Installation ceremony 2026 — meet our new professors
On Thursday 8 October 2026, 21 new professors were inaugurated at Karolinska Institutet in solemn forms in Aula Medica. In addition, we gave our new adjunct and visiting professors a warm welcome, and honoured recipients of several academic awards. The professors' installation ceremony is one of the highlights of the academic year. Articles on this page are published in the booklet 'From Cell to Society 2026', which was distributed at the ceremony.
Inaugurated professors
Photo: Erik AnderssonResearching intrusive thoughts – and their treatment
Recurring unwanted thoughts can be the source of great suffering. Erik Andersson hopes to make effective psychological treatments more widely available.
Photo: Erik FlygNew findings on Addison’s disease raise hopes
Despite treatment, many patients with Addison’s disease still live with health problems. Sophie Bensing researches how their care can be improved.
Photo: Erik FlygSeeking to crack the heart’s gene-coding machinery
Johan Björkegren investigates the causes of cardiovascular disease in complex gene-regulatory networks, rather than in individual risk factors.
Photo: Erik FlygSeeking safer childbirth for both mother and baby
By using clinical studies, quality registers and AI, Sophia Brismar Wendel hopes to improve obstetric care.
Photo: Erik FlygStudying the link between social conditions and mental ill-health
Richard Bränström researches why minority and other marginalised groups are often affected by mental ill-health, and how it can be prevented.
Photo: Erik FlygSeeking better treatments for chronic kidney disease
Marie Evans studies how the risk of kidney disease can be detected earlier and how well different treatments work.
Photo: Erik FlygSeeking to improve clinical and public health services
Claudia Hanson researches how clinical and public health services can be improved. Among other outcomes, her studies have led to fewer deaths among neonates in Africa.
Photo: Erik FlygHoping to improve care for the most seriously ill patients
How can the healthcare services save more lives after trauma and cardiac arrest? Malin Jonsson Fagerlund’s research group intends to find out.
Photo: Erik FlygAiming to improve care of patients with endocrine tumours
Two tumours can look identical under a microscope, yet still develop completely differently. Christofer Juhlin wants to understand why – in order to provide patients with more accurate care.
Photo: Erik FlygPaving the way for new ways to repair tissue
By uncovering how skin stem cells form and repair tissue, Maria Kasper wants to contribute to new therapies targeting wounds, skin disorders and cancer.
Photo: Erik FlygWith a passion for women’s health during different phases of life
Improving the quality of life for women is the aim of Helena Kopp Kallner’s work. Her research has already changed how women are treated across the world.
Photo: Erik FlygEmbryo research can give rise to new therapies
Fredrik Lanner researches the developmental stages of the human embryo and how embryonic stem cells can be used for future therapies.
Photo: Erik FlygSeeking to increase survival rates for acute myeloid leukaemia
By studying epigenetic changes in leukaemia cells, Sören Lehmann hopes to contribute to more effective and personalised treatments.
Photo: Erik FlygExploring the biology of depression
Depression is a disease that affects millions of people around the globe, and modern treatments do not help them all. Johan Lundberg is trying to find out why.
Photo: Erik FlygLooking for potential public health risks
How do common things like nicotine products and hormone treatments affect public health? Cecilia Magnusson is hoping to find out.
Photo: Erik FlygSeeking to make drug treatments better and safer
Björn Pasternak uses large national health registers to study how common drugs work in real-life clinical practice – and the risks associated with them.
Photo: Erik FlygStudying the powerhouses of the cell – the mitochondria
The mitochondria are central to everything from metabolism to immunity and ageing. Joanna Rorbach wants to understand what happens when they fail.
Photo: Erik FlygOn the hunt for better treatments for heart failure
Heart failure is a widespread and very serious condition. Through clinical studies and registry-based analyses, Gianluigi Savarese hopes to contribute to more personalised and precise treatments.
Photo: Erik FlygReading the chemical code of health and disease
The molecules in our bodies form a unique fingerprint of our health, a finding that Craig Wheelock uses to detect disease and develop personalised therapies.
Photo: Erik FlygSeeking to understand how childhood cancer tumours arise and grow
Margareta Wilhelm studies how brain tumours and tumours of the nervous system grow in children. The aim of her research is to identify new therapeutic targets.
Photo: Erik FlygNew professor in Health Economics at KI - his research aims to deliver more health per krona spent
Since healthcare resources are limited, they need to be used wisely. Niklas Zethraeus wants to contribute to better decision-making and greater benefits for patients.
We also celebrate
New Adjunct Professors
New Visiting Professors and Foreign Adjunct Professors
Awardees of 2026
Learn more
Academic ceremonies
Karolinska Institutet arranges various academic ceremonies each year. Activities include conferring of doctor's degrees, professorial awards and academic prizes.
Photo: Fredrik PerssonCeremony, joy and world-class research as KI honours its new professors
At the installation ceremony for KI’s 22 new professors, Aula Medica was filled with music, laughter and academic pride. The annual professorial installation is as much a tribute to knowledge, diversity and research as it is a ceremonial occasion. Also honoured during the evening were the recipients of various awards, including KI’s Grand Silver Medal, Silver Medal and the Lennart Nilsson Award.
Photo: Pierre Zoetterman