ӰԺ Cardiovascular Center Research Retreat
November 11, 2024; ӰԺ Campus, Alumni Center
Keynote Speaker | Minna Kaikkonen-Määttä, PhD, MSc
Minna Kaikkonen-Määttä was born in 1980 in Kiuruvesi, Finland. She earned her Bachelor's degree in Cellular Biology and Physiology from Claude Bernard University Lyon 1, France, in 2002, followed by a Master’s degree in Molecular Biology from the University of Jyväskylä, Finland, in 2005. She completed her PhD in Molecular Medicine in 2008 under the supervision of Prof. Seppo Ylä-Herttuala in Kuopio, with her doctoral research focused on “Engineering Baculo- and Lentiviral Vectors for Enhanced and Targeted Gene Delivery.”
Following her PhD, Dr. Kaikkonen-Määttä undertook postdoctoral studies with Prof. Christopher Glass at the University of California, San Diego. During this time, she shifted her research focus to transcriptional gene regulation and enhancer RNAs, supported by the prestigious Young Investigator Award from the Leducq Foundation.
In 2015, Dr. Kaikkonen-Määttä established her own laboratory at the University of Eastern Finland, where she now leads cutting-edge research on the gene and cellular mechanisms underlying atherosclerosis, utilizing advanced next-generation sequencing technologies. Currently, she serves as a Professor of Cardiovascular Genomics, directing a lab of 20 members. In addition, she is the Director of the A.I. Virtanen Research Institute and the Single Cell Genomics Core.
Dr. Kaikkonen-Määttä has published 110 peer-reviewed articles in leading international journals, with approximately 8,000 citations and an H-index of 41. Her research has attracted over €8.5 million in funding, including prestigious grants from the European Research Council (Starting and Consolidator Grants), the Academy of Finland, the Finnish Foundation for Cardiovascular Research, and the Sigrid Juselius Foundation.
She is the President of the Finnish Society of Atherosclerosis and an active member of several key professional organizations, including the European Society of Cardiology Working Group on Atherosclerosis and Vascular Biology, the Scandinavian Society of Atherosclerosis, and the Membership Engagement Committee of the American Society of Human Genetics.
Her research is focused on understanding the genetic basis of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) and cardiometabolic diseases. Her team employs a combination of cellular and genetic model systems, single-cell transcriptomics and epigenetics, high-throughput functional genomics techniques, and bioinformatics to unravel the complex regulatory mechanisms driving these diseases.
Poster Session FAQs
- Deadline to Register for the Poster Session is October 14.
- To present a poster and be considered for a brief presentation during the retreat program, please fill out the Abstract Submission form (DOCX) and upload during the online registration process.
- There will be (2) Poster Sessions scheduled for the retreat, session assignment will be random.
- Please prepare your poster to fit within a 8 feet wide x 4 feet high space.
- ANY changes to the poster or poster presentation AFTER initial submission must be made no later than 10 days prior to the retreat.