New PhDs at LUSEM, spring 2026

By peter [dot] kjallkvist [at] ehl [dot] lu [dot] se (Peter Kjällkvist) - published 26 June 2026

Gemza Ademaj, Karin Alm, Betty Saenyi, Ivan Hejny, Natalie Irmert, and David Sandberg

After several years of hard work and deep engagement in their respective fields, seventeen doctoral students from LUSEM have successfully defended their dissertations this spring. We would also like to congratulate Kajsa Ganhammar on receiving the Best Doctoral Thesis Award 2025, which was recently presented.

Whether their research has been applied or more theoretical in nature, these doctoral students have advanced knowledge within their fields through their dedicated efforts. With sixteen dissertation defenses this spring, we at LUSEM have had an unusually large number of new PhD graduates this semester.

Kajsa Ganhammar’s dissertation, Essays on Policy and Market Imperfections in Electricity and Auction Markets in Economics, examines how regulatory shortcomings and deviations from the theoretical market ideal affect outcomes in electricity markets—including markets for green electricity certificates—as well as decentralized auction markets more broadly. Congratulations on receiving the Award for Best Dissertation 2025!

Among the topics explored in this spring’s dissertations are:

Ethical considerations in startup companies and how otherwise conscientious individuals gradually make increasingly unethical decisions during the company-building process (Entrepreneurial Ethics, Marina Vorholzer, Business Administration).
How government interventions and medical innovations have improved public health, with a particular focus on anti-tuberculosis campaigns in Sweden (Tuberculosis and Beyond, Liuyan Shi, Economic History).
Coordination challenges in the digital transformation of healthcare, where innovations and regulations often become misaligned (Coordinating Digital Transformation in Healthcare – Governance, Platforms and Generative Interdependencies, Betty Saenyi, Informatics).
How economic shocks and structural changes affect individual behavior and local outcomes (When Places Change – Essays on Local Labor Markets and Individual Responses, David Sandberg, Economics).
Illustrating the purpose structure of company law and stock market law, and the various arguments for interpretation that apply when applying the law in these areas (Investerarskyddssyftet och andra ändamål i aktiebolagsrätten och aktiemarknadsrätten, Erik Sjöman, Business Law).
The development of a unified framework for identifying simple underlying structures in statistical models (Discovering Structural Patterns in Statistical Models via Regularization, Ivan Hejny, Statistics).