The Swedish Metabolomics Centre provides researchers with expertise and infrastructure for mass spectrometry-based metabolite analysis. Photo: Mikael Wallerstedt.
The Swedish Metabolomics Centre, based at UPSC, has secured continued support from the Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation. The new funding will strengthen the centre's long-term development and its ability to provide advanced metabolomics services to researchers across Sweden.
The Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation has awarded the Swedish Metabolomics Centre (SMC) SEK 33 million for the coming five years. In addition to supporting the centre's infrastructure and operations, the grant includes funding for a new associate professor position.
“This renewed funding gives SMC the long-term stability to maintain a strong national metabolomics service while continuing to develop new methods and technologies. The new associate professor will bring additional scientific expertise and research-driven method development, helping us stay at the forefront of metabolomics and expand what we can offer researchers across Sweden,” says Annika Johansson, who heads SMC.
SMC specialises in mass spectrometry-based analysis of metabolites – small molecules that can provide insights into how biological systems function and respond to change. Researchers use the centre's expertise and infrastructure for studies ranging from plant biology and microbiology to medicine and environmental science. Each year, SMC supports around 100 principal investigators from all major universities in Sweden, providing metabolomics, lipidomics and quantitative analysis of a broad range of small molecules.
The centre grew out of pioneering research on plant hormone analysis at SLU in Umeå in the 1990s. This expertise formed the basis for establishing SMC as a national service and knowledge centre in 2012 with support from the Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation. Since 2016, SMC has been a national unit within SciLifeLab's Metabolomics and Exposomics Platform.
Today, SMC is jointly run by Umeå University and the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU), with the Department of Plant Physiology at Umeå University hosting the centre. Around eight full-time scientists work at the centre, together with postdoctoral researchers focusing on method development and innovation.
The team at the Swedish Metabolomics Centre in June 2026. Photo: Malin Grönborg.
Researchers can work with SMC in different ways depending on their needs, through full-service analysis, collaborative method development or independent use of instruments in the centre's Open Access laboratory. Analyses can cover a broad range of metabolites and lipids, including plant hormones and fatty acids, either focusing on specific compounds or providing a broader overview of the metabolic composition.
“It is a golden opportunity for UPSC researchers to work closely with experts in metabolomics. The grant will also make it possible to open up a new group leader position in metabolomics, further strengthening this field at UPSC and in the wider research environment in Umeå,” says Johannes Hanson, Head of the Department of Plant Physiology at Umeå University.
Contact:
Annika Johansson, Head of Unit, Swedish Metabolomics Centre
More information:
https://www.swedishmetabolomicscentre.se/
Swedish Metabolomics Centre - Report 2026 (PDF)