Organization

BrainChild is a multi-stakeholder initiative powered by collaboration between academia, healthcare, civil society, and the private sector. The initiative is coordinated by Barncancerfonden and supported by a growing network of national actors committed to accelerating pediatric cancer research and precision medicine.

Coordination and funding

Barncancerfonden serves as the coordinating and convening force behind BrainChild, bringing together key actors across sectors to shape and drive the initiative. 

To date, BrainChild has been funded through generous contributions from EQT Foundation and Genomic Medicine Sweden (GMS), with support from the Swedish Ministry of Health and Social Affairs (Socialdepartementet). 

Steering committee 

BrainChild is guided by a cross-sector steering committee with deep expertise in childhood cancer, genomics, health innovation, and infrastructure development: 

  • Ola Mattsson, Barncancerfonden 
  • Elinor Westerberg, Barncancerfonden 
  • David Gisselsson Nord, Lund University / Genomic Medicine Sweden 
  • Richard Rosenqvist Brandell, Karolinska Institutet / Genomic Medicine Sweden 
  • Sven Törnkvist, EQT 
  • Per Sikora, Region Västra Götaland / Nationell Genomikplattform (NGP) 
  • Mathias Ekman, Microsoft 
  • Gustaf Ljungman, Barntumörbanken  

Operational leads 

The operative development of the BrainChild platform is led by the following individuals: 

David Gisselsson Nord
Professor of Molecular Pathology, Lund University / Co-Chair, Genomic Medicine Sweden Childhood Cancer Working Group 

Johanna Sandgren
Director Barntumörbanken, Karolinska Institutet and Karolinska University Hospital. Lead ELSI-group GMS Childhood Cancer 

Anna Eklöf
Strategic Project Manager, Barncancerfonden 

Participating institutions 

A wide range of institutions have contributed expertise and engagement in BrainChild’s development. This collaboration reflects the initiative’s ecosystem approach and national scope. 

Participating organizations include: 

AIDA • Barncancerfonden • Barntumörbanken • Genomic Medicine Sweden (GMS) • Göteborgs Universitet • Karolinska Institutet • Karolinska Universitetssjukhuset • KTH • Lif • Linköpings Universitet • Lunds Universitet • NBIS • NOPHO Leukemia Biobank (Sweden) • Region Östergötland • SciLifeLab • Skandion • Swedish Childhood Cancer Quality Registry (SBCR) • Uppsala Universitet • Microsoft