About Helix
Helix strengthens and expands Sweden–Brazil collaboration in life science and health by creating a long-term structure for research, education, mobility and innovation. The initiative connects institutions and expertise across both countries to turn established collaborations into sustainable partnerships.
Background
Sweden and Brazil have a long record of working together in life science and health. Between 2023 and 2025 alone, Karolinska Institutet, Lund University and Halmstad University co-authored 924 publications with Brazilian institutions. Yet much of this collaboration rests on individual researchers and single projects, and it is concentrated in a few places, above all the São Paulo region.
Helix was created to change that. It gives the collaboration a lasting institutional structure, so that it no longer depends on individual initiatives, and it widens the circle to institutions across Brazil.
What Helix does
Helix is built around three thematic pillars: data-driven health and AI, translational and clinical integration, and health resilience and demographic transformation. Each pillar links research, education, mobility and innovation, and each is led by a Swedish academic lead together with a Brazilian co-lead.
Through the pillars, Helix runs seed calls for joint research proposals, organises workshops, and builds a mobility programme for doctoral students and early-career researchers. The programme is co-funded by academic, public and industry partners, with the aim that it keeps running after the project period ends.
Why Brazil
Brazil hosts one of the largest life science and health research systems in the Global South, with leading universities, large clinical environments and extensive public health infrastructure. It is also a gateway to the wider Latin American region. For Brazilian partners, Helix offers access to Swedish strengths in translational research, health data governance, digital health and clinical trials, and to European research and innovation networks. The partnership is built on reciprocity: both sides contribute and both gain.
How Helix is run
Helix is coordinated by Karolinska Institutet and driven jointly with Lund University and Halmstad University. A Strategic Steering Council with senior representatives from Swedish and Brazilian partners sets priorities and meets twice a year. An operational coordination unit at Karolinska Institutet handles joint calls, mobility administration and reporting. Thematic cluster leaders guide the work in each pillar.
Responsible Internationalisation
Helix follows the principles of responsible internationalisation: academic freedom, research integrity, ethical review, and careful handling of health data and AI. We favour longer stays and hybrid formats over repeated short trips, to limit the environmental impact of travel. Risks, including geopolitical ones, are reviewed regularly together with our partners.
Timeline
Helix runs from August 2026 to July 2029 and is funded by STINT, the Swedish Foundation for International Cooperation in Research and Higher Education, with co-funding from Karolinska Institutet, Lund University and Halmstad University. The project began in the year marking 200 years of diplomatic relations between Sweden and Brazil.