News archive

Grants awarded to researchers at the Department of Microbiology, Tumor and Cell biology during 2018.

We congratulate Ljubica Perisic Matic from the group Vascular Surgery who is awarded the Sven and Ebba-Christina Hagberg Prize 2018. She is awarded the prize for her studies concerning molecular mechanisms of smooth muscle cell function in atherosclerosis.

The project “Let the patient drive! Implementing patient-driven co-care innovations” is awarded 14,4 MSEK over a period of three years, with the possibility to receive an equal amount for three additional years.

Mats Hallgren, assistant professor at the Department of Public Health Sciences, is one of the authors of the meta-review of existing research that resulted in new guidelines issued from the European Psychiatric Association (EPA), to promote exercise as an additional treatment for severe mental health conditions.

Daniel Berglind, researcher at the Department of Public Health Sciences, is awarded 600,000 kronor SEK from ALF Project Funding Medicine for the project 'Effects on quality of life and physical activity: a randomized post-surgery dissonance-based intervention for obese women treated by Roux-en-Y gastric bypass'.

Gilad Silberberg listens to individual nerve cells (neurons) in order to understand the fundamental principles of their complex communication. His research focuses above all on the basal ganglia and how they form the fundamental link between sensory perception and motor function.

Many people carry resistant bacteria in their gut, but relatively few get sick. Christian Giske is conducting research into the reason for this – who is at risk of becoming ill and how can the refractory bacteria be attacked?

Maria Eriksson has discovered the gene that causes premature ageing in children. She is now researching the general genetic causes of ageing and has shown, amongst other things, that our stem cells gather more mutations during our lives than previously known.

Findings about the causal relationship between heart failure and problems in the heart’s relaxation phase are relatively new. Lars Lund is conducting research into the underlying mechanisms of diastolic heart failure and how it can be treated.

Mitochondria supply cells with energy, and this function is known to deteriorate in the case of Alzheimer’s disease. Maria Ankarcrona’s research aims to explain why this happens and what the consequences are. The goal is to contribute to new medications to slow the progress of the disease.

Elisabet Stener-Victorin researches women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) and was one of the first to notice the disease’s connection with mental illness. Her aim is to understand the causes behind the syndrome and to contribute to better treatment.

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), including chronic bronchitis, causes many deaths and much suffering worldwide. Lena Palmberg has developed lung tissue models to aid understanding of what happens in the body when these diseases strike. The goal is to contribute to the development of new treatments.

Individuals with an inherited form of skin cancer often have a poor prognosis. The type of immunotherapy that was awarded this year’s Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine is, however, particularly effective in this patient group, research from Karolinska Institutet in Sweden shows. The study is published in the Journal of Medical Genetics.

The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences has elected two new members – both from Karolinska Institutet. Birgitta Henriques Normark, a professor at the Department of Microbiology, Tumor and Cell Biology, has been elected to the Class for Medical Sciences. Emily Holmes, a professor at the Department of Clinical Neuroscience, has been elected to the Class for Social Sciences.

The Nordic Association for the publication of "Basic & Clinical Pharmacology & Toxicology" has awarded the BCPT Nordic Prize in Basic and Clinical Pharmacology and Toxicology for 2018 to Professor Magnus Ingelman-Sundberg, Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Karolinska Institutet.

The project "LST-STRATEGY – Strategies for large system transformations in a decentralized healthcare system" led by Monica Nyström at the Department of Learning, Informatics, Management and Ethics, MMC/SOLIID, receives funding from FORTE, the Swedish Research Council for Health, Working Life and Welfare.

Klas Kärre, member of the Nobel Committee and MTC research group leader comments on the on the life-changing possibilities of this year’s Nobel Prize in an interview with freelance journalist Lotta Fredholm.

This year’s Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine recognizes the discovery that it is possible to treat cancer by inhibiting the brakes on the immune system. Behind their discovery lies a bold idea and eager basic research, which has led to an entirely new principle for cancer therapy and new medicines that have already been approved. Many factors contribute to rapid developments in this field—in particular, current research at Karolinska Institutet.