News archive

Proteins do not have a single shape, but are more like dynamic robots. But – how do they actually move? And what does this tell us about their function? Laura Orellana describes the movement of proteins using computer simulations – and has discovered a new drug target for glioblastoma brain tumours.

High levels of uric acid in midlife may significantly raise the risk for a serious type of irregular heartbeat in the decades that follow, even in people without traditional risk factors, new research from Karolinska Institutet published in the Journal of the American Heart Association shows.

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Meet research group leader Olof Stephansson, Division of Clinical Epidemiology, Department of Medicine, Solna.

Being affected by several cardiometabolic diseases such as diabetes, heart disease and stroke, is linked to a greatly increased risk of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. A new twin study by researchers from Karolinska Institutet suggests that the same genes may be behind the risk of both cardiometabolic diseases and dementia. The findings have been published in European Heart Journal.

​​​​​​​Meet Ning Xu Landén, research group leader at the division of dermatology and venereology, Department of Medicine, Solna.

Meet Åsa Wheelock, research group leader at the division of respiratory medicine, department of medicine, Solna.

Meet research group leader John Pernow, Division of Cardiology, Department of Medicine, Solna.

Hi Gabriella Bernhoff, Division of Family Medicine and Primary Care. On February 3 you will defend your licentiate thesis "On the clinical assessment of persistent fatigue and pain", what is the main focus of the thesis?

On Thursday, January 12, starting after 7 p.m., KI's website ki.se will be updated, including medarbetare.ki.se, utbildning.ki.se and nyheter.ki.se. The site will be down for a short period while the update is in progress and visitors will be greeted with a technical maintenance page.

Proteins can make any inventor green with envy. It is proteins that make the body work. But when these same super-substances make mistakes, we may get sick with things like cancer or Alzheimer's disease. The job of researchers is to sort out the proteins when they malfunction.

Do you have ideas for developing the pedagogical quality of higher education at KI? Apply for project funding by 15 March 2023.

The safety and security unit would like to inform you that there is now a president’s decision on a mandatory course in laboratory safety for employees and students, who are active in KI's laboratory activities or other activities with corresponding risks.

Alzheimer disease begins decades before any symptoms, such as memory loss, start to show. Consequently, early diagnosis increases the chances of slowing the disease down with drugs. A new study on an inherited form of the disease shows that a protein called GFAP is a possible biomarker for very early stages of the disease. The study, conducted by researchers at Karolinska Institutet and published in the journal Brain, could one day lead to an earlier detection of this serious and common disease.

Congratulations to Professor Marie Löf at the Department of Biosciences and Nutrition who has received MSEK 4.9 from the Kamprad Family Foundation for Entrepreneurship, Research & Charity. Her research project is on "Promoting positive mental health during pregnancy with a digital tool (HealthyMoms4MentalHealth-app): Effectiveness and implementation in maternity health care".

KI's procured company for decontamination has changed its brand. It was previously called SSG Nordic but has now changed its name to BELFOR Sweden. We ask KI's operations to please update local procedures and instructions, if the decontamination company is mentioned in these.

The Vascular Surgery Group celebrated it’s 50 years anniversary in late October last year. The exact birthday of the lab is difficult to set. Nevertheless, it was not difficult to select 1972 as an appropriate starting point when Siw Frebelius joined Jesper Swedenborg and they together initiated the foundation of a research group which has survived throughout 50 years. 

Researchers at Karolinska Institutet, the Centre for Imaging Research (CIR), SciLifeLab, and RISE have together received a grant of over SEK 100 million from the European Commission's Digital Europe programme. The project, called TEF-Health, will, among other things, promote the rapid introduction of new artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics solutions in healthcare.

Hi Andreas Wallin, PhD student at the Division of Physiotherapy. On January 27 you will defend your thesis "Balance Control in People with Multiple Sclerosis: Mechanisms, Experiences, Design and Feasibility of an Exercise Trial", what is the main focus of the thesis?

Updated: network maintenance 17/1 19:00-21:00, network/services can be unavailable during this window.

In a review paper published in the European Journal of Epidemiology, researchers from Karolinska Institutet and Lund University describe the content and quality of the Swedish Medical Birth Register (MBR), using original Medical Birth Register data, Swedish-language and international publications based on the register. The researchers conclude that the register contains high-quality pregnancy-related information on more than 5 million births during five decades.

Antibiotic residues in wastewater and wastewater treatment plants in regions around China and India risk contributing to antibiotic resistance, and the drinking water may pose a threat to human health, according to an analysis from Karolinska Institutet published in The Lancet Planetary Health. The researchers also determined the relative contribution of various sources of antibiotic contamination in waterways, such as hospitals, municipals, livestock, and pharmaceutical manufacturing.

Researchers at Karolinska Institutet uncover the function of the release factor mtRF1 in the final steps of mitochondrial protein synthesis. The study, published in Nature Communications, reveals new insights into a fundamental process in mitochondria.

Information about opening hours and contact with the new restaurateur Nordrest

On December 16, 2022, the KI president inaugurated the Centre for Nutrition at Karolinska Institutet. More than 150 people attended the event with representatives from the funding agencies present; the Swedish Cancer Society, the Swedish Heart Lung Foundation and Formas.

Researchers at Karolinska Institutet have developed a method that should be able to predict whether a patient with breast cancer will benefit from a particular treatment or not. The cell-based method has been tested on patients with promising results, according to a study published in PNAS.

Dhifaf Sarhan has been appointed as new Head of Division of Pathology at the Department of Laboratory Medicine.

Anna-Karin Welmer has been appointed new chair for the Course and Programme Committee, starting January 1, 2023. She replaces Erika Franzén.

Nano-sized membrane bubbles known as extracellular vesicles activate the immune system in mice and seem to render their tumours sensitive to a type of immunotherapy drug called a checkpoint inhibitor. This is according to a new study published in Cancer Immunology Research by researchers at Karolinska Institutet.

Following a hiatus of 3 years due to Covid-19, the KI Research Network Tissue and Motion rose to the occasion of hosting the 11th Tissue and Motion conference, which was held at the Djurönäset Hotel on 9th – 10th November 2022.

Cluster headache, sometimes known as “suicide headache”, have been described as a predominantly male disease. New research from Karolinska Institutet now shows that women who have the disease are more affected in their daily lives. They have longer periods of pain, a higher frequency of related symptoms, use more prophylactic medicine and take more sick leave. The results are published in two studies in the journal Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

Researchers from the Division of Neurogeriatrics, NVS, has had an article published in EMBO Molecular Medicine. They have completed an active vaccination study in a mouse model with inherited small vessel disease called CADASIL with the aim to investigate whether vaccination can repair damaged vessels by clearing them from toxic protein Notch3 aggregates. These aggregates are present in CADASIL patients and in this mouse model.

Professor Nils-Göran Larsson, Roberta Filograna, Joanna Rorbach, and Annika Krüger at the Department of Medical Biochemistry and Biophysics have recently been awarded research grants and fellowships for their research with the Division of molecular metabolism.

Department of Laboratory Medicine have members appointed to the Faculty Board and the Committee for Higher Education.

In the new episode of the KIPRIME podcast you can listen to Anna Pettersson talking about Learning Anatomy: Understanding anatomical structures presented as 3D visualizations.

The university alliance Stockholm Trio is a collaboration between Karolinska Institutet, The KTH Royal Institute of Technology and Stockholm University. One of the objectives of the trio is to contribute to strengthen the three member universities participation in the European research programme Horizon Europe. In November, an important step on the way was taken, when the alliance’s Brussels Office for the first time held the “EU course”, hosting 18 researchers from the three universities.

Suad Efendic, Stockholm, internationally recognized leading clinical researcher in diabetes, has died at the age of 85 after a long illness. He is survived by wife Mensura, sons Nedim and Enes with their families.

Researchers at Karolinska Institutet and Stockholm University have developed a new technology allowing simultaneous probing of several different histone marks in one individual cell and in thousands of cells at the same time. This new method allows to investigate in much greater detail how cells in the mouse brain acquire unique properties and specialize. The study is published in the journal Nature Biotechnology.

The ANA Futura service team is present every working day during the Christmas holidays.

The diagnosis exhaustion disorder accounts for the majority of all long-term sick leave in Sweden. However, a research review indicates that the scientific evidence behind the diagnosis is weak.

Critical illness myopathy (CIM) is a common complication affecting ventilator-treated intensive care patients, which can lead to increased mortality/morbidity, prolonged hospital care, impaired patient quality of life, and increased healthcare costs. reported molecular pathogenesis of CIM during prolonged ICU stay, and potential diagnostic biomarkers and therapeutic targets. The study was recently published in Journal of Cachexia, Sarcopenia and Muscle.

The origins of the serious cancer-like disease LCH have been identified by researchers from Karolinska Institutet in collaboration with Karolinska University Hospital. The findings presented in Science Immunology may lead to new, targeted treatments.

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

Following a nomination process 10 people registered an interest in the position as vice president at KI. KI professor Martin Bergö is the final candidate proposed by the Election Committee for the position of vice president.

Laura Fratiglioni, Senior professor at Karolinska Institute is awarded the Great Gerontology Prize by the Swedish Gerontological Association for her contribution to Aging Research.

Report from ClinicaL Trials on Alzheimer's Desease 2022 - ”Positive clinical outcome of Lecanemab immunotherapy and other promising therapeutic approaches for Alzheimer’s"

Missing Link presentation at the UK Stroke Forum 2022.

From the jubilee year of 2010 and onwards, Karolinska Institutet awards medals to people who have made special efforts in support of KI’s activities. There are three categories: the Gold Medal, the Grand Silver Medal and the Silver Medal. Medals are awarded in conjunction with various academic ceremonies.

Researchers at Karolinska Institutet, Karolinska University Hospital and Cellevate AB, have received almost 5 million SEK from Vinnova, to investigate how stem cells interact with their environment. The goal is to develop more effective production of stem cell therapies, and eventually contribute to better treatment of public diseases such as heart failure and diabetes.

Tips from Grants Office regarding current calls