
NextGenNK
NextGenNK is a Competence Center for the development of next generation NK cell-based cancer immunotherapies. The Center is coordinated by Karolinska Institutet and collaborates with the Karolinska University Hospital and prominent national and international industrial partners. The Center was launched in 2020, and is jointly funded by Vinnova, KI, and the Industrial partners.
News

Karl-Johan Malmberg Awarded King Olav V's Cancer Research Prize
Karl-Johan Malmberg, Professor, and co-director of NextGenNK, has been honored with the prestigious King Olav V's Cancer Research Prize for his groundbreaking work on how the body's own cells can detect and eliminate cancer.

KI professor elected as international member of the US National Academy of Sciences
Klas Kärre, Professor Emeritus of Molecular Immunology at the Department of Microbiology, Tumor and Cell Biology, has been elected as an international member of the US National Academy of Sciences.

Rolf Kiessling receives a distinguished award for immunotherapy research
Professor Rolf Kiessling at Karolinska Institutet has been selected as the recipient of the 2025 CIMT Lifetime Achievement Award for his groundbreaking discovery of natural killer (NK) cells, which has significantly advanced our understanding of the immune response to viruses and cancer cells.
NK50 Symposium: 50 Years of NK Cell Research
Join us in celebrating 50 years of groundbreaking NK cell research at the NK50 symposium on October 14, 2025, at Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm. This event marks a significant milestone in immunology, reflecting on past achievements and exploring future directions.

ATMP mini-symposium organized by NextGenNK and CCRM Nordic
On January 22, 2025, NextGenNK and CCRM Nordic hosted a mini-symposium at Karolinska Institutet, Campus Flemingsberg, focused on Advanced Therapy Medicinal Products (ATMP). The event aimed to foster collaboration between academia, hospital, and industry, highlighting advancements in ATMP development in Sweden.

NextGenNK highlighted recent U-I Partnership meeting
UIDP, a global association of leading companies and universities visited KI on December 6th, 2024. Among other activities, UIDP took part in listening to a presentation by NextGenNK Director Hans-Gustaf Ljunggren, during its year-long effort to directly address the need to strengthen and modernize university-industry partnerships through bold approaches that dramatically increase impact from collaborative innovation.

The Applications for The National ATMP Research School Are Now Open
The National ATMP Research School is now open for applications, with a deadline of January 20th, 2025. The program offers three participation options: co-funded PhD positions, affiliated PhD positions, and standalone course enrollment.

NextGenNK at the 5th annual ATMP Sweden Conference in Malmö
On November 25-26th, 2024 ATMP Sweden organized the 5th annual ATMP Sweden conference in Malmö. NextGenNK co-directors Evren Alici and Karl-Johan Malmberg, and board member Veronique Chotteau participated.
Awards and recognitions

Nutsa Burduli and Nicole Wild awarded Best Abstract at Collaboration in Science 2024
NextGenNK congratulates Nutsa Burduli and Nicole Wild on the Best Abstract awards.

NextGenNK at Innate Killer Summit 2023
co-leader Evren Alici was selected as one of the world-class speakers at Innate Killer Summit 2023.

Arnika Wagner - KID funding
Arnika Wagner, assistant professor at Karolinska Institutet, was granted KID funding for a new PhD student.

Anna Pumpe wins Best Poster Prize
NextGenNK congratulates Anna Pumpe (PhD student in Arnika Wagner’s team) who won “Best Poster Prize” at the KI-HERM retreat on 6 March 2024.
Selected Publications
Targeting HLA-E-overexpressing cancers with a NKG2A/C switch receptor
Sætersmoen M et al, Med, 2025.
Engineering immune-evasive allogeneic cellular immunotherapies
Martin KE et al, Nature Reviews Immunology, 2024.
Tumor-associated NK cells drive MDSC-mediated tumor immune tolerance through the IL-6/STAT3 axis
Neo SY et al, Science Translational Medicine 2024.