Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation is allocating additional funds to patient‑oriented, clinical research. The initiative will, among other things, strengthen research at the four Wallenberg Centres for Molecular Medicine located in Gothenburg, Lund, Linköping, and Umeå, as well as at Karolinska Institutet and Uppsala University.
As part of this initiative, support is included for around 80 Clinical Fellows – physicians who will have the opportunity to both work clinically and conduct research. It is a joint effort where the involved universities and the regions connected to the Wallenberg Centres for Molecular Medicine (WCMM), as well as Karolinska Institutet and Uppsala University, co‑finance the research portion of the physicians’ positions.
“This is a powerful, long‑term initiative to ensure that Swedish clinical research does not lose momentum. There have been signs that fewer physicians are conducting research, which is why we are very pleased that, together with the universities and regions, we can now offer the conditions needed for more people to engage in research,” says Peter Wallenberg Jr, Chair of Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation.
Part of the initiative also goes to Clinical Fellows at MIMS, the Laboratory for Molecular Infection Medicine Sweden.
Strengthening Sweden’s competitiveness and healthcare
Nearly half of the total investment is also directed toward collaborative projects between early‑career clinicians and preclinical researchers, as well as so‑called NEST projects between researchers in clinical medicine and researchers in AI and molecular technologies. NEST stands for Novelty, Excellence, Synergy, and Team.
“We are introducing NEST projects within clinical medicine to give research groups with different competencies the opportunity to work together for five years to develop groundbreaking discoveries. The concept was developed within the Foundation’s WASP program and has been highly successful,” says Sara Mazur, Executive Director of Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation.
“We want to secure Sweden’s competitiveness in this field. Leading clinical research is crucial for ensuring that patients in Swedish healthcare have access to the best treatments. It is also important for pharmaceutical development to continue in Sweden, which strengthens the entire Swedish life science sector,” says Peter Wallenberg Jr.
Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation has long contributed to making Sweden a leading life science nation. With this initiative – primarily focused on clinical medicine – and the recently approved grants for the DDLS program and the Alpha Cell project, the Foundation will have invested over SEK 10 billion in life science over the past 25 years.
Wallenberg Centres for Molecular Medicine (WCMM)
Between 2014 and 2015, four Wallenberg Centres for Molecular Medicine were established at the universities in Gothenburg, Linköping, Lund, and Umeå in collaboration with their respective healthcare regions.
The four centers have different areas of focus and conduct research in fields such as cancer diseases, infection biology, neuroscience, metabolic diseases including diabetes, regenerative medicine, genomics, biosciences, and in the interface between medicine and technology. In 2020, an expanded initiative in data‑driven life science was launched with a focus on precision medicine, diagnostics, and disease transmission.
The centers are part of a national, long‑term initiative by Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation to strengthen Sweden’s competitiveness in life science. The goal of WCMM is to create the best conditions for world‑leading molecular and translational research and to build knowledge and competence among the next generation of leaders in academia and healthcare.
Contact:
Peter Wallenberg Jr, Chair, Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation
Ph +46 8 545 017 80
[email protected]
Sara Mazur, Executive Director, Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation
Ph +46 8 545 017 80
[email protected]
Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation was founded in 1917. The Foundation’s purpose is to benefit Sweden by supporting basic research and education primarily in medicine, technology, and natural sciences. This is done through support to excellent individual researchers as well as project funding and strategic programs.
Since 1917, the Foundation has awarded nearly SEK 42 billion. In 2025, the annual grants for excellent basic research and education in Sweden totaled SEK 2.5 billion, making the Foundation Sweden’s largest private research financier and one of the largest in Europe.