Olli Raitakari
MD/PhD
olli.raitakari@utu.fi +358 29 450 2304 Kiinamyllynkatu 10 Turku ORCID-tunniste: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9365-3702 |
cardiovascular and metabolic diseases; risk factors; vascular epidemiology; genetic epidemiology; epidemiology; dietary intervention; cohort studies; follow-up studies
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
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.
- Combined Effects of Child and Adult Elevated Blood Pressure on Subclinical Atherosclerosis: The International Childhood Cardiovascular Cohort Consortium (2013)
- Circulation
(A1 Vertaisarvioitu alkuperäisartikkeli tieteellisessä lehdessä ) - Common variants in mendelian kidney disease genes and their association with renal function. (2013)
- Journal of the American Society of Nephrology
(A1 Vertaisarvioitu alkuperäisartikkeli tieteellisessä lehdessä ) - Computationally estimated apolipoproteins B and A1 in predicting cardiovascular risk (2013)
- Atherosclerosis
(A1 Vertaisarvioitu alkuperäisartikkeli tieteellisessä lehdessä ) - Deletion of TOP3 beta, a component of FMRP-containing mRNPs, contributes to neurodevelopmental disorders (2013)
- Nature Neuroscience
(A1 Vertaisarvioitu alkuperäisartikkeli tieteellisessä lehdessä ) - Distinct Loci in the CHRNA5/CHRNA3/CHRNB4 Gene Cluster Are Associated With Onset of Regular Smoking (2013)
- Genetic Epidemiology
(A1 Vertaisarvioitu alkuperäisartikkeli tieteellisessä lehdessä ) - Does childhood nutrition influence adult cardiovascular disease risk?-Insights from the Young Finns Study (2013)
- Annals of Medicine
(A1 Vertaisarvioitu alkuperäisartikkeli tieteellisessä lehdessä ) - Fetal growth, omega-3 (n-3) fatty acids, and progression of subclinical atherosclerosis: preventing fetal origins of disease? The Cardiovascular Risk in Young Finns Study (2013)
- American Journal of Clinical Nutrition
(A1 Vertaisarvioitu alkuperäisartikkeli tieteellisessä lehdessä ) - Gain-of-Function Lipoprotein Lipase Variant rs13702 Modulates Lipid Traits through Disruption of a MicroRNA-410 Seed Site (2013)
- American Journal of Human Genetics
(A1 Vertaisarvioitu alkuperäisartikkeli tieteellisessä lehdessä ) - Genetic Determinants of Trabecular and Cortical Volumetric Bone Mineral Densities and Bone Microstructure (2013)
- PLoS Genetics
(A1 Vertaisarvioitu alkuperäisartikkeli tieteellisessä lehdessä ) - Genome-wide association analyses identify 18 new loci associated with serum urate concentrations (2013)
- Nature Genetics
(A1 Vertaisarvioitu alkuperäisartikkeli tieteellisessä lehdessä ) - Genome-wide association and longitudinal analyses reveal genetic loci linking pubertal height growth, pubertal timing and childhood adiposity (2013)
- Human Molecular Genetics
(A1 Vertaisarvioitu alkuperäisartikkeli tieteellisessä lehdessä ) - Genome-wide association study identifies 3 genomic loci significantly associated with serum levels of homoarginine: the AtheroRemo Consortium. (2013)
- Circulation: Cardiovascular Genetics
(A1 Vertaisarvioitu alkuperäisartikkeli tieteellisessä lehdessä ) - Genome-Wide Association Study Pinpoints a New Functional Apolipoprotein B Variant Influencing Oxidized Low-Density Lipoprotein Levels But Not Cardiovascular Events AtheroRemo Consortium (2013)
- Circulation: Cardiovascular Genetics
(A1 Vertaisarvioitu alkuperäisartikkeli tieteellisessä lehdessä ) - Genome-wide meta-analyses of multiancestry cohorts identify multiple new susceptibility loci for refractive error and myopia (2013)
- Nature Genetics
(A1 Vertaisarvioitu alkuperäisartikkeli tieteellisessä lehdessä ) - Genome-wide meta-analysis identifies 11 new loci for anthropometric traits and provides insights into genetic architecture (2013)
- Nature Genetics
(A1 Vertaisarvioitu alkuperäisartikkeli tieteellisessä lehdessä ) - Genome-wide meta-analysis identifies new susceptibility loci for migraine (2013)
- Nature Genetics
(A1 Vertaisarvioitu alkuperäisartikkeli tieteellisessä lehdessä ) - Genome-wide meta-analysis of observational studies shows common genetic variants associated with macronutrient intake (2013)
- American Journal of Clinical Nutrition
(A1 Vertaisarvioitu alkuperäisartikkeli tieteellisessä lehdessä ) - Genomic, Transcriptomic, and Lipidomic Profiling Highlights the Role of Inflammation in Individuals With Low High-density Lipoprotein Cholesterol (2013)
- Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology
(A1 Vertaisarvioitu alkuperäisartikkeli tieteellisessä lehdessä ) - GWAS of 126,559 Individuals Identifies Genetic Variants Associated with Educational Attainment (2013)
- Science
(A1 Vertaisarvioitu alkuperäisartikkeli tieteellisessä lehdessä ) - Higher Magnesium Intake Is Associated with Lower Fasting Glucose and Insulin, with No Evidence of Interaction with Select Genetic Loci, in a Meta-Analysis of 15 CHARGE Consortium Studies (2013)
- Journal of Nutrition
(A1 Vertaisarvioitu alkuperäisartikkeli tieteellisessä lehdessä )