Christina Sjöstrand

I am Associate Professor (Docent) in Neurology and Adjunct Senior Lecturer at Karolinska Institutet, and Head of the Department of Neurology and Speech and Language Therapy at Danderyd Hospital.

I have extensive experience in clinical neurology, research, education and healthcare leadership, with particular expertise in stroke, acute neurology and headache disorders. Throughout my career, I have combined clinical practice and academic work with the development and leadership of neurological services.

My responsibilities include strategic development of neurological care, research and education, as well as regional and national collaboration. I have been actively involved in developing stroke care pathways, implementing new treatment strategies and contributing to national guidelines and healthcare programmes.

An important ambition in my work is to strengthen the integration of clinical care, research and education, creating opportunities for scientific development and improved patient care.

My research focuses on neurovascular disorders, particularly stroke, migraine, cluster headache and cerebral small vessel disease, with an emphasis on the relationship between clinical observations, disease mechanisms and patient outcomes.

Our current main research programme, Heart and Brain, investigates neurological symptoms associated with catheter-based cardiac interventions, including atrial fibrillation ablation, coronary angiography and patent foramen ovale (PFO) closure. The project addresses an insufficiently explored area at the interface between neurology and cardiology, focusing on transient neurological symptoms, migraine aura, cerebral ischemia and potential underlying pathophysiological mechanisms. The research combines prospective clinical studies, neuroimaging, biomarkers and risk stratification, with the long-term aim of improving diagnostics and patient management.

Additional research includes genetic and vascular mechanisms underlying cerebral small vessel disease and CADASIL-like white matter disorders, much of this done in collaboration. I also maintain longstanding research collaborations in cluster headache, particularly regarding genetics, multimorbidity and work disability, together with Associate Professor Andrea Carmine Belin and colleagues.

My previous research has contributed to international diagnostic criteria for cluster headache, understanding of migraine and stroke risk, and the development of evidence-based stroke care, including prehospital stroke triage and PFO closure for secondary stroke prevention.

I have extensive experience in undergraduate and postgraduate medical education, specialist training and clinical supervision, primarily within neurology and stroke medicine at Karolinska Institutet and its affiliated hospitals.

My teaching includes lectures, seminars, case-based learning, clinical training and supervision of medical students, residents and doctoral students. I have served as course director for undergraduate neurology courses and have contributed to the development of clinical education, assessment methods and continuing professional development.

I have supervised, as main supervisor and co-supervisor, several doctoral students to completion and have a longstanding commitment to mentoring junior clinicians and researchers.

My pedagogical approach emphasises active, student-centred learning, clinical reasoning, critical thinking and progressive independence. Since 2021, we have also initiated and developed clinical placements for medical students at Danderyd Hospital in collaboration with the neurology course at Karolinska Institutet.

Supervision to doctoral degree

• Tove Almqvist, Intracerebral Hemorrhage – Wake-up Onset, Prehospital Triage, and Hematoma Growth, 2026
• Sara Jadidi, Heart and Brain – Studies of Cardiac Intervention, Atrial Fibrillation, PFO and their Relationship to TIA and Stroke, 2025-
• Clémence Debourgies, Characterizing the molecular mechanisms behind cluster headache with focus on genetics, sex differences and inflammation, 2025-
• Mihae Roland, Stroke in Working Ages – Prevalence, Work Capacity and Outcome after Thrombectomy, 2025
• Helena Björelius, A Clinical Study of Oral Motor and Sensory Profile Description in a Cohort of Children with Oral- and Speech Motor Disorder, 2021-
• Anna Anåker, The Physical Environment at Stroke Units: Importance for the Care, 2019
• Maria Lantz, Aspects of Migraine and Patent Foramen Ovale in Ischemic Stroke, 2017
• Ioanna Markaki, Molecular and Clinical Markers in Ischemic Cerebrovascular Diseases, 2013
• Malin Tistad, Needs for, Use of and Satisfaction with Health Care Services in the Course of the First Year after Stroke: The Perspective of People with Stroke, 2012