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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Genetic determinants of heel bone properties: genome-wide association meta-analysis and replication in the GEFOS/GENOMOS consortium (2014)

Human Molecular Genetics
Moayyeri A, Hsu YH, Karasik D, Estrada K, Xiao SM, Nielson C, Srikanth P, Giroux S, Wilson SG, Zheng HF, Smith AV, Pye SR, Leo PJ, Teumer A, Hwang JY, Ohlsson C, McGuigan F, Minster RL, Hayward C, Olmos JM, Lyytikainen LP, Lewis JR, Swart KMA, Masi L, Oldmeadow C, Holliday EG, Cheng SL, van Schoor NM, Harvey NC, Kruk M, Fabiola Del Greco M, Igl W, Trummer O, Grigoriou E, Luben R, Liu CT, Zhou YH, Oei L, Medina-Gomez C, Zmuda J, Tranah G, Brown SJ, Williams FM, Soranzo N, Jakobsdottir J, Siggeirsdottir K, Holliday KL, Hannemann A, Go MJ, Garcia M, Polasek O, Laaksonen M, Zhu K, Enneman AW, McEvoy M, Peel R, Sham PC, Jaworski M, Johansson A, Hicks AA, Pludowski P, Scott R, Dhonukshe-Rutten RAM, van der Velde N, Kahonen M, Viikari JS, Sievanen H, Raitakari OT, Gonzalez-Macias J, Hernandez JL, Mellstroom D, Ljunggren O, Cho YS, Volker U, Nauck M, Homuth G, Volzke H, Haring R, Brown MA, McCloskey E, Nicholson GC, Eastell R, Eisman JA, Jones G, Reid IR, Dennison EM, Wark J, Boonen S, Vanderschueren D, Wu FCW, Aspelund T, Richards JB, Bauer D, Hofman A, Khaw KT, Dedoussis G, Obermayer-Pietsch B, Gyllensten U, Pramstaller PP, Lorenc RS, Cooper C, Kung AWC, Lips P, Alen M, Attia J, Brandi ML, de Groot LCPGM, Lehtimaki T, Riancho JA, Campbell H, Liu YM, Harris TB, Akesson K, Karlsson M, Lee JY, Wallaschofski H, Duncan EL, O'Neill TW, Gudnason V, Spector TD, Rousseau F, Orwoll E, Cummings SR, Wareham NJ, Rivadeneira F, Uitterlinden AG, Prince RL, Kiel DP, Reeve J, Kaptoge SK
(Vertaisarvioitu alkuperäisartikkeli tai data-artikkeli tieteellisessä aikakauslehdessä (A1))

Association of vitamin D status with arterial blood pressure and hypertension risk: a mendelian randomisation study (2014)

Lancet Diabetes and Endocrinology
Vimaleswaran KS, Cavadino A, Berry DJ, Jorde R, Dieffenbach AK, Lu C, Alves AC, Heerspink HJL, Tikkanen E, Eriksson J, Wong A, Mangino M, Jablonski KA, Nolte IM, Houston DK, Ahluwalia TS, van der Most PJ, Pasko D, Zgaga L, Thiering E, Vitart V, Fraser RM, Huffman JE, de Boer RA, Schottker B, Saum KU, McCarthy MI, Dupuis J, Herzig KH, Sebert S, Pouta A, Laitinen J, Kleber ME, Navis G, Lorentzon M, Jameson K, Arden N, Cooper JA, Acharya J, Hardy R, Raitakari O, Ripatti S, Billings LK, Lahti J, Osmond C, Penninx BW, Rejnmark L, Lohman KK, Paternoster L, Stolk RP, Hernandez DG, Byberg L, Hagstrom E, Melhus H, Ingelsson E, Mellstrom D, Ljunggren O, Tzoulaki I, McLachlan S, Theodoratou E, Tiesler CMT, Jula A, Navarro P, Wright AF, Polasek O, Hayward C, Wilson JF, Rudan I, Salomaa V, Heinrich J, Campbell H, Price JF, Karlsson M, Lind L, Michaesson K, Bandinelli S, Frayling TM, Hartman CA, Sorensen TIA, Kritchevsky SB, Flo BLLJGEJC, Eriksson JG, Florez JC, Spector TD, Lehtimaki T, Kuh D, Humphries SE, Cooper C, Ohlsson C, Marz W, de Borst MH, Kumari M, Kivimaki M, Wang TJ, Power C, Brenner H, Grimnes G, van der Harst P, Snieder H, Hingorani AD, Pilz S, Whittaker JC, Jarvelin MR, Hypponen E
(Vertaisarvioitu alkuperäisartikkeli tai data-artikkeli tieteellisessä aikakauslehdessä (A1))

Gain-of-Function Lipoprotein Lipase Variant rs13702 Modulates Lipid Traits through Disruption of a MicroRNA-410 Seed Site (2013)

American Journal of Human Genetics
Richardson K, Nettleton JA, Rotllan N, Tanaka T, Smith CE, Lai CQ, Parne LD, Lee YC, Lahti J, Lemaitre RN, Manichaikul A, Keller M, Mikkila V, Ngwa J, van Rooij FJA, Ballentyne CM, Borecki IB, Cupples LA, Garcia M, Hofman A, Ferrucci L, Mozaffarian D, Perala MM, Raitakari O, Tracy RP, Arnett DK, Bandinelli S, Boerwinkle E, Eriksson JG, Franco OH, Kahonen M, Nalls M, Siscovick DS, Houston DK, Psaty BM, Viikari J, Witteman JCM, Goodarzi MO, Lehtimaki T, Liu YM, Zillikens MC, Chen YDI, Uitterlinden AG, Rotter JI, Fernandez-Hernando C, Ordovas JM
(Vertaisarvioitu alkuperäisartikkeli tai data-artikkeli tieteellisessä aikakauslehdessä (A1))

Genome-wide association and longitudinal analyses reveal genetic loci linking pubertal height growth, pubertal timing and childhood adiposity (2013)

Human Molecular Genetics
Cousminer DL, Berry DJ, Timpson NJ, Ang W, Thiering E, Byrne EM, Taal HR, Huikari V, Bradfield JP, Kerkhof M, Groen-Blokhuis MM, Kreiner-Moller E, Marinelli M, Holst C, Leinonen JT, Perry JRB, Surakka I, Pietilainen O, Kettunen J, Anttila V, Kaakinen M, Sovio U, Pouta A, Das S, Lagou V, Power C, Prokopenko I, Evans DM, Kemp JP, St Pourcain B, Ring S, Palotie A, Kajantie E, Osmond C, Lehtimaki T, Viikari JS, Kahonen M, Warrington NM, Lye SJ, Palmer LJ, Tiesler CMT, Flexeder C, Montgomery GW, Medland SE, Hofman A, Hakonarson H, Guxens M, Bartels M, Salomaa V, Murabito JM, Kaprio J, Sorensen TIA, Ballester F, Bisgaard H, Boomsma DI, Koppelman GH, Grant SFA, Jaddoe VWV, Martin NG, Heinrich J, Pennell CE, Raitakari OT, Eriksson JG, Smith GD, Hypponen E, Jarvelin MR, McCarthy MI, Ripatti S, Widen E
(Vertaisarvioitu alkuperäisartikkeli tai data-artikkeli tieteellisessä aikakauslehdessä (A1))

Identification of heart rate-associated loci and their effects on cardiac conduction and rhythm disorders (2013)

Nature Genetics
den Hoed M, Eijgelsheim M, Esko T, Brundel BJJM, Peal DS, Evans DM, Nolte IM, Segre AV, Holm H, Handsaker RE, Westra HJ, Johnson T, Isaacs A, Yang J, Lundby A, Zhao JH, Kim YJ, Go MJ, Almgren P, Bochud M, Boucher G, Cornelis MC, Gudbjartsson D, Hadley D, van der Harst P, Hayward C, den Heijer M, Igl W, Jackson AU, Kutalik Z, Luan J, Kemp JP, Kristiansson K, Ladenvall C, Lorentzon M, Montasser ME, Njajou OT, O'Reilly PF, Padmanabhan S, Pourcain BS, Rankinen T, Salo P, Tanaka T, Timpson NJ, Vitart V, Waite L, Wheeler W, Zhang WH, Draisma HHM, Feitosa MF, Kerr KF, Lind PA, Mihailov E, Onland-Moret NC, Song C, Weedon MN, Xie WJ, Yengo L, Absher D, Albert CM, Alonso A, Arking DE, de Bakker PIW, Balkau B, Barlassina C, Benaglio P, Bis JC, Bouatia-Naji N, Brage S, Chanock SJ, Chines PS, Chung M, Darbar D, Dina C, Dorr M, Elliott P, Felix SB, Fischer K, Fuchsberger C, de Geus EJC, Goyette P, Gudnason V, Harris TB, Hartikainen AL, Havulinna AS, Heckbert SR, Hicks AA, Hofman A, Holewijn S, Hoogstra-Berends F, Hottenga JJ, Jensen MK, Johansson A, Junttila J, Kaab S, Kanon B, Ketkar S, Khaw KT, Knowles JW, Kooner AS, Kors JA, Kumari M, Milani L, Laiho P, Lakatta EG, Langenberg C, Leusink M, Liu YM, Luben RN, Lunetta KL, Lynch SN, Markus MRP, Marques-Vidal P, Leach IM, McArdle WL, McCarroll SA, Medland SE, Miller KA, Montgomery GW, Morrison AC, Muller-Nurasyid M, Navarro P, Nelis M, O'Connell JR, O'Donnell CJ, Ong KK, Newman AB, Peters A, Polasek O, Pouta A, Pramstaller PP, Psaty BM, Rao DC, Ring SM, Rossin EJ, Rudan D, Sanna S, Scott RA, Sehmi JS, Sharp S, Shin JT, Singleton AB, Smith AV, Soranzo N, Spector TD, Stewart C, Stringham HM, Tarasov KV, Uitterlinden AG, Vandenput L, Hwang SJ, Whitfield JB, Wijmenga C, Wild SH, Willemsen G, Wilson JF, Witteman JCM, Wong A, Wong QN, Jamshidi Y, Zitting P, Boer JMA, Boomsma DI, Borecki IB, van Duijn CM, Ekelund U, Forouhi NG, Froguel P, Hingorani A, Ingelsson E, Kivimaki M, Kronmal RA, Kuh D, Lind L, Martin NG, Oostra BA, Pedersen NL, Quertermous T, Rotter JI, van der Schouw YT, Verschuren WMM, Walker M, Albanes D, Arnar DO, Assimes TL, Bandinelli S, Boehnke M, de Boer RA, Bouchard C, Caulfield WLM, Chambers JC, Curhan G, Cusi D, Eriksson J, Ferrucci L, van Gilst WH, Glorioso N, de Graaf J, Groop L, Gyllensten U, Hsueh WC, Hu FB, Huikuri HV, Hunter DJ, Iribarren C, Isomaa B, Jarvelin MR, Jula A, Kahonen M, Kiemeney LA, van der Klauw MM, Kooner JS, Kraft P, Iacoviello L, Lehtimaki T, Lokki MLL, Mitchell BD, Navis G, Nieminen MS, Ohlsson C, Poulter NR, Qi L, Raitakari OT, Rimm EB, Rioux JD, Rizzi F, Rudan I, Salomaa V, Sever PS, Shields DC, Shuldiner AR, Sinisalo J, Stanton AV, Stolk RP, Strachan DP, Tardif JC, Thorsteinsdottir U, Tuomilehto J, van Veldhuisen DJ, Virtamo J, Viikari J, Vollenweider P, Waeber G, Widen E, Cho YS, Olsen JV, Visscher PM, Willer C, Franke L, Erdmann J, Thompson JR, Pfeufer A, Sotoodehnia N, Newton-Cheh C, Ellinor PT, Stricker BHC, Metspalu A, Perola M, Beckmann JS, Smith GD, Stefansson K, Wareham NJ, Munroe PB, Sibon OCM, Milan DJ, Snieder H, Samani NJ, Loos RJF
(Vertaisarvioitu alkuperäisartikkeli tai data-artikkeli tieteellisessä aikakauslehdessä (A1))