News archive

On 20 February, KI submitted the annual Environmental Management Report (EMS Report) to The Swedish Environmental Protection Agency and the Ministry of Education. The results show that we need to continue working systematically, in order to improve KI’s environmental performance.

At the moment, there are several attempted scams targeting KI, both via email and telephone calls.

Farzana Rahman is a clinical physiotherapist with a strong interest in improving eldercare. Her doctoral thesis focuses on health and social care for older people, with particular emphasis on home healthcare and home help.

Fathers in Sweden are less likely to receive a psychiatric diagnosis during their partner’s pregnancy and in the months following the birth of their child. However, diagnoses of depression and stress-related disorders increase a year later, according to a new study published in JAMA Network Open by researchers at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden and Sichuan University in China.

Children living with obesity but showing no signs of metabolic complications still have a significantly increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, and abnormal blood lipid levels later in life. A new study from the Karolinska Institutet, published in JAMA Pediatrics, also shows that these children benefit greatly from obesity treatment.

Seven researchers at the Department of Oncology‑Pathology (OnkPat) have been awarded funding in the Swedish Cancer Society’s 2026 call. In total, 26 researchers at Karolinska Institutet have been awarded funding as part of the Swedish Cancer Society’s 2026 call, which totals SEK 135 million. The call also includes research schools, one of which is affiliated with OnkPat.

Malin Granbom Koski receives the Swedish Medical Association's Candidate and Junior Physician Association's Asklepios Prize for best scientific article 2025. The study presents clinically significant findings and provides important information for how doctors can assess patients' risks before interventions on the aorta and aortic valve.

The Swedish Cancer Foundation supports young researchers early in their careers by funding research positions that make it possible to combine clinical work with research. We congratulate Christel Hedman, Mirna Abraham-Nordling and Fredrik Jäderling who receive support from the Swedish Cancer Foundation in the 2026 call.

Niek van Bree, previously a doctoral student at the Department of Microbiology, Tumor and Cell Biology at Karolinska Institutet, has been awarded the 2025 Dan Grandér Research Prize for his thesis “Development of Translational Models and Identification of Novel Therapeutic Targets for Medulloblastoma”. This annual award recognises the best doctoral thesis in cancer research at Karolinska Institutet.

Although people in Japan tend to live long lives, this does not necessarily mean they are healthier than other populations. New research from Karolinska Institutet and collaborators shows that Japanese and Swedish older adults have a similar number of healthy life years – if ‘healthy’ is defined as living at home without the need for formal elder care. However, mortality among individuals receiving elder care is lower in Japan than in Sweden.

PhD candidate Toàn Khac Nguyen recently completed his half‑time review. In this interview, he reflects on his research into the cultural and clinical dynamics that shape childbirth practices, including the puzzling combination of very high caesarean rates and low reported newborn complications in Hanoi.

Following a period during which some activities were put on hold, the work on the leadership and development of managers and leaders is now back in full swing. During the first half of 2026, several development initiatives will be launched to support both new and experienced managers and leaders at KI.

Karolinska Institutet has appointed Professor Karin Dahlman-Wright as director of KI’s new research infrastructure organisation, RIKI, with effect from 1 April. RIKI provides the tools, methods, technologies and networks that researchers need in their work.

The Swedish Research Council has published national guidelines for responsible internationalisation.

The KI Housing office will be closed for the Easter holidays from lunchtime on April 2 through April 6.

Meis Omran has been awarded the Pfizer and Swedish Society of Oncology (SOF) postdoctoral research fellowship. The SEK 250,000 award supports her study exploring how patients with a hereditary risk of cancer experience the transition from paediatric to adult healthcare.

Genetic markers may be the key to more precise surveillance programs for individuals with the hereditary cancer syndrome Li-Fraumeni. In a new doctoral thesis from Karolinska Institutet, Alexander Sun Zhang shows how tailored follow-up strategies can reduce the burden on patients, particularly children. These findings have already influenced the Swedish national guidelines.

Karolinska Institutet is offering collaboration awards to strengthen its long‑term partnerships with the University of Tokyo and RIKEN.

Older people with a genetic risk of Alzheimer's disease did not experience the expected increase in cognitive decline and dementia risk if they consumed relatively large amounts of meat. This is shown in a new study from Karolinska Institutet published in JAMA Network Open. The results may contribute to the development of more individually tailored dietary advice.

Karolinska Institutet is recognising three students who, during the academic year 2024/2025, have offered particularly engaging accounts of their international experiences.

Researchers at Karolinska Institutet have created the first detailed map showing how genetic activity is controlled in individual cells of the adult human brain and spinal cord. The study, published in Nature Neuroscience, show that oligodendroglia, the cells that form the brain’s insulating myelin, retain an “epigenetic memory” of developmental programs long after these genes are no longer active.

GLP-1 receptor agonist drugs, commonly used to treat diabetes and obesity, are associated with a reduced need for hospital care and sickness absence due to mental ill-health in people with depression or anxiety. This is according to a large, register-based study published in The Lancet Psychiatry by researchers at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden, the University of Eastern Finland, and Griffith University in Australia.

A new method makes it possible to generate gene-targeted CAR-T cells inside the body to attack tumours, report researchers at Karolinska Institutet and the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) in Nature. The study demonstrates that several types of cancer in mice can be treated without the immune cells needing to be extracted and processed in a laboratory.

Spring is just around the corner, and with it comes important steps in KI’s continuing development. I have now made my decision on KI’s new deans and deputy deans, who will be assuming office on 1 July this year, replacing today’s academic vice presidents.

Joint seed funding is available for research collaborations between the University of Tokyo and Karolinska Institutet, KTH Royal Institute of Technology and Stockholm University.

Karolinska Institutet is launching the KI Pedagogical Fund–supported project Teaching for Tomorrow (TfT): Equipping teachers to prepare future ready KI students through integration of Agenda 2030, an initiative designed to strengthen educators’ capacity to design inclusive, equitable, and sustainability aligned curricula across the health and life sciences.

Researchers at Karolinska Institutet have identified an epigenetic mechanism that allows the brain’s own immune cells to counteract glioblastoma, the most aggressive form of brain cancer. By reducing the activity of a specific enzyme in these immune cells, tumour growth was slowed in animal models.

Treating insulin resistance before a stroke may be more important for recovery than lowering blood sugar. This is shown by a new study on mice from Karolinska Institutet, published in the journal Diabetes. The results suggest that low-grade inflammation may be a contributing factor.

Biomedicum’s own health choir Biomusicum welcomes you to a spring concert on 30th March, in collaboration with the choir from the Public Health Agency of Sweden.

This spring, University Alliance Stockholm Trio is organising a webinar on research ethics and AI, with the title "What Counts as Responsible Research in the Age of Generative AI? Norms, Limits, and Governance".

Karolinska Institutet has its new scientific representatives in place. They assumed their roles in February and provide support and guidance to researchers at all career stages on matters related to research ethics, good research practice, and the handling of suspected deviations.

On March 5th, the Changemaker Project and the BIGH Doctoral Programme hosted the conference “Spotlighting Adolescent Co-Design.” The event brought together over 90 participants from Sweden, Finland, Tanzania, and beyond.

In February, Elin Larsson and Claudia Hanson participated in the annual meeting of the Scientific and Technical Advisory Group to the UN Human Reproduction Programme.

The study “Reducing MRI Use in Organised Prostate Cancer Testing Using Blood-Based Biomarkers - the OPT Stockholm3 Study” (Falagario et al.) from Karolinska Institutet and Region Stockholm has been awarded First Prize for Best Oncology Abstract at the 41st Annual Congress of the European Association of Urology (EAU) in London 2026.

A private donation from Sally Cahill, USA, to researchers at Karolinska Institutet could make a new treatment for severe rheumatoid arthritis a reality. The method, which involves stimulating a nerve in the ear with a weak electric signal, has so far delivered promising results.

Are you studying medicine, biomedicine, or life sciences at KI and curious about the future of brain research?

Karolinska ATMP Center, a collaboration between Karolinska Institutet and Karolinska University Hospital, has opened a new mRNA infrastructure at the pre-GMP facility on the Flemingsberg campus. This environment provides researchers and clinicians with the opportunity to produce mRNA and formulate it in lipid nanoparticles (LNPs) for research purposes.

The Unit for Teaching and Learning (UoL) welcomed colleagues from the Federal University of Health Sciences of Porto Alegre (UFCSPA) - Ana Luiza Pires de Freitas, Associate Professor and UFCSPA Internationalisation at Home Coordinator, and Daniela Levandowski, Associate Professor and General Coordinator of the UFCSPA postgraduate programmes - from 9th to 13th March 2026.

Hanne Åström from the Gastroenterology and Nutrition Unit (GUT), at the Department of Medicine, Huddinge (MedH), is defending her thesis with the title "Epidemiological aspects of metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease", on 20 mars 2026. Main supervisor is Hannes Hagström.

KI is part of NeurotechEU, a European University Alliance. The NeurotechEU collaboration funding has opened, offering up to €10,000 to support educators who want to develop meaningful, cross‑institutional learning activities with a focus on challenge-based learning.

Karolinska Institutet is now launching the Expert Pool, a new shared resource designed to strengthen research through improved access to advanced technical support. The initiative aims to meet a growing need for specialised expertise and create better conditions for collaboration and efficient use of resources within KI.

Researchers at Karolinska Institutet have developed a rapid and cost efficient sequencing method that can identify antibiotic resistance within the same working day. The technique, called s5PSeq, measures how bacterial ribosomes respond within minutes after exposure to an antibiotic, offering a molecular readout of growth instead of waiting for traditional cultures.

“Journées CORTICO 2026”, the symposium in the fields of Brain-Computer Interfaces (BCI), Neurotechnology and Cognitive Neuroscience, will take place on May 18-20, 2026, at the University of Lille, France.

A new research initiative at Karolinska Institutet aims to understand how chronic pain arises and how it might be switched off at its source. The project, “A Game-Changing Therapy for Lasting Pain Relief”, has now received support from the Promobilia Foundation.

Simple field-based tests of muscle strength can provide early clues about the risk of developing several long-term illnesses. This is shown in a new study from Karolinska Institutet, published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine.

For neurodivergent people, noise and crowding can become decisive obstacles. Mo Sarraf studies how cities can be planned to better accommodate these needs.

Many women with breast cancer receive endocrine therapy, also known as anti-hormonal therapy, to reduce the risk of the disease returning. However, for a significant group, the treatment does not work as intended. A new doctoral thesis from Karolinska Institutet maps tumours from patients who have experienced a relapse in their disease despite ongoing endocrine therapy, to understand why the treatment fails and how these patients can be identified earlier.

Patients with experience of self-admission describe increased autonomy, improved conditions for recovery and reduced strain in relationships with relatives. They also report that access to self-admission provides a greater sense of security and greater room for manoeuvre in everyday life. This is shown in a new study from the Centre for Psychiatry Research at the Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, in collaboration with Region Stockholm.

Warmly welcome to the fifth annual KI–SciLifeLab Symposium on 7 May 2026. The half-day event is aimed at everyone in the SciLifeLab community at KI, as well as anyone curious about our research who would like to connect and collaborate.

Deadline for registration is 30 April 2026.

The Internationalisation Board at KI has allocated limited competitive funds for KI faculty and staff for grant applications to strengthen collaborative interactions within research and education.