Karolina Kauppi

My research is focused on genetic factors for neuronal diseases linked to cognitive deficits, primarily Alzheimer’s disease but also e.g. schizophrenia, and how those impact underlying disease processes, such as memory and brain function and structure in normal aging. By using large registry-based and longitudinal cohort studies, we can study genetic factors in relation to change in those factors over time.

Diseases that despite a strong genetic component are still relatively common in the population often have a complex inheritance pattern, where many genetic variations together contribute to disease risk. Thus, mapping the functional role of those gene variants in disease development, and how they interact with other genes in biological pathways, remain a large challenge. The gain from putting this puzzle together is improve understanding of disease mechanisms and prediction of individuals at risk who may gain from preventatives, and to be able to personalize treatments based on genetics.