Photo of Jan-Ingvar Jönsson

Jan-Ingvar Jönsson

Vice-Chancellor

As LiU’s vice-chancellor I want the university to offer education and research that attracts the very best students and researchers. Standing for the highest possible quality, built on common fundamental values of trust, security and credibility.

LiU is characterised by curiosity and openness

One of the reasons I applied for the post of vice-chancellor at Linköping University was the creative and open pioneering attitude here. It is a relatively young university that has the courage required to seek new pathways for both education and research. Furthermore, its ties to the society around us are strong, leading to new challenges and advances.

Since the early 1990s, I have worked on the mechanisms that control the formation of all blood cells from particular stem cells. The formation of blood is an amazing process that never stops throughout life – 2-3 million new blood cells are formed every second.
I arrived at Linköping University in 2003 after having worked, among other things, as a researcher in the Max Planck Institute in Freiburg and later in Toronto, Canada. I worked on the blood system and immune defence, and in 2008 I became professor in medical cell biology.
In the years that followed, I also spent a lot of time on research strategy, and how Sweden can support the best medical research in the future. I was member of the Scientific Council for Medicine and Health at the Swedish Research Council during the period 2013-2015, and from 2016 until the summer of 2020 I was secretary general of the Swedish Research Council, with scientific responsibility for medicine and health.
Good research depends on research environments that are secure, creative and provide the opportunity for open collaboration between different fields of research, with international research groups, and with the society around us. We must also untiringly discuss the ethical questions and promote good research practice. I hope to be able to contribute to this as vice-chancellor of Linköping University.
Linköping University has a reputation as an innovator in education and teaching methods, with a way of working that breaks down boundaries between fields of study in research and education that has gained many followers. Now we must develop our areas of strength and identify new areas in which we can become forceful players, both in Sweden and abroad. This will require structures that bridge across faculties, common solutions and – once again – greater collaboration with the society around us.
We are facing an exciting and challenging period. It will require unceasing curiosity, innovation and openness, such that we together can formulate the vision and ambition that will carry Linköping University into the future. The task will require trust and openness that enables everyone to present their opinions and suggestions. As new vice-chancellor this is where I will start – by inviting dialogue!

University Management and Board

Vision and strategy

About me

Vice-chancellor at LiU from July 2020

Academic qualifications

  • Professor in medical cell biology, Linköping University (2008)
  • Associate professor in experimental pathology, Uppsala University (1996)
  • Doctoral degree in medical sciences, Lund University (1990)
  • Bachelor degree in Biology, Lund University (1985)

Previous positions

  • Senior lecturer, Linköping University (2003-2008)
  • Senior lecturer, Lund University (1997-2003)
  • Assistant professor (Cancerfonden), Uppsala University (1993-1997)
  • Postdoctoral fellow, Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Canada (1990-1993)
  • PhD student, Max-Planck-Institut für Immunbiologie, Freiburg, Tyskland (1985-1990)

Awards

  • Scholarship from German academic exchange service for graduate studies in Germany (1985)
  • Scholarship from the Swedish institute for research in Germany (1986)
  • Electrolux-fellowship by the Sverige-Amerika foundation (1990)
  • Postdoc-fellowship, Medical Research Council of Sweden (1991)
  • Postdoc-fellowship, Hospital for Sick Children Foundation (1991)
  • Postdoc-fellowship, MRC Canada (1992)
  • Research award as promising young scientist, Inga and John Hains stiftelse (1998-99)

Commissions of trust in academia

  • Vice-Director för Wallenberg Center of Molecular Medicine (WCMM), Linköping (2015)
  • Deputy Head of Department, Clinical and Experimental Medicine, Linköping (2014-2015)
  • Member, stearing committee of the Strategic Research Area “Integrative Regenerative Medicine Program” (IGEN), Linköping (2011-2014)
  • Chair, User group forum in Flow Cytometry, the Core facility at the Medical Faculty, Linköping (2011-2020)
  • Head of Division, IKE/Microbiology & Molecular Medicine, Linköping (2010-2014)
  • Deputy Head of Center of Biomedical Resources (CBR), Linköping University (2010-2012)
  • Member of Advisory Committee of Forum Scientium Research School, Linköping (2010-2015)
  • Chair, stearing committee of Biomedical Services, Linköping (2009-2010)
  • Member, Linköping Animal Ethics Committee (2009-2014)
  • Member, Board at Faculty of Medicine, Linköping (2006-2011)
  • Member, Board at Dept of Biomedicine and Surgery (IBK), Linköping (2004-2005)
  • Member, Board at Dept of Laboratory Medicine, Malmö, Lund University 2000-2001)
  • Member, Board at Dept of Pathology, Uppsala (1996-1997)
  • Member (student representative), Board at Dept of Biology, Lund (1984-1985)

National commissions of trust

  • Secretary General at the Swedish Research Council for Medicine and Health (2016-2020), Clinical Therapy Research (2016-2020), and Clinical Studies (2018-2020)
  • Vice Chair, member – National Stearing group of the ALF agreement (2016-2020)
  • Member, board at the Swedish Agency for Health Technology Assessment and Assessment of Social Services (2016-2020)
  • Member, Advisory board for Knowledge Gaps in the Health Care sector, Swedish Agency for Health Technology Assessment and Assessment of Social Services
  • Member, National Committee for the Protection of Animals used for Scientific Purposes, Ministry of Agriculture (2017-2019)
  • Member, Governmental Committee Reviewing the Ethical review of Clinical research (U 2016:02) (2016-2017)
  • Member of the Jury the Athena award: Innovations in Practice in Health Care - Dagens medicin (2016-2020)
  • Member, Stearing group of the Swedish National Quality Registries (2016-2018)
  • Member, Scientific Council of Medicine and Health, Swedish Research Council (2013-2015)
  • Member of the review panel for Cellular and Molecular Biology at Swedish Research Council (2010-2012, chairman 2011-2012)
  • Chairman of the review panel for Grants for Distinguished Professors in Medicine and Health at Swedish Research Council (2013)
  • Chairman of the review panel for Grants for research into coronavirus and COVID-19, Swedish Research Council (2020)
  • Opponent at twelve occasions between 2006-2019 at the Faculty of Medicine at Karolinska institute (3 times), Lund university (5), Umeå university (1), Uppsala university (1), and Örebro university (2)
  • Scientific expert, Karolinska institute, strategic research grants in Inflammation and Immunology – KiiM – Innovate Grants (2007)
  • Member of the Linköping Animal ethical committee (2009-2014)
  • Scientific expert, Barncancerfonden: research grants (2001, 2002, 2004)
  • Scientific expert, Linköping: assistant professor in molecular tumour biology (2003)
  • Scientific expert, Lund: associate professor in biochemistry (2013)
  • Scientific expert, Umeå: employment as researcher in medicine (2013)
  • Scientific expert, Uppsala: associate professor in comparative immunology (2013)
  • Scientific evaluator, Lund: young scientist award (2014)
  • Executive Director of the Swedish National facility of Mass Cytometry at Science of Life Laboratory (2015-2017; Deputy Head 2017-2020)
  • Scientific evaluator, Lund: assistant professor in molecular hematology (2015)

International commissions of trust

  • Chair, Executive Committee of the International consortium for Personalised medicine (ICPermed) in collaboration with the European commission (2018-2020)
  • Chair (since 2019), vice-chair (2016-2018) for Joint programming initiative for antimicrobial resistance (JPIAMR) at EU https://www.jpiamr.eu/
  • President, the Joint Committee of the Nordic Medical Research Councils (NOS-M) (2016-2020)
  • Management board for Joint program initiative for neurodegenerative diseases (JPND) at EU (2016-2018)
  • General Council International Agency for research on cancer at WHO (2016-2020)
  • Heads of International Research Organisations (HIROS) (2016-2020)
  • Programme committee for Nordic Programme on Health and Welfare (2016-2018, 2020-)
  • Member of International expert committe for Evaluation of Health Research in Ireland – (Health Research Board 2019)

Organiser of international conferences

  • ”Cancer moonshot - taking a leap for mankind” – the Swedish Research Council and the Karolinska institutet, May 2018
  • “Nordic Common Strengths and Future Potential in the Field of Personalised Medicine” – Workshop arranged by the Swedish Research Council and NOS-M, November 2016

Information about Linköping University

My research

Publications

2023

Danfeng Cao, Jose Gabriel Martinez Gil, Laetitia Skalla, Erik Hultin, Jan-Ingvar Jönsson, Risa Anada, Hiroshi Kamioka, Edwin Jager, Emilio Satoshi Hara (2023) Tunable electroactive biomimetic bone-like surfaces for bone marrow-on-chips 2023 IEEE BIOSENSORS CONFERENCE, BIOSENSORS (Conference paper) Continue to DOI

2021

Danuta Gawel, Eva Bojner Horwitz, Oleg Sysoev, Bo Jacobsson, Jan-Ingvar Jönsson, Erik Melén, Anders Ynnerman, Mikael Benson (2021) Stor potential när genomikdatakan implementeras i klinisk rutin: [Clinical translation of genomic medicine] Läkartidningen, Vol. 118 (Article, review/survey)
Emma Rörby, Jörgen Adolfsson, Erik Hultin, Thomas Gustafsson, Kourosh Lotfi, Jörg Cammenga, Jan-Ingvar Jönsson (2021) Multiplexed single-cell mass cytometry reveals distinct inhibitory effects on intracellular phosphoproteins by midostaurin in combination with chemotherapy in AML cells Experimental Hematology & Oncology, Vol. 10, Article 7 (Article in journal) Continue to DOI

Organisation