Emma Swärdh

I am a physiotherapist and work as an assistant senior lecturer at the Division of Physiotherapy. My expertise is largely in the areas of health promotion, health education, and behavioral medicine but I also have a strong commitment to sustainable development including planetary health and sustainable health care. I am a course leader in courses in the Physiotherapy program and teach in all its semesters.

I have an assignment as an environmental- and sustainability representative at NVS, and I am a member of the Council for Environment and Sustainable Development at KI. I´m also a member of the Environmental Physiotherapy Association executive committee. I am active in the Swedish Association of Physiotherapists, as a board member of the council for Ethics &

Over the years, I have had the privilege of lecturing, holding workshops, and creating educational materials for both the public, patient associations, the pharmaceutical industry, and media companies. I thus have good experience of working with Karolinska's third work area, and can highlight and disseminate research results and evidence, in a popular science and inspiring way. 

During the years 2015-2022 I worked in an interprofessional and patient-inclusive project "LiR - Levnadsvanor inom reumatologi" funded by the National Board of Health and Welfare. The project group developed a working model, the LiR model. The model provides a common knowledge base for different health professionals on the lifestyle habits of physical activity, diet, alcohol and tobacco, creates a simple workflow for employees in rheumatology and clarifies the patient's path to support in the change process. 

(a selection of courses)

• Climate psychology
• Environmental psychology and design
• Behavioral change for sustainability
• Earth's climate and climate change
• Social sustainability from a public health perspective
• Educating for sustainable development
• Contributing to sustainable development through teaching
• Health promotion
• Health education
• Behavioral medicine methods in physiotherapy
• Basic higher education pedagogy
• Teaching in a glocal university
• Higher Education Didactics in Sustainability
• FAL - Future Academic Leaders
• Rhetoric and Climate Transition (ongoing)

Academic honours, awards and prizes

• 2024 Karolinska Institute Sustainability Award
• 2019 Ingrid Odéns Award for Research within Physiotherapy
• 2013 The Swedish Rheumatism Association Award for Reseqrch within Healthcare Science
• 2009 ARHP Graduate Student Award (American College of Rheumatology)

My research area currently focuses on education for sustainable development in Physiotherapy where I am the research leader in the project ESD-P Sweden. Previous research projects have included physical activity and behavior change in patients with rheumatic diseases.

I have a strong commitment to teaching, learning and pedagogy, have worked with teaching in about 20 different courses at basic and advanced level since 2007, and have developed teaching