Riitta Lahesmaa profile picture
Riitta
Lahesmaa
InFLAMES Flagship
Director, Turku Bioscience Centre
Professor, Turku Bioscience Centre
MD, PhD, Professor
InFLAMES Flagship, Immunology

Contact

+358 29 450 2415
+358 40 718 4813
Tykistökatu 6
20520
Turku

Areas of expertise

Immunology
Immune regulation
Type 1 diabetes
inflammation
autoimmune diseases
biomarkers

Biography


I have been the Director of Turku Bioscience Centre, Turku, Finland (https://bioscience.fi/) since 1998. I am also Professor of Systems Immunology at Medical Faculty of University of Turku, institute of Biomedicine.

I got M.D. and Ph.D. in immunology from the University of Turku. I was a postdoctoral fellow at Stanford University Medical Center and a Principal Scientist at Roche Bioscience in Palo Alto, California. I have been a visiting professor at Harvard Medical School, Stanford University and UCSF. I founded and directed Turku Centre for Systems Biology 2000-2015 and was vice-director of The Academy of Finland Centre of Excellence in Systems Immunology and Physiology. I was the Academy Professor of the Academy of Finland in 2016-2020.

I am a member of the board of Scandinavian Society of Immunology. I have published > 250 original papers and reviews and have several issued patents and patent applications. I am an elected member of the Finnish Academy of Science and Letters since 2012.

Web-site: https://bioscience.fi/research/molecular-systems-immunology/profile



Teaching

My main contribution to teaching is to train PhD students and postdoctoral fellows. Over the years I have supervised 35 postdoctoral researchers of whom 29 completed, six in progress and 34 PhD students of whom 28 completed, six in progress.

Research


My research in molecular systems immunology  aims at understanding molecular mechanisms of regulation of human immune response and pathogenesis of type 1 diabetes and other human immune mediated diseases. T cells orchestrate our immune system and a proper balance of T cells is crucial for immune defense in healthy individuals. In autoimmune diseases, out-of-control T cells drive pathologic inflammatory responses with devastating consequences for patients. Our studies have resulted in the identification of novel molecular mechanisms and new regulators of T cell functions. Our projects in progress aim at understanding the molecular basis of immune regulation to enable its modulation. Moreover, we aim at understanding the early immune response in children who develop Type 1 Diabetes to identify new biomarkers to improve predicting, monitoring, and early diagnosis of beginning of the disease process. This is of fundamental importance to be able to select the right patients for potential interventions as soon as the disease process kicks in.

Web-site: https://bioscience.fi/research/molecular-systems-immunology/profile/


Publications

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Umbilical cord blood DNA methylation in children who later develop type 1 diabetes (2022)

Diabetologia
Laajala Essi, Kalim Ubaid U, Grönroos Toni, Rasool Omid, Halla-aho Viivi, Konki Mikko, Kattelus Roosa, Mykkänen Juha, Nurmio Mirja, Vähä-Mäkilä Mari, Kallionpää Henna, Lietzen Niina, Ghimire Bishwa R, Laiho Asta, Hyöty Heikki, Elo Laura L, Ilonen Jorma, Knip Mikael, Lund Riikka J, Orešič Matej, Veijola Riitta, Lähdesmäki Harri, Toppari Jorma, Lahesmaa Riitta
(Vertaisarvioitu alkuperäisartikkeli tai data-artikkeli tieteellisessä aikakauslehdessä (A1))

Permutation-based significance analysis reduces the type 1 error rate in bisulfite sequencing data analysis of human umbilical cord blood samples (2022)

Epigenetics
Laajala Essi, Halla-Aho Viivi, Grönroos Toni, Kalim Ubaid Ullah, Vähä-Mäkilä Mari, Nurmio Mirja, Kallionpää Henna, Lietzén Niina, Mykkänen Juha, Rasool Omid, Toppari Jorma, Oresic Matej, Knip Mikael, Lund Riikka, Lahesmaa Riitta, Lähdesmäki Harri
(Vertaisarvioitu alkuperäisartikkeli tai data-artikkeli tieteellisessä aikakauslehdessä (A1))

Early DNA methylation changes in children developing beta cell autoimmunity at a young age (2022)

Diabetologia
Starskaia Inna, Laajala Essi, Grönroos Toni, Härkönen Taina, Junttila Sini, Kattelus Roosa, Kallionpää Henna, Laiho Asta, Suni Veronika, Tillmann Vallo, Lund Riikka, Elo Laura L. Lähdesmäki Harri, Knip Mikael, Kalim Ubaid Ullah, Lahesmaa Riitta
(Vertaisarvioitu alkuperäisartikkeli tai data-artikkeli tieteellisessä aikakauslehdessä (A1))

Biomarkers of nanomaterials hazard from multi-layer data (2022)

Nature Communications
Fortino Vittorio, Kinaret Pia Anneli Sofia, Fratello Michele, Serra Angela, Saarimäki Laura Aliisa, Gallud Audrey, Gupta Govind, Vales Gerard, Correia Manuel, Rasool Omid, Ytterberg Jimmy, Monopoli Marco, Skoog Tiina, Ritchie Peter, Moya Sergio, Vázquez-Campos Socorro, Handy Richard, Grafström Roland, Tran Lang, Zubarev Roman, Lahesmaa Riitta, Dawson Kenneth, Loeschner Katrin, Larsen Erik Husfeldt, Krombach Fritz, Norppa Hannu, Kere Juha, Savolainen Kai, Alenius Harri, Fadeel Bengt, Greco Dario
(Vertaisarvioitu alkuperäisartikkeli tai data-artikkeli tieteellisessä aikakauslehdessä (A1))

Interactome Networks of FOSL1 and FOSL2 in Human Th17 Cells (2021)

ACS Omega
Shetty Ankitha, Bhosale Santosh D, Tripathi Subhash Kumar, Buchacher Tanja, Biradar Rahul, Rasool Omid, Moulder Robert, Galande Sanjeev, Lahesmaa Riitta
(Vertaisarvioitu alkuperäisartikkeli tai data-artikkeli tieteellisessä aikakauslehdessä (A1))

The role of Interleukin-32 in autoimmunity (2021)

Scandinavian Journal of Immunology
Albuquerque R, Komsi E, Starskaia I, Ullah U, Lahesmaa R
(Vertaisarvioitu katsausartikkeli tieteellisessä aikakauslehdessä (A2))