The Biomedical Laboratory Scientist Research School for eXcellence (BioLabX)

Time period:

1 December 2025 – 30 November 2030

Project leader:

Dick Wågsäter

Project member:

Anna Strömberg, Maria Magnusson, Matti Sällberg, Magnus Gram, Sofie Degerman, Gabriella Lillsunde Larsson

Funder:

Swedish Research Council

Type of award:

Research environment

Total funding:

60,000,000 SEK

Biomedical laboratory scientists (BLS) play a critical role in modern healthcare, providing expertise in diagnostics, quality assurance, and interpretation of clinical samples, with ~70% of diagnoses relying on their work. Yet, Sweden faces an urgent shortage of certified BLS (CBLS) and academically trained educators, threatening future faculty recruitment, pedagogical development, research capacity and healthcare quality. The BLS Research School for eXcellence (BioLabX) is a national initiative uniting seven Swedish universities authorized to award doctoral degrees in BLS. Its objectives are to strengthen faculty competence, integrate research with clinical practice, and advance translation of scientific progress into diagnostics, pedagogy, and healthcare. BioLabX, with its steering board, will admit ~23 doctoral students, many with combined clinical-academic positions, ensuring close integration between education, research, and practice. The curriculum includes two new profile-defining courses in pedagogy, leadership, and supervision, complemented by seminars, elective courses, and international collaborations. Partner universities contribute complementary expertise across biomedical and clinical research, supported by global network. By fostering research-trained CBLS with pedagogical competence, BioLabX addresses workforce shortages, secures future educators, and strengthens Sweden’s position as a leader in precision diagnostics, biomedical innovation and research in BLS.