Joni Nikkanen, PhD


Postdoctoral Fellow

Website: www.joninikkanen.net
University of Aalto, Finland - MS
University of Finland - PhD
EMBO and HSFP Fellowships

I received my PhD from the University of Helsinki, where I studied mitochondrial metabolism and identified metabolic stress responses that affect disease in mitochondrial myopathy patients. I was also able to apply bioinformatic approaches to identify non-coding regulatory elements that drive the expression of mtDNA replicating polymerase in the CNS and specific neuronal populations. After completing my studies, I was awarded an HFSP long-term fellowship to study with the Chawla lab in immunometabolism. In my most recent work, I have defined how liver lipid metabolism intersects with hormones (GH and T) to regulate sex differences in disease tolerance during infection. Our work relates to the noted sexual dimorphism and lower survival rates in females following bacterial sepsis. I recently transitioned to the Ingraham lab to understand how sex-hormones influence metabolic homeostasis in the liver and gut epithelium. 

UCSF Profile: J. Nikkanen
Website: Joni Nikkanen
Awards: 

2022-2027       NIDDK K99/R00

2019-2022       Human Frontier Science Program (HFSP) Long-term Fellowship, Strasbourg, France

2019                Maud Kuistila Memorial Foundation, Helsinki, Finland

2018                Emil Aaltonen foundation, Tampere, Finland

2017                Paulo foundation, Helsinki, Finland

2017                Best poster award, EuroMIT, Cologne, Germany

2016                Biomedicum Helsinki Foundation, Helsinki, Finland

2016                Finnish Epilepsy Foundation, Helsinki, Finland