Close
Translational Microbiome Research and Pandemic Preparedness – Lars Engstrand Group
The Centre for Translational Microbiome Research (CTMR) and National Pandemic Centre (NPC) are research centres under the Engstrand group, with a focus on translational microbiome research and pandemic preparedness. CTMR studies the impact of the microbiome on human health and disease, while NPC conducted large-scale sequencing of SARS-CoV-2 during the pandemic and currently collaborates on a number of pandemic preparedness related R&D projects.
National Pandemic Centre (NPC)
News
CTMR News and Media
For all news regarding CTMR and the microbiome, please click here!
NPC News and Media
For all news regarding NPC, covid-19, and pandemic preparedness, please click here!
Contact Us
Members and contact
Group leader
-
Lars EngstrandProfessor/Senior Physician | Docent
All members of the group
-
Gustav AhlströmResearch Assistant
-
Jessica AlmHead of Unit
-
Ahmed AminSystem Developer
-
Pia AngelidouLaboratory Coordinator
-
Katarina BankoovaResearch Assistant
-
Erika BereczkiResearch Specialist | Affiliated to Research
-
Abhayprasad BhatResearch Engineer
-
Fredrik BoulundHead of Unit
-
Bianka CsitariPostdoctoral Researcher
-
Lindsay DaviesAffiliated to Research
-
Justine DebeliusAffiliated to Research
-
Samuel Diou-HirtzResearch Assistant
-
Gabriella EdfeldtPostdoctoral Researcher
-
Ahmed EldekLaboratory Engineer
-
Lars EngstrandProfessor/Senior Physician | Docent
-
Romina FornesAffiliated to Research
-
Emma FranssonAffiliated to Research
-
Allison Gilchrist ErikssonAffiliated to Research
-
Daniel GlobischAffiliated to Research
-
Ieva GriviteAffiliated to Research
-
Unnur GudnadóttirPhd Student
-
Nicole GustafssonTeaching Assistant
-
Marica HamstenHead of Unit
-
Filip HenrikssonProject Coordinator
-
Yue HuAffiliated to Research
-
Khue Hua Tran-MinhResearch Assistant
-
Daniel HundeAffiliated to Research
-
In Chan HwangPostdoctoral Studies
-
Lottie Jansson SjöstrandResearch Engineer
-
Du JuanPrincipal Researcher | Docent
-
Dominika KazmierczakResearch Specialist
-
Katja KozjekAffiliated to Research
-
Zehra KöksalAffiliated to Research
-
Emilia LahtinenPhd Student
-
Johan LännerströmResearch Assistant
-
Lauri MesilaaksoSystem Developer
-
Rémi MichelinLaboratory Engineer
-
Tore MidtvedtAffiliated to Research
-
Pinal Nayankumar ShahPostdoctoral Researcher
-
Frank Chenfei NingPostdoctoral Researcher
-
Elisabeth NorinAffiliated to Research
-
Tatjana PavlenkoAffiliated to Research
-
Alexandra PennhagResearch Engineer
-
Stefanie Prast-NielsenSenior Research Specialist | Docent
-
Prima Putra RashidProject Coordinator
-
Bhavik RathodPhd Student
-
Hilpi RautelinAffiliated to Research
-
Ali RihaniResearch Infrastructure Specialist
-
Fabricio Romero GarciaPhd Student
-
Amir Ata SaeiAssistant Professor
-
Maike SeifertHead of Unit
-
Joshua Raurk SweidanTeaching Assistant
-
Anusha Thakutte AntonyPhd Student
-
Bangzhuo TongPhd Student
-
Gaël ToubonAffiliated to Research
-
Paarkavi UdayakumarAffiliated to Research
-
Dorina UjvariResearch Specialist
-
Valerie Diane ValerianoHead of Unit
-
Jing WangLaboratory Engineer
-
Tao WangLaboratory Technician
-
Luisa Warchavchik HugerthAffiliated to Research
-
Yafei XingBioinformatician
-
Yinghua Zha GotemanSenior Research Infrastructure Specialist
-
Yichan ZhangPostdoctoral Studies
Units at CTMR
Bioinformatics and Systems Development
Culturomics
Lab Core
Project Management and Support
Women's Health
Affiliated and Collaborating Research Groups
Projects and Research
Here are some selected projects and research currently ongoing at the Lars Engstrand Group!
Culturomics
National Pandemic Centre (NPC)
Gastroenterology
Oncobiome - Microbiome and Cancer
SweMaMi: The Swedish Maternal Microbiome Project
Women’s Reproductive Health
Lars Engstrand Group
Group Photo of Lars Engstrand Group
Photo: Liza Simonsson
Lars Engstrand
In the Engstrand group, we have established a highly effective translational scientific environment, with a broad interdisciplinary approach to the interface between epidemiology and the microbiological, immunological and genetic aspects of chronic diseases. Our goal is to clarify the pathogenic mechanisms within the fields of gastroenterology, women’s health and cancer, define what is a normal and healthy microbiome, and to improve the prospects for primary prevention.
The Centre for Translational Microbiome Research (CTMR) was launched in January 2016 as a collaborative public-private partnership between Karolinska Institutet and Ferring Pharmaceuticals. The centre builds on a deep understanding of translational microbiome research and has established a broad base of technical, biological, clinical, and epidemiological platforms to study complex microbial communities in well-defined human materials.
Access to Sweden´s population registers combined with biological material obtained in large clinical prospective studies provide the centre with many opportunities for drug discovery, disease intervention and prevention. An infrastructure has been built for large-scale DNA/RNA extraction and sequencing as well as for microbial cultures of human samples.
In March 2020, the National Pandemic Centre (NPC) was started as a Covid-19 diagnostic laboratory as a separate unit to offer large-scale analysis of SARS-CoV-2. Since 2021, NPC has grown and developed to continuously contribute to better preparedness and national preparation for unforeseen events with large-scale impacts on society. Large-scale sequencing of SARS-CoV-2 constituted the core activity during the pandemic at NPC to contribute to the national surveillance of the evolution of the virus in collaboration with the Public Health Agency of Sweden (Folkhälsomydigheten). In addition to the national preparedness missions, NPC currently conducts research projects related to diagnostics and large-scale analysis platforms, often in collaboration with the majority of national and international partners. Moreover, NPC has a national collaboration with Biobank Sweden for the storage of 1.5 million Covid-19 samples.
Today, CTMR and NPC are two organisations within the Engstrand research group where resources and expertise from both centres are partially shared.
