Maria Eriksson

Maria Eriksson is a Professor and Docent at the Department of Medicine, Huddinge, Karolinska Institutet. She leads the 'Genetic mechanisms of ageing' research group, focusing on understanding how genetic factors contribute to tissue aging and age-related diseases. Her work combines genomic technologies and in vivo models to study somatic mutations and progeria.

Education:

• Doctor of Philosophy (2001), Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet
• Docent (2010), Karolinska Institutet

Research Interests:

• Genetic and molecular mechanisms underlying aging
• Somatic mutagenesis in healthy and diseased tissues
• Hutchinson-Gilford Progeria Syndrome (HGPS) and its implications for normal aging
• Stem cell biology and age-related decline

Key Contributions:

• Discovered the gene causing progeria in 2003
• Shows stem cells accumulate thousands of DNA mutations with age
• Develops gene-editing therapies for progeria and aging-related conditions

Awards:

• ERC Advanced Grant (2023)
• Rönnberg’s Prize in Aging and Age-Related Diseases (2023)
• Jeansson’s Foundation Award (2019)

Lab and Collaborations:

• Integrates Cardiovascular, Cancer, and Ageing Research (ICCA)
• Member of European Joint Programme on Rare Diseases and American Society of Human Genetics