Wilhelmina Hoffman and Fredrik Lundberg made honorary doctors at Karolinska Institutet

Wilhelmina Hoffman

Wilhelmina Hoffman is a doctor and specialist in geriatrics, and is one of this year’s recipients of an honorary doctorate of medicine from Karolinska Institutet. Medical advances require research, innovation, education and the effective clinical implementation of scientific evidence. Wilhelmina Hoffman has been pioneering in her understanding of these interconnections and the need for change, and her opening of new collaborative channels between universities, particularly KI, and healthcare at primary, specialised environments and nursing homes. Throughout her career, she has focused with great acumen and purpose on building bridges between academy and clinic, science and clinical practice, and research and education.

Wilhelmina Hoffman’s contributions as CEO of Silviahemmet and the Swedish Dementia Centre have led to great improvements in elderly care through the training of clinical personnel and the implementation of evidence-based clinical practice. The evidence-based care programme, which was initially offered to nursing auxiliaries and nurses at Stiftelsen Silviahemmet, has since been extended with the help of KI to a Master’s degree in dementia care for doctors, physiotherapists and occupational therapists. Thirty-two doctors and 20 therapists have graduated to date. A new dementia programme began in 2021 for dentists, dental hygienists, speech therapists and audiologists, of which six employees have already received a certificate. This is also being run in association with KI.

Dr Hoffman draws her inspiration from her years of clinical experience in geriatrics, upon which she has developed a comprehensive method for the care of the elderly that places the patient in the centre of many different public health interventions, from preventative, diagnostic and therapeutic to relevant health-related issues such as function and social care.

“It’s a true honour to receive this accolade, which is testimony to the university’s acknowledgement of the importance of dementia diseases and the vital connections between research, healthcare and social care in the efforts to create a more dementia-friendly society,” she says.

Thanks to her sterling work in Sweden and abroad, Dr Hoffman has become a key player in the dissemination of the latest information on dementia and dementia care to professionals, lay people and decision-makers.

Fredrik Lundberg

Engineer and economist Fredrik Lundberg is the second recipient of an honorary doctorate in medicine from Karolinska Institutet. The thoracical surgery research group contacted Fredrik Lundberg in 2006 to ask if he could contribute financially to its cardiovascular research specialising in diseases of the aortic valve and ascending aorta. Fredrik Lundberg showed an immediate interest in the issues, and by the following year had made a large donation to the multidisciplinary, translation research project on these diseases.

The group that has been formed around these projects has included some 50 researchers and doctors, and involved a variety of departments at KI. Their results have been presented at countless national and international meetings, conferences and workshops, and given rise to a number of major international collaborations. Further generous donations have since been made over the years.

With Fredrik Lundberg’s recurring support, a large number of scientific papers have been published and theses defended, and the scientific results generated have benefited patients by reforming preoperative investigations and surgical strategies and by developing gentler and more targeted follow-up programmes.

Apart from providing much-needed financial support, Fredrik Lundberg has shown a personal interest in education at KI. He and members of his family take part in the annual Lundberg Symposium, to which he himself participates actively in the discussions.

“It was with great pride and personal joy that I received the news of my nomination for an honorary doctorate at Karolinska Institutet,” he says. “I have been supporting the thoracic surgery research group since 2006, and seen great strides being taken in research that will benefit a great many people. I’m impressed by the high level of skills that exist at Karolinska Institutet and wish them continued success.”