News archive

The government is funding Genomic Medicine Sweden (GMS) with SEK 80 million in 2025. The special support will be used, among other things, for continued investments in the sustainable development and implementation of precision medicine in cancer care. Richard Rosenquist Brandell, professor at KI and director of GMS, describes the initiative as an important investment in the future of healthcare.

The Workshop on Genome Editing Tool Developments and Clinical Applications (#HKCRISPR25) was successfully held at the Hong Kong Science Park in April 2025.

A groundbreaking national initiative, Precision Omics Initiative Sweden (PROMISE), aims to connect research with healthcare and establish Sweden as a world leader in data-driven precision medicine. The vision was recently published in the scientific journal Nature Medicine.

Researchers at Karolinska Institutet and Karolinska University Hospital have identified biomarkers in the blood that can be used to distinguish gallbladder cancer from inflammation of the gallbladder. This could lead to fewer unnecessary operations and better treatment decisions for patients with suspected gallbladder cancer. The study has been published in the journal JHEP Reports.

KI Innovations – the company that helps researchers at Karolinska Institutet commercialise their discoveries – is to receive SEK 29 million from Vinnova (the Swedish governmental agency for innovation systems) for 2025 to 2029. “It’s proof of the quality of our business and the startups that we work with,” says Johan Weigelt, CEO of KI Innovations and KI Holding AB.

Researchers at Karolinska Institutet and the Astrid Lindgren Children’s Hospital in Sweden have determined how children’s immune systems react to different kinds of cancer depending on their age. The study, which is published in the journal Cell, reveals significant differences between the immune response of children and adults, and has the potential to lead to new tailored treatments for children with cancer.

In the latest issue of Newsweek Magazine, there is an article on the implementation of whole genome sequencing in the USA, "Scientists and Doctors Reveal How Genes are Mapping Cures for Cancer". One of the persons being interviewed is Richard Rosenquist Brandell, Professor and research group leader for clinical genetics and director of Genomic Medicine Sweden.

Using a new technique, long-read sequencing, that allows DNA to be analyzed in much greater detail than before, a team of Swedish clinicians and researchers has discovered an unexpected complexity in chromosomal abnormalities. The study opens the door to more precise and effective treatment of patients with rare diseases that currently lack clear diagnoses.

Thuy Tran's research group at Karolinska Institutet has been awarded SEK 8 million over three years from the Erling-Persson Foundation to develop a precision-orientated, theranostic, method that integrates the diagnosis and treatment of advanced, solid tumours.

On 4 November, Knut Steffensen will be taking up office as the director of the Karolinska ATMP Centre, a leading centre for advanced therapy medicinal products, with research, manufacture and treatment all under one roof.

Researchers at Karolinska Institutet have identified a new potential risk marker for cardiovascular disease in women. A new study shows an association between low levels of an anti-inflammatory antibody and the risk of heart attack and coronary heart disease. The study is published in the Journal of American College of Cardiology.

Vinnova is investing in precision medicine and awarding grant funding to six innovation environments. Two of them are at Karolinska Institutet, and both focus on treating cancer. The aim of the grants is to fund efforts to bring greater precision to the diagnosis and treatment of common diseases.

Bothnia dystrophy is a form of hereditary blindness, prevalent in the region Västerbotten in Sweden. A new study at Karolinska Institutet published in Nature Communications shows that gene therapy can improve vision in patients with the disease.

The cost of whole-genome sequencing is approaching that of the traditional genetic tests currently used for patients diagnosed with acute leukemia, according to a new study published in the Journal of Medical Economics. With costs falling and whole-genome sequencing adding new information that can improve treatment decisions, researchers see a future in which whole-genome sequencing becomes the standard for acute leukemias.

Men with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer should be treated primarily with second-generation hormone drugs, which offer better treatment response and longer life expectancy than chemotherapy. However, the effect depends on which mutations the patient’s tumour carries. This is shown by results from the ProBio study, led by researchers at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden. The findings are published in Nature Medicine.

Personalized medicine is transforming cancer treatment by tailoring therapies to the genomic profile of each tumor. Next-generation sequencing (NGS) is key to this approach, but its complexity and inconsistent reporting have been hurdles. A recent paper in Annals of Oncology introduces new guidelines to standardize NGS reports, aiding clinicians in making informed decisions and improving patient outcomes.

Karolinska Institutet and Karolinska University Hospital are launching another tripartite collaboration, this time with Elekta. The aim is to join forces in the field of cancer with a focus on radiation therapy and precision medicine.

KI, Karolinska University Hospital and AstraZeneca are entering into a tripartite collaboration to promote the development of precision medicine in Sweden. The ambition is that patients throughout the country will have access to tailored prevention, diagnosis, treatment and follow-up.

The 2024 Karolinska Comprehensive Cancer Centre Day draw a large number of experts in the field of cancer research from KI and Karolinska University Hospital. The theme this year was prevention, with particular attention directed to scientific advances and remaining challenges, as well as to how involving patients in prevention enhances quality of care.

KI researcher Laura Baranello has been awarded the prestigious ERC Consolidator Grant for her researches into the interaction between the cancer-driving protein MYC and topoisomerase enzymes. Her aim is to identify drugs for more targeted cancer therapy with fewer side-effects. Laura Baranello’s MYCinTOPshape project has been awarded approximately EUR 2 million to be spread over five years.

Through a new call form, the Swedish Childhood Cancer Fund is funding two research programmes that will look at different types of unwanted side effects, primarily from chemotherapy. Precision medicine and the opportunities offered by the development of biomarkers are common to the two programmes, which are led by KI researchers Susanna Ranta and Kenny Rodriguez-Wallberg, respectively, and which now share SEK 19 million over four years.

Karolinska Institutet is to be an engine driving the realisation of Sweden’s potential in the field of life science. As an important step in this direction, Professor Anna Martling has been appointed Scientific Director Life Science at KI. Professor Martling has spent the past three years leading KI’s efforts to implement precision medicine in healthcare, a remit that is now being expanded to cover KI’s overall work in life science.

The Swedish Childhood Cancer Fund's allocation reflects the needs that exist in areas such as new technology and precision medicines. This year's call for proposals means that SEK 125 million will be allocated to 62 projects in the field of childhood cancer, of which SEK 35,400,000 will go to researchers at Karolinska Institutet.

Dementia diseases cost Swedish society around SEK 80 billion per year. The EU has now awarded funding to the Prominent project, which aims to improve both diagnostics and treatment for these diseases. Karolinska Institutet is responsible for the project in the role of coordinator.

On 1 November 2023, Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson and Health Minister Acko Ankarberg Johansson, visited Genomic Medicine Sweden (GMS) to learn about the work on precision medicine for improved cancer care. Some of the topics discussed included broad gene sequencing as part of personalised healthcare, as well as the treatment and accessibility of data.

Anna Wedell, professor at Karolinska Institutet, has been awarded the Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences (IVA) Gold Medal 2023 for her efforts in precision medicine. This gold medal has been awarded since 1921 for outstanding achievements in technology, economics, business and society.

Cardiovascular disease is one of the most common causes of death in Sweden and in the world. Researchers at Karolinska Institutet, among others, have now found that artificial intelligence seems to play a role in identifying the risk of cardiovascular disease. The study, published in Cardiovascular Research, may in the future lead to more accurate diagnostic methods.

Karolinska University Hospital's Director Björn Zoëga and Karolinska Institutet's President Annika Östman Wernerson have signed an agreement to establish a joint center for advanced cell, gene and tissue therapies.

To bring Sweden’s presidency of the EU to a close, the government is arranging a European Life Science conference to be held at Karolinska Institutet’s Aula Medica on 26–27 June. The theme of the conference is precision medicine, and KI – along with Karolinska University Hospital – has helped to draw up the programme.

Professor Stefan Swartling Peterson was invited to present on “prevention” in Warsaw, Poland, as the World Bank’s Anna Koziel organized a seminar May 19th to inspire prevention stakeholders from Poland and Western Ukraine. The challenge is to conceive an Non Communicable Disease prevention agenda that involves more than health care and to develop Primary Health Care. We foresee further collaboration opportunities as this initiative develops.

A new Swedish study on the etiology of neuromuscular disorders has been published in the scientific journal Frontiers in Neurology. The study was carried out by researchers in the Rare Diseases group at the Department of Molecular Medicine and Surgery, Karolinska Institutet, in collaboration with doctors at Karolinska University Hospital.

As part of the Swedish presidency of the EU's Council of Ministers, the health ministers of EU countries were invited to an informal meeting in Stockholm on the 4th and 5th of May. The meting concerned issues of preparedness and securing access to innovative and established medicines.

Researchers at Karolinska Institutet and Karolinska University Hospital have together with health economists at Linköping University analyzed costs for various methods to diagnose genetic causes of intellectual disability. The study, published in Scientific Reports, shows that the costs when using whole genome sequencing as a first-line diagnostic test were lower compared to chromosomal microarray analysis.

Region Stockholm has launched a new action plan for precision medicine in the region. The plan, which was devised in consultation with Karolinska Institutet and Karolinska University Hospital, will allow more patients to benefit from the research being done in the field of precision medicine.

A team of researchers at Karolinska Institutet, SciLifeLab and Karolinska University Hospital will receive a total of 14.7 million Swedish kronor from the Swedish Research Council (VR). The four-year grant is part of the council’s push to increase accessibility to research infrastructure and will involve making available new technologies for clinical studies in precision medicine.

Minister for Education Mats Persson met researchers and students when he visited Karolinska Institutet on 1 February. Topics of discussion with the students included the conditions relating to clinical placements, student funding rules and the situation for overseas students and doctoral students. The researchers, for their part, talked about the progress being made in areas such as precision medicine and about KI’s preparedness for new health crises.

Karolinska University Hospital and Karolinska Institutet are creating Sweden’s first innovation environment for the development of precision medicine technologies. The decision to establish a join innovation environment for healthcare, research and precision medicine technologies in Solna and Huddinge is a vital step in growing the field of precision medicine.

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.

From byte to bench to bed side – addressing large and complex data sets in biomedicine
KI Network Medicine Alliance offers an advanced course in Network Medicine 19th-20th of October 2022

In Sweden, the key to the successful implementation of precision medicine in healthcare has been the bottom-up approach where academia and healthcare have joined forces to build a national infrastructure. 42 authors from the Clinical Genomics platform at SciLifeLab and Genomic Medicine Sweden, GMS, summarizes the work in Nature Medicine.

Karolinska Institutet (KI) has been assigned the task of hosting the national node for data-driven life science in precision medicine and diagnostics. By developing and providing support and optimal conditions, the aim is to drive research in this area forwards regionally, nationally and internationally.

EIT Health Scandinavia International has awarded SEK 23 million in research grants to support international collaboration in precision prevention in rheumatology, with almost half of the grant distributed to Karolinska Institutet and Region Stockholm. The scope of the project includes creating the conditions for the early diagnosis of risk factors for developing RA (rheumatoid arthritis) and enabling patients at risk of developing RA to manage the risk through lifestyle changes.

Currently available therapies to treat multiple sclerosis (MS) lack precision and can lead to serious side effects. Researchers at KI have now developed a method for identifying the immune cells involved in autoimmune diseases, and have identified four new target molecules of potential significance for future personalised treatment of MS. The results, which are published in Science Advances, have been obtained in collaboration with KTH Royal Institute of Technology and Region Stockholm.

The causes of complex diseases can be identified by representing them in the form of mathematically produced networks. This method was used to find bacteria that drive atopic dermatitis, for example.

Karolinska Institutet and Karolinska University Hospital have strengthened collaboration within precision medicine by establishing the Precision Medicine Centre Karolinska (PMCK) and have now entered into a unique cooperation agreement.

The February sun was glittering in the glazed facades when Karolinska Institutet welcomed Minister for Education Anna Ekström on Monday 28 February. Meanwhile, the situation grew gloomier in Ukraine, which was demonstrated by, amongst other things, a lecture in disaster medicine.

Researchers at Karolinska Institutet and the University of Gothenburg have found another piece of the puzzle in the treatment of the childhood cancer neuroblastoma. A new case report, published in JCO Precision Oncology, describes the successful targeted treatment of a boy with neuroblastoma and a specific mutation.

Researchers at Karolinska Institutet and the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in USA, have mapped how genes work together to cause cardiovascular disease. The study published in Nature Cardiovascular Research, suggests that that nearly 60 percent of the risk associated with coronary artery disease may be explained by regulatory gene networks.

Can artificial intelligence (AI) overcome the challenges of precision medicine? We asked Magnus Boman, professor at KTH and affiliated to KI, whose research includes looking at how AI can be used in healthcare.

What is precision psychiatry? KI researcher Kristiina Tammimies gives an example. She is a research leader at the KIND competence centre, the Department of Women’s and Children’s Health, and studies the role of genetics in neuropsychiatric disorders.