SciLifeLab strengthens Sweden’s capacity to take on the coronavirus

Siv Andersson, co-director at SciLifeLab.

What do these extra millions mean for the current situation?
“Sweden and the world are at a critical junction, and the Wallenberg Foundation’s grant is incredibly welcomed and important for SciLifeLab’s ability to support the health and medical system with its vital work. The money will primarily be used for immediate measures with a focus on Sweden.”

What initiatives are we talking about?
“We will immediately increase our capacity to analyse tests to match the expected increase in need from the care system, which includes ensuring that health and medical care staff are not infected by the virus. The grant will also be used to coordinate a biobank, conduct studies of different treatments and mutation patterns in the virus’s DNA, and develop new test methods for the antibodies developed in people who have recovered.”

What part of the work will be done in Uppsala?
“Principally Ulf Gyllensten, professor and coordinator at SciLifeLab Genomics Platform, will lead a project aimed at developing alternative methods for analyses, something that will be crucial for our work if for some reason previous procedures no longer work or if we run out of reagents.”

When do you expect to be able to translate results into practical benefits?
“Analysing tests is quick and can already minimise the spread of the virus within care services if they are used on a larger scale. The mapping of changes to the virus’s DNA in positive test samples and the extent of infection in society also quickly provide us with necessary information to formulate more effective measures aimed at limiting possible outbreaks in areas not yet impacted.”

How do you judge your potential for success?
“That Sweden already has a national resource like SciLifeLab gives us much better potential to coordinate efforts to counter the virus. We receive coronavirus-related enquiries for support from around the world and are working intensively to optimise the impact of the infrastructure and expertise we provide. Simply put, a lot is happening in many areas, and my hope is that we will be able to achieve as much as needed.”

Will SEK 50 million be enough?
“No one knows at the moment what we have ahead of us. It depends on how long the contagion continues, and today the ambition is spread out the number of cases over time so that the medical system is not overwhelmed. Certainly, the peak has not been reached but the grant from the Wallenberg Foundation will help us move forward a fair bit.”

Magnus Alsne

FACTS

• SciLifeLab is a Swedish scientific institute carrying out health and environmental research.
• SciLifeLab develops, utilises and provides advanced technologies and expertise within molecular biosciences to researchers throughout the country.
• SciLifeLab is a joint effort among Uppsala University, Karolinska Institutet, KTH Royal Institute of Technology and Stockholm University.