News archive

In October, KI submitted suggestions to the government for its research and innovation policy bill, which will be presented at the end of 2024. KI stresses the importance of basic research and free competition on research funding as well as educational investment in the form of increased compensation per student and more university places. KI also suggests a national research programme for life science centred on research and technical development.

KI’s residential management conference in October among deans, heads of department, administrative managers, academic vice presidents and heads of office proved as conducive to healthy debate as it was to pleasant socialising. Our discussions were based on the nine focus areas that have crystallised out of our dialogue with students, staff and managers about what KI needs to focus on in order to attain the goals and vision set out in Strategy 2030.

The Consolidator Grant within Medicine and Health from the Swedish Research Council has been awarded to Georgios Sotiriou at the Department of Microbiology, Tumor and Cell Biology at Karolinska Institutet. The project aims to develop a holistic therapy of chronic wounds using nanoengineered solutions.

Air pollution is the fourth largest risk factor for premature death. New research from the Institute of Environmental Medicine (IMM) shows that even very low levels of air pollution can be associated with increased risk. This does not only apply to larger cities, but also in smaller towns.

Monitoring brain injury biomarkers and glucose variation in patients who have suffered an acute cranial injury during the entire first week of hospitalisation can provide a more accurate picture of the pathological process. This is according to a paper by researchers at Karolinska Institutet published in The Lancet Neurology. It is hoped that their findings can eventually lead to more personalised treatment.

The Grand Prix Scientifique 2023 celebrates the work of a scientist or doctor who has made a significant discovery in the field of hearing. The Fondation Pour l'Audition has now awarded Professor Barbara Canlon, Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, the prize that rewards leading research.

The Graphene Flagship project

Congratulations to the researchers at the Department of Neurobiology, Care Sciences and Society (NVS) who were awarded grants from The Swedish Research Council in the call for Medicine and Health 2023. Together they received in total 19,2 million SEK.

Researchers at Karolinska Institutet and SciLifeLab have combined artificial intelligence (AI) techniques used in satellite imaging and community ecology to interpret large amounts of data from tumour tissue. The method, presented in the journal Nature Communications, could contribute to more personalised treatment of cancer patients.

Diplomas, salutes and fanfares for 155 new KI doctors and 13 jubilee doctors! 10 November was a day of celebration, as they received their accolades to much pomp and ceremony in front of 1,000 guests in Stockholm City Hall’s Blue Hall.

Alexandra Argyriou, doctoral student at the Department of Medicine, Solna and Mireia Cruz De los Santos, doctoral student at the Department of Oncology and Pathology, have been awarded the Cilla Weigelt Scholarship for outstanding research in molecular mechanisms related to rare and under-treated diseases. The scholarships, 50,000 SEK each, will be awarded on November 13.

Neuroförbundet distributes close to SEK 14 million to three ALS research projects. The research should contribute to better nursing, new medicines and precision medicines.

The award is presented by the Pediatric research foundation ”Stiftelsen Barnforskningen” at the Astrid Lindgren Children’s hospital.

KI researcher Stefan Skare receives funding from Barncancerfonden (the Swedish Childhood Cancer Fund) for the development of motion-robust MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) methods for examining awake children with brain and spinal cord tumors. The project receives a total of SEK 3.9 million over three years.

Congratulations to Kristiina Tammimies, Eric Herlenius, Ulrika Ådén and Jakob Stenman, researchers at the Department of women's and children's health, who receive funding from the Swedish Research Council's call for proposals in medicine and health in 2023.

Next spring, the National Museum of Science and Technology will be opening a branch – called The Cell – in Stockholm’s Hagastaden, with KI as knowledge partner. The Cell will be a venue where science meets art through fascinating and inspirational activities designed to educate and engage more people in the development of tomorrow’s life science field.

The Committee for Research at Karolinska Institutet has decided on recipients from the Jonas Söderquist scholarship foundation for basic research in virology and immunology.

More and more researchers understand the importance of including the patients' experiences when planning scientific studies. Meet three people who have been hired as experts in their own illness.

The most effective way to prevent cervical cancer is to give HPV vaccines to both boys and girls, reports a collaborative study involving researchers from Karolinska Institutet published in Cell, Host and Microbe. Beside personal immunity, such use of the vaccine also induces a herd immunity that will help to eradicate the carcinogenic virus types more quickly.

In the Swedish Research Council (VR) latest call for medicine and health and natural and engineering sciences 2023, research grants of 26 197 750 SEK were distributed to six researchers at the Department of Medical Biochemistry and Biophysics for the years 2023-2028.

Congratulations to the eight researchers at the Department of Biosciences and Nutrition (BioNut), Karolinska Institutet, who have received grants from the Swedish Research Council. Together they received more than SEK 27 million in total.

SSMF (Swedish Society for Medical Research) is aimed at researchers in all fields of medicine and supports basic research as well as applied research. In the autumn of 2023, seven researchers from Karolinska Institutet have been awarded grants.

In the Swedish Research Council's (VR) latest call for medicine and health 2023, research grants of 49 645 000 SEK were distributed to 11 researchers at the Department of Microbiology, Tumor and Cell Biology, for the years 2023-2028.

KI Housing is giving out cinema tickets to all tenants in the corridor/floor who have collaborated and achieved the cleanest common kitchen by the end of the competition period. The goal of this competition is to encourage collaboration in maintaining a welcoming and tidy kitchen!

KI researchers Anders Kvanta and Fredrik Lanner have been awarded a grant of SEK 10 million from the Erling-Persson Foundation for a clinical phase 1 trial on macular degeneration, a common age-related eye disease. By transplanting retinal cells from embryonic stem cells, the researchers hope to curb any further loss of vision and ultimately recover lost sight.

Karolinska Institutet and Professor Eleni Aklillu at the Department of Global Public Health leads a new initiative, that aims to enhance the oversight of medicines, medical devices, diagnostics, research ethics, and clinical trials in Tanzania and Rwanda.

MedTechLabs has granted SEK 35 million for two new medical technology research programmes. One will develop a new method for monitoring foetal oxygenation during labour. The other will develop a new method for early diagnosis of brain diseases using MR-Elastography.

The venue in Biomedicum was quickly filled with interested KI employees when the Centre of Excellence for Sustainable Health and the Centre for Health Crises welcomed them to the first policy lab on 26 October. The aim was to discuss and learn more together about how research can influence politics and society. The focus this time was on how the national Swedish political system is structured when it comes to health care issues and what ways there are to reach in with input from universities.

Researchers at Karolinska Institutet are awarded close to SEK 93 million in Forte's annual open call for proposals. The projects, which will run until 2027, span all of Forte's areas - health, working life and welfare. This year, a total of 20 projects at KI have been granted funding.

People who have a higher biological age than their actual chronological age have a significantly increased risk of stroke and dementia, especially vascular dementia. These are the results of a study from Karolinska Institutet published in the Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry.

Marta Butrym from the Center for Infectious Medicine (CIM), at the department of Medicine, Huddinge (MedH), is defending her thesis "Novel vaccines and antiviral treatments for enterovirus induced infections and disease" on November 10 2023. Main supervisor is Malin Flodström Tullberg (MedH).

Frailty is an age-related state of physiological decline and is a strong predictor of disability and mortality. Researchers are trying to improve our understanding of the biology of frailty and to find ways of identifying frail older adults with the aim to improve individualized management of frailty.

Researchers at Karolinska Institutet, Sweden have uncovered the molecular logic underpinning the assembly of spinal circuits that control the speed of locomotion in adult zebrafish. The study has recently been published in Nature Neuroscience.

Women who receive a false positive mammography result are more likely to develop breast cancer over the subsequent 20 years, report researchers from Karolinska Institutet in a study published in JAMA Oncology. The risk is highest for women aged between 60 and 75 and who have low breast density.

In the Swedish Research Council's latest call, SEK 69 000 000 was awarded to 12 researchers at the Department of Medicine, Huddinge (MedH) for the years 2023-2028.

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.

Giulia Gaudenzi and Kelly Elimian are currently running a research project focused on assessing the diagnostic accuracy of rapid diagnostic test kits for detecting cholera in environmental water in comparison to standard diagnostic methods, such as culture and PCR, in Nigeria. They have conducted trainings in Nigeria on the use of these test kits.

A new publication in Science Advances from researchers at Karolinska Institutet shows how to use a specific cancer trait to improve treatment of pancreatic tumors.

We congratulate Professor Anna Martling, Research Group for Colorectal Surgery, Department of Molecular Medicine and Surgery, chief physician Tema Cancer, Karolinska University Hospital who has been named an Honorary Fellow of the American College of Surgeons.

An early phase in the process of developing Alzheimer’s disease is a metabolic increase in a part of the brain called the hippocampus, report researchers from Karolinska Institutet in a study published in Molecular Psychiatry. The discovery opens up for new potential methods of early intervention.

Twelve international master students from ten countries received Karolinska Institutet's Global Scholarship during a ceremony in Aula Medica.

Staffan Josephsson, Division of Occupational Therapy, and Marie Kierkegaard, Division of Physiotherapy, receives nearly five million SEK each as project grant from Forte.

In a recent study published in Nature Communication, researchers from Karolinska Institutet and the Institute of Molecular Biotechnology have identified a new molecule in cells that is necessary for Ebola and Marburg viruses to infect and spread in the body.

A researcher at the Department of Biosciences and Nutrition, Karolinska Institutet, has received SEK 4.97 million in research grants from FORTE for a project on “A mHealth intervention to promote healthy lifestyle behaviours from the start of life: The Health4Life trial”.

The Institute of Environmental Medicine (IMM) has together with the Centre for Occupational and Environmental Medicine (CAMM) developed an accessible infrastructure to link environmental and occupational exposure with individual or population health for researchers at and outside Karolinska Institutet.

The National center for suicide research and prevention (NASP) has launched a fourth Swedish edition of "Preventing Suicide: A resource for media professionals." The resource is a translated and adapted version of the original edition from the World Health Organization (WHO) and addresses the effects of suicide reporting in the media and how professionals can report on suicide in a balanced and responsible manner.

A new thesis from Karolinska Institutet advocates end-of-life care that prioritizes the highest possible quality of life, avoids unnecessary or preventable risks and respects patient wishes.

Meet Anna Smed Sörensen, research group leader at the Division of Immunology and Allergy, Department of Medicine, Solna.

Meet Johan Askling, research group leader at the Division of Clinical Epidemiology (KEP), Department of medicine, Solna.

A collaborative study involving researchers from Karolinska Institutet has charted the prevalence of severe physical symptom burden amongst Scandinavians for up to two years after a SARS-CoV-2 infection. Most affected were people who had a severe COVID-19 infection, while the researchers found no elevated prevalence of long COVID in those who had never been bedridden. The study is published in The Lancet Regional Health – Europe.