Olli Raitakari profile picture
Olli
Raitakari
InFLAMES Flagship
Professor, Cardiovascular Medicine (CAPC)
MD/PhD

Contact

+358 29 450 2304
Kiinamyllynkatu 10
20520
Turku

Areas of expertise

cardiovascular and metabolic diseases
risk factors
vascular epidemiology
genetic epidemiology
epidemiology
dietary intervention
cohort studies
follow-up studies

Biography

EDUCATION AND DEGREES
 
2001   Docent in Clinical Physiology
1997-1999  Postdoc training, Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, Sydney, Australia
1997   Docent in Epidemiology
1996   Specialist in Clinical Physiology 
1995   Doctorate, PhD
1989   Licentiate in Medicine, MD

CURRENT POSITIONS

2017-                 Professor in Cardiovascular Medicine, Director of the Research Centre of Applied and 
                          Preventive Cardiovascular Medicine, University of Turku, Finland                         

 

PAST POSITIONS

2012-2016                          Academy Professor, University of Turku

2007-2016                          Professor in Cardiovascular Medicine (part time), University of Turku

2007-2008                          Senior Scientist Grant, Academy of Finland

2004-2016                          Chief Physician, Department of Clinical Physiology and Nuclear Medicine, Turku
                                           University Hospital (leave of absence 2012-2016)

2002-2004                          Consultant in Clinical Physiology and Nuclear Medicine, Turku University Hospital

2002 (1 mo)                        Head of Nuclear Medicine Department, Turku University Hospital

2000-2003 (3 mo)               Head of Clinical Physiology Department, Turku University Hospital

2000-2005                          Senior Fellow Post, Academy of Finland

1998-2000                          Postdoctoral Research Post, Academy of Finland

1996-1997                          Consultant in Clinical Physiology, Turku University Hospital

1991-1996                          Positions as Resident in Clinical Chemistry, Nuclear Medicine, and Clinical 
                                           Physiology, Turku University Hospital

1988-1990                          Positions as General Practioner and Resident in Internal Medicine or Surgery


Research

Evidence suggest that many non-communicable disease outcomes have roots in childhood and may even stem of adverse ancestral exposures. Improved knowledge how various ancestral and early-life exposures lead to adult disease outcomes is essential in developing better preventive practices and policies that lead to improved public health. My mission has been to contribute to this knowledge-base by working in epidemiologic cohort studies with follow-up from childhood to adulthood. I am the Principal Investigator of the Cardiovascular Risk in Young Finns Study (YFS), the largest study in Europe with a follow-up of cardiovascular risk factors from childhood to adulthood. I am also the Director of the STRIP Study, which is a leading long-term pediatric dietary intervention study testing the hypothesis that modifying the fat quality diet will have beneficial effects on cardiovascular risk early in life. During the past years, I have organized several field studies in these cohorts, and introduced novel technologies, such as imaging studies, genetic epidemiology methods and metabolomics approaches in these unique population resources. Our research has contributed to the understanding of pre-clinical development of atherosclerosis in children and young adults, including the effects of diet, life-style, metabolic risk factors, psychological traits and psychosocial factors, inflammation, hormones and genetic markers. For example, by applying non-invasive imaging methods in the Young Finns Study, we have demonstrated that exposure to adverse lipids, elevated blood pressure and obesity in childhood is related to atherosclerosis development in adulthood (JAMA 2003). Subsequent work stemmed from this initial observation has led to numerous original publications that have shown in detail how exposure to a large range of aetiogenic factors early in life contribute to the development of cardio-metabolic outcomes in adulthood. For example, by pooling international i3C Consortium data, we have demonstrated that overweight or obese children who became non-obese by adulthood had similar risks of many cardio-metabolic adult outcomes as individuals who were never obese (NEJM 2011). Thus, the results of our studies have clearly demonstrated that individual’s exposure to various stressors in early life is contributing to his/her adult phenotype and disease risk. The results have had significant impact on preventive practices. As a concrete demonstration of the international recognition and impact of my team’s work, many of our studies are widely cited in all updated paediatric guidelines on cardiovascular prevention both in Europe and in US.

Publications

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A genome-wide association meta-analysis on apolipoprotein A-IV concentrations (2016)

Human Molecular Genetics
Lamina C, Friedel S, Coassin S, Rueedi R, Yousri NA, Seppälä I, Gieger C, Schönherr S, Forer L, Erhart G, Kollerits B, Marques-Vidal P, Ried J, Waeber G, Bergmann S, Dähnhardt D, Stöckl A, Kiechl S, Raitakari OT, Kähönen M, Willeit J, Kedenko L, Paulweber B, Peters A, Meitinger T, Strauch K, Study Group K, Lehtimäki T, Hunt SC, Vollenweider P, Kronenberg F
(Vertaisarvioitu alkuperäisartikkeli tai data-artikkeli tieteellisessä aikakauslehdessä (A1))

Whole-Exome Sequencing Identifies Loci Associated with Blood Cell Traits and Reveals a Role for Alternative GFI1B Splice Variants in Human Hematopoiesis (2016)

American Journal of Human Genetics
Polfus LM, Khajuria RK, Schick UM, Pankratz N, Pazoki R, Brody JA, Chen MH, Auer PL, Floyd JS, Huang J, Lange L, van Rooij FJA, Gibbs RA, Metcalf G, Muzny D, Veeraraghavan N, Walter K, Chen L, Yanek L, Becker LC, Peloso GM, Wakabayashi A, Kals M, Metspalu A, Esko T, Fox K, Wallace R, Franceschini N, Matijevic N, Rice KM, Bartz TM, Lyytikainen LP, Kahonen M, Lehtimaki T, Raitakari OT, Li-Gao R, Mook-Kanamori DO, Lettre G, van Duijn CM, Franco OH, Rich SS, Rivadeneira F, Hofman A, Uitterlinden AG, Wilson JG, Psaty BM, Soranzo N, Dehghan A, Boerwinkle E, Zhang XL, Johnson AD, O'Donnell CJ, Johnsen JM, Reiner AP, Ganesh SK, Sankaran VG
(Vertaisarvioitu alkuperäisartikkeli tai data-artikkeli tieteellisessä aikakauslehdessä (A1))

Meta-analysis of 375,000 individuals identifies 38 susceptibility loci for migraine (2016)

Nature Genetics
Gormley P, Anttila V, Winsvold BS, Palta P, Esko T, Pers TH, Farh KH, Cuenca-Leon E, Muona M, Furlotte NA, Kurth T, Ingason A, McMahon G, Ligthart L, Terwindt GM, Kallela M, Freilinger TM, Ran C, Gordon SG, Stam AH, Steinberg S, Borck G, Koiranen M, Quaye L, Adams HHH, Lehtimaki T, Sarin AP, Wedenoja J, Hinds DA, Buring JE, Schurks M, Ridker PM, Hrafnsdottir MG, Stefansson H, Ring SM, Hottenga JJ, Penninx BWJH, Farkkila M, Artto V, Kaunisto M, Vepsalainen S, Malik R, Heath AC, Madden PAF, Martin NG, Montgomery GW, Kurki MI, Kals M, Magi R, Parn K, Hamalainen E, Huang HL, Byrnes AE, Franke L, Huang J, Stergiakouli E, Lee PH, Sandor C, Webber C, Cader Z, Muller-Myhsok B, Schreiber S, Meitinger T, Eriksson JG, Salomaa V, Heikkila K, Loehrer E, Uitterlinden AG, Hofman A, van Duijn CM, Cherkas L, Pedersen LM, Stubhaug A, Nielsen CS, Mannikko M, Mihailov E, Milani L, Gobel H, Esserlind AL, Christensen AF, Hansen TF, Werge T, Kaprio J, Aromaa AJ, Raitakari O, Ikram MA, Spector T, Jarvelin MR, Metspalu A, Kubisch C, Strachan DP, Ferrari MD, Belin AC, Dichgans M, Wessman M, van den Maagdenberg AMJM, Zwart JA, Boomsma DI, Smith GD, Stefansson K, Eriksson N, Daly MJ, Neale BM, Olesen J, Chasman DI, Nyholt DR, Palotie A
(Vertaisarvioitu alkuperäisartikkeli tai data-artikkeli tieteellisessä aikakauslehdessä (A1))

Genetic variants linked to education predict longevity (2016)

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
Marioni RE, Ritchie SJ, Joshi PK, Hagenaars SP, Okbay A, Fischer K, Adams MJ, Hill WD, Davies G, Nagy R, Amador C, Läll K, Metspalu A, Liewald DC, Campbell A, Wilson JF, Hayward C, Esko T, Porteous DJ, Gale CR, Deary IJ, Okbay A, Beauchamp JP, Fontana MA, Lee JJ, Pers TH, Rietveld CA, Turley P, Chen GB, Emilsson V, Meddens SF, Oskarsson S, Pickrell JK, Thom K, Timshel P, de Vlaming R, Abdellaoui A, Ahluwalia TS, Bacelis J, Baumbach C, Bjornsdottir G, Brandsma JH, Concas MP, Derringer J, Furlotte NA, Galesloot TE, Girotto G, Gupta R, Hall LM, Harris SE, Hofer E, Horikoshi M, Huffman JE, Kaasik K, Kalafati IP, Karlsson R, Kong A, Lahti J, van der Lee SJ, de Leeuw C, Lind PA, Lindgren KO, Liu T, Mangino M, Marten J, Mihailov E, Miller MB, van der Most PJ, Oldmeadow C, Payton A, Pervjakova N, Peyrot WJ, Qian Y, Raitakari O, Rueedi R, Salvi E, Schmidt B, Schraut KE, Shi J, Smith AV, Poot RA, St Pourcain B, Teumer A, Thorleifsson G, Verweij N, Vuckovic D, Wellmann J, Westra HJ, Yang J, Zhao W, Zhu Z, Alizadeh BZ, Amin N, Bakshi A, Baumeister SE, Biino G, Bønnelykke K, Boyle PA, Campbell H, Cappuccio FP, Davies G, De Neve JE, Deloukas P, Demuth I, Ding J, Eibich P, Eisele L, Eklund N, Evans DM, Faul JD, Feitosa MF, Forstner AJ, Gandin I, Gunnarsson B, Halldórsson BV, Harris TB, Heath AC, Hocking LJ, Holliday EG, Homuth G, Horan MA, Hottenga JJ, de Jager PL, Joshi PK, Jugessur A, Kaakinen MA, Kähönen M, Kanoni S, Keltigangas-Järvinen L, Kiemeney LA, Kolcic I, Koskinen S, Kraja AT, Kroh M, Kutalik Z, Latvala A, Launer LJ, Lebreton MP, Levinson DF, Lichtenstein P, Lichtner P, Liewald DC, Loukola A, Madden PA, Mägi R, Mäki-Opas T, Marioni RE, Marques-Vidal P, Meddens GA, McMahon G, Meisinger C, Meitinger T, Milaneschi Y, Milani L, Montgomery GW, Myhre R, Nelson CP, Nyholt DR, Ollier WE, Palotie A, Paternoster L, Pedersen NL, Petrovic KE, Porteous DJ, Räikkönen K, Ring SM, Robino A, Rostapshova O, Rudan I, Rustichini A, Salomaa V, Sanders AR, Sarin AP, Schmidt H, Scott RJ, Smith BH, Smith JA, Staessen JA, Steinhagen-Thiessen E, Strauch K, Terracciano A, Tobin MD, Ulivi S, Vaccargiu S, Quaye L, van Rooij FJ, Venturini C, Vinkhuyzen AA, Völker U, Völzke H, Vonk JM, Vozzi D, Waage J, Ware EB, Willemsen G, Attia JR, Bennett DA, Berger K, Bertram L, Bisgaard H, Boomsma DI, Borecki IB, Bultmann U, Chabris CF, Cucca F, Cusi D, Deary IJ, Dedoussis GV, van Duijn CM, Eriksson JG, Franke B, Franke L, Gasparini P, Gejman PV, Gieger C, Grabe HJ, Gratten J, Groenen PJ, Gudnason V, van der Harst P, Hayward C, Hinds DA, Hoffmann W, Hypponen E, Iacono WG, Jacobsson B, Järvelin MR, Jöckel KH, Kaprio J, Kardia SL, Lehtimäki T, Lehrer SF, Magnusson PK, Martin NG, McGue M, Metspalu A, Pendleton N, Penninx BW, Perola M, Pirastu N, Pirastu M, Polasek O, Posthuma D, Power C, Province MA, Samani NJ, Schlessinger D, Schmidt R, Sørensen TI, Spector TD, Stefansson K, Thorsteinsdottir U, Thurik AR, Timpson NJ, Tiemeier H, Tung JY, Uitterlinden AG, Vitart V, Vollenweider P, Weir DR, Wilson JF, Wright AF, Conley DC, Krueger RF, Smith GD, Hofman A, Laibson DI, Medland SE, Meyer MN, Yang J, Johannesson M, Visscher PM, Esko T, Koellinger PD, Cesarini D, Benjamin DJ
(Vertaisarvioitu alkuperäisartikkeli tai data-artikkeli tieteellisessä aikakauslehdessä (A1))

Genome-wide meta-analysis uncovers novel loci influencing circulating leptin levels (2016)

Nature Communications
Kilpelainen TO, Carli JFM, Skowronski AA, Sun Q, Kriebel J, Feitosa MF, Hedman AK, Drong AW, Hayes JE, Zhao JH, Pers TH, Schick U, Grarup N, Kutalik Z, Trompet S, Mangino M, Kristiansson K, Beekman M, Lyytikainen LP, Eriksson J, Henneman P, Lahti J, Tanaka T, Luan JA, Del Greco F, Pasko D, Renstrom F, Willems SM, Mahajan A, Rose LM, Guo XQ, Liu YM, Kleber ME, Perusse L, Gaunt T, Ahluwalia TS, Sung YJ, Ramos YF, Amin N, Amuzu A, Barroso I, Bellis C, Blangero J, Buckley BM, Bohringer S, Chen YDI, de Craen AJN, Crosslin DR, Dale CE, Dastani Z, Day FR, Deelen J, Delgado GE, Demirkan A, Finucane FM, Ford I, Garcia ME, Gieger C, Gustafsson S, Hallmans G, Hankinson SE, Havulinna AS, Herder C, Hernandez D, Hicks AA, Hunter DJ, Illig T, Ingelsson E, Ioan-Facsinay A, Jansson JO, Jenny NS, Jorgensen ME, Jorgensen T, Karlsson M, Koenig W, Kraft P, Kwekkeboom J, Laatikainen T, Ladwig KH, LeDuc CA, Lowe G, Lu YC, Marques-Vidal P, Meisinger C, Menni C, Morris AP, Myers RH, Mannisto S, Nalls MA, Paternoster L, Peters A, Pradhan AD, Rankinen T, Rasmussen-Torvik LJ, Rathmann W, Rice TK, Richards JB, Ridker PM, Sattar N, Savage DB, Soderberg S, Timpson NJ, Vandenput L, van Heemst D, Uh HW, Vohl MC, Walker M, Wichmann HE, Widen E, Wood AR, Yao J, Zeller T, Zhang YY, Meulenbelt I, Kloppenburg M, Astrup A, Sorensen TIA, Sarzynski MA, Rao DC, Jousilahti P, Vartiainen E, Hofman A, Rivadeneira F, Uitterlinden AG, Kajantie E, Osmond C, Palotie A, Eriksson JG, Heliovaara M, Knekt PB, Koskinen S, Jula A, Perola M, Huupponen RK, Viikari JS, Kahonen M, Lehtimaki T, Raitakari OT, Mellstrom D, Lorentzon M, Casas JP, Bandinelli S, Marz W, Isaacs A, van Dijk KW, van Duijn CM, Harris TB, Bouchard C, Allison MA, Chasman DI, Ohlsson C, Lind L, Scott RA, Langenberg C, Wareham NJ, Ferrucci L, Frayling TM, Pramstaller PP, Borecki IB, Waterworth DM, Bergmann S, Waeber G, Vollenweider P, Vestergaard H, Hansen T, Pedersen O, Hu FB, Slagboom PE, Grallert H, Spector TD, Jukema JW, Klein RJ, Schadt EE, Franks PW, Lindgren CM, Leibel RL, Loos RJF
(Vertaisarvioitu alkuperäisartikkeli tai data-artikkeli tieteellisessä aikakauslehdessä (A1))

Genome-Wide Meta-Analysis of Sciatica in Finnish Population (2016)

PLoS ONE
Lemmela S, Solovieva S, Shiri R, Benner C, Heliovaara M, Kettunen J, Anttila V, Ripatti S, Perola M, Seppala I, Juonala M, Kahonen M, Salomaa V, Viikari J, Raitakari OT, Lehtimaki T, Palotie A, Viikari-Juntura E, Husgafvel-Pursiainen K
(Vertaisarvioitu alkuperäisartikkeli tai data-artikkeli tieteellisessä aikakauslehdessä (A1))

Meta-analysis of rare and common exome chip variants identifies S1PR4 and other loci influencing blood cell traits (2016)

Nature Genetics
Pankratz N, Schick UM, Zhou Y, Zhou W, Ahluwalia TS, Allende ML, Auer PL, Bork-Jensen J, Brody JA, Chen MH, Clavo V, Eicher JD, Grarup N, Hagedorn EJ, Hu B, Hunker K, Johnson AD, Leusink M, Lu Y, Lyytikäinen LP, Manichaikul A, Marioni RE, Nalls MA, Pazoki R, Smith AV, van Rooij FJ, Yang ML, Zhang X, Zhang Y, Asselbergs FW, Boerwinkle E, Borecki IB, Bottinger EP, Cushman M, de Bakker PI, Deary IJ, Dong L, Feitosa MF, Floyd JS, Franceschini N, Franco OH, Garcia ME, Grove ML, Gudnason V, Hansen T, Harris TB, Hofman A, Jackson RD, Jia J, Kähönen M, Launer LJ, Lehtimäki T, Liewald DC, Linneberg A, Liu Y, Loos RJ, Nguyen VM, Numans ME, Pedersen O, Psaty BM, Raitakari OT, Rich SS, Rivadeneira F, Di Sant AM, Rotter JI, Starr JM, Taylor KD, Thuesen BH, Tracy RP, Uitterlinden AG, Wang J, Wang J, Dehghan A, Huo Y, Cupples LA, Wilson JG, Proia RL, Zon LI, O'Donnell CJ, Reiner AP, Ganesh SK
(Vertaisarvioitu alkuperäisartikkeli tai data-artikkeli tieteellisessä aikakauslehdessä (A1))