Rickard Sandberg is a professor of molecular genetics at Karolinska Institutet, where he leads a research group focusing on the processes that regulate the human genome. This is done at a level of detail that was not possible just a few years ago.

There are a total of 20 000 protein-coding genes in our genome. One of the things Rickard Sandberg wants to explore is how many different patterns there are for turning these genes on and off and how often this happens. The research team plans to examine a large number of cell types in humans and mice and, for the first time, map their gene activation process.

Previously, it was necessary to look at many cells together in a clump. The methods developed by Rickard Sandberg and others allow them to study the expression level of genes in individual cells and thus understand more about what actually happens when the genes are activated.

This is very high-level basic research to understand how the genome is controlled and regulated by our genes, but the results can also be of practical use. In the coming years, Rickard Sandberg will systematically affect cells with a hundred different pharmaceutical substances and with the new methods the research team will see the direct effect of the substances at a very early stage, how they work and what side effects they have. This could, for example, lead to the refinement of drugs to make them work better.

Torsten Söderberg’s Academy Professorships in Medicine 
 The Academy Professorships are intended to promote internationally leading research in the field of medicine by enabling the holder to devote themselves full-time to research at a Swedish medical faculty for a period of five years. The Torsten Söderberg Foundation donates 10 million Swedish kronor to each individual professorship. The professorships are reviewed and awarded by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences following a peer-review process. Read more about the Academy Professorships.