Mikael Lindström

Mikael Lindström

Researcher | Docent
Visiting address: Tomtebodavägen 23A, 17165 Solna
Postal address: C2 Medicinsk biokemi och biofysik, C2 Genome biology Bartek, 171 77 Stockholm
Part of:

About me

  • PhD degree in Experimental Oncology 2004 and Docent in Experimental Pathology 2012 both at Karolinska Institutet i Stockholm, Sweden.

    Cancer researcher studying how alterations in ribosome biogenesis and nucleolar function contribute to cancer development, therapy resistance. My research combines molecular biology, genomics, functional genetics, and chemical biology to identify vulnerabilities that can be exploited for more effective cancer treatments. 

    I am also member of the FWO MED1 Research Projects panel (Pharmaceutical Sciences and Medical Biochemistry) 2026- , and member and chair of the NZ3 panel at the National Science Centre (NCN) Poland since 2019. I have long served as an academic editor for the journal Cancers (MDPI) and board member or advisor to several other journals. As of 2026, I serve as course director for the Biochemistry course (12 hp, 1BI051) in the Bachelor's programme in Biomedicine.

    Number of principal supervisorships completed: 2

    Number of assistant supervisorships completed: 3

    Number of postdoctoral researchers supervised completed: 3

    Number of opponent assignments at public defenses: 3

    Number of evaluation committee assignments at disputations: 19 and 21 half time seminar panels 

Research

  • My research is focused on the fundamental mechanisms that regulate cellular identity through control of protein synthesis. More specifically, how protein synthesis, ribosome biogenesis (RNA Pol I) and nucleolar function determine cell fate under stress.

    How do cancer cells adapt their protein synthesis machinery to survive stress (including nucleolar stress) and therapy? How does nucleolar signalling remodel chromatin (and vice versa!) and determine cancer cell state? Can adaptive ribosome biogenesis and protein synthesis be therapeutically exploited without causing genotoxic damage?

    How is ribosome specialization (variable ribosomal proteins) a determinant of cellular identity and malignant adaptation? How does mutations in ribosomal proteins cause cancer? 

    We also work on RNA Pol I inhibitors as chemical probes and perturbagens that may reveal unknown biology and signaling pathways.Glioblastoma serves as our experimentally tractable model allowing mechanistic dissection of how nucleolar signalling and translational control regulate malignant cell state transitions.

    To investigate ribosome biogenesis and nucleolar structure, the team uses various microscopy technologies, ribosome profiling, rDNA assays, transcriptomics, translatomics, and proteomics. 

    I have evaluated manuscripts for the following journals among others

    Oncogene, Nature, Nature Genetics, Cell, EMBO Rep, EMBO J, Nature Cell Biology, J Biol Chem, Mol Cell Biol, Proteins, J. of Clinical Investigation, Mol Cell, Intl. J of Cancer, Int J Mol Sciences, Cancer, Cancers, J Cytology and Histology, J Mol Biol, PLoS One, FEBS Letters, FEBS J, Future Oncology, Cell Proliferation, Biochem J, Scientific Reports, Tumor Biology, Current Drug Targets, Cytotherapy, Nature Communications, J Cell Science, Cell Reports, Cell Cycle, Chemistry Biology, Blood, Pharmaceuticals, Biochem Soc Trans, Cells, Oncotarget, Int J of Dev Neuroscience, Cellular Physiology and Biochemistry, BMC Biotechnology, BMC Molecular Biology, Bioscience Reports, Cancer Res, Elife, J Cellular Physiology, J Oncology, BBA Mol Cell, Comm Biol, Metabolites, Ebiomedicine, ACS Chemical Biology, BBA Molecular Res, Biomarkers, JCI Insight, BioEssays, Cell Death and Disease, Cell Death and Differentiation, Biomedicines, Breast Cancer Research, Pathogens, Signal Transduction and Targeted Therapies, Biomolecules and Biomedicine, Histology and Histopathology, Epigenetics and Chromatin, Mol Oncol, Nucleic Acids Res Cancer, iScience, Int J Cancer, Discover Oncology, Trends Cell Biology, Cell Proliferation, and many others.

    Approx. 20-30 papers per year and 20-30 editorial decisions.

    Grant evaluator 2010-2026

    NWO Vidi Scheme for Innovational Research Incentives Scheme Netherlands, AICR Assoc International Cancer Research UK, YRC Yorkshire Cancer Res UK, Semaphore FRS FNRS BE, Romanian national development and innovation council uefiscdi, German-Israeli Foundation for Scientific Research and Development,  Czech Science Foundation GACR, National Science Centre NCN Poland, INCa the French National Cancer Institute France, Fondation contre le Cancer Grant Belgian Foundation against Cancer, Croatian Science Foundation Croatia, Agence Nationale de la Recherche France, Evaluator of Baillet Latour Grant for Medical Research and Baillet Latour Prize GMR NL, European Science Foundation ESF including FWO grants and many others Worldwide Cancer Res, SNSF Innosuisse BRIDGE, UK research and innovation UKRI, INSERM Cancer PCSI France and others. For 2026 especially FNRS, FWO, NCN and Inserm. 

Teaching

  • Supervision

    Co-supervisor: Dr Tamador Elsir, PhD 2010-06-04, KI 
    Co-supervisor: Dr Inga Nazarenko, PhD 2011-09-30, KI
    Co-supervisor: Dr Karl Holmberg-Olausson, PhD 2015-06-01, KI

    Main supervisor: Dr Kaveh Moazemi Goudarzi, PhD 2018-04-27, KI
    Main supervisor: Dr Asimina Zisi, PhD 2022-10-28, KI

    Service to the universities

    Pre-examiner of doctoral dissertation: 18 (2009-2026)
    Half time review for PhD: 21 (2012-2026)
    Chairman of PhD defense: 8 (2015-2026)
    Examiner of MSc or BSc thesis 16 (2012-2018)
    Faculty opponent: 3

    Courses

    Basic pedagogics for university lecturers GHPH09, KI, 2009

    Postgraduate supervisor training course KI

    Leadership education UGL, KI

    Web courses for supervisors, KI

    Team Based Learning (TBL) course, KI, 2025

    I have extensive experience in teaching medical biochemistry, cell and molecular biology, tumor biology at the undergraduate, master’s, and doctoral levels at Karolinska Institutet (>1000 hours) since 2001

    I’m currently

    Course director, Biochemistry, Biomedicine programme (Bachelor) KI

    Lecturing biochemistry for biomedical and medical students  KI

    Lecturing biochemistry for doctors coming from outside EU/EES to take knowledge test in Sweden for license to practice

    Supervision of Master Students

    Supervision of Post Doctoral fellows

    Correction of exams on the medical program BV2

Articles

All other publications

Grants

  • Swedish Research Council
    1 January 2026 - 31 December 2028
    This project combines basic and applied studies to elucidate the mechanistic basis, role(s) and therapeutic implications of three aberrant features of glioblastoma (GBM). As GBM is the most common and malignant brain tumor, to which no effective therapy exists, we wish to address the urgent need to find ways to treat this dreadful disease. In work package 1 (WP1), we investigate the mechanism and role of whole-genome doubling (WGD) in GBM, focusing on how FAT1/Yap1 deregulation triggers replication stress and chromosomal instability, promoting tumor evolution and therapy resistance. WP2 explores how oncogenes and chemotherapy disrupt nucleolar function, leading to ribosome biogenesis (RiBi) stress-causing R-loops in rDNA/rRNA. We will also characterize key RNA/DNA helicase(s) involved in resolving such nucleolar stress in GBM cells and assess their potential as therapeutic target. In WP3 we examine ribosome heterogeneity in GBM, specifically the role of a ribosomal protein paralog in mRNA translational fidelity, metabolic adaptation, and MDM2 regulation. By modeling WGD, adaptation to RiBi stress and ribosome dysregulation in GBM cells, we also aim to identify new ways to selectively target GBM cells with available, repurposed drugs. Given our expertise, original ideas and state-of-the art technologies, this project is feasible and it will advance our knowledge of pathways that fuel GBM pathogenesis, while revealing new vulnerabilities and clues to improve the therapy of GBM.
  • Interplay between Ribosomal Protein L24 Heterozygosity and p53 in Disease Pathogenesis
    Croatian Science Foundation
    1 April 2022
  • Ribosome biogenesis as a chemotherapy target
    Stiftelsen Konung Gustaf V:s Jubileumsfond RaH Fonder
    1 January 2017 - 31 December 2018
  • Ribosome biogenesis as a chemotherapy target
    Stiftelsen Konung Gustaf V:s Jubileumsfond RaH fonder
    1 January 2014 - 31 December 2015
  • Swedish Research Council
    1 January 2012 - 31 December 2014
  • Control mechanisms of nucleocytoplasmic shuttling of p53 tumor suppressor protein
    Swedish Research Council
    1 January 2005 - 31 December 2006

Employments

  • Researcher, Department of Medical Biochemistry and Biophysics, Karolinska Institutet, 2015-

Degrees and Education

  • Docent, Karolinska Institutet, 2012
  • Doctor Of Philosophy, Department of Oncology-Pathology, Karolinska Institutet, 2004
  • Master Of Medical Science, Karolinska Institutet, 1999

Supervision

  • Supervision to doctoral degree

    • Asimina Zisi, RNA Polymerase I inhibition: mechanism and exploitation in cancer treatment, 2022
    • Kaveh Goudarzi, Functional investigation of prognostic biomarkers and therapeutic targets in glioma brain tumors, 2018
    • Karl Holmberg Olausson, Molecular subclassification, stem cell markers and growth regulatory pathways in gliomas, 2015
    • Tamador Elsir, Transcription factors PROX1 and p53 in cancer development, 2010
    • Inga Nazarenko, Modeling PDGF-driven gliomagenesis in the mouse

Editorial work

  • Cancers, Editorial board member, 2020

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