Sara Tehrani

I am a clinical researcher with a focus on microvascular function and its role in health and disease. My research career began with a doctoral thesis, defended in 2014, which explored haemostatic alterations and microvascular dysfunction in patients with type 1 diabetes. In the subsequent postdoctoral phase, I investigated the association between circulating microvesicles and diabetic microangiopathy, further deepening the understanding of cellular mechanisms contributing to vascular complications.

Currently, my research centers on the characterization and regulation of microvascular function across a range of clinical conditions. The overarching goal of my work is to improve the mechanistic understanding of microvascular dysfunction, identify potential biomarkers, and contribute to the development of more effective diagnostic and therapeutic strategies for vascular-related complications.

My research focus is investigation and better understanding of microvascular regulation and dysfunction in various conditions. Microvascular dysfunction, characterized by impaired function of small blood vessels, is a critical factor in cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, and sepsis. However, current bedside assessment methods for microvascular dysfunction are limited, often requiring specialized equipment and expertise. Consequently, there is a critical need for innovative solutions that enable reliable assessment of microvascular function directly at the bedside and thereby facilitate early diagnosis and intervention.

In my ongoing projects, we evaluate the use of point-of-care devices for bedside assessment of microvascular function in the skin, as cutaneous microcirculation serves as a suitable model for studying overall dynamics in microvascular function. The long-term goal of the research group is to develop a rapid and accurate method that enable early detection and targeted management of microvascular dysfunction in order to improve patient outcomes in both acute and chronic conditions that affect the microcirculation.

The project includes three separate clinical studies:

• MIND study, Microangiopathy in Diabetes, planning to include 300 patients with type 1 diabetes with or without clinical microangiopathy and 100 healthy controls.
• SCAPIS spectrum, involving 900 research subjects with high or low risk of cardiovascular disease, including metabolic syndrome.
• CapriS, Capillary function in Sepsis, involving 60 patients with severe sepsis and septic chock and 30 controls.

Since 2018, I have been actively involved in teaching at Karolinska Institutet, giving lectures and supervising seminars for medical students. In addition, I have teached registrars and nurses undergoing specialty training with focus clinical reasoning and patient case discussions.

I have served as the principal supervisor for one doctoral candidate and am currently supervising another as principal supervisor, in addition to co-supervising two other doctoral candidates. In my clinical role at the Intermediate Care Unit (IMCU) at Danderyd Hospital, I provide daily supervision and bedside teaching to medical students during their clinical rotations.

I have also supervised four master’s thesis projects—three in medicine at Karolinska Institutet and one in computer science at the Royal Institute of Technology (KTH).