Natural sciences have had a strong position in Uppsala for several centuries, and many historically famous scholars have worked at the university, amongst others Olof Rudbeck, Carl von Linné, and Anders Celsius.

About Carl von Linné

About Olof Rudbeck

Historic sites of biological interest

Carl Linnaeus, the famous Swedish botanist, was a professor of Uppsala University for more than 30 years in the 18th century. His memory is still cherished in Uppsala and his estates are preserved as museums and open to the public as part of Uppsala's cultural historical treasures. (Picture to the right is Hammarby, the farm estate where Linnaeus lived with his family) Other sites of biological/historical interest are the Evolutionary Biology Museum (zoology, paleonthology and botany) and the Botanical garden.

Modern biology in Uppsala

In more recent days the Uppsala region has been called “one of the top-ten biotechnology regions of the world”, manifested by the numerous Uppsala-based inventions that have had major influences on biotechnological research and development (i.e. ultracentrifugation, electrophoresis, gel filtration). In and around the city are many research facilities like the Evolutionary Biology Centre the Biomedical Centre,the Linnaean Centre for Bioinformatics, the Ångström laboratories (physics, astronomy and materials science, the Ludwig Institute for cancer research, Uppsala University hospital (clinical research, the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences Several governmental departments with own research are also present in Uppsala; the Medical Product Agency the National Food Administration, and the National Veterinary Institute.

Moreover, many biotech companies, most with the base in spin-off products and ideas from university research, are located in the Uppsala area. The close co-operation between the university and the industry results in valuable contacts for the students, experiences and opportunities for practice, degree projects and exiting work opportunities after graduation.

Uppsala – biotechnology region

Pharmacia (nowadays Pfizer, Amersham Biosciences and Pharmacia Diagnostics) is historically the most well known company, but there is a long list of present-day larger and smaller enterprises within biotechnology, biomedicine and information technology (see examples below).

Biacore

Biotage AB

Doxa AB

GE Healthcare

Gyros AB

Orexo AB

Q-MED AB

Svanova Biotech AB