By using clinical studies, quality registers and AI, Sophia Brismar Wendel hopes to improve obstetric care. Meet one of the new professors of Karolinska Institutet who will participate in this year’s installation ceremony at Aula Medica on 8 October.
Text: Karin Tideström, for KI’s installation ceremony booklet 2026
Sophia Brismar Wendel wants to make childbirth safer for both mother and baby by preventing and reducing complications associated with pregnancy and delivery. Amongst other lines of research, she looks at how to reduce severe perineal tears during vaginal delivery, prevent blood loss at caesarean sections, and mitigate the risk of reduce the risk of fetal death and oxygen-related injuries in newborns.
Photo: Erik Flyg
Her group’s clinical multicentre studies have shown how drug treatments, surgical methods and practices in obstetric care can be improved.
“National quality registers enable us to track the effects of new treatment methods at a population level,” says Professor Brismar Wendel.
The researchers also use AI to improve diagnostic accuracy and predict therapeutic effects. Many of their results have already changed clinical practices and helped ensure safer and more personalised obstetric care.
About Sophia Brismar Wendel
Professor of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at the Department of Women’s and Children’s Health as of 18 May 2026
Sophia Brismar Wendel was born in Danderyd in 1974. She is a doctor and specialist in obstetrics and gynaecology, having earned a PhD in 2009 with a thesis on HPV and cervical dysplasia. For many years, she was senior physician in obstetrics and medical lead at Danderyd Hospital. She combines the post of professor with that of senior obstetrician at Karolinska University Hospital.
