10 MSEK to Strengthen Collaboration Between Research and Societal Impact

Every spring, Region Stockholm and Stockholm University jointly announce a call for research projects aimed at addressing future societal challenges. The initiative's purpose is to promote solutions in areas where knowledge gaps exist, focusing on five priority areas: life sciences, mental health, digitalization, climate and urban planning, and culture.

To be eligible for funding, researchers from Stockholm University must collaborate with staff from Region Stockholm. The type of funding is intended to translate research into tangible improvements for the region's residents.
One of the funded projects is Qiaolin Deng's study on type 1 diabetes (T1D) during pregnancy. The research investigates how diabetes affects the placenta and aims to improve care for pregnant women with T1D.

The project includes recruiting pregnant women with and without type 1 diabetes, collecting blood samples, and analyzing placentas. The goal is to link molecular findings to clinical outcomes to better predict pregnancy outcomes.

"Our research group has recently discovered in experimental studies that the placenta undergoes hypoxia and oxidative stress, likely contributing to these risks. We now aim to investigate how the placenta is affected in women with T1D through a clinical study by recruiting pregnant women with and without T1D early in pregnancy and following them until after delivery", says Qiaolin Deng.

She continues:
"We will also analyze blood samples collected at different time points. State-of-the-art molecular analyses of blood and placenta will be employed to identify novel disease signatures and biomarkers, aiming to enhance the understanding and prediction of pregnancy outcomes. By linking our molecular findings with clinical outcomes and parameters, we will enhance understanding of pregnancy care of women with diabetes and benefit healthcare in the region”, says Qiaolin Deng.

The Importance of Regional Funding

Qiaolin Deng highlights the critical role of the funding in advancing the project.
"This funding is crucial for me to establish the long-term collaboration with clinicians at Karolinska Hospitals and translate our experimental findings into clinical studies for improved care practices for pregnant women with diabetes. We have already recruited a medical doctor as a doctoral student to take responsibility for patient recruitment, clinical data collection and analyses. Moreover, this funding will also allow us to further advance our laboratory techniques to implement cutting-edge methods”.

The project aims to benefit healthcare in Region Stockholm by integrating new molecular techniques into clinical practice.

"The Region Stockholm funding acts as a crucial driving force for fostering collaboration between all universities (not only medical ones), which encourages more researchers to actively engage in working with healthcare, which ultimately benefits patients. The way forward is to continue strengthening regional partnerships with all universities to create system where innovative research can translates into improved clinical practices and patient care.“ concludes Qiaolin Deng.

With support from Region Stockholm, the research continues to deliver concrete improvements for patients and society, while also strengthening ties between academia and practice.

Funded Projects in the 2024 Regional Call

Qiaolin Deng, Department of Molecular Biosciences, for the project Investigating the mechanisms and biomarkers linking maternal type 1 diabetes with adverse pregnancy and neonatal outcomes – 3 MSEK.

Per Carlbring, Department of Psychology, for the project Implementering av KBT i psykiatrisk heldygnsvård: Effekter av behandling samt upplevelser hos personal och patienter av samtal – 1.8 MSEK.

John Axelsson, Department of Psychology, for the project Tidiga markörer för att bättre predicera skov vid bipolär sjukdom – 1.6 MSEK.

Leonie Balter, Department of Psychology, for the project Moment-to-moment variability as a predictor of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) outcomes in insomnia treatment – 1.1 MSEK.

Mats Lekander, Department of Psychology, for the project Longitudinell insamling av mått på aktivitet, sömn och autonoma nervsystemet vid utmattning – 500,000 SEK.

Staffan Furusten, Faculty of Social Sciences, Department of Social Anthropology, Stockholm Center for Organizational Research (SCORE), for the project Att samverka över organisationsgränser för effektivare klimatomställning? - En studie av Klimatarena Stockholm – 500,000 SEK.

Iuliana Toma-Dasu, Department of Physics, for the project Radiotherapy Induced Lymphopenia in prostate and breast cancer patients – Assessment, Prediction and Reduction – 500,000 SEK.

Ulf Jederlund, Department of Special Education, Stockholm University, in collaboration with the Competence Center for Culture and Health, Region Stockholm (Cultural Affairs Department), for the project Musik- och sånglek för nyblivna mödrar och spädbarn: Främjande och förebyggande verksamhetsutveckling på BVC i områden med höga ohälsotal – 500,000 SEK.

Anna Andreasson, Department of Psychology, for the project Fatigue i fokus - validering av skattningsskalor för fatigue i olika patientpopulationer – 500,000 SEK.

Read more about the call for 2025 here.