Bojmar's lab

These grants will help us push the boundaries of cancer research and better understand metastatic processes, always with patients as our #1 priority.
Thank you for believing in our science and our vision!!
#LiU #CancerResearch

“Multimodal analysis of systemic effects in gastrointestinal cancer for relapse prediction and individualized treatment – focusing on extracellular vesicles and pre-metastatic niches.” and "From organ to whole body: scaling up ex vivo cancer metabolism with digital twins.”

Feeling incredibly grateful to @vetenskapsradet.bsky.social for supporting our research at @liu.se with grants for two of our exciting projects:

In other words, from pre-metastatic niche formation to overt metastasis. A key aim of his work is to translate these biological insights into improved strategies for the prevention and treatment of recurrence.

#CancerResearch #Metastasis #TranslationalResearch

🧫 🩺 Meet Chuanwen Fan
He researches the mechanisms driving therapy resistance and metastasis in gastrointestinal cancers, focusing particularly on how stemness- and plasticity-associated cancer cell states and the primary tumor secretome, including tumor EVs, shape metastatic progression.

His passion for pancreatic cancer began in clinical work, and now continues his research at the Department of Clinical Pathology, Linköping University Hospital. Off‑lab, he loves hiking and climbing.
#PancreaticCancer #Pathology

🧫 🩺 Meet Håkon Andersen Blomstrand

Pathologist, MD PhD
Originally from Uppsala, Håkon earned his medical degree at Gothenburg in 2013 and his PhD last year at Linköping's University.

She joined the Bojmar group in 2022 and leads the collection and processing of patient materials: essential to projects on EV biomarkers and the pre‑metastatic niche. Outside of work, she enjoys kayaking, gardening and arts.
#ResearchEngineer #Premetastatic #Biomaterials #CancerResearch

🧬 Meet Carolin Jönsson

Research Engineer
Born in southern Germany, Carolin trained at the Max‑Planck Institute and later worked in Switzerland and Toronto before moving to Sweden in 1993.

He emphasizes the power of large collaborative networks to address clinical challenges and integrates closely with the Bojmar Lab’s translational work.
#SurgicalOncology #TranslationalResearch #HPBsurgery

🩺 Meet Bergthor Björnsson

MD, PhD, Docent / Senior Consultant
Bergthor’s clinical and translational research centers on pancreatic and liver surgery—he has led randomized and multicenter trials at Linköping.

He has led extensive clinical, registry-based, and international studies to improve diagnostics, evaluate therapies, and optimize patient selection.
#HPBCancer #PancreaticCancer #HepatobiliarySurgery #ClinicalResearch #TranslationalResearch

🩺 Meet Per Sandström

Adjungerad professor, MD/PhD
Per’s research focuses on patients with liver, biliary tract, and pancreatic tumors, striving to refine the boundaries between treatment options and ensure equal access to assessment and care for all patients.

His research integrates stable isotope tracing, mass spectrometry, and systems biology to increase translational relevance while reducing animal use. #CancerMetabolism #SystemsBiology #TranslationalResearch #MetabolicReprogramming

🧬 Meet Mohamed Elhusseiny
Post-doc Researcher
His work centers on cancer metabolism and metabolic reprogramming, with a focus on developing ex vivo and computational models to better understand tumor–host interactions.

With deep expertise in protein chemistry, biophysics and EV technology, he now drives method development, managing key EV instruments, expanding isolation pipelines, and leading the local EV network at LiU.
#EVResearch #CancerMetastasis #PreMetastaticNiche

🔬 Meet Alexander Sandberg

PhD, Principal Research Engineer
During his PhD he investigated amyloid-forming proteins in neurodegenerative disease. Since 2024, he has been part of Bojmar’s group, focusing on how EV’s shape the pre-metastatic niche in GI cancers.

She works clinically in pediatric oncology and within the Bojmar group she studies cancer‑derived extracellular vesicles and the immunological aspect of the pre-metastatic niche.
#PediatricOncology #CancerResearch

🩺 Meet Paulina Velasco Riestra

MD
Paulina earned her MD in Mexico City and began her research career at MD Anderson in pulmonary medicine.

Now he focuses on immune‑mediated mechanisms, radiomic/molecular profiling, and personalized treatment tailoring.
#SurgeonScientist #PancreaticCancer #PrecisionOncology

🩺 Meet Constantinos Zambirinis

MD, MRes
Originally from Paphos, Cyprus. He completed surgical training and oncology fellowships across the U.S., and spent time at NYU and Memorial Sloan Kettering studying inflammation’s role in pancreatic cancer and the liver pre‑metastatic niche.

She joined the Bojmar group in fall 2024 to study portal biomarkers in gastrointestinal cancers, particularly pancreatic cancer, and their clinical applications.
#SurgeontoBe #PortalBiomarkers #ResearchJourney

🩺 Meet Verena Unterkircher

MD
Raised in a small Alpine town in Northern Italy, Verena graduated from Medical University of Innsbruck in 2024, where she engaged in vascular surgery research and teaching.

He’s now surgical consultant and PhD investigating risk factors and outcomes of colorectal cancer in younger patients. His collaboration with the Bojmar Lab began in 2022.
#ColorectalCancer #SurgicalOncology #ClinicalResearch

🩺 Meet Erik Lundqvist

MD, Surgical Consultant, PhD.
A native of Söderköping, Erik studied medicine at Linköping. The overall aim with his research is to improve the diagnosis and management of patients with colorectal cancer, affecting almost 7000 new individuals in Sweden each year.

After working in Reykjavik, she’s now back in Linköping, contributing to clinical data collection for upcoming projects in the Bojmar group.
#PancreasSurgery #ClinicalResearch #SurgicalOncology

🩺️ Meet Karin Johansen

MD, PhD
From Gothenburg, Karin graduated from Linköping’s medical school in 2018. Her PhD was in pancreatic surgery, cost‑effectiveness, and quality of life.

Under Linda Bojmar’s supervision, he’s investigating molecular markers that influence radiotherapy response in colorectal cancer, focusing on extracellular vesicle cargo and the establishment of pre‑metastatic niches.
#ColorectalCancer #PhDLife #EVresearch

🔬 Meet Jonas Burman

PhD candidate
Raised in Karlstad, Jonas moved to Linköping for his bachelor's in biology and later completed a master’s in Experimental & Medical Biosciences in 2022. He did an international exchange in the Lyden lab, at Weill Cornell Medicine in New York.

After earning her master’s in medicine at Linköping, she joined Linda Bojmar’s team in April 2023 to study cancer‑derived extracellular vesicles—their role in progression and potential as biomarkers.
#Oncology #EVResearch #PhDLife