Roland Fiskesund
Assistant professor
Medical Doctor and Team leader with focus on Transfusion Medicine and Stem Cell Biology
About me
MD PhD, specializing in Clinical Immunology and Transfusion Medicine. Research interests in Transfusion Medicine and Stem Cell Biology.
Research description
Transfusion Medicine is a clinically important part of modern medicine and research in this field has vast translational potential. Platelet transfusion in thrombocytopenia and erythrocyte transfusion in anemia are well established and routinely used in the clinic. Our main research interest is exploring the concept of neutrophil transfusion to neutropenic patients with antibiotic refractory infections. Neutrophil transfusion is currently utilized sparingly, mainly due to logistical challenges. We are in the process of developing "off-the-shelf" neutrophil concentrates, drastically cutting costs and logistical hassle. Other research areas that we work with include enzymatic conversion of blood groups, citrate metabolism during apheresis treatments, harvesting and processing of stem cell grafts.
Our clinic handles the logistics around all Stem Cell Transplantations at Karolinska University Hospital. This setup provides us with access to large amounts of human hematopoietic stem cells from healthy donors as well as cancer patients. We have ethical permit for ex vivo culture, running various experiments including sequencing, CRISPR and animal transplantation as well as biobanking them. In my group, we are interested in characterizing the adhesion molecules on stem cells and understanding their role in maintaining stem cells through integrin signaling.
Teaching portfolio
I teach Transfusion Medicine at Karolinska Institutet to Nursing and Medical students.
Education
2003-2009 Karolinska Institutet Medical School
2008-2014 PhD in Immunology at Karolinska Institutet
2013-2015 Medical Internship at Karolinska University Hospital
2015 Postdoctoral studies at professor Thomas Helledays lab at SciLife, Karolinska Institutet
2017-2019 Postdoctoral studies at the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Beijing
2016-2023 Clinical Specialization in Immunology and Transfusion Medicine at Karolinska University Hospital