SciLifeLab was established in 2010 with a vision to be one of the leading centers in the world for high-throughput bioscience.
Scroll down to see how that vision became a reality.
Timeline
2010
SciLifeLab established with founding Director Mathias Uhlén and Co-Director Kerstin Lindblad-Toh
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
SciLifeLab established with founding Director Mathias Uhlén and Co-Director Kerstin Lindblad-Toh
2010
Several new bioinformatics algorithms developed and published, including SignalP 4.0, FunCoup 2.0 and OrthoDisease 2.0
2011
SciLifeLab and Karolinska Institutet together decide to construct a new building in Solna to house their expanding staff of researchers
2012
SciLifeLab awarded the status of an official national infrastructure for molecular biosciences
2013
Science & SciLifeLab Prize for Young
Scientists inaugurated
Initiation of the SciLifeLab Fellows Program
1000th SciLifeLab affiliated article published
Clinical sequencing program established in Swedish healthcare system with the help of SciLifeLab
2014
10 HiSeqX instruments installed at the National Genomics Infrastructure
Whole-genome sequencing for rare inherited disease diagnostics performed on 1000 samples
Olli Kallioniemi (pictured) recruited as the new director of SciLifeLab
2015
Uppsala and Stockholm operations merged
Facilities offering electron cryomicroscopy and mass cytometry added to infrastructure (pictures show installation of cryogenic electron microscopy at the Cryo-EM Swedish National Facility, Umeå University)
2016
The Genomic Medicine Sweden network is launched to coordinate the introduction of genomics in Swedish healthcare
Swedish government officially proposes that SciLifeLab be designated as one of three major national research infrastructures, along with the MAX IV Laboratory and the European Spallation Source
Total of more than 20 SciLifeLab Fellows recruited
2017
250 academic ideas evaluated by the Drug Discovery and Development platform
Over 200,000 small molecules are made available for biological screening purposes through the SciLifeLab Compound Collection
Almost half of users served are from outside host universities, establishing SciLifeLab as a true national infrastructure resource
2018
7 Research Community Programs and 16 Technology Development Projects launched
New skeletal disease discovered through a SciLifeLab Clinical Genomics collaboration led by Karolinska Institutet researcher Giedre Grigelioniene
2019
in their own words
This vision is even more relevant 10 years later.
Click each person to learn more.
The vision in 2010 was to establish a new campus in Stockholm with a data-driven focus enabling multidisciplinary research in life science. I am extremely pleased that SciLifeLab some years later joined with Uppsala University to create a national infrastructure with equal access for all Swedish academic researchers.
— Mathias Uhlén, founding Director of SciLifeLab
— Mathias Uhlén, founding Director of SciLifeLab
This vision is even more relevant ten years later.
The vision in 2010 was to establish a new campus in Stockholm with a data-driven focus enabling multi-disciplinary research in life science. I am extremely pleased that SciLifeLab some years later joined with Uppsala University to create a national infrastructure with equal access for all Swedish academic researchers.
— Mathias Uhlén, founding Director of SciLifeLab
This vision is even more relevant ten years later.
The vision in 2010 was to establish a new campus in Stockholm with a data-driven focus enabling multi-disciplinary research in life science. I am extremely pleased that SciLifeLab some years later joined with Uppsala University to create a national infrastructure with equal access for all Swedish academic researchers.
— Mathias Uhlén, founding Director of SciLifeLab
This vision is even more relevant ten years later.
The vision in 2010 was to establish a new campus in Stockholm with a data-driven focus enabling multi-disciplinary research in life science. I am extremely pleased that SciLifeLab some years later joined with Uppsala University to create a national infrastructure with equal access for all Swedish academic researchers.
— Mathias Uhlén, founding Director of SciLifeLab
This vision is even more relevant 10 years later.
The vision in 2010 was to establish a new campus in Stockholm with a data-driven focus enabling multidisciplinary research in life science. I am extremely pleased that SciLifeLab some years later joined with Uppsala University to create a national infrastructure with equal access for all Swedish academic researchers.
— Peter Nilsson (KTH Royal Institute of Technology), SciLifeLab Scientific Director
SciLifeLab has been unique from day one. Now, 10 years later, it has gone beyond what I could have ever imagined!
14,791
Citations
by the numbers
The number of citations for SciLifeLab-affiliated researchers has increased every year since SciLifeLab’s launch in 2010. The latest data available shows a whopping 19,256 citations.
Citations Per Year
Hover over each ring to learn more.
19,256
Citations
10,800
Citations
6,817
Citations
3,580
Citations
1,539
Citations
300
Citations
2010:
32 Citations
Hover over the chart to learn more.
SciLifeLab is a National Center and should be available to all researchers, no matter what university they are affiliated with. Having 48% of users from outside the four host universities shows that we have come a long way toward achieving that goal.
SciLifeLab Users
by the numbers
26%
18%
10%
9%
9%
7%
6%
International
Universities
5%
3%
2%
2%
Other Swedish
Universities
2%
10%
Data from 2018.
48% of users are from outside the host universities
Click the slider to view the distribution between the different universities.
The number of host university group leaders has increased steadily for the past few years.
Group Leader Distribution
by the numbers
2019: 198 total group leaders
2019
2015
Uppsala University
Stockholm University
KTH Royal Institute of Technology
Karolinska Institutet
2015: 154 total group leaders
Congratulatory messages
— Matilda Ernkrans, Minister for
Higher Education and Research
Excellent research for health and environment—what can be more important than that? SciLifeLab celebrates 10 years and I’m so proud, because this means great conditions for research in health and environment. I wish SciLifeLab continuous success and also very good luck for the future! We need it.
— Giulio Superti-Furga, Scientific Director, CeMM
Happy anniversary, SciLifeLab! Ten years… what you have achieved! The lighthouse of molecular, medical, environmental sciences in Europe. An incredible experiment in cooperation between institutions—training, making your technologies available to people, datasets. All the best for the next hundred years. You are our inspiration!
— Shigeo Koyasu, Executive Director, Riken
Congratulations on the 10th anniversary of SciLifeLab! I am Shigeo Koyasu, an executive director of Riken. SciLifeLab has been a very important partner of Riken for the last decade. Our collaborative effort has centered mostly on ‘omics research. But at the same time, we have covered various areas in life sciences. And I hope in the future time that we can expand it further. I look forward to seeing a new, exciting result coming out from SciLifeLab in the coming decade, and also I look forward to seeing fruitful collaborative work between SciLifeLab and Riken. Again, congratulations.
— Aviv Regev, Chair of Faculty, Broad Institute
Happy birthday, SciLifeLab! Keep changing science, one innovation at a time.
— Rolf Apweiler, Director, EMBL-EBI
Happy 10th anniversary, my dear colleagues at the SciLifeLab! I cannot believe that you are just 10 years old. You’ve had already so much impact during your infancy. How strong will it be once you are in your adult years? You are really a prime example of what excellent people can achieve in the right organizational environment, breaking down the barriers that may slow you down. I wish you lots more success in the future and look forward to even more interactions with all of you guys.
Into the Next Decade
— Olli Kallioniemi, Director of SciLifeLab
Over the next 10 years, I believe SciLifeLab will have a critical role in life science and a broad impact on health, environment and society at large. We will leverage the national infrastructure to enrich and elevate life science across the country in the form of several strategic efforts.
This will secure Sweden’s long-term future as a leading life science nation and contribute to the wellbeing of people
and the environment.
— Mia Phillipson, SciLifeLab Scientific Director for Uppsala University
I believe that we have reached a point where we in order to deepen our understanding of the processes of life should stop categorising our knowledge into conventional disciplines and instead look at generated data with new eyes. With our arsenal of state-of-the-art methods and expertise, I am convinced that SciLifeLab is a crucial facilitator for researchers taking on this ambitious task.
Click the slider to view before and after photographs of Meetingplace Navet in Uppsala, a place for scientists, facility staff and visitors from within and outside the academic environment to meet. The innovative architecture is designed to facilitate interdisciplinary interactions and provides an inspiring atmosphere that promotes creativity.
Construction of Navet in Uppsala
after
Before
SciLifeLab initially negotiated with a pharmaceutical company to use one floor of their building, the so-called Alfa Building, later expanding into additional unused space. In 2012 a bold decision was made to construct an entirely new building.
One year later, SciLifeLab moved into the Gamma Building, while maintaining their presence in Alfa. In just four years, from 2010 to 2013, the small research center with a huge vision had gone from zero employees to 400 researchers and a brand new home.
Expansion of Campus Solna
Gamma building
alfa building
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
Click each date to see the expansion progress.
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
Into the Next Decade
07
Congratulatory Messages
06
By the Numbers
03
In Their Own Words
02
SciLifeLab Timeline
01
— Kerstin Lindblad-Toh, Co-Director of SciLifeLab 2013-2016
I wanted to help Sweden create strong research environments. It is wonderful to see SciLifeLab now!
11
81
35
27
12
39
20
127
The Norway spruce gene sequence mapped—the largest genome in the world at the time of publication
The 2014 Nobel Prize in Chemistry laureates (pictured) visit the Advanced Light Microscopy facility at SciLifeLab, where all technologies pioneered by laureates are in use
SciLifeLab has been created by the coordinated effort of four universities in Stockholm and Uppsala: Karolinska Institutet, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm University, and Uppsala University.
Visit SciLifeLab
A Decade of Discovery
Website created by the Science/AAAS Custom Publishing Office
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
2010:
32 Citations
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Expansion of Campus Solna
04
Construction of Navet in Uppsala
05
Expansion of Campus Solna
04
Construction of Navet in Uppsala
05
The SubCellBarCode published, a method of analysis that maps the location of proteins in cells
Database with the distribution of proteins in all major tissues and organs in the human body published, as part of the Human Protein Atlas
Clinical sequencing program established in Swedish healthcare system with the help of SciLifeLab
