News archive

Bengt Winblad, researcher at the Department of Neurobiology, Care Sciences and Society, KI, is ranked number three in Sweden and 291st in the world in Research.com’s Ranking of Best Scientists in the World 2026. His research focuses on dementia disorders, particularly Alzheimer’s disease.

For the first time, researchers have succesfully measured antibodies against specific respiratory viruses in exhaled air. This is shown in a new study involving, amongst others, the Karolinska Institutet, published in eBioMedicine. The method may make it easier to study the immune system in the small airways of the lungs.

Charlotte Ytterberg has been awarded SEK 4,953,000 in funding from FORTE for her project “From Academia to Practice – Implementing the Digital Self-Care Programme Fewer Falls for People with Multiple Sclerosis”.

The rent for KI Housing accommodation may increase by up to 5% from January 1, 2027, due to increased rental costs from our landlords.

We congratulate the three researchers at the Department of Clinical Science, Intervention and Technology who have been awarded a total of SEK 16.8 million in grants from the Swedish Research Council in the 2026 call for medicine and health.

How do medicines affect the placenta? Can early cooling protect the brain after cardiac arrest? Four researchers affiliated with the Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, FyFa, at Karolinska Institutet have received funding from the Swedish Research Council. The projects focus on medicines during pregnancy, cardiac arrest, the hormonal condition PCOS and fatty liver disease.

On 15 October, 17 new master’s students who have been awarded scholarships for their studies at KI were recognised. At a joint ceremony, they received their awards from KI’s President Annika Östman Wernerson and celebrated with friends and family.

To improve preparedness for future health crises, the next generation of scholars and professionals must understand the complex and uncertain nature of crises. That is the core thinking behind a new course that the Centre for Health Crises at KI is co-organising. After four weeks of studies, the first cohort of students are positive about what they learnt and how the course was set up.

People with type 2 diabetes, heart disease or stroke who sleep well have better cognitive function and greater brain volume than people with the same conditions who sleep poorly, according to a new study from Karolinska Institutet. The researchers believe that good sleep may help to counteract the negative effects on the brain associated with these conditions.

At the Max IV facility in Lund, researchers can study everything from proteins to human tissue, and make discoveries beyond the capabilities of other methods. According to KI researcher Caroline Graff, her time at Max IV has given her Alzheimer’s research a new layer of knowledge.

The number of new autism diagnoses among adults has increased in both Sweden and the UK since 2010. The rise has been particularly marked among young adults and women, according to a new study by researchers including those from Karolinska Institutet, published in BMJ Mental Health.

The Swedish Research Council has made decisions on three calls for proposals under which researchers at Karolinska Institutet will receive grants in 2026. In the field of medicine and health, KI has been awarded 106 grants totalling nearly 563 million kronor. KI has also been awarded three grants totalling nearly 14 million kronor in the natural and engineering sciences, as well as two grants totalling just over 20 million kronor in accessibility to infrastructure

Some people carry antibodies that block the body's early defenses against viruses, increasing their risk of developing severe illnesses such as severe COVID-19. Researchers at Karolinska Institutet have now identified the immune cells that produce these antibodies. The findings are published in the Journal of Experimental Medicine.

At the end of January 2027, KLARA-EKB, which is used for systematic fire safety work, will be phased out. The transition to a new, web-based system for managing self-inspections is currently underway.

In the Swedish Research Council's latest call, 3 researchers were awarded from the Department of Laboratory Medicine. Congratulations!

KI researchers Joana Pereira and Professor Eva Kosek at the division of Neuro are each co-applicants on two different projects that have received funding from Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation (KAW).

We congratulate Mats Holmberg at the Department of Medicine, Huddinge, on his appointment as Docent in Endocrinology on 15 October 2026.

The President has decided on the direction for KI’s operational planning for 2027 and how the university’s government grant is to be allocated. The decisions provide a common direction and financial framework for next year’s activities. Planning will now continue at campus level and within the Faculty Board, the departments and Professional Services, based on their specific circumstancces and priorities.

Arne Östman at Karolinska Institutet has been awarded SEK 6 million by the Erling-Persson Foundation. The funding will support a clinical study investigating whether an existing drug can help other cancer drugs reach liver metastases more effectively.

Researchers at Karolinska Institutet have developed a method that makes it possible to track how different cell types in the gut form during fetal development in mice. The method provides new insights into how the tissues and nervous system of the gut develop and can also be used to investigate how genes influence these processes. The results are published in the journal PNAS.

We congratulate the researchers at the Department of Molecular Medicine and Surgery who will share SEK 35,200,000 in grants from the Swedish Research Council in the Medicine and Health call and the Natural and Engineering Sciences call.

Forte has awarded nearly 5 million SEK to a research project at Karolinska Institutet and Södersjukhuset that will develop and evaluate Sweden’s colorectal cancer screening programme.

Carina’s treatment for rectal cancer was tougher than she could ever have imagined. Despite her illness, she continued working half-time as an mortuary technician. Work became a way to keep her fear of dying at bay.

When Benjamin Delfi was in the midst of making his dream of opening his own restaurant a reality, he was diagnosed with rectal cancer. Now that his treatment is over, there is room for those dreams again. 

There is a connection between the gut microbiome and colorectal cancer. The question is what it looks like, and how it can be used to tackle the disease. 

Colorectal cancer is becoming more common among younger people, particularly younger women. They are also more likely to be at a more advanced stage of the disease at the time of diagnosis. Researchers want to identify more cases earlier and are seeing cause for optimism: in the form of a common painkiller.

For meetings taking place on or after 1 February 2027, the DNA, Lipid and Protein rooms in Neo will be booked through TimeEdit instead of Outlook. A rental fee will also apply from that date.

Christine Delisle Nyström and Kristoffer Strålin from the Department of Medicine, Huddinge, have been awarded project grants from Forte, the Swedish Research Council for Health, Working Life and Welfare.

Medical digital twins are computerised versions of patients, enabling different treatments to be tested and the most effective one identified, without any risk to the patient’s health. And in the future, we will each have our own, according to researcher Mikael Benson.

What is it like to spend a semester studying in another country, and what opportunities are available to KI students who want to go on exchange? On 28 October, students from the Bachelor's Programme in Biomedicine and the Master's Programmes in Biomedicine and Toxicology came together for the International Day of the Biomedicine Programmes.

Akademiska Hus will be testing the fire alarm in the ANA8 building on 19 November.

A doctoral thesis from Karolinska Institutet shows that people with chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL) were at greater risk of severe COVID-19 than the general population. The findings also suggest that repeated vaccinations can strengthen immune responses and help protect against serious disease.

In the Swedish Research Council’s (VR) latest call in medicine and health, SEK 50 080 000 was awarded to 11 researchers at the Department of Medicine, Huddinge (MedH). In addition, a MedH researcher has been awarded SEK 4 800 000 in funding in the field of natural sciences and engineering.

A European research project involving Karolinska Institutet will investigate whether artificial intelligence, AI, can help detect heart failure earlier in primary care. The project has also been selected by WHO Europe for presentation at an international conference in Ireland in 2027.

Sample material previously placed in different evacuation freezers and without an identified owner has been gathered in one -80 °C freezer in the ANA Futura Freezer Facility on floor 3. The freezer is now full and needs to be emptied. Please check the contents as soon as possible.

We congratulate the five researchers at NVS who are sharing SEK 25,800,000 in grants from the Swedish Research Council in the Medicine and Health call!

The kick-off for the new mentorship programme for students and alumni at KI was held on 7 October. A total of 20 pairs have been matched and will meet for conversations and to share experiences over the next seven months.

How is people’s health affected when heatwaves, air pollution and floods occur at the same time or in close succession? And how can society reduce health risks in a changing climate? Researchers at the Institute of Environmental Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, have been awarded a total of SEK 59 million by the Formas research council for two new research initiatives on climate and health.

Emeritus Professor Eva Nissen, a prominent researcher, passed away on 1 October in Stockholm, at the age of 76.

Congratulations to three researchers at the Division of Psychology who have been awarded project grants from Riksbankens Jubileumsfond in this year’s call.

Laura Fratiglioni, researcher at the Department of Neurobiology, Care Sciences and Society, KI, is ranked third in Sweden and 169th worldwide in Research.com’s 2026 Best Female Scientists rankings. Her research focuses on dementia, cognitive ageing and factors that influence brain health in older adults.

Two projects at KI SÖS have been awarded KI’s Pedagogical Project Funding for 2027. The projects are led by Kristian Ängeby and Anders Sondén and focus on new ways to develop students’ learning in emergency care.

Comparing oneself with others on social media is more strongly associated with symptoms of anxiety and depression among adolescents than using social media to pass the time. This is shown by a study of more than 4,000 Norwegian adolescents, conducted by researchers at Karolinska Institutet in collaboration with the Norwegian Institute of Public Health. The study is published in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Mental Health.

Focusing the thesis on whether detection of type 2 diabetes and hypertension differs across population groups, the aim of Hrafnhildur's doctoral research is to enable a more efficient detection of metabolic risk factors within primary healthcare.

Data routinely collected by health facilities could become an additional source for measuring maternal mortality, but their quality needs to improve. Researchers from Karolinska Institutet and Tanzania propose four measures for assessing these data. The work is published in the Bulletin of the World Health Organization. 

Self-directed learning is a key component of the master's programmes at the Department of Global Public Health. During this year's Welcome Day, second-year students reflected on how taking greater ownership of their learning has contributed to both their academic development and professional growth. 

The course leadership teams have awarded diplomas to the medical students who achieved the highest overall results in the courses Clinical Medicine 1 (KM1) and Clinical Medicine 2 (KM2). The courses are given during semesters 5 and 6 of the study programme in medicine at Karolinska Institutet.

People with severe mental illness experienced more rapid increases in both weight and long-term blood sugar levels during the first three months after starting treatment with antipsychotic medication. This is shown by a study from Karolinska Institutet and University College London, published in The Lancet Psychiatry.

The aICU research programme at Karolinska Institutet and Södersjukhuset has been named Innovation of the Year by Region Stockholm. The award was presented at Innovation Fund Day on 14 October and was received by Villiam Kildal, researcher at the Department of Clinical Science and Education, Södersjukhuset.

In her thesis, "mHealth support for physical activity after stroke or transient ischaemic attack - feasibility and intervention refinement", Hanna Lagerlund, PhD student at the Division of Physiotherapy, NVS, examines how support via a mobile app can help people who have had a stroke or TIA become more physically active and maintain healthy lifestyle habits over time.