Carolina Hagberg

This postdoctoral project is based in a translational research environment at Karolinska Institutet and focuses on how white adipose tissue dysfunction contributes to cardiometabolic disease during obesity. The work is centered on adipose tissue vascular biology , with a particular emphasis on the endothelial barrier in white adipose tissue and its role in shaping lipid handling in health and disease. The project will combine humanized in vitro models with functional in vivo mouse experiments . In practice, the postdoc will work with primary human microvascular endothelial cells and unilocular adipocyte spheroids, and use these systems alongside mouse studies to investigate early molecular mechanisms that drive disease initiation. Omics analyses will complement these approaches, adding a broader molecular layer to the experimental work. The position is located in the research group headed by Associate Professor Carolina Hagberg within the Department of Medicine, Solna. The group is part of a larger Cardiovascular Theme and collaborates with national and international partners, as well as colleagues working on adjoining projects. The lab is situated in BioClinicum on KI’s Solna campus, close to both the Karolinska Hospital clinics and the research resources of Karolinska Institutet, and is affiliated with the Centre for Molecular Medicine, providing access to core facilities and researcher support. The research environment is described as dynamic, collaborative, and strongly connected to metabolism and cardiovascular inflammation research, with a focus on identifying early mechanisms of disease development during obesity.