Patrik Ernfors did his undergraduate studies at the University of Uppsala, Sweden and at University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. Following graduation, he started PhD studies with Professor Håkan Persson at Karolinska Institutet, Sweden and obtained a PhD in Molecular Neurobiology in 1991. After post-doctoral studies with Professor Rudolf Jaenisch at the Whitehead Institute, MIT, Boston he returned to Sweden as junior faculty the Karolinska Institutet where he in 1999 became full professor. He has been active at various internal and external academic functions such as Head of department of Medical Biochemistry and Biophysics, member of the board of Research, expert functions at the ERC, Editor at Science Advances and more.