Avlant Nilsson

Avlant Nilsson is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, Karolinska Institutet. His research focuses on applying interactome-based deep learning to unravel cancer mechanisms, particularly in pancreatic cancer stroma interactions and drug target discovery.

• Education: PhD in Biology and Biological Engineering (Chalmers, 2019), M.S. Engineering Physics (Chalmers, 2014), B.S. Biological Engineering (Chalmers, 2012)

The group develops constrained deep learning models aligned with physical biomolecular interactions, integrating transcriptomics, metabolomics, and proteomics data to study metabolism, signal transduction, and gene regulation networks in cancer.

Key research themes include:

• Precision cancer medicine
• Drug resistance mechanisms
• Tumor microenvironment modeling
• Computer-aided drug design
• Metabolic network simulations

Scientific awards include:

• DDLS Fellow (Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation, 2024-2029)
• Junior Investigator Award (Swedish Cancer Society, 2024-2026)
• Deep learning grants from Swedish Cancer Society and Vetenskapsrådet

Current lab members:

• Avlant Nilsson (Group Leader)
• Olof Nordenstorm (PhD Student)
• Xinhe Xing (PhD Student)
• Xuechun Xu (Postdoctoral Researcher)