M.D., Ph.D., Associate Professor (Docent) Jetro Tuulari - UTU Research Portal

Jetro Tuulari
M.D., Ph.D., Associate Professor (Docent)

- Doctoral Researcher,
Department of Computing (Faculty of Technology)
- Docent,
Department of Clinical Medicine (Faculty of Medicine)

Turku Collegium for science and medicine

jjtuul@utu.fi

ORCID identifier: https://orcid.org/https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1797-8000

Web page of me and our research group

FinnBrain Birth Cohort study

InterLearn Center of Excellence

Areas of expertise

Neuroscience, Brain development, Obesity, Pleasure in the brain, Eating, Exercise, Social touch, Neuroimaging, Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI, fMRI, dMRI), Positron emission tomography (PET). Connectomics, Whole brain modelling. Emerging expertise in population neuroscience.

Research community or research topic

We study how early life exposures, genes and environment shape the brain structure, brain function and how these relate to health and wellbeing.

Biography

After getting an M.D. degree in 2014, I defended my awarded PhD thesis on the brain changes of morbid obesity and weight loss surgery in 2015 and received Associate professorship (Title of Docent) in Cognitive Neuroscience in 2018. I am currently Principal Investigator of the FinnBrain Neuroimaging Lab and the work is related to solving the mysteries of the developing brain. I was the director of Turku Brain and Mind Center 2023 - 2025. As of May 2026 my research continues in the Auria Biobank, but I maintain close ties to UTU through FinnBrain and I take part as a senior consultant for InterLearn CoE, Right2Belong project, Turku Brain and Mind Center, and many other parties.

Research

Teaching

I am an enthusiastic techer and teaching development is close to my heard. I have taken part in multiple awarded pedagogical development projects relating to learning material development, student feedback, and peer-assisted learning. I have wide mentoring and tutoring expertise from undergraduate students to post doctoral fellows.

I have had seminal role in the launch of Human Neuroscience Master's Programme at the Turku Brain and Mind Center, and I served as the head of the programme 2023-2025.

Publications

8 of 13

Newborn amygdalar volumes are associated with maternal prenatal psychological distress in a sex-dependent way (2020)
- NeuroImage: clinical
Satu J Lehtola, Jetro J Tuulari, Noora M Scheinin, Linnea Karlsson, Riitta Parkkola, Harri Merisaari, John D Lewis, Vladimir S Fonov, D.Louis Collins, Alan Evans, Jani Saunavaara, Niloofar Hashempour, Tuire Lähdesmäki, Henriette Acosta, Hasse Karlsson
(A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal)
Newborn left amygdala volume associates with attention disengagement from fearful faces at eight months (2020)
- Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience
Tuulari Jetro J., Kataja Eeva-Leena, Leppänen Jukka M., Lewis John D., Nolvi Saara, Häikiö Tuomo, Lehtola Satu J., Hashempour Niloofar, Saunavaara Jani, Scheinin Noora M., Korja Riikka, Karlsson Linnea, Karlsson Hasse
(A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal)
Newborn white matter microstructure moderates the association between maternal postpartum depressive symptoms and infant negative reactivity (2020)
- Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience
Saara Nolvi, Jetro J Tuulari, Tuomas Lavonius, Noora M Scheinin, Satu J Lehtola, Maria Lavonius, Harri Merisaari, Jani Saunavaara, Riikka Korja, Eeva-Leena Kataja, Juho Pelto, Riitta Parkkola, Linnea Karlsson, Hasse Karlsson
(A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal)
Partial Support for an Interaction Between a Polygenic Risk Score for Major Depressive Disorder and Prenatal Maternal Depressive Symptoms on Infant Right Amygdalar Volumes (2020)
- Cerebral Cortex
Acosta H, Kantojärvi K, Hashempour N, Pelto J, Scheinin NM, Lehtola SJ, Lewis JD, Fonov VS, Collins DL, Evans A, Parkkola R, Lähdesmäki T, Saunavaara J, Karlsson L, Merisaari H, Karlsson H, Paunio T, Tuulari JJ
(A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal)
Prenatal maternal depressive symptoms are associated with smaller amygdalar volumes of four-year-old children (2020)
- Psychiatry Research: Neuroimaging
Acosta H, Tuulari JJ, Scheinin NM, Hashempour N, Rajasilta O, Lavonius TI, Pelto J, Saunavaara V, Parkkola R, Lahdesmaki T, Karlsson L, Karlsson H
(A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal)
Prevalence and Risk Factors of Incidental Findings in Brain MRIs of Healthy Neonates — The FinnBrain Birth Cohort Study (2020)
- Frontiers in Neurology
Venla Kumpulainen, Satu J. Lehtola, Jetro J. Tuulari, Eero Silver, Anni Copeland, Riikka Korja, Hasse Karlsson, Linnea Karlsson, Harri Merisaari, Riitta Parkkola, Jani Saunavaara, Tuire Lähdesmäki, Noora M. Scheinin
(A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal)
Relationship between maternal pregnancy-related anxiety and infant brain responses to emotional speech – a pilot study (2020)
- Journal of Affective Disorders
Ambika Maria, Ilkka Nissilä, Shashank Shekhar, Kalle Kotilahti, Jetro J. Tuulari, Pauliina Hirvi, Minna Huotilainen, Juha Heiskala, Linnea Karlsson, Hasse Karlsson
(A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal)
Resting-state networks of the neonate brain identified using independent component analysis (2020)
- Developmental Neurobiology
Rajasilta O, Tuulari JJ, Björnsdotter M, Scheinin NM, Lehtola SJ, Saunavaara J, Häkkinen S, Merisaari H, Parkkola R, Lähdesmäki T, Karlsson L, Karlsson H
(A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal)
Sex-specific association between infant caudate volumes and a polygenic risk score for major depressive disorder (2020)
- Journal of Neuroscience Research
Acosta H, Kantojarvi K, Tuulari JJ, Lewis JD, Hashempour N, Scheinin NM, Lehtola SJ, Fonov VS, Collins DL, Evans A, Parkkola R, Lahdesmaki T, Saunavaara J, Merisaari H, Karlsson L, Paunio T, Karlsson H, Karlsson H
(A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal)
Alexithymia, body mass index and gestational diabetes in pregnant women — FinnBrain birth cohort study (2019)
- Journal of Psychosomatic Research
Jani Kajanoja, Max Karukivi, Noora M. Scheinin, Jetro J. Tuulari, Hanna Ahrnberg, Linnea Karlsson, Hasse Karlsson
(A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal)