Harri Niinikoski profile picture
Harri
Niinikoski
Professor, Institute of Biomedicine
Professor, Nutrition in Medicine (Institute of Biomedicine)

Contact

Areas of expertise

Childhood endocrinology and nutrition
inherited metabolic diseases
neonatal screening
prevention of cardiovascular risk factors.

Biography

Professor Harri Niinikoski graduated from the Medical School at the University of Turku in 1991, where he also specialized in Pediatrics in 2000 and received subspecialty in Pediatric Endocrinology in 2006. He defended his thesis on prevention of cardiovascular risk factors in childhood in 1997 (The STRIP study). He did his post-doc training at the Childhood Nutrition Research Center at the Baylor School of Medicine, Houston, Texas, in 2001-2003. Subsequently, he worked as a Senior Clinical Researcher and Clinical Lecturer at the Department of Pediatrics, University of Turku, and in 2011-2015 as the Head of the Division of Pediatric Care in Turku University Hospital. From 2015, he has been Professor of Nutrition in Medicine


Teaching

In 2006-2010, Harri Niinikoski worked as a full-time teacher of pediatrics at the Department of Pediatrics, University of Turku.


Research

Professor Harri Niinikoski’s research interest focus on primary prevention of cardiovascular disease, and childhood nutrition, endocrinology and metabolism. Moreover, he has been closely involved in launching the neonatal metabolic screening program which started in Finland in 2015.

Main research projects are 1) The STRIP study (The Special Turku coronary risk factor Intervention Project) which started in 1990 and involved 1062 infants which were randomized into nutrition an intervention or a control group. He is deputy P.I. in STRIP; 2) DIARA2 study which involves 317 children (217 in Turku, 100 in Oulu) whose mothers were treated with either metformin or insulin due to gestational diabetes. The children are now thoroughly investigated at 9 years of age; 3) LPI study. Lysinuric protein intolerance (LPI) is a rare metabolic disease which belongs to the Finnish disease heritage. There are approx. 50 Finnish patients who are annually studied at the Turku University Hospital pediatric metabolic outpatient clinic; 4) Congenital hypothyroidism study. CH has been screened in Finland since 1980, affects 1:2000 newborns and is treated with thyroxine. The outcome of the treatment of CH is investigated in national CH study which is launched in 2018.


Publications

Sort by:

Ideal cardiovascular health in childhood-Longitudinal associations with cardiac structure and function: The Special Turku Coronary Risk Factor Intervention Project (STRIP) and the Cardiovascular Risk in Young Finns Study (YFS) (2017)

International Journal of Cardiology
Laitinen TT, Ruohonen S, Juonala M, Magnussen CG, Mikkila V, Mikola H, Hutri-Kahonen N, Laitinen T, Tossavainen P, Jokinen E, Niinikoski H, Jula A, Viikari JSA, Ronnemaa T, Raitakari OT, Pahkala K
(Vertaisarvioitu alkuperäisartikkeli tai data-artikkeli tieteellisessä aikakauslehdessä (A1))

Genome-wide association analysis identifies three new susceptibility loci for childhood body mass index (2016)

Human Molecular Genetics
Felix JF, Bradfield JP, Monnereau C, van der Valk RJP, Stergiakouli E, Chesi A, Gaillard R, Feenstra B, Thiering E, Kreiner-Moller E, Mahajan A, Pitkanen N, Joro R, Cavadino A, Huikari V, Franks S, Groen-Blokhuis MM, Cousminer DL, Marsh JA, Lehtimaki T, Curtin JA, Vioque J, Ahluwalia TS, Myhre R, Price TS, Vilor-Tejedor N, Yengo L, Grarup N, Ntalla I, Ang W, Atalay M, Bisgaard H, Blakemore AI, Bonnefond A, Carstensen L, Eriksson J, Flexeder C, Franke L, Geller F, Geserick M, Hartikainen AL, Haworth CMA, Hirschhorn JN, Hofman A, Holm JC, Horikoshi M, Hottenga JJ, Huang JY, Kadarmideen HN, Kahonen M, Kiess W, Lakka HM, Lakka TA, Lewin AM, Liang L, Lyytikainen LP, Ma BS, Magnus P, McCormack SE, McMahon G, Mentch FD, Middeldorp CM, Murray CS, Pahkala K, Pers TH, Pfaffle R, Postma DS, Power C, Simpson A, Sengpiel V, Tiesler CMT, Torrent M, Uitterlinden AG, van Meurs JB, Vinding R, Waage J, Wardle J, Zeggini E, Zemel BS, Dedoussis GV, Pedersen O, Froguel P, Sunyer J, Plomin R, Jacobsson B, Hansen T, Gonzalez JR, Custovic A, Raitakari OT, Pennell CE, Widen E, Boomsma DI, Koppelman GH, Sebert S, Jarvelin MR, Hypponen E, McCarthy MI, Lindi V, Harri N, Korner A, Bonnelykke K, Heinrich J, Melbye M, Rivadeneira F, Hakonarson H, Ring SM, Smith GD, Sorensen TIA, Timpson NJ, Grant SFA, Jaddoe VWV
(Vertaisarvioitu alkuperäisartikkeli tai data-artikkeli tieteellisessä aikakauslehdessä (A1))