News archive

Ten researchers at the Department of Neuroscience were collectively awarded over 48.7 Million Swedish Kronor when the Swedish Research Council made decisions on calls within Medicine and Health as well as Humanities and Social Sciences for 2024.

University of Bergen in collaboration with researchers at Karolinska Institutet have been awarded a significant grant funded by Horizon Europe with €7 million during 2024-2028 in recognition of their dedication to target Epstein-Barr virus to treat and prevent Multiple Sclerosis.

The Collaborative Research Projects will support new multidisciplinary collaborations for ambitious yet feasible research projects in all areas of Neuroscience. The aim is to promote multidisciplinary research though new and innovative collaborations of outstanding scientific quality.

Our body perception relies on how the brain interprets and integrates signals from various sensory systems, including vision, touch, and proprioception – our body’s ability to sense its position and movement in space. In a recent study, researchers at Karolinska Institutet demonstrated that nociception, the sensory process that detects potentially damaging stimuli to the body, also plays a role in shaping our body perception. The article was recently published in the scientific journal PAIN.

In a recent conversation, Abishek Arora, the founding Co-chair of the NeurotechEU Student Council and student representative at Karolinska Institutet, opened up about his transformative experience with the NeurotechEU initiative.

To facilitate new and existing contacts between researchers and doctoral students as well as increase research collaboration across the NeurotechEU network, the KI NeurotechEU group is introducing the availability of limited competitive funds for a lab visit for PhD students and postdocs during Spring 2025.

This call aims to facilitate new and existing contacts as well as increase research collaboration with the University College London and Karolinska Institutet.

Researchers at Karolinska Institutet have developed a new comprehensive mapping of genetic activity for understanding the causes of chronic pain. The study, published in Nature Communications, opens way to more efficient non-addictive treatment for chronic pain and potentially headache disorders.

Are you a doctoral student at KI specializing in Genetics and Genomics, Neurosciences, Biomedicine, Biotechnology, or Physiology? Do you want to dive deep into the latest advancements in stem cells, iPSC characterization, and 3D organoid technology?

Researchers have developed a gel inspired by cow slime for patients suffering from disc herniation.

The European University of Brain and Technology would like to invite you to come present your research at the next NeurotechEU meeting in Istanbul, Turkey!

StratNeuro Welcomes New Board Members and Thanks Outgoing Members

Unrestrained inflammation is associated with many diseases, including cardiovascular diseases, autoimmune diseases and cancer. Peder Olofsson wants to understand how nerve signals regulate inflammation to ultimately improve therapeutic options. Meet one of the new professors of Karolinska Institutet who will participate in this year's installation ceremony at Aula Medica on 3 October.

Researchers at Karolinska Institutet have identified a mechanism responsible for a serious psychiatric complication caused by dopamine replacement therapy in Parkinson’s disease. The results of these findings were recently published in Molecular Psychiatry.

It is through our sensory perception that we experience our environment and bodily sensations. François Lallemend is studying the mechanisms underlying these perceptions in the hope of finding new treatments for sensory impairment. Meet one of the new professors of Karolinska Institutet who will participate in this year's installation ceremony at Aula Medica on 3 October.

The StratNeuro Postdoctoral funding is designed to support exceptional postdoctoral researchers in both basic and clinical neuroscience who are currently conducting research at KI. This year, we received 29 applications from 7 different departments.

Caroline Ran, researcher at Karolinska Institutet, and Jacob Edvinsson, researcher at Lund University, are the first authors of an article which has been awarded the best scientific article on cluster headache published between June 2023 and May 2024. It is the first time since 2004 that the prize goes to Sweden.

In a study recently published in PLoS pathogens, researchers at AIMES, The Center for the Advancement of Integrated Medical and Engineering Sciences at Karolinska Institutet, have identified one of the subtle, yet effective, pathways by which human skin differentiates commensals and pathogens. Understanding these mechanisms opens for new treatment and prevention targets, and particularly ways in which to enhance innate immunity to prevent antibiotic resistant infections.

When analyzing inflammatory markers in blood and cerebrospinal fluid, researchers at Karolinska Institutet found signs of inflammation in tissue from patients with cluster headache, specifically in the samples from the nervous system. The study was recently published in The Journal of Headache and Pain.

Empowering connections from neurons to society - A 2-day Neuroscience Conference held the 17 and 18 of October

Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour offers a 5-day course in MR Methods used in Cognitive Neuroimaging.

The “Iuliu Hațieganu” University of Medicine and Pharmacy Cluj-Napoca in collaboration with NeurotechEU invites KI students and PhDs to a Erasmus+ BIP Mobility opportunity “Summer School of Brain Mapping and Stimulation Techniques” in September 2024 in Cluj-Napoca, Romania.

Nine researchers from around the world have published a summary of the most recent progress in diagnosing and treating cluster headache, as well as understanding the development of the disease. The review article was recently published in Lancet Neurology.

The StratNeuro Retreat 2024, held from June 3rd to June 5th at the picturesque Djurönäset Hotel, was a resounding success. With over 250 participants, this retreat offered an exceptional opportunity for networking, scientific exchange, and relaxation in a stunning location.

New research reveals that scar formation after spinal cord injuries is more complex than previously thought. Scientists have identified two types of perivascular cells as key contributors to scar tissue, which hinders nerve regeneration and functional recovery. These findings, published in Natural Neuroscience, are also relevant for other brain and spinal cord injuries and could lead to targeted therapies for reducing scarring and improving outcomes.

Researchers at Karolinska Institutet have identified an interesting potential future therapeutic target in primary headache disorders. They have found increased amounts of a gene associated with cluster headache, MERTK, and its ligand Gal-3, in tissue from cluster headache patients. The study was recently published in The Journal of Headache and Pain.

To maintain balance, several factors must align. The inner ears and eyes need to send accurate signals to the brain. Good motor skills and sense of touch, especially in the feet, along with a healthy brain, are necessary. It is not surprising that balance disorders can occur, but how should they be treated?

To foster fresh collaborations and interactions across the NeurotechEU network, the KI NeurotechEU group is introducing funding opportunities for short-term visits by KI faculty and researchers.

Zebrafish have a remarkable ability to heal their spinal cord after injury. Now, researchers at Karolinska Institutet have uncovered an important mechanism behind this phenomenon – a finding that could have implications for the treatment of spinal cord injury in humans.

The Strategic Neuroscience Research Network (StratNeuro) at Karolinska Institutet celebrated the International Brain Awareness Week with an open symposium on Monday 11 March 2024.

Caroline Ran is one of three researchers awarded Pfizer's and the Swedish Headache Society's newly established research grant in migraine studies. Her research focuses on the correlation between migraine and mental health. The grant will be presented at the SHS annual meeting in Halmstad on 15 May 15 2024.

The StratNeuro Start-up Grant is intended to support outstanding Neuroscience researchers at the beginning of their careers. StratNeuro will allocate in total SEK 6,000,000 to fund this initiative, each project receiving SEK 500,000/year for a period of two years.

Dominika Radziun, a former PhD student at Karolinska Institutet, and currently a postdoctoral researcher at the Donders Institute, The Netherlands, has recently been awarded one of the five Glushko Dissertation Prizes for her doctoral thesis entitled "Body perception and brain plasticity in blind and sighted individuals".

An international research team, led by Tibor Harkany and Robert Schnell at Karolinska Institutet and MedUni Vienna's Center for Brain Research, set out to find ways of influencing hormone release to reduce stress reactions in post-traumatic stress disorder. They came across secretagogin, which regulates the release of some of the most fundamental and indispensable neurotransmitters and hormones.

In a study recently published in Nature, an international research team led by Karolinska Institutet and MedUni Vienna, addressed how and why acute heat exposure, in conditions reminiscent of a sauna session or limited exposure to the sun, leads to reduced food intake.

Neuropeptides, which are broadly considered to modulate synaptic communication, can have unique and life-long effects on brain development, particularly the wiring of neuronal circuits. Researchers at Karolinska Institutet and MedUni Vienna now show that the presence of the neuropeptide galanin during a critical window of brain development is imperative for neurons to connect efficaciously to one another. The study is published in in Nature Communications.

Bacterial meningitis is a devastating infectious disease because, even when cured, most survivors live with permanent neurological disabilities such as motor impairment, cognitive delay, hearing and vision loss, seizures, and psychiatric disorders, due to neuronal damage caused by the infection. Researchers at Karolinska Institutet have now revealed new insights into the mechanisms of bacterial brain invasion and neuronal damage during bacterial meningitis.

Call for applications for the Santander International Exchange Grants

Radboud University in collaboration with NeurotechEU invites KI students and PhDs to a summer school in “Neurotechnologies in Cellular and Systems Neuroscience”

The Strategic Research Area Neuroscience, StratNeuro, awards a total of 6,400,000 SEK to support new technologies and methods to study the nervous system.

The Strategic Research Area Neuroscience, StratNeuro, announces up to ten grants to support postdoctoral researchers at Karolinska Institutet.

Konstantinos Meletis at Karolinska Institutet has been awarded a prize from the Arvid Carlsson Foundation for his outstanding work in neuropsychiatric diseases.

The BIGS Neuroscience Summer School provides a systematic and comprehensive introduction to key neuroscience topics for first- to second-year PhD students in June 2024.

The Instituto de Neurociencias (San Juan de Alicante, Spain) offers up to 6 International Scholarships for the “Master’s Degree in Neurosciences: from the bench to the bedside” during Oct 2024 - June 2025.

Reykjavik University (the Institute for Biomedical and Neural Engineering) provides Masters students and PhD candidates in neuroscientific disciplines, bioengineering, clinical or neuro psychology, data science, and neurobiological sciences, with an opportunity to participate in a summer school (on site) during May 28th - 30th 2024. Last day of application March 8. If questions and/or interested contact Mia Bjerke.

KI bachelor, master’s and doctoral students of KI within the fields of biomedicine and life sciences are invited to apply to the 7th International BonnBrain³ Conference hosted by the Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn, in collaboration with the German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE) and the Max Planck Institute for Neurobiology of Behavior – caesar.

The increase in gun violence and Sweden's changing security situation has prompted researcher Mattias Günther and his team to reorient their research. In episode #140 of KI's podcast Medicinvetarna, he tells us how to reduce deaths from severe bleeding - and how best to protect yourself.

The European Research Council (ERC) awards a Starting Grant to promising young investigators in a variety of research fields, to kick off their careers. Alessandro Furlan, Assistant Professor at the Department of Neuroscience, who investigates how the brain and body work together to regulate critical physiological processes, is one of the early-stage scientists to be awarded this five-year grant.

The Neuroscience Internship Program Bonn, co-funded by NeurotechEU, provides bachelor and master students with an opportunity to engage in hands-on lab experiences within the field of neuroscience and neurotechnology. Last day for application Feb 29 (updated dead line)
If accepted to the program there is a possibillity to apply for travel grants. Contact Mia Bjerke.

Following an internal evaluation of the proposals, the StratNeuro board has decided to award SEK 100,000 to the proposal sent by Onur Dagliyan at the Department of Medical Biochemistry and Biophysics, to host a two months' visit in his laboratory by Cristian Ripoli, Associate Professor at the Department of Neuroscience of the Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Rome, Italy.