Rikard Holmdahl

Rikard Holmdahl is a Senior Professor at the Department of Medical Biochemistry and Biophysics, Karolinska Institutet, with a research focus on autoimmune diseases and cancer. He previously held a full professorship at Lund University (1993-2008) and has led the Medical Inflammation Research (MIR) group since 2008. His work combines genetic analysis using animal models to identify polymorphisms (e.g., NCF1) that control autoimmune susceptibility.

Research highlights: His group discovered that reduced oxidative burst from NCF1 mutations promotes autoimmunity, influencing rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, and psoriasis. They also explore redox regulation in cancer, particularly tumor cell dissemination. Recent projects include tolerogenic vaccines and proteomic analysis of neutrophils and synovial fluid.

Article trends (2019-2025): 15 papers emphasize NCF1/NOX2 polymorphisms, ROS in immune regulation, and autoantibody mechanisms in arthritis and cancer. Subfields include epitope mapping, T cell tolerance, neutrophil activation, and redox-dependent ferroptosis.

Scientific awards:

• 2025 Crafoord Prize Research Grant (awarded to Dr. Zhongwei Xu and Rajan Kumar Pandey)
• DKK 5.9 million from Novo Nordisk Foundation
• DKK 3.6 million from LEO Foundation
• SEK 500 million Karolinska-wide grant (2019)
• Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation (KAW) funding

Advising and grants: Holmdahl mentors active researchers like Yuan Luo and Shamasree Ghosh. His group receives continuous funding from Swedish Research Council, Novo Nordisk Foundation, and Crafoord Foundation for projects on genetic mechanisms of autoimmunity and redox-regulated diagnostics.

Labs and teams: Based in Biomedicum, Stockholm, Holmdahl's MIR group includes postdocs (e.g., Laura Romero Castillo), affiliated researchers, and technical staff. The team employs transgenic mice, proteomic platforms, and flow cytometry for studying macrophage activation and neutrophil extracellular traps.