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Several high-profile cases of intimidation, harassment and imprisoned researchers demonstrate that academic freedom is under considerable pressure. Earlier this May, KI highlighted the situation during the seminar "Academic freedom and international collaboration in a turbulent world."

In May, KI held a seminar on academic freedom and international collaborations. The event explored the question of how research is impacted by a world that is characterized by war, conflict and democratic decline. It is not enough to develop new guidelines; actions need to be based on personal responsibility, says KI President Ole Petter Ottersen.

Collections of human remains were once a common feature of medical universities, where they were used for both education and research. Karolinska Institutet itself was home to some 800 skulls and other bones, which were kept in boxes stored in specially designated places – where they have remained untouched for decades. This – and more besides – was the subject of a seminar arranged by KI’s Ethics Council on Tuesday.

The KI Ethics Council has issued a statement condemning the increasingly hostile tone of debate, especially in connection with COVID-19.

The global shutdown during the pandemic is particularly harmful to children and teenagers in the poorer parts of the world, said Professor Anna Mia Ekström during an ethics seminar held at KI in November. Also participating at the seminar was state epidemiologist Anders Tegnell.

Karolinska Institutet’s president Ole Petter Ottersen has set up a resource team for research ethics in relation to the COVID-19 pandemic. The team comprises four experts from KI, one of whom is Niklas Juth, senior lecturer and docent of medical ethics and group convenor.

Hello Claes Frostell, professor and senior physician at the Department of Clinical Sciences at Danderyd Hospital who as of September 1 is KI’s scientific representative for two years.

Professor Claes Frostell has been named scientific representative at KI for a period of two years starting September 1, 2019.

[This article has been revised] On 21 March 2017 the paper “Experimental orthotopic transplantation of a tissue-engineered oesophagus in rats”, published in Nature Communications, was retracted by the authors due to technical flaws in the article that was discovered in an investigation.