Joakim Ek

Biography

Joakim is a Senior Lecturer and A/Prof at Dept of Neuroscience and Physiology, University of Gothenburg. He obtained his Master’s degree from Lund University, Sweden, before briefly working at AstraZeneca in Gothenburg. He then moved to Australia, where he completed his PhD at the University of Tasmania in Hobart, focusing on vascular development in the brain and, in particular, the specialised functions of brain blood vessels that constitute the blood–brain barrier.

He subsequently moved to the University of Melbourne, where he held postdoctoral positions conducting research into traumatic injuries of both the brain and spinal cord. In 2012, he returned to Sweden and joined the Perinatal Medicine Centre at the University of Gothenburg. There, he has been working closely with Carina Mallard, Henrik Hagberg, and Xiaoyang Wang to understand the mechanisms underlying neonatal brain injury and identify new therapeutic approaches. His research has encompassed hypoxic-ischaemic encephalopathy, intraventricular haemorrhage, and the effects of inflammatory episodes on the developing brain. For more than a decade, he has also maintained a close collaboration with Zena Vexler at UCSF, USA, investigating the mechanisms and long-term consequences of neonatal stroke and contributing to new insights into this condition.

Since 2021, Joakim has worked closely with Lina Bergman and Cathy Cluver, leading the preclinical research programme within the Centre’s preeclampsia research. This is currently his main research focus, although he remains involved in several other projects at the Perinatal Medicine Centre. As part of this work, he established a preclinical model of preeclampsia to investigate the molecular mechanisms underlying the disease and its effects on both mother and fetus. He is also involved in the analysis of samples from the PROVE and GoPROVE biobanks, with the overall aim of improving our understanding of preeclampsia and identifying new approaches for prediction, prevention, and treatment.