Dr. Mathias Uhlén is a distinguished Senior Professor of Microbiology at the Royal Institute of Technology (KTH) in Stockholm, representing the pinnacle of achievement in protein science and systems biology. Born in May 1954, he earned his PhD in chemistry from KTH in 1984 followed by postdoctoral research at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory in Heidelberg, Germany. He was appointed Professor of Microbiology at KTH in 1988 and subsequently served as Vice-President of the institution from 1999 to 2001 with responsibility for external relations. Dr. Uhlén has held numerous prestigious leadership positions including President of the European Federation of Biotechnology from 2015 to 2019 and Founding Director of the national infrastructure Science for Life Laboratory from 2010 to 2015.
Dr. Uhlén's pioneering research has yielded more than 800 peer-reviewed publications with over 100,000 academic citations and an impressive h-index of 144, demonstrating exceptional scientific impact across multiple disciplines. His group pioneered groundbreaking innovations including protein engineering techniques that led to the development of a ligand now utilized in manufacturing the majority of therapeutic antibodies on the global market. In 1993, he introduced the revolutionary sequencing by synthesis concept, which detects nucleotide incorporation in real-time during DNA synthesis and has become foundational to modern DNA sequencing technologies. As Director of the Human Protein Atlas program since 2003, he has created an open-access resource featuring over 5 million web pages with 10 million high-resolution microscope images that has transformed proteome research worldwide.
Beyond his research achievements, Dr. Uhlén is an elected member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Science, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Swedish Academy of Engineering Science, reflecting his exceptional contributions to both biological and engineering sciences. His entrepreneurial impact includes more than 70 international patent applications and the founding of 20 startup companies, with board memberships at prominent public companies including Bure, Biotage, and Alligator Bioscience. Dr. Uhlén's work exemplifies the translation of basic science into practical applications, with many projects supported by the non-profit Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation. As a Senior Professor at KTH, he continues to advance the frontiers of protein science and systems biology while shaping the future of precision medicine through innovative data-driven approaches.
