This is according to a study published in the journal JAMA, conducted by researchers at Danderyd Hospital and Karolinska Institutet in Sweden.

On April 29, KI will host a digital event focusing on cancer research, where researchers and professors will gather to talk about their ground-breaking research. Yvonne Wengström is one of the organizers and hopes for strong participation and an interactive dialogue on research in the field.

Santhilal Subhash at the Department of Biosciences and Nutrition has received a three-year grant for post-doctoral studies in medical science from the Swedish Society for Medical Research.

As the pandemic lingers on, more and more emphasis is being placed on the indirect, negative effects (i.e. collateral damage) of the pandemic and related restrictions. Sweden took a relatively lenient approach towards mitigating the pandemic during the spring of 2020, relying on voluntary adherence to recommendations and encouraging elderly to stay at home, avoid social gatherings and public transportation, and to remain physically active outdoors in a safe manner.

The European Commission has chosen COVID-X as project of the month. The project is supporting SMEs to advance their solutions in the fight against COVID-19.

The symposium is a joint mini symposium between the NextGenNK partners Karolinska Institutet and Sanofi.

New findings show that the effects of the menstrual cycle may not be limited to the endometrium, but can also affect the oral health.

Earlier studies have shown that supplementary vitamin D seems to provide a certain degree of protection against respiratory infections. A new study involving researchers from Karolinska Institutet has now made the most comprehensive synthesis to date of this connection. The study, which is published in the journal Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology, confirms that vitamin D protects against respiratory infections, a result that can have significance for the healthcare services.

As one of two partners from KI in the CUREX project, LIME/HIC invites you to a workshop on Cyber Hygiene, and especially on the human aspects related to raising the cybersecurity and data privacy awareness of the workforce in the healthcare sector.

Infertility is a well-known sequela of cancer treatment. Despite guidelines recommending early discussions about risk of fertility impairment and fertility preservation options, not all patients of reproductive age receive such information.

Joanna Kvist and Maria Eriksson has been appointed professors at the Department of Molecular Medicine and Surgery, Karolinska Institutet.

The standard treatment for advanced metastatic prostate cancer (PCa) is androgen deprivation therapy (ADT). And even if this is efficient in the short term, 1/3 of PCa will become resistant to ADT and develop castration-resistant prostate cancer. A new study, by Karolinska Institutet and others, shows that estrogen receptor β (ERβ) agonists together with ADT could be considered useful in the treatment.

Researchers from Karolinska Institutet, Karolinska University Hospital, and The Wenner-Gren Institute at Stockholm University have conducted research within the field of bacterial meningitis and found how bacteria interact with neurons causing neuronal cell death. The results of their study, which started in 2019, were recently published in PloS Pathogens.

Cholinesterase inhibitors are a group of drugs recommended for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease, but their effects on cognition have been debated and few studies have investigated their long-term effects. A new study involving researchers from Karolinska Institutet and published in the journal Neurology shows persisting cognitive benefits and reduced mortality for up to five years after diagnosis.

Hi there Ying Shang, PhD student at the Aging Research Center (ARC). You will be defending your thesis entitled “How can older adults combat diabetes to achieve a longer and healthier life?” on 16 April 2021. Could you tell us a little more about it?

Enoch Yi-Tung Chen has been awarded the Swedish Society for Medical Statistics (Föreningen för Medicinsk Statistik, FMS) prize for best student project in the area of medical statistics during 2020. The prize, which includes an award of 5000 SEK, was announced at the FMS annual general meeting on 25 March 2021.

An international consortium that includes researchers at Karolinska Institutet has developed a ‘double antibody’ that targets two different sites of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, thereby preventing the virus from mutating to resist the therapy. A study published in the scientific journal Nature shows that the antibody potently neutralises SARS-CoV-2 and its variants and protects against COVID-19 in mice.

Authors: Anna Beronius, Penny Nymark and Emma Wincent

Men with stable coronary artery disease who are on Viagra due to impotence seem to live longer and have a lower risk of experiencing a new heart attack, a study from Karolinska Institutet in Sweden published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology reports.

There are many factors influencing fetal growth – genetic, nutritional, environmental, uteroplacental, and fetal factors. In a new doctoral thesis from Karolinska Institutet, the aim was to further the understanding of the consequences of stress and smoking during pregnancy, the causes of intrauterine growth and asthma as well as the consequences of asthma on school performance and to explore explanations of observed associations.

Climate change can have a detrimental effect on children’s health, yet there are few studies investigating how climate change affects child health. A recent study where researchers compiled 300 articles shows that child health is affected by both direct changes in the near environment, such as increased extreme weather, and by indirect effects, such as air pollution and changing ecosystems. The study was conducted by researchers at Karolinska Institutet and published in Lancet Planetary Health.

SRP Diabetes organize a new webinar series - "Diabetes Fridays" with internationally recognized speakers in the area of diabetes and metabolism, often in combination with a talk by a researcher from KI or UmU on a similar topic as the external guest.

Most drugs operate via the membranes that surround the body’s cells. A study by researchers at Karolinska Institutet has now mapped the structure and mechanism of MGST2, a membrane enzyme that, amongst other things, plays a part in chronic inflammation and cancer. The study, which is published in the journal Nature Communications, can make a significant contribution to the development of future drugs.

Manar Yanes from the research group Upper GI Surgery, the Department of Molecular Medicine and Surgery, will defend his thesis "Antireflux surgery in the prevention of supra-esophageal cancer and mortality" on March 26, 2021. Main Supervisor is Jesper Lagergren.

While the drug tamoxifen reduces the risk of developing breast cancer and prevents recurrence, the side-effects cause many women to discontinue their treatment. A study involving researchers at Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm has now found that a much lower dose than the standard produces a good effect with fewer adverse reactions in women who have yet to enter the menopause. The study, which has been published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, can play a significant role in the treatment.

Using artificial intelligence and mobile digital microscopy, researchers hope to create screening tools that can detect precursors to cervical cancer in women in resource-limited settings. A study led by researchers at Karolinska Institutet and University of Helsinki now shows that AI screenings of pap smears carried out with portable scanners were comparable to analyses done by pathologists. The results are published in the journal JAMA Network Open.

More than 1,200 people with rare diseases have received a diagnosis thanks to the integration of large-scale genomics into the Stockholm region’s healthcare system. This is according to a study from Karolinska Institutet in Sweden that analysed the result of the first five years of collaboration on whole genome sequencing between Karolinska University Hospital and SciLifeLab. The work, published in Genome Medicine, constitutes a major leap forward in the emerging field of precision medicine.

KI's President has decided on a climate strategy as part of KI's contribution to a more sustainable world. The strategy is to be followed up by an action plan with more concrete measures with everything from the purchasing of goods and services to reducing CO2 emissions from travel.

Planning and implementing public health interventions, such as screening, requires careful consideration of the benefits and harms for the people targeted, communities and the health system more broadly.
In a study recently published in PLOS One, researchers at Karolinska Institutet aimed to understand how experts perceive the benefits and harms of community-based tuberculosis screening, also known as active case-finding, for people with presumptive tuberculosis and communities.

Initially, the work was sluggish for the members of the project group Accounting within the programme 'A harmonized professional services'. Over the past few months, they have developed a collaboration that has profoundly changed the way they work.

Regardless of what you study at Karolinska Institutet, you can turn to the student and the doctoral student ombudspersons Nazira Hammoud Shahwan and Ninna Oom on various issues concerning your student rights and study environment.

- It is very exciting to meet many different students and learn about their life stories. It is impressive what some students achieve and get through during their studies, says Nazira Hammoud Shahwan.

Today's research is generating more and more big data, which means that the demand for bioinformatics and biostatistics is growing. Karolinska Institutet and Karolinska University Hospital are therefore establishing a new centre at Campus Flemingsberg that will offer expertise and networking opportunities for the preclinical and clinical research environment in the area.

Intake of a high-fat diet leads to an increased risk for obesity, type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular diseases and fatty liver. A study in mice from Karolinska Institutet shows that it is possible to eliminate the deleterious effects of a high-fat diet by lowering the levels of apolipoprotein CIII (apoCIII), a key regulator of lipid metabolism. The study is published in the journal Science Advances.

An opportunity to be recognized for your pedagogical achievements, apply to the Pedagogical Academy.

The KI Ethics Council has issued a statement condemning the increasingly hostile tone of debate, especially in connection with COVID-19.

XNK Therapeutics AB (“XNK”) has entered into a joint Phase II clinical study to treat patients with multiple myeloma using XNK’s drug candidate in combination with Sanofi’s anti-CD38 antibody Sarclisa (isatuximab)