Louise Ziegler

I am a consultant in internal medicine at the Neurology and Cardiology Clinic at Danderyd Hospital, with a special interest in vascular medicine. I am affiliated with two research groups: Vascular Medicine and Hypertension within the Cardiovascular Medicine research area, and the Stroke Research Group within the Neurology research area, both at Karolinska Institutet, Danderyd Hospital (KI DS). I defended my PhD thesis Interleukin 6 trans‑signalling — cardiovascular risk marker or therapeutic target? (Karolinska Institutet, 2020) in 2020. Since then my research has focused on arterial vascular disease and the heart–brain connection.

I have been a member of the Swedish Society for Hypertension, Stroke and Vascular Medicine (SVM) since 2021 and in that role have been involved in establishing a Swedish certification in vascular medicine via the Swedish Medical Society. I chair a working group on vascular ageing within SVM and am also the national representative to the European Society for Vascular Medicine (ESVM).

I am PI of two clinical studies: The SALSA study is a clinical cohort study of stroke and TIA patients in which we investigate the relationships between different stroke aetiologies, macrovascular disease in other vascular beds, and future cardiocerebral events. Study website: https://salsa-study.com/

In the DISRA study (Diabetes in Stroke Register Analysis) Riksstroke, the thrombectomy registry EVAS and the National Diabetes Register are being linked for the first time. A key question is whether the association between diabetes and stroke has changed over time and with the introduction of new antidiabetic drugs. I am PI for the study and the steering committee comprises researchers from Lund University, Umeå University, Gothenburg University and Linköping University. So far four doctoral students have been registered on doctoral projects largely based on DISRA material. Study website: DISRA study

I am the principal supervisor for three doctoral students:

• Lassi Koski, a registrar in neurology, will conduct a substudy within the SALSA study on the association between echocardiographic parameters of atrial pathology and future atrial fibrillation and ischaemic stroke. Lassi's remaining substudies are carried out within the AF‑SPICE study.
• Hedwig Widestedt, a registrar in neurology, will conduct the majority of her substudies within the DISRA project.
• Hugo Aronzon, a consultant in gynaecology and obstetrics, whose doctoral project explores the link between pre‑eclampsia and cardiovascular outcomes.

I am co‑supervisor to:

• Qiasen Chen (Dept. of Medicine, Solna; main supervisor Bruna Gigante), who uses machine learning to investigate endotypes — clusters of clinical, molecular and radiological data — for individual cardiovascular risk stratification.
• Oskar Koivisto Taxén (KI DS; main supervisor Annika Lundström), whose doctoral project aims to study biomarkers, genetics and radiological signs in people with cerebral small vessel disease, including in SCAPIS 2.
• Linda Forsell (KI SöS; main supervisor Thomas Nyström), who will analyse the association between diabetes and functional outcome and recovery after ischaemic stroke in the DISRA study.

Together with Associate Professor Magnus Lundbäck (KI DS) I am responsible for the doctoral course Coronary Heart Disease: Present and Future Perspectives in a Pan‑Vascular Context, held annually within the Cardiovascular Research Programme. I also regularly teach about stroke at the KI medical programme and am responsible for an annual course for registrars on acute stroke