Research projects
Ongoing projects in oncologic PET/MR, especially in abdominal organs, colorectal and gynecological radiology, radiological evaluation in clinical trials, nuclear medicine, thoracic imaging using new methods, evaluation of new MR imaging techniques.
Professor Lennart Blomqvist
Lennart Blomqvist research is working on the development of an interactive web-based platform for collaboration between radiologists, for use in education, research and as a clinical consulting tool. In his collaboration, there is also research that concerns PET/MR to evaluate radiation and hormone therapy for prostate cancer, develop methods for spatial correlation between radiology and pathology in colorectal cancer, develop and implement a national radiological training program in the assessment of radiology for organ-preserving treatment for rectal cancer, the importance of diagnosis and treatment follow-up for cervical cancer. In this role, the research also concerns the possibility of using MRI to identify lymph node involvement in anal cancer, and using imaging as prognostic factors that lead to postoperative abdominal complications. Lennart is also part of the imaging research in the Personalized Cancer Medicine project for Cancer Core Europe at Karolinska Institutet. This project includes work on creating an infrastructure for multimodal biopsy for precision medicine treatment.
Since 2016, Lennart Blomqvist has been the national radiological coordinator for screening with whole-body MRI in patients with genetic cancer syndromes in the national SWEP53 study.
Professor Rimma Axelsson
Founder of Theranostics Trial Center at Karolinska and leader of the innovation environment Theranostics Trial Alliance Sweden
Rimma Axelsson's research focuses on the development and implementation of new targeted diagnostic radioactive drugs for PET imaging in oncology with a focus on Precision Medicine. PI for ongoing clinical trial with Fibroblast-Activating-Protein Inhibitor (FAPI) 68Ga-FAPI-46 PET/DT in patients with solid tumors in the pancreas, bile ducts, ventricle, ovaries; clinical trial with Gastrin-Relising-Protein Receptor ( GRPR) 68Ga-RM26-PET/DT, First-in-Human study with biodistribution and dosimetry in patients with prostate cancer, then this tracer is tested in various solid tumors in the breast, prostate, lung and carcinoids; clinical trial with Human-Epidermal-growth-factor Receptor 2 (HER2) 68Ga-ABY-025 PET/DT prior to the choice of treatment with HER2-targeted monoclonal antibodies in patients with gastro-esophageal carcinoma, non-small cell lung cancer and metastatic (ER+ or triple negative) breast cancer. Participant in the trial of Programmed-Death-Ligand 1 (PD-L1) with 89Zr-Atezolizumab PET/DT in patients with metastatic triple negative breast cancer. Principal supervisor for 7 PhD candidates and 3 ongoing PhD candidates.
Associate Professor Cecilia Hindorf
Theranostic Trial Center, Karolinska University Hospital
Cecilia Hindorf's research focuses on determining the biodistribution and dosimetry of new radioactive drugs for precision medicine in oncology based on quantitative PET and SPECT. Radioactive drugs for both diagnostics and treatment are included. Cecilia is a hospital physicist and has extensive collaboration with Rimma Axelsson. Cecilia is the main supervisor of two doctoral students, Annie Bjäreback and Anders Törnblom, who are both hospital physicists.
Associate Professor Alejandro Sanchez Crespo
Medical physicist specialising in the development of quantitative nuclear medicine. Alejandro's research focuses on improving and optimising image-based methods in nuclear medicine, a field in which he has published over 50 scientific articles. For over 20 years, he has supervised both medical specialists and PhD students at Karolinska Institutet, as well as thesis students from Stockholm University and KTH. He remains actively involved in the Master’s program in Medical Physics at Stockholm University, where he has contributed for more than two decades. Alejandro is currently the course manager and examiner for a course in the Biomedical Laboratory Science program at Karolinska Institutet. Since 2021, he has served as a scientific member of the Swedish Ethical Review Authority.
Associate Professor Sven Nyren and Associate Professor Vitali Grozman
The research projects are primarily focused on lung diseases, both non-malignant and malignant. Ongoing studies on MRI to diagnose pulmonary embolism where methods have been developed and partly clinically introduced. Several projects are being carried out in collaboration with thoracic medicine. The projects concern chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), COPD-like conditions in adults who are born prematurely, structural and functional damage to the lungs after undergoing Covid-19. Two doctoral students are working on projects that focus on lung cancer.
Additional doctoral projects study the optimization of lung tomosynthesis. The group is also working on projects focused on chronic pulmonary embolism and reduced bone density.
The methods used in the research are primarily MRI, CT, tomosynthesis and DXA.
Associate Professor Anna Kistner
Anna's research projects are focused primarily on nuclear medicine research concerning neuroendocrine tumors and, among other things, the tracer Ga68-DOTATOC and unusual metastatic spread in this group. She also conducts radiological studies on trauma patients with a focus on the adrenal glands. In addition, she has ongoing research concerning radiological follow-up of hospitalized COVID-19 patients. She is a process manager in Radiology for the Regional Cancer Center in Collaboration (RCC) Stockholm/Gotland.
Dr. Kistner defended her dissertation and completed her postdoc at Karolinska Institutet and Sahlgrenska Academy in the subject of Endocrinological Pediatrics/Neonatology. In several publications, she has followed cohorts of prematurely born and growth-retarded individuals, where insulin, the growth factor IGF-I, the IGF carrier protein IGFBP-1 and the fat hormone leptin have been studied in these groups over time and in relation to growth. She is the main supervisor for a PhD.
Associate Professor Mikael Skorpil
Research and teaching in neuroradiology/radiology, including spinal diagnostics, and new techniques for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).
MD PhD Chikako Suzuki
Research and teaching in radiology-based treatment evaluation in oncology, such as RECIST 1.1 (response evaluation criteria in solid tumours), iRECIST, LUGANO, etc. Collaboration with various research groups, primarily in colorectal and gynecological cancer, especially cervical and ovarian cancer, both nationally and internationally.
MD PhD Fredrik Jäderling
Research on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in prostate cancer. Responsible for MRI in, among others, the Stockholm 3 study (PI-Tobias Nordström, KI), SPCG-15 (PI-Olof Akre, KI) and SPCG-17 (PI-Anna Bill-Axelsson, UAS) (SPCG=Scandinavian Prostate Cancer Group).
Runs an AI project for the development of a deep neural network for detection and staging of prostate tumors on MRI together with Sahlgrenska University Hospital and Chalmers.
Participates in Working group 2 for research on national data from Organized Prostate Cancer Testing (OPT).
Sits on the National Prostate Cancer Registry's steering group for registration of variables for quality monitoring and research in diagnostics, treatment and follow-up of prostate cancer patients. Holds an annual course for MRI diagnostics of prostate cancer.
MD PhD Per Grybäck
The research includes Nuclear Medicine diagnostics in several organs and disease areas.
Upper gastrointestinal motility and oncological issues are among the main tracks.
Ongoing motility project is to evaluate whether impaired ability to fundus relaxation rather than abnormal gastric emptying rate can be linked to dyspeptic symptoms.
In breast oncology, a study is underway regarding FDG-PET as a prognostic marker in neoadjuvant therapy. In pediatric oncology, collaboration regarding diagnostics and therapy with somatostatin receptor radiopharmaceuticals in treatment-refractory neuroblastoma.
Involved in doctoral projects regarding iodine uptake in thyroid tumors and nuclear medicine localization of parathyroid adenoma.
Responsibility for clinical trial activities that are ongoing at Nuclear Medicine Solna where the largest number of clinical trials in the oncology field are taking place.
Project and group leader
- Oncological/abdominal radiology Lennart Blomqvist
- Thoracic radiology Sven Nyren and Vitali Grozman
- Nuclear medicine Rimma Axelsson
- Endocrine radiology Anna Kistner
- MRI skeletal/soft tissue tumors and neuroradiology Mikael Skorpil
- Prostate cancer Fredrik Jäderling
Other collaborators
MD PhD Erik Rollvén
Affiliated with Research