Pekka Taimen profile picture
Pekka
Taimen
Professor, Institute of Biomedicine
InFLAMES Flagship
MD, PhD

Contact

+358 29 450 4524
+358 50 431 1353
Kiinamyllynkatu 10
20520
Turku

Areas of expertise

pathology
histology
cell biology
prostate cancer, bladder cancer, cardiomyopathy, nuclear lamin

Biography

Pekka Taimen received his MD degree from the University of Turku in 2001 and defended his thesis at the Department of Pathology, University of Turku in 2004. In 2008-2009 PT worked as a postdoctoral fellow in the laboratory of Prof. Robert D. Goldman, Northwestern University Medical School, Chicago. Postdoctoral studies focusing on nuclear intermediate filament proteins called lamins were further continued as a junior group leader after returning back to Turku in early 2010. In 2011 PT received a specialist degree in Pathology and since then he has worked as a part-time specialist at the Pathology Division, Turku University Hospital with special focus on uropathology. From 2012 PT has worked as a Clinical lecturer in Pathology and between 2015-2019 as a part-time Academy of Finland Clinical Researcher. PT was appointed as a tenure track Assistant Professor of Molecular Pathology in January 2019 and an Associate Professor in August 2020. In January 2022, PT was appointed as a Professor of Molecular Pathology and he currently serves as the head of the pathology unit at the Faculty of Medicine, University of Turku.

Teaching

Pekka Taimen has more than 10 years of experience in teaching medical students at the Institute of Biomedicine, University of Turku. He has served first as a university teacher and from 2012 as a clinical lecturer. In 2015 PT received the Lecturer of the Year award in the Faculty of Medicine.

Research

Professor Pekka Taimen has 20 years of experience in cell and molecular biology as well as in translational research. The main focus of his research group is on human diseases caused by lamin mutations, such as cardiomyopathies and premature aging syndrome. More recently, PT has also actively worked on prostate and bladder cancer related projects including novel biomarkers, biobanking, patient derived cell lines and improved imaging techniques utilizing digital pathology and machine learning approaches.

Publications

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IMPROD biparametric MRI in men with a clinical suspicion of prostate cancer (IMPROD Trial): Sensitivity for prostate cancer detection in correlation with whole-mount prostatectomy sections and implications for focal therapy (2019)

Journal of Magnetic Resonance Imaging
Merisaari H., Jambor I., Ettala O., Boström P.J., Montoya Perez I., Verho J., Kiviniemi A., Syvänen K., Kähkönen E., Eklund L., Pahikkala T., Vainio P., Saunavaara J., Aronen H.J., Taimen P.
(Vertaisarvioitu alkuperäisartikkeli tai data-artikkeli tieteellisessä aikakauslehdessä (A1))

Qualitative and Quantitative Reporting of a Unique Biparametric MRI: Towards Biparametric MRI-Based Nomograms for Prediction of Prostate Biopsy Outcome in Men With a Clinical Suspicion of Prostate Cancer (IMPROD and MULTI-IMPROD Trials) (2019)

Journal of Magnetic Resonance Imaging
Perez IM, Jambor I, Kauko T, Verho J, Ettala O, Falagario U, Merisaari H, Kiviniemi A, Taimen P, Syvänen KT, Knaapila J, Seppänen M, Rannikko A, Riikonen J, Kallajoki M, Mirtti T, Lamminen T, Saunavaara J, Pahikkala T, Boström PJ, Aronen HJ
(Vertaisarvioitu alkuperäisartikkeli tai data-artikkeli tieteellisessä aikakauslehdessä (A1))

SORLA regulates endosomal trafficking and oncogenic fitness of HER2 (2019)

Nature Communications
Mika Pietilä, Pranshu Sahgal, Emilia Peuhu, Niklas Z. Jäntti, Ilkka Paatero, Elisa Närvä, Hussein Al-Akhrass, Johanna Lilja, Maria Georgiadou, Olav M. Andersen, Artur Padzik, Harri Sihto, Heikki Joensuu, Matias Blomqvist, Irena Saarinen, Peter. J. Boström, Pekka Taimen, Johanna Ivaska
(Vertaisarvioitu alkuperäisartikkeli tai data-artikkeli tieteellisessä aikakauslehdessä (A1))