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Mattias Ekstedt

Deputy Head of Department, Senior Associate Professor

My research aims to improve the quality of life for patients through innovative treatments and diagnostic techniques. Through my teaching, I seek to spread knowledge about chronic liver diseases and convey what makes the medical profession exciting.

About me

CV

  • 2003 Medical Degree
  • 2008 Doctoral Degree
  • 2010-2015 LiÖ Research Assistant (Fo-Ass)
  • 2011 Specialist, Internal Medicine
  • 2013 STINT-Scholarship “Excellence in Teaching”, New York University, USA
  • 2013-2019 Medical Doctor (Specialistläkare), Gastroenterology and Hepatology
  • 2015-2021 Senior Lecturer (Kombinationsanställning), HMV
  • 2019- Main/Co-Supervisor for > 15 PhD students
  • 2019- Senior Consultant (Överläkare), Stomach and Intestine Department
  • 2020 Associate Professor (Docent), Gastroenterology and Hepatology
  • 2021- Senior Associate Professor, HMV

Teaching assignments

Medical Programme, LiU

  • Academic Group Supervisor
  • Course Manager K6
  • Member and former Chair, GNM Theme Group
  • Lecturer, Seminar Leader
  • Developed MEQ exams, OSCE, and oral/practical exams
  • Main Supervisor for Advanced Projects

Nursing Programme, LiU

  • Examiner, IMO3

Networks

  • Founder and Member, The Study Group for Ectopic Fat Storage
  • Member, SWEHEP
  • Board Member, Mag-Tarmfonden
  • Steering Committee Member SweLiv
  • Former National Lead for Sweden in LITMUS
  • Member, EASL International Liver Foundation NAFLD Policy Review Study Group
  • Center for Medical Image Science and Visualization, CMIV

Awards

News

Demonstration of MR elastography.

Fatty liver – but not liver damage – common in type 2 diabetes

Six out of ten people with type 2 diabetes had fatty liver in a new study. Of these, only a small percentage had developed more severe liver disease. Type 2 diabetes in combination with obesity is linked to a greater risk.
Mattias Ekstedt, Nils Dahlström, Peter Lundberg, Bengt Norén and Patrik Nasr.

Adverse muscle composition linked to risk in fatty liver disease

Obesity and a sedentary lifestyle contribute to an increasing number of people developing fatty liver disease. According to a new study, poor muscle health may be a marker of risk for developing sequelae.
Mattias Ekstedt, Nils Dahlström, Peter Lundberg, Bengt Norén and Patrik Nasr.

Liver examinations without needles

How is your liver doing? Decades of research into the use of magnet resonance imaging is now being put to work to gain information about patients’ livers – without needles.

Publications

Mattias Ekstedt, Lennart E Franzén, Ulrik L Mathiesen, Lars Thorelius, Marika Holmqvist, Göran Bodemar, Stergios Kechagias (2006)
Long-term follow-up of patients with NAFLD and elevated liver enzymes.

Hepatology , Vol.44 , s.865-873 Continue to DOI

Mattias Ekstedt, Hannes Hagström, Patrik Nasr, Mats Fredrikson, Per Stål, Stergios Kechagias, Rolf Hultcrantz (2015)
Fibrosis stage is the strongest predictor for disease-specific mortality in NAFLD after up to 33 years of follow-up

Hepatology , Vol.61 , s.1547-1554 Continue to DOI

Patrik Nasr, Simone Ignatova, Stergios Kechagias, Mattias Ekstedt (2018)
Natural history of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease: A prospective follow-up study with serial biopsies.

Hepatology communications , Vol.2 , s.199-210 Continue to DOI

2026

Signe Swerkersson, Wolf Bartholomä, Mikael Forsgren, Henrik Stjernman, Daniel Sjögren, Stergios Kechagias, Patrik Nasr, Markus Holmberg, Peter Lundberg, Martin Rejler, Olof Dahlqvist Leinhard, Nils Dahlström, Mattias Ekstedt (2026) Clinical relevance and reproducibility of morphological MRI findings in liver cirrhosis: Results from ACCESS-ESLD European Journal of Radiology, Vol. 200, Article 112845 (Article in journal) https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ejrad.2026.112845
Shan Cai, Christian Simonsson, Markus Karlsson, Wile Balkhed, Jens Tellman, Simone Ignatova, Patrik Nasr, Mattias Ekstedt, Stergios Kechagias, Wolf Bartholomä, Nils Dahlström, Peter Lundberg (2026) Chronic Liver Disease: Assessing Inflammation and Fibrosis Using Three‐Dimensional MR Elastography With Same‐Day Biopsy in a Prospective Cohort Journal of Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Article jmri.70319 (Article in journal) https://dx.doi.org/10.1002/jmri.70319
Sofia Ullman, Hannes Hegmar, Johan Vessby, Patrik Nasr, Stergios Kechagias, Nils Nyhlin, Asa Danielsson Borssen, Mattias Ekstedt, Hannes Hagstrom (2026) Metabolic biomarkers add little to diagnostic performance of FIB-4 in MASLD Scandinavian Journal of Gastroenterology, Vol. 61, p. 340-344 (Article in journal) https://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00365521.2026.2615408
Marie Byenfeldt, Christer Grönlund, Patrik Nasr, Anna Lindam, Mattias Ekstedt, Peter Lundberg, Johan Kihlberg (2026) Detection of hepatic steatosis with ultrasound-guided attenuation parameter (UGAP) in metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) compared with proton density fat fraction (PDFF): Impact of measurement number and region of interest (ROI) location Ultrasound (Article in journal) https://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1742271x251407791
Ángel Herraiz-Adillo, Karin Rådholm, Fredrik Iredahl, Carljohan Carlhäll, Nahuel Roemkens, Mikael Forsgren, Olof Dahlqvist Leinhard, Peter Lundberg, Stergios Kechagias, Nils Dahlström, Patrik Nasr, Mattias Ekstedt, Pontus Henriksson (2026) Validity of the International Fitness Scale (IFIS) and its associations with cardiometabolic health and body composition in adults with type 2 diabetes: A cross-sectional study PLOS ONE, Vol. 21, Article e0339364 (Article in journal) https://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0339364

Research

A X-ray image of a liver

DETECT-HCC-ESLD

A comparative study of MRI and ultrasound for detection of primary hepatocellular carcinoma, body composition and risk factors for decompensation in liver cirrhosis (DETECT-HCC-ESLD)
Photo of EPSONIP project meeting

EPSOMiP

The research project EPSOMIP brings together a multidisciplinary team of researchers with a shared interest in exploring the link between fatty liver, epicardial fat, and cardiovascular disease in type 2 diabetes.
View of a scanner room bathed in blue light

ACCESS

A rapid, non-invasive, Clinical surveillance for CachExia, Sarcopenia, portal hypertension and hepatocellular carcinoma in End-Stage Liver Disease
Bild på utsnitt av fettlever

Metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD)

Metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) previously known as non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a chronic liver disease which has become the most common liver disease affecting adults and children.
Five man are standing in front of a big screen showing MR images.

The study group of ectopic fat storage

Vi studerar hur fettinlagring i olika organ, så som lever, muskel och hjärta, ökar risken för sjukdomsutveckling. Förhoppningen är att kartläggning kommer att hjälpa oss att identifiera de individer som löper högst risk att utveckla sjukdom.
Campus US with cherry blossom in the foreground.

SciLifeLab Linköping

SciLifeLab Linköping is both a local and a national research infrastructure, with unique technologies and expert competence accessible for academic and industrial researcher in the field of life sciences, health and data-driven life science.

Earlier projects

LITMUS - Liver Investigation: Testing Marker Utility in Steatohepatitis (2017-2022) CORDIS keyword LITMUS

Coworkers

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Patrik Nasr

Adjunct Associate Professor, Docent

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Stergios Kechagias

Professor

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Mikael Forsgren

Adjunct Associate Professor

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Olof Dahlqvist Leinhard

Associate Professor

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Jennifer Linge

Affiliated Researcher

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Gunnar Cedersund

Associate Professor, Docent

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Valentin Kindesjö
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Nils Dahlström

Associate Professor, Head of Unit

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Wolf Bartholomä

PhD student

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Peter Lundberg

Adjunct Professor

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Johan Kihlberg

Affiliated Researcher

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Carl-Johan Carlhäll

Professor

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Tino Ebbers

Professor

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Carl Fredholm
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Joakim Alfredsson

Senior Associate Professor

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Torsten Olbers

Professor

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Bijar Ghafouri

Professor, Head of Unit

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Cecilia Jönsson

Principal Research Engineer

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Christian Simonsson
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Martin Henriksson

Senior Associate Professor

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Fredrik Iredahl

Senior Associate Professor

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Martin Bergram
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Karin Rådholm

Senior Associate Professor

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Wile Balkhed
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Markus Holmberg
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Byron Lykiardopoulos
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Jonas Agholme
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Bengt Norén

Med.lic., MD, Region Östergötland

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Simone Ignatova
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Kim Ahtola

Organisation

Illustration of the letters HMV

Department of Health, Medicine and Caring Sciences (HMV)

The research areas at HMV include experimental basic research to clinical, social and public health research. We conduct high-quality education in the sought-after care professions.
Close up of three doctors dressed in surgical clothes. One stands with his back to the camera.

Division of Diagnostics and Specialist Medicine (DISP)

The division consists of three units (internal medicine, cardiovascular and radiological sciences) and contains seven subject areas within which research and teaching are conducted.
Five people in a laboratory.

Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences (MEDFAK)

The Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences conducts research and education within medicine, healthcare and public health.