KI establishes resource teams for support during the COVID-19 pandemic

Interdisciplinary resource team post-pandemic (KIRP)

KI has now established an interdisciplinary resource team post-pandemic (KIRP for short) to ensure that it can optimally contribute to the challenges posed by future pandemics. The members of KIRP are the seven convening members of KI’s COVID-19 expert/resource teams (each group will be able to continue its work regardless) and other identified researchers with complementary expertise, two of whom sit on KI’s Faculty Board. One member of KIRP is appointed as convenor.

The team’s assignment is to:

• serve as a resource and support for the KI management
• link together and use existing networks and channels established by the previously appointed resource teams during the initial phase of the pandemic, and to collaborate with Region Stockholm and the national community
• help to coordinate the broad competence that exists at KI in order to strengthen research post-COVID-19 and in doing so create sustainability and develop and build resilience to future crises at local, national and global level
• promote and facilitate the establishment of relevant multidisciplinary, researcher-initiated projects internally at KI and in collaboration with the health sector and other higher education institutions
• identify, based on our experiences with COVID-19, the most important knowledge and collaboration gaps that must be filled ahead of future pandemics.

The members of KIRP, who sit for a period of two years, are:

• Lars I Eriksson, Fyfa (convenor)
• Jan Albert, MTC
• Soo Aleman, MedH
• Johan Askling, MedS
• Kristian Borg, KI DS
• Bo Burström, GPH
• Anders Ekbom, MedS
• Anna Mia Ekström, GPH
• Lars Engstrand, MTC
• Maria Eriksdotter, NVS
• Niklas Juth, LIME
• Hans-Gustaf Ljunggren, MedH
• Mats Olsson, CNS
• Rickard Sandberg, CMB
• Johan von Schreeb, GPH

The COVID-19 specialist team

The team’s main missions are:

• to support the KI management with the measures it takes and with internal communication
• to evaluate requests from other countries affected by the pandemic 
• to collaborate with hospitals/the healthcare sectors/Region Stockholm and national authorities to whatever extent is necessary 
• to identify the experts in the field at KI and how KI can put its collective knowledge to societal use.

The COVID-19 team comprises:

• Jan Albert (convenor)
• Anna Färnert
• Johan Giesecke
• Hedvig Glans
• Sara Gredmark Russ
• Ali Mirazimi
• Johan von Schreeb
• Matti Sällberg

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Resource team for quality assurance of information on COVID-19

This resource group has been set up to make best use of the competence possessed by professors with long-standing experience of the university’s activities. It has been tasked with supporting the standby team and management by:

• being a resource for the Communications and Public Relations Office in its scientific communication, internal as well as external
• being a resource in evaluating new knowledge that is generated in the form of papers published in scientific journals and on other platforms
• helping to identify the experts at KI able to deal with new, specific issues.

The resource team for COVID-19 information comprises:

• Anders Ahlbom (statistical modelling)
• Jan Bolinder (internal medicine)
• Sven Britton (infection medicine)
• Anders Ekbom (epidemiology, convenor)
• Johan Giesecke (infection epidemiology)
• Lars Klareskog (immunology)
• Sten Lindahl (anaesthesia and intensive care)
• Niels Lyneö (ethics)
• Magnus Nordenskjöld (genetics)
• Staffan Normark (microbiology)
• Anders Rane (clinical pharmacology)
• Åke Seiger (geriatrics)
• Carol Tishelman (nursing)
• Hans Wigzell (immunology and virology)
• Mare Åsberg (psychiatry)
• Jan Östergren (emergency medicine)

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Resource team for ethical issues around the COVID-19 pandemic

The resource team is to give KI researchers guidance in research ethics with respect to rules and laws (e.g. the Ethical Review Act) and issues of scientific ethics that are covered by ethical principles only.

The team comprises:

• Niklas Juth, senior lecturer and docent of medical ethics at LIME (convenor)
• Gert Helgesson, professor of medical ethics at LIME
• Claes Frostell, professor and consultant at the Department of Clinical Sciences, Danderyd Hospital, and chair of KI’s Ethics Council 
• Kristina Broliden, professor of infection diseases at the Department of Medicine (Solna) and consultant in clinical virology at Karolinska University Hospital.

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Resource team for public health research concerning COVID-19

This expert group will coordinate public health research at KI on COVID-19 and, if necessary, provide support to public authorities and health care organisations. The group will collaborate with the SLSO organisation within Region Stockholm and the Public Health Agency of Sweden.

Members of the group are:

• Bo Burström, GPH (convenor, social medicine)
• Maria Albin, IMM (occupational and environmental medicine, overcrowding)
• Antonis Georgelis, CAMM/SLSO (overcrowding)
• Theo Bodin, IMM (insecure employment)
• Solvig Ekblad, LIME (multicultural health care research)
• Asli Kulane, GPH (international health)
• Knut Lönnroth, GPH (social medicine)
• Lene Lindberg, GPH/SLSO (violence in close relationships)
• Mathilde Sengoelge, GPH (violence in close relationships)
• Wenjing Tao, MMK (social medicine)
• Carol Tishelman, LIME (innovative care)

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Resource team for mental health during COVID-19

To strengthen KI’s preparedness in the COVID-19 crisis, a resource team is needed to advise the management on its internal communication of issues relating to mental health in the wake of the pandemic.

The resource team comprises:

• Mats J Olsson, CNS (convenor)
• Clara Hellner, CNS (SLSO)
• Mats Lekander, CNS (stress)
• Erik Hedman, CNS (health anxiety)
• Emily Holmes, CNS (PTSD)
• Danuta Wasserman, LIME (suicide prevention)
• Johan Franck, CNS (dependency)
• Eva Serlachius, CNS (children and adolescents)
• Jeanette Westman, CNS (senior)
• Erik Andersson, CNS (worry)
• Christian Rück, CNS (OCD, adult psychiatry)
• Tomas Hemmingsson, IMM (mental health and unemployment)

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Resource team for the health of the population of older people during COVID-19

To strengthen KI's preparedness in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on the health of the population of older people, the president has set up a resource group that can be advisory to the management:

• for communication of internal and external issues regarding the health of the older people and COVID-19
• by producing knowledge bases on the health of older people in relation to the epidemic
• in collaboration with the health sector in the Region Stockholm and with the care of old people in the county's municipalities 
• and who can assist other resource groups at KI in matters relating to the health of the older population.

The resource team comprises:

• Maria Eriksdotter, convenor
• Laura Fratiglioni, ARC/NVS
• Kristina Johnell, MEB
• Miia Kivipelto, NVS
• Lars-Olof Wahlund, NVS
• Carin Lennartsson, NVS 
• Dorota Religa, NVS
• Anne-Marie Boström, NVS
• Elisabeth Rydwik, NVS
• Kristina Kallin (PhD)

Resource Team SFO Epidemiology

The President has set up a resource team for SFO Epidemiology as an interdepartmental resource at KI and comprising a network of researchers from the five divisions/departments at KI that are mainly active in the field of epidemiology/biostatistics.

SFO Epidemiology possesses competence in the fields of epidemiology and biostatistics as well as extensive experience of practical work involving registry linking from research databases, regional and local registries and healthcare data sources – internet-based collection of research data via questionnaires etc. – and of work in the interface between clinical and other data sources. 

Assignment:

• to act as a resource group for central university initiatives and initiatives from the resource teams related to COVID-19 that KI sets up
• to act as a contact point for COVID-19 related issues raised by other KI researchers that require epidemiological or biostatistical competence, and/or experience with clinical or other relevant individual data sources
• to integrate with Region Stockholm’s Centre for Health Data to ensure access to optimal epidemiological and biostatistical competence for issues related to COVID-19
• to collaborate, capacity allowing, with Region Stockholm on COVID-19-related matters handled under the auspices of the region via the Centre for Epidemiology and Community Medicine.

The resource team is to be chaired by Johan Askling.

Resource team for global covid-19 research

This resource team has been appointed to strengthen KI's preparedness for global aspects of COVID-19 and increase preparedness for future pandemics, that can advise the management and coordinate operational efforts at KI from a global perspective. The convener of the team is a member of KI's interdisciplinary resource team post-pandemic (KIRP).

The members of the resource team are:

• Anna Mia Ekström, GPH, convenor
• Eleni Aklillu, LabMed
• Tobias Alfvén, GPH
• Tim Baker, GPH (Critical care)
• Anders Björkman, MTC (Global Infectious Diseases)
• Anna Ekéus Thorson, GPH
• Anna Färnert, MedS
• Kristina Gemzell Danielsson, KBH 
• Jonas Klingström, MedH 
• Knut Lönnroth, GPH 
• Ulrika Morris, MTC (molecular-based diagnostic)
• Pontus Naucler, MedS 
• Zarina Nahar Kabir, NVS 
• Björn Reinius, MBB 
• Johan Lundin GPH 

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Resource team for vaccine coordination

The resource team has been appointed to strengthen vaccine coordination at the university and the work of creating conditions for successful vaccine research.

The resource group consists of:

• Hans-Gustaf Ljunggren, MedH, covenor

• Matti Sällberg, LabMed (vaccinology)

• Karin Loré, MedS (RNA-vaccine)

• Soo Aleman, MedH (clinical COVID-19)

• Susanne Nylén, MTC (experimental models)

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