24 October 2025
It is with great pleasure that the Foundation for the Young Academy of Sweden welcomes Kerstin Sahlin and Mathias Uhlén as members of the board.
Kerstin Sahlin and Mathias Uhlén Photo: Karin Nader (Uhlén)
Kerstin Sahlin is a senior professor in business administration, particularly public organisation, at Uppsala University. Sahlin has recently completed an international comparative research project on collegiality in higher education and research. She has served as vice president of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, chief secretary for the humanities and social sciences at the Swedish Research Council, and deputy vice-chancellor at Uppsala University. Since 2019, Kerstin Sahlin has been the chair of the research programme WASP-HS (Wallenberg AI, Autonomous Systems and Software Program – Humanity and Society).
I have been following the Young Academy of Sweden since its inauguration and I am particularly impressed by how they have developed the dialogue between different parts of academia and spread knowledge about research. The young academy’s engagement in research policy issues is exemplary. I am very honored and pleased to now have the opportunity to contribute to this important work.
Kerstin Sahlin, board member
Kerstin Sahlin has written a large number of books and articles on, among other topics, university governance, reforms and management in the public sector, project organisation, dissemination of management ideas, and transnational organisation. She is a member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, the Royal Academy of Letters, History and Antiquities, the Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences, the Royal Society of Sciences in Uppsala, and the Royal Society of Arts and Sciences of Uppsala. Kerstin Sahlin obtained her PhD in business administration at Umeå University in 1986 and has also worked at the Stockholm School of Economics and as a visiting researcher at, among others, Stanford University.
Mathias Uhlén is a senior professor in microbiology at KTH. He is responsible for The Human Protein Atlas, as well as being a co-founder and former director of SciLifeLab. He has also co-founded over 20 start-up companies based on his research, including the publicly traded companies Biotage (Sweden) and Abclon (South Korea).
The activity and energy of the Young Academy of Sweden are impressive. I hope that my experience in interdisciplinary and entrepreneurial research environments can contribute to the academy’s activities. A fun and honourable assignment!
Mathias Uhlén, board member
Photo: Karin Nader
Uhlén is a member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences (IVA), the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences (KVA), the National Academy of Engineering (USA), and the European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO). He has previously served as Vice President at KTH (1999–2001) and as Chairman of the European Federation of Biotechnology (2015–2019).
Mathias Uhlén received his doctorate in biochemistry from KTH in 1984 and became a professor of microbiology at KTH in 1988.
The Young Academy of Sweden was established in 2011 at the initiative of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. From the very beginning, the plan was for the young academy to become an independent organization. Thus, on 24 October 2013, the Foundation for the Young Academy of Sweden was formed, whose task is to ensure that the Young Academy can conduct its independent activities. In summary, this means that the foundation board has the financial and legal responsibility for the operations, while the academy’s members are responsible for and decide on the activities that the academy carries out.
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