Surgical Care Science - News Archive 2012-2021
Planning day 2021
Monday 15th November the research groups Upper Gastrointestinal Surgery (UGIS) and Surgical Care Science (SCS) met at Hotel Skeppsholmen for a Planning Day. The outcomes from the last year’s planning day were presented by the research group leaders Jesper Lagergren (UGIS) and Pernilla Lagergren (SCS). Future plans and goals for the years ahead were discussed for each work category – administration and senior researchers, PhD students and statisticians, as well as all together.
The groups also took part to a session lead by Anders Wiberg, from KI Health Promotion, which focused on how to integrate physical activities in the office's daily life.
It was nice to finally meet in person and to discuss our future work and set the aims to develop our research!
New Associate professor
Congratulations to Anna Schandl who has been appointed Associate professor in Nursing!
New coordinator for the SWE-REG national network
Poorna Anandavadivelan researcher in the Surgical Care Science (SCS) group, has been appointed as the new coordinator for the SWE-REG national network (Register-based research funded by the Swedish Research Council) for half-time until end of 2023. Poorna will take over the role from fellow SCS researcher
Anna Schandl who coordinated the network until March 2021.
Warm congratulations for this new position Poorna!
For more information about the SWE-REG network and its activities click here
Grant from the Sjöberg Foundation
Pernilla Lagergren has been awarded a research grant from the Sjöberg Foundation and will receive 5,000,000 SEK for 3 years for her project titled “RECAPP – RECovery APP for oesophageal cancer patients”.
See also: https://news.ki.se/sek-12-million-awarded-from-the-sjoberg-foundation
Grant from the Stockholm Cancer Society
Stockholm Cancer Society has awarded our research project “Towards improved survivorship among esophageal cancer patients” 900,000 SEK during for the coming 3-year period. We are very happy to have received this opportunity to continue working towards improving oesophageal cancer survivorship.
Professor and research group leader Pernilla Lagergren has received 2 400 000 SEK funding from the Swedish Research Council
The funding will be employed during the 3 coming years for the continuation of the Physical Activity intervention study (LINK). This study includes also a long-term follow-up, which takes place 4 years after the intervention. This is fantastic news for our research group and for the patients involved in this study!
Anna Schandl, senior researcher at the Surgical Care Science research group
Has received extended funding for her clinical research position one more year. This funding has been awarded by the Stockholm County Council for her research about Reflux as a long-lasting and debilitating symptom for patients who have undergone surgery for esophageal cancer. Congratulations Anna!
Anna Schandl
Affiliated to ResearchA new study has been accepted for publication in the prestigious surgery journal Annals of Surgery (impact factor 10.2)
By combining data from Sweden (SOEGAS) and Finland (FINEGO) we could conduct a large and population-based cohort study that showed 18% decreased all-cause 5-year mortality following minimally invasive oesophagectomy (n=470) compared to open oesophagectomy (n=794). The survival benefit was clearer for total minimally invasive surgery (23%) than for hybrid variants (13%). Eivind Gottlieb-Vedi, PhD candidate in the Upper GI research group was first author and co-authors were Joonas Kauppila, Fredrik Mattsson, Mats Lindblad, Magnus Nilsson, Pernilla Lagergren, Ioannis Rouvelas, and Jesper Lagergren.
SWEREG (Swedish register-based research network) first web-based conference
SWEREG is a Swedish network consisting of seven research nodes, including our node (UGIR, Upper Gastrointestinal Research), and one research school in registry-based research.
On October the 1st we arranged the first SWEREG conference (Zoom webinar) together with the MEB-node of statisticians. The webinar was attended by 70 participants. Anna Schandl, senior researcher in our group and national coordinator of the network, was a moderator of the meeting.
During the conference each node presented and discussed their own research with other nodes and identified areas of collaboration that are be valuable for the network. The remaining part of the webinar was dedicated to group discussions about collaborations.
Planning Day 2020
The Surgical Care Science and Upper GI Surgery research groups held a Planning Day on Friday October 16th.
To allow members of the group who work from home and those who live abroad to participate, the event took place both in our office premises and on Zoom and lasted for a half-day.
The research group leaders, Jesper Lagergren (UGIR) and Pernilla Lagergren (SCS) presented the outcomes from last year´s planning day and what was on the schedule for this day. We were divided into 4 groups (Administration, Biostatisticians, PhD students and Researchers) and discussed what can be improved and/or changed to develop our work and research.
The day started with a nice breakfast for those in the office and ended with a lunch and a nice walk through the Autumn colored KI campus.
Anna Schandl appointed coordinator for VRREG
Anna Schandl, researcher in the Surgical Care Science (SCS) group, has been appointed coordinator for the VRREG national network (Register-based research funded by the Swedish Research Council) for half-time during 4 years. Congratulations Anna for this fantastic research position!
Hilda and Alfred Eriksson's Prize 2020
Pernilla Lagergren will be awarded the 2020 Hilda and Alfred Eriksson's Prize together with Jesper Lagergren. They receive this prestigious prize "for their important contributions to understanding oesophageal cancer, its patterns, treatment, quality of life and survival".
The Hilda and Alfred Eriksson's Prize is awarded annually by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences for outstanding research "for the relief of diseases both in humans and animals"
First study from the OSCAR cohort published in Acta Oncologica
In a nationwide Swedish cohort who have undergone surgery for esophageal cancer, between 2013 and 2018, several less explored patient-reported outcomes were collected. The results showed that the most common problems 1 year after surgery were associated with food intake, sleep, fatigue and anxiety. However, less debilitating symptoms were sometimes more debilitating for the individual patient. The study is published in Acta Oncologica.
Patient-reported outcomes 1 year after oesophageal cancer surgery
COVID-19 and OSCAR cohort
The Surgical Care Science group has started to collect data on the impact of social distancing and isolation due to COVID-19 pandemic on oesophageal cancer patients in Sweden. Participants are those included in the OSCAR study. The COVID-19 pandemic may have a great impact on cancer patients and we thus hope to contribute to improve our knowledge and raise awareness in the scientific community and the public on this matter.
Sandra Nielsen, new research nurse
Sandra is the research nurse within the OSCAR study who joined the Surgical Care Science research group in September 2019. She has a background in nursing and public health. Her role consists in travelling around Sweden to collect data and interview patients included in the OSCAR-study. Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, she conducts her interviews by phone and is involved in collecting data on the impact of social distancing and isolation on oesophageal cancer patients.
Sandra Nielsen
Research Nurse
Permanent post for Giulia Marras
Giulia will have a permanent employment as executive assistant of Jesper and Pernilla. We highly appreciate the work she has done so far and look forward to continued collaboration for hopefully a very long time to come.
Move to KI Campus
Our group will move to KI Campus area 2nd December. We have highly appreciated our current offices at Norra Stationsgatan 67 for the last 10 years, but now very much look forward to moving in the central part of the campus area of Karolinska Institutet. We will have our new nice offices in the top floor of Retzius väg 13 b.
We received funding as a research node in register-based research from the Swedish Research Council!
We got 13 million SEK during the next 5-year period (starting from this year already). Jesper Lagergren was the main applicant and the co-applicants were Pernilla Lagergren, Shaohua Xie, Giola Santoni, Sheraz Markar och Helen Rosenlund. This is absolutely great news. We are the only node that got this funding 3 times. Congratulations to both our groups and our shared node!
Teachers on a course on Hawaii
In February the research group leaders Pernilla Lagergren, from Surgical Care Sciences, and Jesper Lagergren, from Upper Gastrointestinal Surgery, were teachers on the course “Medical and Surgical Aspects of Esophageal and Foregut Disorders: Pathophysiology and Treatment” on Hawaii. They were both invited as Keynote speakers. Jesper had as many as 5 hours of teaching. For the first time the course content included topics on health-related quality of life and patient-reported outcomes which Pernilla did talk about. It was an intensive full-time course week (8-10 hours per day) with mandatory participation during the entire course by teachers and participants. There were a lot of discussions and debates with 115 well prepared participants with great knowledge in the diseases of the oesophagus.
Welcome Zhao Cheng to the research group
Zhao Cheng has joined the research group and will have Pernilla Lagergren as her main supervisor. Her proposed PhD thesis is titled "Comorbidity and preoperative weight change in relation to complications and patient-reported outcomes after surgery for oesophageal cancer ". Warmly welcome Zhao!
Dissertation
Congratulations Poorna Anandavadivelan for a well conducted dissertation on December 14, 2018, see Dissertations.
Pernilla Lagergren awarded Eric K. Fernström's Prize 2018
Congratulations to Professor Pernilla Lagergren who has been awarded with the Eric K. Fernström prize for her research on Quality of life among patients diagnosed with Oesophageal cancer.
Planning Day 2018
The Upper GI surgery and the Surgical Care Science research groups had a joint planning day at Paschens Malmgård at Bellevue 4th of October. We listened to a surgeon, Ioannis Rouvelas, about the care pathway at Huddinge hospital and to a patient describing her journey through the diagnosis and treatment. After a visit to Carl Eldhs museum we used the afternoon to discuss future research possibilities an how to improve our work. The day gave perspectives and renewed motivation.
Welcome Helen Rosenlund!
We welcome Helen Rosenlund, dietitian and junior researcher, who joined the group Surgical Care Science in September. She got her PhD in 2010 and made her postdoc at KI SöS. Her research will focus on nutritional aspects after oesophageal cancer surgery in the OSCAR study. She also works clinically at Danderyd hospital and will combine this with her research.
Welcome Huiting Tang from Nanjing Medical University
Huiting Tang is a lecturer and Master of Medicine and is here on an exchange from Nanjing Medical University, Department of Clinical Nursing. Surgical Care Sciences together with Upper Gastro Intestinal Research started a fruitful collaboration with Nanjing Medical University last year. Huiting's purpose of her exchange is to join more researches, take courses and get an insight in Swedish hospital care.
Welcome Nora Tenow Benulic
Nora started to work with us about a year ago helping out with data administration for the OSCAR study. This autumn, 2018, she is here full time and is also working with other administrative tasks.
10-year symposium of SIMSAM: The Future of Swedish Register-Based Research
SIMSAM (short for Swedish Initiative for Research on Microdata in the Social And Medical Sciences) is a 10-year initiative of funding of innovative interdisciplinary register-based research by the Swedish Research Council. Together with the SIMSAM-node SUNDEM at Stockholm University, we (in the capacity of the SIMSAM-node UGIR) jointly arranged an open national one day symposium to acknowledge achievements of the six research nodes and the research school node and to discuss future developments.
The leaders of the seven SIMSAM nodes presented their valuable experiences and accomplishments during the years. The representatives of the Swedish Research Council (VR), Swedish National Board of Health and Welfare (Socialstyrelsen), Statistics Sweden (SCB) and the Swedish National Data Service (SND) shared their views on the challenges and possibilities in the past and ahead. Among the keynote speakers was Olivia Wigzell, Director General of the Swedish National Board of Health and Welfare.
To find out more about SIMSAM please visit www.simsam.nu
Welcome Cecilia Haddad Ringborg
We welcome PhD student Cecilia Haddad Ringborg to the group. Cecilia's work is focused on the relative perspective of patients who have undergone surgery for oesophageal cancer. She is also attending research school in care sciences.
Grant from the Swedish Research Council
We are grateful to have received 3,450,000 SEK for the project “Physical training program for better survivorship after oesophageal cancer surgery” from the Swedish Research Council for 2018-2020.
The second Sino-Sweden Joint Workshop
In October, representatives of the Upper GI Surgery and Surgical Care Science research groups visited Nanjing Medical University and the university hospital in Huai'an in China. This is the region in China with the highest incidence of oesophageal cancer and at this well organised visit both the research undertaken at our universities and the different challenges we face were discussed. Our sincere hope is that we in the future will deepen our co-operation being able use our respective strengths and advantages to further the knowledge about this cancer disease. The visit was a part of a China-Sweden Network Grant we received in 2015, funded by the Swedish Research Council in Sweden and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) in China.
We welcome Yangjun Liu to the research group
Yangjun Liu has joined the research group and will have Pernilla Lagergren as her main supervisor. Her proposed PhD thesis is titled “The influence of psychosocial factors on recovery after surgery for oesophageal cancer”.
We wish you a very warm welcome Yangjun!
Grant from Forte
We are pleased to have received 2,930,000 SEK for the project "Physical training program for better survivorship and return to work after extensive cancer surgery" from Forte – Swedish Research Council for Health, Working Life and Welfare.
Kick off autumn term 2017
Together with the Upper Gastrointestinal Surgery research group we had a nice kick off at van der Nootska palatset in mid September. The program included brainstorming about new projects, a presentation by the Dean of Research Anders Gustavsson and Anethe Mansén from Career service. We also had a nice guided tour around the historical Old Town.
End of term seminar and picnic
On 14th June we had our end of term seminar at Piperska Muren with external and internal talks followed by a nice picnic in Rålambshovsparken.
Dissertation
Congratulations Ylva Hellstadius for a well conducted dissertation on June 2nd, 2017, see Dissertations
End of Term
The groups Upper GI Surgery and Surgical Care Science have had their traditional End of Year seminar this week. Jesper Lagergren and Pernilla Lagergren have a summary of the excellent achievements we have accomplished this year. We also listened to assistant professor Helin V. Norberg talking about the timely topic autophagy. Thereafter we enjoyed a vegetarian Christmas lunch together. Thanks for a very productive 2016 and looking forward to 2017. Merry Christmas everyone!
Half time seminar
Congratulations Poorna Anandavadivelan for a well conducted half-time on 9th November 2016.
A Sino-Sweden Joint Workshop: New developments in Oesophageal Cancer
We hosted a well-attended workshop the 13th to 14th of October with the title "Recent Developments in Oesophageal Cancer" in the Aula Medica at KI. Among the very prominent guests was the President of the Nanjing Medical University, professor Hongbing Shen, together with other researchers from the same university. We discussed on-going studies, future plans and opportunities for collaboration between the Chinese researchers and the groups Upper GI Surgery and Surgical Care Science. We also listened to the Deputy Vice-Chancellor for International Affairs at KI, professor Maria Masucci and a nestor of KI-China collaborations, professor Ingemar Ernberg.
The workshop was a part of a China-Sweden Network Grant we received earlier this year, funded by the Swedish Research Council in Sweden and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) in China.
Poorna Anandavadivelan reciver of a poster prize
During the MMK Department’s Day 17 May 2016 there was a poster expedition and everybody could vote for the best poster. We are very delighted that Poorna was the winner with her poster and she received a diploma from the Head of the Department, Martin Bäckdahl. Congratulations Poorna!
Dissertation
Congratulations Lovisa Backemar for a well conducted dissertation on March 11, 2016, see Dissertations
Pernilla Lagergren recipient of Anders Jahres prize in medicine for young researcher
Congratulation Pernilla to this prestigious prize. She is awarded the prize for her ”groundbreaking research on factors that affect survival and quality of life following cancer surgery”. See link for more information: http://ki.se/en/news/two-ki-researchers-receive-anders-jahres-awards-for-medical-research
New post-doc researcher
We welcome our new post-doc researcher Anna Schandl to the group.
Anna Schandl
Affiliated to ResearchPublication in Journal of Clinical Oncology
Congratulations to the very nice publication in the Journal of Clinical Oncology entitled Psychiatric Morbidity and Survival After Surgery for Esophageal Cancer: A Population-Based Cohort Study
Conducted by Anna Wikman, Rickard Ljung, Asif Johar, Ylva Hellstadius, Jesper Lagergren, and Pernilla Lagergren
Half time
Congratulations Ylva Hellstadius for a well conducted half-time on 16th December 2014.
Associate Professor
We congratulate Anna Wikman who, in November 2014, was appointed as Associate Professor in Psychology.
New Research Nurse
We welcome our new Research Nurse Kalle Mällberg to the group. He will mainly work in the OSCAR study.
Kalle Mälberg
Research NurseThank you Ana Hagström
We would like to thank Ana for her working efforts as a research nurse and her efforts in the OSCAR study. Good Luck in the future!
Half time
Congratulations Lovisa Backemar for a well conducted half-time on 3 June 2014.
Report on our research
A report on what our research, based on the SECC network, has resulted in over a 20 year period has been distributed to colleagues in Sweden.
Dissertation
Congratulations Maartje van der Schaaf for a well conducted dissertation on April 25, see Dissertations.
OSCAR study
January 1, 2014 we started the inclusion of patients in the OSCAR study, and the study is expected to last for 5 years.
Research award
Congratulations to Pernilla Lagergren who is the recipient of the Sven and Ebba-Christina Hagbergs prize 2012 of 300 000 SEK. She receives the prize thanks to her ground-breaking research in health-related quality of life after surgery for cancer, mainly oesophageal cancer.
Research award
Congratulations to Maryam Derogar who is the recipient of the Dimitris N. Chorafas prize 2013 of 5 000 USD for her thesis on health-related quality of life and survival after oeseophageal cancer surgery.
Extra grant from the Swedish Research Council
Congratulations to Pernilla Lagergren who receives an extra grant of 580 000 SEK from the Swedish Research Council.
Money for conference
Congratulations to Ylva and Lovisa who received 15,000 SEK each from Radiumhemmets Research Funds to be used for participation in an International Quality of Life conference organized by the International Society for Quality of Life Research (ISOQOL)
Money for conference
Congratulations to Ylva and Lovisa who received 15,000 SEK each from Radiumhemmets Research Funds to be used for participation in an International Quality of Life conference organized by the International Society for Quality of Life Research (ISOQOL)
New master student
We welcome Andreas Vall who will complete a project with us this term as part of his medical training. The project is a validation study of the tumour classification data (TNM) of oesophageal cancer in the Swedish Cancer Registry. Nele is the supervisor.
New master student
We welcome Poorna Anandavadivelan who will complete a master thesis in nutrition under supervision by Lena Martin. Her project addresses how body composition influences the risk of toxicity during neoadjuvant chemotherapy for oesophageal cancer.
New PhD candidate
We congratulate Jesper, Nele, Rickard and Hashem who got funding (KID-funding) for a PhD candidate for a research project addressing prevention of oesophageal adenocarcinoma.