Oscar Wiklander

Oscar Wiklander

Assistant Professor
Visiting address: Alfred Nobels Allé 8, 14152 Huddinge
Postal address: H5 Laboratoriemedicin, H5 BCM Wiklander, 171 77 Stockholm
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About me

  • Dr. Wiklander received his PhD in 2017 at KI shortly after receiving his certificate as a medical doctor (leg. läk) following funding as a MD/PhD-student (forskar-AT). He then continued as a resident in oncology (ST-läk) in parallel with conducting his post-doctoral studies until 2023 and 2022, respectively. He divides his time between clinical work and is currently a specialist physician in oncology at Karolinska University Hospital, Theme Cancer, and a team leader with focus on extracellular vesicles in cancer settings, at the department of Laboratory Medicine, KI.

Research

  • Research area/interest: Extracellular vesicle-based precision medicine in cancer. Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are a heterogenous group of lipid-bilayer nanovesicles that are secreted by all cells and can be found in all body fluids. These natural nanovesicles range in size from 30-2, 000 nm in diameter and can impact both neighbouring cells or cells at distance. EVs contain lipids, proteins, and nucleic acid species from the source cell, and have the unique ability to convey these macromolecules via an advanced system of intercellular communication. EVs can be seen as a fingerprint of its source cell, reflecting its status and content, and are thus studied as potential biomarkers of various diseases, with particular focus on cancer. The main focus of Dr. Wiklander's research team is to utilize EVs as 1) therapeutic vehicles for advance cancer therapeutics and 2) investigate tumor-derived EVs as potential liquid biopsies for improved diagnostics in cancer settings.

Articles

All other publications

Grants

  • The Swedish Cancer Society
    1 January 2024 - 31 December 2026
    In oncology, precision medicine has gained tremendous attention in recent years with the hope to tailor treatments to specific disease driving alterations to improve treatment efficacy and reduce side effects. The need of improved diagnostic tools to identify these specific alterations has also spurred an intense development of various omics to pinpoint relevant biomarkers. Despite intense research, there is still a great need for improved tissue specific targeted drugs and improved diagnostics. The hypothesis of this proposal is that cell secreted exosomes (Exo) could be utilized as therapeutic targetable vectors and as improved cancer biomarkers. The aim is to engineer Exo as tailored targeted therapy and to explore circulating tumor Exo (tExo), acting as a fingerprint of the cancer and its current status, as improved biomarkers for early detection of relapsing cancer. The main objective of this project is to improve cancer care, building on current techniques and therapies, by using Exo as a therapeutic and diagnostic platform.
  • Swedish Research Council
    1 January 2023 - 31 December 2025
    Despite the immense advances in oncology, not all patients respond to treatment and cancer cells may develop resistant mechanisms, leading to relapse and disseminated incurable disease. There is thus still a desperate need for improved cancer therapies as well as sensitive tools to detect early cancers and relapses. Exosomes (Exo) have the potential to offer a unique platform as a new class of therapeutics as well as a new sensitive diagnostic marker in form of liquid biopsy. Exo are nanometer sized extracellular vesicles that are secreted by all cells and found in all body fluids. Given that their content, including proteins and nucleic acids, is protected by a lipid membrane and reflects that of the source cell, Exo can function as a fingerprint of the patient’s cancer with the ability to reflect the current status of the tumor. In addition, Exo can be engineered to display targeting and therapeutic moieties and can shuttle their cargo over biological barriers. Exo can thus act as natural vectors and offers a unique platform for tailored tumor targeting. This program aims to investigate the potential of using Exo in precision medicine for improved cancer diagnostics and tailored targeted therapies. The first part of this project is to use bioengineered Exo to display antibodies against tumors and to deliver antitumor cargo, whereas the second part involves affinity capture of tumor Exo (tExo) as a liquid biopsy focusing on nucleic acid-based diagnostics.

Employments

  • Assistant Professor, Department of Laboratory Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, 2024-2030

Degrees and Education

  • Degree Of Doctor Of Philosophy, Department of Laboratory Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, 2018
  • University Medical Degree, Karolinska Institutet, 2012

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