Thomas Schön

Professor

My research concerns individualized treatment and improved diagnostics for tuberculosis and other infectious diseases.

Research focused on tuberculosis

My research is mainly focused on tuberculosis which causes about 10 million new cases per year of which about 1 million die. The immune system, bacterial resistance mechanisms to treatment and antibiotic dosing are important factors that partly determine who gets sick and who does not, but also how successful the treatment will be.

Several of my research projects in both Sweden and Ethiopia concern individualized treatment and improved diagnostics for tuberculosis and other infectious diseases, with the aim of improving the resilience of the immune system and streamlining treatment.

News

No association between COVID-vaccine and decrease in childbirth

COVID-19 vaccination is not the cause behind a decrease in childbirth, according to a study from Linköping University. The results speak against rumours about vaccination and reduced fertility.

SEK 15 million for research into Covid-19 vaccination

A research project coordinated by LiU has been awarded more than SEK 15 million by the Swedish Research Council to evaluate vaccination against Covid-19.

Publications

Latest publications in LiU DiVA

2026

Josephine Gal, Volda Gabro Stenback, Michaela Jonsson Nordvall, Thomas Schön, Robert Blomgran (2026)

Differential Regulation of Oxidative Burst by First Line Drugs Used Against Multi Drug-Resistant Tuberculosis in Naïve Human Innate Immune Cells Antibiotics, Vol. 15, Article 590 (Article in journal)

https://dx.doi.org/10.3390/antibiotics15060590

Dennis Nordvall, Thomas Schön, Jorma Hinkula, Olle Eriksson, Armin Spreco, Örjan Dahlström, Johan Lyth, Daniel Axelsson, Elin Gursky, Marie Blomberg, Toomas Timpka (2026)

COVID-19 vaccination carries no association with childbirth rates in Sweden Communications Medicine, Vol. 6, Article 360 (Article in journal)

https://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s43856-026-01396-x

Orjan Samuelsen, Carla Lopez-Causape, Frank Moller Aarestrup, Valeria Bortolaia, Michael S. M. Brouwer, Rafael Canton, Adrian Egli, Yonatan H. Grad, Axel Hamprecht, Susanne Haussler, Kathryn E. Holt, Katie L. Hopkins, Benjamin P. Howden, Katy Jeannot, Gunnar Kahlmeter, Claudio U. Koser, Amy J. Mathers, Thierry Naas, Spyros Pournaras, Etienne Ruppe, Thomas Schön, Nicole Stoesser, John Turnidge, Guido Werner, Gerard D. Wright, Chistian G. Giske, Antonio Oliver (2026)

The role of whole genome sequencing in antimicrobial susceptibility prediction of bacteria: 2025 update from the European Committee on Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing Subcommittee Clinical Microbiology and Infection, Vol. 32, p. S1-S34 (Article in journal)

https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cmi.2026.05.012

Rajender Kumar, Clara Braian, Gabrielle Froberg, Lina Davies Forsman, Thomas Schön (2026)

Comparative genomics and molecular insights into smooth and rough clinical isolates of Mycobacterium abscessus Microbial Genomics, Vol. 12, Article 001687 (Article in journal)

https://dx.doi.org/10.1099/mgen.0.001687

Daniel Augustinsson, Ayu Sakao, Mårten Sandstedt, A. Getachew, Jonna Idh, E. Abate, Sven Göran Fransson, Katarina Niward, Thomas Schön (2026)

Computer-aided detection of chest X-ray as a surrogate marker for disease severity in pulmonary TB The International Journal of Tuberculosis and Lung Disease, Vol. 30, p. 187-189 (Article in journal)

https://dx.doi.org/10.5588/ijtld.25.0348

Research

Individualised diagnosis and treatment of tuberculosis

Our general aim is to individualise and thereby optimize management of clinical TB by new methods and strategies. The research group consists of specialists in tuberculosis from different professions.

Organisation

Teaser image for the division II at BKV.

Division of Inflammation and Infection (II)

The Division of Inflammation and Infection (II) includes clinical subject areas such as Immunology, Rheumatology, Pathology and Microbiology.

Department of Biomedical and Clinical Sciences (BKV)

What characterizes the Department of Biomedical and Clinical Sciences (BKV) is the wide breadth of research and education. BKV is one of the largest departments at LiU with affiliation mainly to the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences.