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Nobel Prize Teacher Summit 2026

Speakers

Meet Nobel Prize laureates, top scientists and change makers at the Nobel Prize Teacher Summit 2026.

Read more about the speakers and team behind the summit here.

Speakers

Morten Meldal, Nobel Prize in Chemistry, 2022

Otto Cars, Professor Emeritus of Infectious Diseases at Uppsala University

Anna Mia Ekström, Physician and Professor of Global Infectious Disease Epidemiology at Karolinska Institutet

Anders Hansen, Psychiatrist, speaker, and TV show host

Alexander Norén, Senior business and tech correspondent at Swedish Television

Thomas Perlmann, Professor of Molecular Developmental Biology and Secretary-General of the Nobel Assembly at Karolinska Institutet

Maria Pränting, Scientific coordinator at ReAct Europe

Stefan Swartling Peterson, Professor Global Transformation for Health at Karolinska Institutet and Makerere University

Karin Tegmark Wisell, Swedish Ambassador for Global Health

Johan von Schreeb, Surgeon and Professor of Global Disaster Medicine at Karolinska Institutet

More speakers to come…

Morten Meldal

Morten Meldal received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2022 “for the development of click chemistry and bioorthogonal chemistry”.

Chemists strive to build increasingly complicated molecules. For a long time, this has been very time consuming and expensive. Click chemistry means that molecular building blocks snap together quickly and efficiently. In 2002, Morten Meldal and Barry Sharpless, independently of each other, developed an elegant and efficient chemical reaction: the copper catalysed azide-alkyne cycloaddition. This is now in widespread use and is utilised in the development of pharmaceuticals, for mapping DNA and creating new materials.

Otto Cars

Otto Cars is Professor Emeritus of Infectious Diseases at Uppsala University and one of the world’s leading experts on antibiotic resistance. Trained as a physician and infectious disease specialist, he has combined clinical practice, research, and policy work throughout his career.

From 1995 to 2010, he led Sweden’s national strategic programme against antibiotic resistance (Strama), which became an early example for a successful antibiotic stewardship. In 2005, he founded ReAct–Action on Antibiotic Resistance, a global network dedicated to advancing awareness civil society mobilisation and policy action to address antibiotic resistance worldwide.

Otto Cars has served as an expert advisor to the World Health Organization, multipleInstitutions in the EU and the United Nations and was a member of the UN Interagency Coordination Group on Antimicrobial Resistance. His work emphasises the need for global cooperation to safeguard access to effective treatment of bacterial infection for future generations.

Anna Mia Ekström

Anna Mia Ekström is a Swedish specialist physician in Infectious Diseases and a Clinical Professor in Global Infectious Disease Epidemiology at Karolinska Institutet and Södersjukhuset in Stockholm. She holds an MPH in quantitative methods from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, an MD from Uppsala University, and a PhD in Medical Epidemiology from Karolinska Institutet.

For more than 25 years, Ekström has led international research initiatives across Europe, Africa, and Asia. Her work spans abroad set of global health challenges, including sexual and reproductive health and rights, HIV, and emerging infections such as Mpox, Ebola, Zika, and COVID-19.

She also works extensively on vaccine access, gender-based violence, sexual risk behaviour, key populations, maternal and child health, health systems, implementation science, policy evaluation, demographic surveillance, and global vaccine policy. Ekström leads the Global & Sexual Health (GloSH) research group at Karolinska Institutet, bringing together approximately 50 international and multidisciplinary researchers. She is also custodian of Professor Hans Rosling’s teaching legacy.

In addition to her academic research, Anna Mia Ekström has held a wide range of expert and advisory roles at the national and global levels, including for the WHO, EU-HERA, Sida, the Public Health Agency of Sweden and Karolinska Institutet.

Anders Hansen

Anders Hansen is a psychiatrist, speaker, and popular TV show host with his own docuseries about the mysteries of the human brain.

Hansen has published several bestselling books and is arguably Sweden’s favorite expert on the topic of the brain and health matters.

To date, his books have sold more than 3 million copies, and have been on the bestseller lists in Sweden, Japan, and numerous other countries around the world.

Alexander Norén

Alexander Norén, senior business and tech correspondentat Swedish Television (SVT), reports on the forces shaping the future of work, industry, and society.

He is also the producer of the AI-documentaries: Generation AI, Fake Factory, AI War, and Homo Roboticus at SVT Play, projects through which he explores the impact, promise, and tension surrounding advanced AI technologies.

Thomas Perlmann

Thomas Perlmann is a leading neuroscientist whose research has significantly advanced our understanding of the brain’s dopaminergic system. His research focuses on developmental neuroscience, particularly the mechanisms governing the development and function of dopamine-producing neurons. His work has provided critical insights that have advanced the fields of regenerative medicine and the pathophysiology of Parkinson’s disease.

In addition to his research, Dr. Perlmann has held several prominent leadership roles. He served as Chair of the Department of Cell and Molecular Biology at Karolinska Institutet from 2003 to 2006. He has been a member of the Nobel Assembly since 2006 and of the Nobel Committee since 2008. In 2016, he was appointed Secretary-General of the Nobel Assembly and joined the board of the Nobel Foundation, where he now serves as Vice Chair. Since 2022, he has also served on the board of the Nobel Center Foundation.

His contributions to science have been recognized through his election to the Swedish Royal Academy of Sciences in 2008 and with numerous honors, including the Göran Gustafsson Prize, the Erik K. Fernström Prize, and the Torsten Söderberg Academy Professorship in Medicine in 2017.

Maria Pränting

Maria Pränting is Scientific coordinator at ReActEurope. She holds a PhD in Medical Microbiology from Uppsala University and has 20 years’ experience in antibiotic resistance related research, education, and science to policy and practice communication.

She leads the work on ReAct’s web based Tool box for action on antibiotic resistance and is part of the core leadership team of Antibiotic Smart Sweden, an initiative for whole-of-society engagement on antibiotic resistance.

Pränting is engaged in numerous innovative educational initiatives, including “AntibioticSmart Schools” and “Alforja Educativa–student health and the microbial world”, and teaches at several university level courses about antibiotic resistance from a global health and sustainable development perspective.

Stefan Swartling Peterson

Stefan Swartling Peterson is a public health physician and Professor of Global Transformation for Health at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden and Makerere University in Uganda, as well as a part-time health advisor to UNICEF Sweden.

A former Chief of Health for UNICEF, Stefan focuses on how systems such as food systems, urban planning, education, and health services can be transformed to support healthy individuals and resilient societies. Furthermore, how can children’s rights be translated to concrete services, that let children grow to their full potential?

Stefan’s work explores global challenges: in Africa, how the current “youthquake” can become a demographic dividend for the continent and the aging world; and in Sweden and Europe, how aging populations can extend their health span rather than merely their life span—not only to improve quality of life, but also to prevent health and social support systems from collapsing.

Karin Tegmark Wisell

Karin Tegmark Wisell serves as the Swedish Ambassador for Global Health, bringing extensive expertise in public health. She has held several senior positions at the Swedish Public Health Agency and the former Swedish Institute for Communicable Disease Control.

As Director General from 2021 to 2024, she led significant advancements in public health strategies, enhancing both policy effectiveness and public trust. As a trained physician with a PhD from the Karolinska Institute, she has substantial research and clinical experience and has been actively involved in numerous capacity-building programs.

She is also a valued member of various national and international boards and expert groups related to public and global health.

Johan von Schreeb

Johan von Schreeb is a surgeon and Professor of Global Disaster Medicine at Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm, where he leads the Center for Health Crises.

He has extensive experience working in war zones and disaster-affected settings, including Ukraine, Lebanon, Afghanistan, Sierra Leone, and Haiti, collaborating with the World Health Organization, Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders), and other international actors. His frontline experience has become increasingly important for strengthening Sweden’s preparedness and resilience to health crises.

Through research, education, and large-scale training exercises, Johan von Schreeb works to translate lessons from humanitarian emergencies into evidence-based strategies that support effective health system responses in times of crisis.