Science for Life Laboratory | Stockholm Science City

A world-class interdisciplinary environment

We identified a need to merge the competence at the Stockholm universities Karolinska Institutet, KTH and Stockholm University in order to strengthen the research infrastructure of the region. A concept of an interdisciplinary center within life science was developed jointly by us and our scientific advisory board and then submitted to the principals of the three universities. The center was opened in 2010 with the name Science for Life Laboratory (SciLifeLab). It quickly established at the international research arena and is home to more than 150 research groups (2017).

In 2007, in order to increase collaboration between the universities in Stockholm and to strengthen the interdisciplinary environment in the Swedish life science field, we took the initiative to create a joint research center. Technical and scientific progress is rapid, which puts increasing demands on access to advanced equipment and interdisciplinary research environments to achieve scientific excellence. We identified a need to bring together skills and equipment in Stockholm to further strengthen the research environment of the region. Together with representativs from the universities, we drafted a concept which was presented to the three principals. The late Per Unckel, then Stockholm's governor and also chairman of SSCi, together with the principals were driving forces to realize the concept. Financing was sought and in that process, also Uppsala University was linked to the initiative.

In 2010, the Science for Life Laboratory (SciLifeLab), a national center for molecular bioscience with focus on health and environmental research, was inaugurated. The center is a resource that combines technical expertise with advanced knowledge in translational medicine and molecular biology that researchers from all over Sweden can use. More than 150 research groups are linked to the center (2017), which has rapidly established itself as an excellent research environment with great international interest. The center contributes to strengthening Sweden as a research nation and contributes to growth in Stockholm's life science industry through collaborations and knowledge exchanges.