Seven KI researchers receive grants for basic research from the Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation
New, effective, personalised cancer immunotherapy, better treatment for inflammatory bowel disease and improved protection against infections and viruses are some examples of basic research that is now being funded by the Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation. Of the total of 30 projects sharing SEK 835 million, seven are run by researchers at Karolinska Institutet.
“The Foundation's evaluation process is focused on identifying projects that are at the forefront of international research and that can contribute to new knowledge,” says Peter Wallenberg Jr, Chair of Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation, in a press release.
A total of 30 projects, in medicine, natural sciences and technology, have been evaluated after an international peer review process to have such high scientific potential that they have the possibility of leading to future scientific breakthroughs.
Each project has been evaluated by at least four or five international experts in the respective field.
Since 2011, when Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation established the project grant form, until 2024, 303 projects with a total budget of SEK 8.3 billion have been granted.
Funded projects at KI
Project: “Spatially resolving tumor and immune clonal niches in human breast cancer”
Grant: SEK 26 000 000 over five years
Principal investigator: Dr. Camilla Engblom
Camilla Engblom is an assistant professor of immunology at the Department of Medicine, Solna. Her project will involve characterizing breast tumours focusing on their micro-environment and developing new methods of analysis.
The researchers are hoping to understand in detail how cells interact in the tumour micro-environment with a particular focus on antibody-forming B cells.
One objective is to identify biomarkers able to predict which tumours will respond to immunotherapy using AI and 3D tumour models; they also hope to find new molecular therapeutic targets.
Project: “New chronic pain mechanisms: Spatiotemporal dynamics of dysregulated proteins in inflammatory pain”
Grant: SEK 34 000 000 over five years
Principal investigator: Professor Patrik Ernfors
Patrik Ernfors is professor of tissue biology at the Department of Medical Biochemistry and Biophysics. Even when rheumatoid arthritis is successfully treated, many afflicted experience remaining pain. Ernfors has discovered a signalling pathway that could explain pain in inflammation.
In the project, the researchers will be using a range of techniques, such as optogenetics on individual proteins, to describe in detail the new mechanism in mice.
They also hope to confirm that the signal pathway leads to pain in healthy participants, and that it can be blocked by inhibiting the pathway.
Project: ”Next Generation Spatial Membrane Biology”
Grant: SEK 26 000 000 over five years
Principal investigator: Professor Björn Högberg
Björn Högberg is a professor of molecular systems biophysics at the Department of Medical Biochemistry and Biophysics.
His interest lies in how cells signal to each other, and he has shown that it is often the case that cells detect patterns of proteins on the surface of other cells, the form of which determines whether or not a signal is transmitted.
Under this project, the researchers will be developing new techniques for reading protein patterns. To do this, they will use DNA that will become imprinted with pattern information, which can be read out in the next step using DNA sequencing.
Project: “Novel Nitric Oxide Signaling Modalities for Cardiovascular Therapeutics”
Grant: SEK 31 000 000 over five years
Principal investigator: Professor Jon Lundberg
Jon Lundberg is professor of nitric oxide pharmacologics at the Department of Physiology and Pharmacology. Nitric oxide (NO) signalling is believed to occur when free NO diffuses in and between cells.
He and his colleagues are floating the thesis that NO binds instead to the iron in a free heme to form NO ferroheme – an entirely new signaling entity.
They will be studying the bonding, occurrence and function of endogenous NO ferroheme and the interaction between dietary nitrate and red blood cells, since nitrate can form biologically active NO ferroheme in these cells. The long-term objective is better targeted treatments for cardiovascular disease.
Project: “T-MAP: Translating the Functional Role of Mucosal IgA Clonal and Glycoprofiles to Effective Humoral Mucosal Protection”
Grant: SEK 25 000 000 over five years
Principal investigator: Docent Charlotte Thålin
Charlotte Thålin is an associate professor at the Department of Clinical Sciences, Danderyd Hospital. Her project will involve the mapping of molecular-level structure and function of IgA antibodies at the respiratory mucosa.
She has collected a series of blood and nasal secretion samples, from which it will be possible to determine protective IgA antibody traits. These will serve as templates for the glycoengineering of IgA antibodies which will then be evaluated in functional in-vitro tests.
The aim is an intranasal or aerosol delivery of recombinant IgA antibodies effectively blocking respiratory infections and viral spread.
Project: “A Spatially Functional Atlas of the Healing Intestinal Barrier: Implications for Inflammatory Bowel Diseases”
Grant: SEK 26 000 000 over five years
Principal investigator: Docent Eduardo Villablanca
Eduardo Villablanca is docent of immunology at the Department of Medicine, Solna. He will be continuing his work using a variety of techniques to ascertain how the intestinal mucosa can be made to heal after an inflammatory bowel disease.
Part of his project involves creating an atlas of the interaction between different kinds of cell and between cells and bacteria in the gut microbiome.
The researchers will also be using material from patients with inflammatory bowel disease in order to find candidate molecules that could lead to improved therapies.
Project: “Expressing mtDNA – from basic mechanisms to pathophysiology in humans”
Grant: SEK 24 000 000 over five years
Principal investigator: Professor Anna Wredenberg
Anna Wredenberg is professor of mitochondrial biology at the Department of Medical Biochemistry and Biophysics. Mitochondria form a central hub in our metabolism, and defects in this delicate system can result in serious diseases. Currently, there are no effective treatments for these conditions, leaving patients with limited options.
In this project, researchers led by Professor Wredenberg will study how mitochondria interact with their cellular environment. Specifically, they will investigate the interaction between the mitochondrial genome and its nuclear counterpart, and how miscommunication in this interaction can trigger different diseases in various tissues.
The findings from this research will be used to advance therapeutic approaches for treating patients with mitochondrial diseases.