Stockholm university

From basic science to breakthrough solutions for diabetes

Diabetes is one of the fastest-growing diseases in the world. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the number of people living with the condition has quadrupled globally since the 1980s. Several major research projects at Stockholm University are exploring fundamental factors that may help prevent or even reverse diabetes, including approaches that aim to activate the body’s own immune system.

Close up of work at a laboratory at Stockholm University
Research at the Department of Molecular Biosciences, The Wenner-Gren Institute Photo: Niklas Björling/Stockholm University

Find five major research results below:

 

 

Parental health influences disease risk across generations

”Children born to women with type 1 diabetes are at increased risk of developing cardiovascular disease early in life. Our study shows for the first time that this risk can be traced to an early impact on the endothelial function of blood vessels – but only in sons, long before any metabolic problems arise. Now we want to understand the biological mechanisms behind this gender difference. In the long term, this knowledge may help us develop more targeted and preventive treatments”, says Qiaolin Deng, Department of Molecular Biosciences, The Wenner-Gren Institute, Stockholm University and Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Karolinska Institutet.

Portrait of Qiaolin Deng
Qiaolin Deng Photo: Ignus Dreyer

The research followup work will be financed by Novo Nordisk Foundation Research Leader Programme.

Read more about Qiaolin Deng's research:

Group Deng
Sons of mothers with type 1 diabetes show early signs of vascular dysfunction

Find the current publication in Cell

 

 

Brown fat: the body's hidden defense against diabetes

“The prevalence of Type 2 Diabetes is related to our positive energy balance due to Western diets and sedentary lifestyle. In our childhood, however, we possess a fat- and sugar-burning organ, the brown fat, which gets lost when we grow up. Our research aims to re-activate this secret weapon against metabolic disorders to prevent the development of diabetes and obesity”, says Martin Jastroch, Professor of Molecular Mammalian Physiology at the Department of Molecular Biosciences, The Wenner-Gren Institute, Stockholm University.

Portrait of Martin Jastroch
Martin Jastroch Photo: Sören Andersson

Read more about the research by Martin Jastroch:

Group Jastroch

Marsupials Key to Discovering the Origin of Heater organs in Mammals
 

 

 

Failing glucose transporters key to type 2 diabetes

“Disturbances in energy transport in our cells can lead to diseases such as type 2 diabetes, cancer and other so-called neurodegenerative diseases. My research, funded by the ERC Advanced Grant MEMSUGAR, aims to uncover at the molecular level why some of the glucose transporters in people with type 2 diabetes fail to reach the surface of fat and muscle cells in response to insulin, preventing proper sugar uptake”, says David Drew, Professor of Biochemistry and Wallenberg Scholar at the Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics and Scilifelab, Stockholm University.

Portrait of David Drew
David Drew Photo: Niklas Björling

Read more about the research of David Drew:

David Drew's reserch group

Scilifelab

Scientists reveal how energy is delivered into the cells major “shipping port”

 

 

New drug candidate improves blood-sugar control

“We’ve developed a new oral molecule that we believe will help people with type 2 diabetes and obesity. It focuses on skeletal muscle, the body’s main ‘glucose sink’, to boost metabolism and increase glucose uptake. By fine-tuning cell signaling, our candidate supports muscle health as well as blood-sugar control”, says Tore Bengtsson, Professor at The Department of Molecular Biosciences, The Wenner-Gren Institute (MBW).

Portrait of Tore Bengtsson
Tore Bengtsson Photo: Karin Tjulin

Invented and stemming from basic science at Stockholm University and published in Cell, it’s a rare bench-to-clinic journey from idea to Phase 2–ready. The compound showed a favorable safety profile in Phase 1, and we’re moving toward Phase 2 to evaluate clinical benefit. Tore Bengtsson is the founder of Atrogi AB, now developing the drug candidate further.

Read more about the research by Tore Bengtsson:

Group Bengtsson

Find the scientific article in Cell

 

 

Cellular respiration key to balanced metabolism

”Our work focuses on elucidating molecular mechanism of cellular respiration - in health and disease. We work with the proteins of the mitochondria that are central for understand changes in our metabolism, as in diabetes”, says Ville Kaila, Professor of Biochemistry at the Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, Stockholm University.

Watch a video on Ville Kaila's research by Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation (KAW):

 

Read more about the research by Ville Kaila:

Ville Kaila's research group

villekaila.com/

KAW: Mapping energy conversion in cells

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Research groups
Group Deng

We explore the intricate relationship between genetics and environmental factors in shaping offspring health. By studying germline development, placental function, and the impact of early-life exposures, we aim to uncover how parental health influences disease risk across generations.

Photo Deng
Read more about
Group Jastroch

We investigate the physiology and molecular mechanisms of energy metabolism from the organism to the molecule. We focus on metabolic aspects during obesity, adipose tissue biology, mitochondrial mechanisms and thermogenesis.

Martin Jastroch
Read more about
David Drew's research group

The Drew group investigates the alternating-access mechanism of solute transporters for sugars and ions. These transporters are critical to cell homeostasis and their dysfunction is associated with human diseases, such as cancer and diabetes.

David Drew
Read more about
Group Bengtsson

Obesity is a major inducer of type II diabetes and it is estimated by the World Health Organization that over 500 million people worldwide suffer from either of these disorders, with the incidence increasing dramatically over the last 10 years.

Tore Bengtsson
Read more about
Ville Kaila's research group

We develop methodology consisting of computational biochemistry in combination with biochemical and biophysical experiments in order to better understand the energy conversion enabled by complex enzymes.

ville3
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Last updated: November 12, 2025

Source: Communications Office

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