Researching congenital growth and skeletal diseases
The understanding of congenital growth and skeletal diseases is currently limited. Ola Nilsson hopes to pave the way for new therapeutic strategies by charting the mechanisms driving these diseases. Meet one of the new professors of Karolinska Institutet who will participate in this year's installation ceremony at Aula Medica on 3 October.
Text: Karin Tideström, for KI’s installation ceremony booklet 2024
What are you researching?
“We’re studying growth and skeletal diseases. Thanks to advances in genetic diagnostics, an increasing number of children who come to the paediatric endocrinology unit receive a correct diagnosis, but despite this, our knowledge of what causes these diseases is limited and there is often no effective and safe treatment. We are studying and monitoring the medical problems of the patients in detail, and keeping records of interventions and treatments. In parallel, we perform laboratory studies in cell cultures and animal models to shed light on the underlying disease mechanisms. Our focus is on finding new therapeutic strategies that can then be tested in clinical trials.”
Why is this important?
“There are large gaps in our knowledge of how growth and skeletal diseases arise and how they are best treated. Around 200 children per year come to our paediatric endocrinology clinic to be evaluated regarding various growth and skeletal problems. The vast majority of children receive no precise diagnosis. A better understanding of the causes of growth disorders would eventually lead to new treatments. Our research will also benefit other patient groups, such as children with inflammatory diseases or osteoporosis, and children being treated for cancer, who often suffer from growth failure.”
How do you hope your results will be used?
“We hope that our research will give rise to better diagnosis, care and treatment of growth and skeletal diseases. It can also add to our knowledge of the fundamental mechanisms that dictate bone development and growth.”
About Ola Nilsson
Professor of Paediatric Endocrinology at the Department of Women’s and Children’s Health
Ola Nilsson was born in 1970 in Stockholm and grew up in Piteå. He received his medical degree at Karolinska Institutet in 1998 and earned his PhD with a thesis on the effects of estrogen on growth in 2002. Ola Nilsson did his postdoc studies at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), USA. In 2011, he became docent at Karolinska Institutet and specialist in paediatrics. He performed a clinical fellowship at NIH 2011–2014 and held the professorship of paediatrics at Örebro University 2016–2023. He is now a consultant at the paediatric endocrinology clinic and leads the multidisciplinary skeletal dysplasia team at Astrid Lindgren Children’s Hospital. Ola Nilsson was appointed Professor of Paediatric Endocrinology at Karolinska Institutet on 1 September 2023.