Johan Hedström

About me

I am a trained optometrist and graduated in 2012 after studies at Linnaeus University in Kalmar. Subsequently, I obtained a master’s degree in clinical optometry from the Karolinska Institute 2019 and began my doctoral studies in 2022 with Abinaya Priya Venkataraman as the main supervisor. Since 2019, I have been working in optometry education and the master’s program in clinical optometry at the Karolinska Institute. I have been teaching and responsible for various courses since 2019, and I have been involved in the development of a clinical training reception operated in collaboration between the Karolinska Institutes and St. Erik's Eye Hospital. A clinical training reception staffed by resident doctors, eye specialist doctors, optometry students, master's program students, eye nurse students, and candidates from the medical program. Here, among other things, students from the Karolinska Institute can broaden and deepen their knowledge in an interprofessional learning environment.

My doctoral project focuses on Leber's hereditary optic neuropathy (LHON), a mitochondrial disease that leads to severe visual impairment. In the project, we are conducting studies on imaging of the retina's structure with optical coherence tomography (OCT) in relation to the rest of the visual system and visual function. We are also conducting questionnaire studies on the perceived quality of life in healthy carriers of the disease. The research environment is closely integrated with clinical care at St. Erik's Eye Hospital and the Center for Inherited Metabolic Diseases, Karolinska University Hospital, providing conditions for creating a knowledge flow between research and healthcare. Junior Faculty Club: Since 2023, Anne Rombaut and I have been responsible for the Junior Faculty at the division of eye and vision. If you are a doctoral student, master's student, or equivalent, and interested in presenting your research/project in a supportive environment, please feel free to contact me.

I teach and am responsible for courses at the undergraduate and advanced levels. As a contributor to the development of the Clinical Training Reception, I have helped create an interprofessional learning environment that received the KLOK Prize in 2023 (Clinical Learning through Organizational and Competence Development). This award aims to highlight good examples of organizations that, through good leadership and organization with a focus on learning, promote high-quality workplace-based education.

Clinical Supervisor, Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, 2019-