Ingrid Ekström
Biträdande Lektor | Anknuten till Forskning
E-postadress: ingrid.ekstrom@ki.se
Telefon: +46852485835
Besöksadress: Tomtebodavägen 18 A, 17165 Solna
Postadress: H1 Neurobiologi, vårdvetenskap och samhälle, H1 ARC Psykologi Laukka, 171 77 Stockholm
Om mig
- I am Assistant Professor in aging and neuropsychology working in Erika
Laukka's research group at the Aging Research Center (ARC), Department of
Neurobiology, Care Sciences and Society (NVS), Karolinska Institutet. My
research interests are focused on mapping trajectories of age-related changes
in human cognition and olfaction (the sense of smell) to better understand
their determinants and consequences. Before joining ARC in 2018 as
postdoctoral researcher, I worked at the Gösta Ekman Laboratory (GEL),
Psychology Department, Stockholm university. I obtained my PhD investigating
olfactory function in memory decline, dementia, and mortality, based on data
from the longitudinal and population-based Betula project. My work at GEL
also focused on how smell-based games can be used for brain training.
In parallel with my research activities, I am coordinator of the weekly
scientific seminar series at ARC and regularly teach classes related to
cognition, aging, and dementia. Our research group and I accept applications
for research internships and student theses on a rolling basis. Please send
me an e-mail if you are interested.
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My thesis "Human olfaction: Associations with longitudinal assessment of
episodic memory, dementia, and mortality risk" was awarded with the prize for
best doctoral thesis at the Psychology Department in 2018.
-------- Education -----------------------------------------------------------
Assistant Professor in Psychology 2023, Aging Research Center, Karolinska
Institutet
Postdoctoral Researcher 2018 to 2022, Aging Research Center, Karolinska
Institutet
PhD in Psychology 2018, Stockholm university
MSc in Psychology 2013, Stockholm university
BSc in Psychology 2010, Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms Universität Bonn,
Germany
Forskningsbeskrivning
- My research is concerned with loss of cognitive and olfactory function in
older age, issues that have become of increasing importance in aging
societies. More specifically, I am focusing on 3 major research topics: (1)
Determinants and consequenes of smell loss in older age - (2) the
identification of interindividual differences in olfactory and cognitive
decline trajectories in normative aging and dementia - and (3) how differences
in these trajectories may best be predicted by peripheral blood biomarkers of
for example inflammation or neurodegeneration.
Since January 2023, I am Principal Investigator of the project "Harmful
consequences of smell loss in old age: a longitudinal population-based study"
for which I was awarded SEK 2 850 000 from Riksbankens Jubileumsfond (time
period: 2023-2026). We know today that aging is often accompanied by
significant loss in the sense of smell, olfaction. It is estimated that
around 25% of persons aged 60 years and above suffer from olfactory
impairment, and prevalence rates increase substantially with age. Still,
potentially harmful consequences of smell loss are poorly understood. To
investigate potential causal links between smell loss and conditions such as
depression, loneliness, and malnutrition, we will make use of data
from NEAR, the National E-infrastructure for Aging Research [1].
Publications
Laukka, E. J., *Ekström, I*., Larsson, M., Grande, G., Fratiglioni, L., &
Rizzuto, D. (2023). Markers of olfactory dysfunction and progression to
dementia: A 12‐year population‐based study. /Alzheimer's &- Dementia/.
https://doi.org/10.1002/alz.12932 [2]
*Ekström, I.*, Rizzuto, D., Grande, G., Bellander, T., & - Laukka, E. J.
(2022). Environmental Air Pollution and Olfactory Decline in Aging.
Environmental health perspectives, 130(2), 27005.
https://doi-org.proxy.kib.ki.se/10.1289/EHP9563 [3]
Cedres, N., Aejmelaeus-Lindström, A., *Ekström, I*., Nordin, S., Xin, L.,
Persson, J., & - Olofsson, J. K. (2022). Subjective impairments in olfaction
and cognition predict dissociated behavioural outcomes. /The journals of
gerontology. Series B, Psychological sciences and social sciences/, gbac124.
Advance online publication.
https://doi-org.proxy.kib.ki.se/10.1093/geronb/gbac124 [4]
Dong, Y., Wang, Y., Liu, K., Hou, T., Han, X., Cong, L., Ren, Y., Zhang, Q.,
Tang, S., *Ekström, I.*, Laukka, E. J., Du, Y., & - Qiu, C. (2022). Dementia
screening in rural-dwelling Chinese older adults: The utility of a smell test
and the self-rated AD8. /Journal of the American Geriatrics
Society/, /70/(4), 1106–1116.
https://doi-org.proxy.kib.ki.se/10.1111/jgs.17586 [5]
*Ekström, I*., Vetrano, D. L., Papenberg, G., & - Laukka, E. J. (2021). Serum
C-Reactive Protein Is Negatively Associated With Olfactory Identification
Ability in Older Adults. /i-Perception/, /12/(2), 20416695211009928.
https://doi-org.proxy.kib.ki.se/10.1177/20416695211009928 [6]
Olofsson, J. K., *Ekström, I*., Larsson, M., & - Nordin, S. (2021). Olfaction
and Aging: A Review of the Current State of Research and Future Directions.
i-Perception, 12(3), 20416695211020331.
https://doi-org.proxy.kib.ki.se/10.1177/20416695211020331 [7]
Dong, Y., Wang, Y., Liu, K., Liu, R., Tang, S., Zhang, Q., *Ekström, I.*,
Laukka, E. J., Du, Y., & - Qiu, C. (2021). Olfactory Impairment Among
Rural-Dwelling Chinese Older Adults: Prevalence and Associations With
Demographic, Lifestyle, and Clinical Factors. Frontiers in aging
neuroscience, 13, 621619.
https://doi-org.proxy.kib.ki.se/10.3389/fnagi.2021.621619 [8]
*Ekström, I.*, Larsson, M., Rizzuto, D., Fastbom, J., Bäckman, L., &
Laukka, E. J. (2020). Predictors of Olfactory Decline in Aging: A
Longitudinal Population-Based Study. The journals of gerontology. Series A,
Biological sciences and medical sciences, 75(12), 2441–2449.
https://doi-org.proxy.kib.ki.se/10.1093/gerona/glaa221 [9]
*†Shared first authorship*
Olofsson, J. K.*†*, *Ekström, I*.*†*, Lindström, J., Syrjänen, E.,
Stigsdotter-Neely, A., Nyberg, L., Jonsson, S., &- Larsson, M. (2020).
Smell-Based Memory Training: Evidence of Olfactory Learning and Transfer to
the Visual Domain. Chemical senses, 45(7), 593–600.
https://doi-org.proxy.kib.ki.se/10.1093/chemse/bjaa049 [10].
Hörberg, T., Larsson, M., *Ekström, I.*, Sandöy, C., Lundén, P., &
Olofsson, J. K. (2020). Olfactory Influences on Visual Categorization:
Behavioral and ERP Evidence. /Cerebral cortex/, /30/(7), 4220–4237.
https://doi-org.proxy.kib.ki.se/10.1093/cercor/bhaa050 [11]
*Ekström, I.*, Josefsson, M., Larsson, M., Rönnlund, M., Nordin, S., &
Olofsson, J. K. (2019). Subjective Olfactory Loss in Older Adults Concurs
with Long-Term Odor Identification Decline. Chemical senses, 44(2),
105–112. https://doi-org.proxy.kib.ki.se/10.1093/chemse/bjy079 [12]
Liuzza, M. T., Lindholm, T., Hawley, C. B., Gustafsson Sendén, M.,
*Ekström, I.*, Olsson, M. J., &- Olofsson, J. K. (2018). Body odour disgust
sensitivity predicts authoritarian attitudes. Royal Society open science,
5(2), 171091. https://doi-org.proxy.kib.ki.se/10.1098/rsos.171091 [13]
Olofsson, J. K., Syrjänen, E., *Ekström, I.*, Larsson, M., & - Wiens, S.
(2018). "Fast" versus "slow" word integration of visual and olfactory
objects: EEG biomarkers of decision speed variability. /Behavioral
neuroscience/, /132/(6), 587–594.
https://doi-org.proxy.kib.ki.se/10.1037/bne0000266 [14]
*Ekström, I.*, Sjölund, S., Nordin, S., Nordin Adolfsson, A., Adolfsson,
R., Nilsson, L. G., Larsson, M., & - Olofsson, J. K. (2017). Smell Loss
Predicts Mortality Risk Regardless of Dementia Conversion. Journal of the
American Geriatrics Society, 65(6), 1238–1243.
https://doi-org.proxy.kib.ki.se/10.1111/jgs.14770 [15]
Olofsson, J. K., Josefsson, M., *Ekström, I*., Wilson, D., Nyberg, L.,
Nordin, S., Nordin Adolfsson, A., Adolfsson, R., Nilsson, L. G., & - Larsson,
M. (2016). Long-term episodic memory decline is associated with olfactory
deficits only in carriers of ApoE-є4. /Neuropsychologia/, /85/, 1–9.
https://doi-org.proxy.kib.ki.se/10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2016.03.004 [16]
*Stanciu, I*., Larsson, M., Nordin, S., Adolfsson, R., Nilsson, L. G., &
Olofsson, J. K. (2014). Olfactory impairment and subjective olfactory
complaints independently predict conversion to dementia: a longitudinal,
population-based study. /Journal of the International Neuropsychological
Society : JINS/, /20/(2), 209–217.
https://doi-org.proxy.kib.ki.se/10.1017/S1355617713001409 [17]
[1] https://www.near-aging.se/
[2] https://doi.org/10.1002/alz.12932
[3] https://doi-org.proxy.kib.ki.se/10.1289/EHP9563
[4] https://doi-org.proxy.kib.ki.se/10.1093/geronb/gbac124
[5] https://doi-org.proxy.kib.ki.se/10.1111/jgs.17586
[6] https://doi-org.proxy.kib.ki.se/10.1177/20416695211009928
[7] https://doi-org.proxy.kib.ki.se/10.1177/20416695211020331
[8] https://doi-org.proxy.kib.ki.se/10.3389/fnagi.2021.621619
[9] https://doi-org.proxy.kib.ki.se/10.1093/gerona/glaa221
[10] https://doi-org.proxy.kib.ki.se/10.1093/chemse/bjaa049
[11] https://doi-org.proxy.kib.ki.se/10.1093/cercor/bhaa050
[12] https://doi-org.proxy.kib.ki.se/10.1093/chemse/bjy079
[13] https://doi-org.proxy.kib.ki.se/10.1098/rsos.171091
[14] https://doi-org.proxy.kib.ki.se/10.1037/bne0000266
[15] https://doi-org.proxy.kib.ki.se/10.1111/jgs.14770
[16] https://doi-org.proxy.kib.ki.se/10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2016.03.004
[17] https://doi-org.proxy.kib.ki.se/10.1017/S1355617713001409
Artiklar
- Article: PSYCHOLOGY AND AGING. 2024;39(5):467-483
- Article: EBIOMEDICINE. 2023;98:104862
- Journal article: ALZHEIMERS & DEMENTIA. 2023;19(S18)
- Journal article: ALZHEIMERS & DEMENTIA. 2023;19(S18)
- Article: ALZHEIMERS & DEMENTIA. 2023;19(7):3019-3027
- Article: JOURNALS OF GERONTOLOGY SERIES B-PSYCHOLOGICAL SCIENCES AND SOCIAL SCIENCES. 2023;78(1):1-9
- Article: JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN GERIATRICS SOCIETY. 2022;70(4):1106-1116
- Article: ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH PERSPECTIVES. 2022;130(2):27005
- Article: I-PERCEPTION. 2021;12(2):20416695211009928
- Article: FRONTIERS IN AGING NEUROSCIENCE. 2021;13:621619
- Journal article: CHEMICAL SENSES. 2021;46:bjab015
- Article: JOURNALS OF GERONTOLOGY SERIES A-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES AND MEDICAL SCIENCES. 2020;75(12):2441-2449
- Article: CHEMICAL SENSES. 2020;45(7):593-600
- Article: CEREBRAL CORTEX. 2020;30(7):4220-4237
- Article: CHEMICAL SENSES. 2019;44(2):105-112
- Article: BEHAVIORAL NEUROSCIENCE. 2018;132(6):587-594
- Article: ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE. 2018;5(2):171091
- Article: CHEMICAL SENSES. 2017;42(6):499-508
- Article: JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN GERIATRICS SOCIETY. 2017;65(6):1238-1243
- Article: NEUROPSYCHOLOGIA. 2016;85:1-9
- Article: JOURNAL OF THE INTERNATIONAL NEUROPSYCHOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 2014;20(2):209-217
- Visa fler
Alla övriga publikationer
- Review: I-PERCEPTION. 2021;12(3):20416695211020331
- Preprint: PSYARXIV. 2020
- Conference publication: CHEMICAL SENSES. 2020;45(2):164
- Preprint: PSYARXIV. 2019
- Preprint: PSYARXIV. 2019
- Conference publication: CHEMICAL SENSES. 2019;44(7):E32
- Preprint: SOCARXIV. 2017
- Corrigendum: CHEMICAL SENSES. 2017;42(6):509
Forskningsbidrag
- Swedish Research Council for Health Working Life and Welfare1 July 2023 - 30 June 2026
- Bank of Sweden Tercentenary Foundation1 January 2023 - 31 December 2025
- Bank of Sweden Tercentenary Foundation31 December 2022 - 30 December 2025
- Swedish Research Council1 January 2021 - 31 December 2024
Anställningar
- Biträdande Lektor, Neurobiologi, vårdvetenskap och samhälle, Karolinska Institutet, 2023-2026
- Anknuten till Forskning, Neurobiologi, vårdvetenskap och samhälle, Karolinska Institutet, 2024-2025