Group Leader

Pia Rantakari, PhD
Adjunct Professor

Email: pia.rantakari [at] utu.fi
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Contact Information

Turku Bioscience P.O. Box 123, BioCity
(Street addr. Tykistökatu 6 B)
FIN-20521 Turku, Finland
Tel. +358 (0)400 426 791

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Description of the Research

Macrophages are versatile cells of the hematopoietic system that display remarkable functional diversity encompassing innate immune responses, tissue development and tissue homeostasis. Macrophages are present in almost all tissues of the body and display distinct location-specific phenotypes and gene expression profiles. Complex diversity of tissue resident macrophages has been revealed by us and others and it has become evident that macrophages in adults are derived from several different developmental origins in mice. Our interest is to understand the contribution of embryonic vs. adult derived macrophages and exploit the function of these different macrophage subpopulations in the steady-state and progression of disease.

Group Members

Funding

Our projects receive funding from the Academy of Finland, Novo Nordisk, and the Sigrid Juselius Foundation.