Our Cardiovascular Genomics lab investigates the mechanistic basis of Atherosclerotic Cardiovascular Disease (ASCVD) and cardiometabolic diseases, using a combination of cellular and genetic model systems, single-cell transcriptomics and epigenetics, high-throughput functional genomics techniques, and bioinformatics. We have unique expertise in functional fine-mapping of non-coding GWAS variants using massively parallel reporter assays and cellular models for CRISPR/Cas9-mediated perturbation. This has allowed us to perform the most extensive functional fine-mapping of ASCVD GWAS variants and provide unique insights into the genetic basis of disease. Our lab also hosts a single-cell genomics core and we are committed to leveraging the power of single-cell multiomics and spatial transcriptomics to drive cutting-edge research in the future.
Our research group operates in a highly interdisciplinary environment, where we bridge the fields of basic research in gene regulation and vascular biology, genetics, and bioinformatics. We have extensive collaboration networks with other world-leading labs, providing unique access to large clinic- and population-based genetic studies and cohorts of ASCVD and prospective cross-sectional patient biobanks. We are excited to continue pushing the boundaries of cardiovascular genomics research, and we invite you to join us on this journey!
News
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Researchers identify 12 cell types associated with the pathogenesis of coronary artery diseaseResearchers identify 12 cell types associated with the pathogenesis of coronary artery disease
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UEF to coordinate a multi-national effort funded by EIC to combat cardiovascular disease
UEF to coordinate a multi-national effort funded by EIC to combat cardiovascular disease
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Minna Kaikkonen-Määttä secures two million euros of ERC funding – aims to redefine cardiovascular risk assessment
Minna Kaikkonen-Määttä secures two million euros of ERC funding – aims to redefine cardiovascular risk assessment
Keywords
Professors
Senior Researchers
Post-doctoral Researchers
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Uma Thanigai Arasu
Postdoctoral ResearcherA.I. Virtanen Institute for Molecular Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences -
Mari Taipale
Senior ResearcherA.I. Virtanen Institute for Molecular Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences -
Gyan Ranjan
Postdoctoral ResearcherA.I. Virtanen Institute for Molecular Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences -
Jagadish Vangipurapu
Senior ResearcherA.I. Virtanen Institute for Molecular Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences -
Raju Gudhe
Postdoctoral ResearcherA.I. Virtanen Institute for Molecular Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences
Doctoral Researchers
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Aarthi Ravindran
Visiting ResearcherA.I. Virtanen Institute for Molecular Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences -
Anu Nyberg
Doctoral ResearcherA.I. Virtanen Institute for Molecular Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences -
Valtteri Nurminen
Doctoral ResearcherA.I. Virtanen Institute for Molecular Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences -
Negar Pouyanfar
Doctoral ResearcherA.I. Virtanen Institute for Molecular Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences -
Aydin Bölük
Doctoral ResearcherA.I. Virtanen Institute for Molecular Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences -
Iida Vokkolainen
Doctoral ResearcherA.I. Virtanen Institute for Molecular Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences -
Jimi Virkkala
Grant-funded ResearcherA.I. Virtanen Institute for Molecular Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences -
Bharadwaja Velidendla
Doctoral ResearcherA.I. Virtanen Institute for Molecular Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences
Technicians
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Merja Lukkari
Senior Laboratory TechnicianA.I. Virtanen Institute for Molecular Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences -
Riikka Kärnä
Research TechnicianA.I. Virtanen Institute for Molecular Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences
Other group members
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Iida Puranen [email protected]
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Meri Hosiasluoma [email protected]
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Elenonoora Ranssi [email protected]
Publications
25 items-
MicroRNA gene dynamics in immune cell subpopulations during aging and atherosclerosis disease development at single-cell resolution
de Sande, Ana Hernández; Turunen, Tanja; Bouvy-Liivrand, Maria; Örd, Tiit; Palani, Senthil; Lahnalampi, Mari; Tundidor-Centeno, Celia; Liljenbäck, Heidi; Virta, Jenni; Niskanen, Henri; Jayasingha, Buddika; Smålander, Olli-Pekka; Sinkkonen, Lasse; Mikkola, Lea; Sauter, Thomas; Roivainen, Anne; Lönnberg, Tapio; Kaikkonen, Minna U; Heinäniemi, Merja, 2025, Genome medicine, 17, 1, 112. A1 Journal article (refereed), original research -
Single-cell RNA sequencing reveals sex differences in the subcellular composition and associated gene-regulatory network activity of human carotid plaques
Sukhavasi, Katyayani; Mocci, Giuseppe; Ma, Lijiang; Hodonsky, Chani J.; Diez Benevante, Ernest; Muhl, Lars; Liu, Jianping; Gustafsson, Sonja; Buyandelger, Byambajav; Koplev, Simon; Lendahl, Urban; Vanlandewijck, Michael; Singha, Prosanta; Örd, Tiit; Beter, Mustafa; Selvarajan, Ilakya; Laakkonen, Johanna P.; Väli, Marika; den Ruijter, Hester M.; Civelek, Mete; Hao, Ke; Ruusalepp, Arno; Betsholtz, Christer; Järve, Heli; Kovacic, Jason C.; Miller, Clint L.; Romanoski, Casey; Kaikkonen, Minna U.; Bj, 2025, Nature cardiovascular research, 4, 4, 412–432. A1 Journal article (refereed), original research -
Slc7a7 licenses macrophage glutaminolysis for restorative functions in atherosclerosis
Benhmammouch, Saloua; Borowczyk, Coraline; Pierrot-Blanchet, Clara; Barouillet, Thibault; Murcy, Florent; Dussaud, Sébastien; Blanc, Marina; Blériot, Camille; Örd, Tiit; Habbouche, Lama; Vaillant, Nathalie; Gerber, Yohan; Cochain, Clément; Gautier, Emmanuel L; Ginhoux, Florent; Thorp, Edward B.; Biessen, Erik AL; Sluimer, Judith C.; Bodoy, Susanna; Palacin, Manuel; Bailly-Maitre, Béatrice; Kaikkonen, Minna U; Yvan-Charvet, Laurent, 2025, Nature metabolism, 7, 9, 1924–1938. A1 Journal article (refereed), original research -
Special issue: Decoding atherosclerosis: Epigenetics and functional genomics
Romanoski, Casey E; Kaikkonen, Minna U, 2025, Elsevier. C2 Edited book, conference proceedings or special issue of a journal -
An abdominal obesity missense variant in the adipocyte thermogenesis gene TBX15 is implicated in adaptation to cold in Finns
Deal, Milena; Kar, Asha; Lee, Seung Hyuk T.; Alvarez, Marcus; Rajkumar, Sandhya; Arasu, Uma Thanigai; Kaminska, Dorota; Männistö, Ville; Heinonen, Sini; van der Kolk, Birgitta W.; Säiläkivi, Ulla; Saarinen, Tuure; Juuti, Anne; Pihlajamäki, Jussi; Kaikkonen, Minna U.; Laakso, Markku; Pietiläinen, Kirsi H.; Pajukanta, Päivi, 2024, American journal of human genetics, 111, 11, 2542-2560. A1 Journal article (refereed), original research -
Coronary Artery Disease Risk Variant Dampens the Expression of CALCRL by Reducing HSF Binding to Shear Stress Responsive Enhancer in Endothelial Cells in Vitro
Selvarajan, Ilakya; Kiema, Miika; Huang, Ru Ting; Li, Jin; Zhu, Jiayu; Pölönen, Petri; Örd, Tiit; Õunap, Kadri; Godiwala, Mehvash; Golebiewski, Anna Kathryn; Ravindran, Aarthi; Mäklin, Kiira; Toropainen, Anu; Stolze, Lindsey K; Arce, Maximiliano; Magnusson, Peetra U; White, Stephen; Romanoski, Casey E; Heinäniemi, Merja; Laakkonen, Johanna P; Fang, Yun; Kaikkonen, Minna U, 2024, Arteriosclerosis, thrombosis, and vascular biology, 44, 6, 1330-1345. A1 Journal article (refereed), original research -
Enhancing prediction accuracy of coronary artery disease through machine learning-driven genomic variant selection
Alireza, Z.; Maleeha, M.; Kaikkonen, M.; Fortino, V., 2024, Journal of translational medicine, 22, 1, 356. A1 Journal article (refereed), original research -
Secreted Protein Profiling of Human Aortic Smooth Muscle Cells Identifies Vascular Disease Associations
Aherrahrou, Rédouane; Baig, Ferheen; Theofilatos, Konstantinos; Lue, Dillon; Beele, Alicia; Örd, Tiit; Kaikkonen, Minna U; Aherrahrou, Zouhair; Cheng, Qi; Ghosh, Saikat Kumar B; Karnewar, Santosh; Karnewar, Vaishnavi; Finn, Aloke V; Owens, Gary K; Joner, Michael; Mayr, Manuel; Civelek, Mete, 2024, Arteriosclerosis, thrombosis, and vascular biology, 44, 4, 898-914. A1 Journal article (refereed), original research -
Single nucleus RNA-sequencing integrated into risk variant colocalization discovers 17 cell-type-specific abdominal obesity genes for metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease
Lee, Seung Hyuk T; Garske, Kristina M; Arasu, Uma Thanigai; Kar, Asha; Miao, Zong; Alvarez, Marcus; Koka, Amogha; Darci-Maher, Nicholas; Benhammou, Jihane N; Pan, David Z; Örd, Tiit; Kaminska, Dorota; Männistö, Ville; Heinonen, Sini; Wabitsch, Martin; Laakso, Markku; Agopian, Vatche G; Pisegna, Joseph R; Pietiläinen, Kirsi H; Pihlajamäki, Jussi; Kaikkonen, Minna U; Pajukanta, Päivi, 2024, EBioMedicine, 106, 105232. A1 Journal article (refereed), original research -
Single-Cell Gene-Regulatory Networks of Advanced Symptomatic Atherosclerosis
Mocci, Giuseppe; Sukhavasi, Katyayani; Örd, Tiit; Bankier, Sean; Singha, Prosanta; Arasu, Uma Thanigai; Agbabiaje, Olayinka Oluwasegun; Mäkinen, Petri; Ma, Lijiang; Hodonsky, Chani J; Aherrahrou, Redouane; Muhl, Lars; Liu, Jianping; Gustafsson, Sonja; Byandelger, Byambajav; Wang, Ying; Koplev, Simon; Lendahl, Urban; Owens, Gary; Leeper, Nicholas J; Pasterkamp, Gerard; Vanlandewijck, Michael; Michoel, Tom; Ruusalepp, Arno; Hao, Ke; Ylä-Herttuala, Seppo; Väli, Marika; Järve, Heli; Mokry, Michal; C, 2024, Circulation research, 134, 11, 1405-1423. A1 Journal article (refereed), original research