Per-Henrik Groop, MD, DMSc, FRCPE
Personal Details
AddressBiomedicum Helsinki 1
Haartmaninkatu 8, C318b
FIN-00290 Helsinki
Finland
Telephone+358 (0) 500430 436
Date of Birth19.03.1956 (Korsholm, Finland)
Language skillsSwedish (mother tongue), Finnish (fluent), English (fluent) and German (efficient)
NationalityFinnish
______
Biosketch
I am currently Professor of Internal Medicine (Chair) at the University of Helsinki, Chief Physician at the Abdominal Center Nephrology, University of Helsinki and Helsinki University Hospital, and Principal Investigator of the Finnish Diabetic Nephropathy (FinnDiane) Study at the Folkhälsan Research Center in Helsinki, Finland. Prior to my appointment as Professor of Internal Medicine I served as Professor of Nephrology (Chair) 2010-2015. I also act as Professor at the Baker Heart & Diabetes Institute in Melbourne, Australia. I graduated from the University of Helsinki in 1982 and I defended my thesis on “The relationship between GIP and beta-cell function in man” at the same university in 1989. After postdoctoral studies at the Guy’s Hospital, University of London, under Professor Giancarlo Viberti, I returned to Helsinki to work as a Consultant of Nephrology.
My research is focused on the dissection of the pathogenesis of diabetic complications with special emphasis on diabetic nephropathy. In order to provide a unique set of clinical resources with high power to identify genes and genetic variants associated with diabetic complications, I initiated the large, nation-wide FinnDiane Study in 1997. To date this landmark study comprises 8400 patients with type 1 diabetes and their family members recruited via a comprehensive network of 92 hospitals and health care centers throughout Finland. The FinnDiane Research Group represents an inter-disciplinary team of 45 scientists, post-graduate students, postdoctoral fellows and other personnel.
______
Current and Previous Posts
2016 -Visiting Professor, University of Belgrade, Serbia
2016 -Professor and Chair of Internal Medicine, Chief Physician, Abdominal Center Nephrology, University of Helsinki and Helsinki University Hospital
2010 - 2015Professor and Chair of Nephrology, Chief Physician, Abdominal Center Nephrology, University of Helsinki and Helsinki University Hospital
2009 -Honorary Appointment as Baker IDI Professorial Fellow (Professor)
2006 - 2010Head, Department of Diabetes Genetics, Folkhälsan Institute of Genetics
2001 - 2005Research Director, Folkhälsan Research Center
2001 - 2010Deputy Chief Physician, HUCH, Internal Medicine (20 %)
2000 - 2001Deputy Chief Physician, HUCH, Internal Medicine (100%)
1992 - 1999Consultant in Nephrology, Internal Medicine, Division of Nephrology, HUCH
1990 - 1992Honorary Registrar and Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Guy’s Hospital, London
1989 - 1990Resident in Nephrology, 4th Department of Medicine, HUCH
1982 - 1988Resident in Internal Medicine, 4th Department of Medicine, HUCH
______
Other Posts
1995 – 2012Medical Adviser, Varma Pension Insurance Company
1993Lecturer in Internal Medicine, University of Helsinki (4 months)
1988 - 1990Occupational Health Physician, Savonlinna Opera Festival
1985General Practitioner, Helsinki (Kallio) Health Care Center (4 months)
1984 - 1986Occupational Health Physician, Helsinki Savings Bank
1983 - 1998Private Practitioner, Ars Medicina
1982General Practitioner, Närpes Health Center (3 months)
______
Educational Qualifications
2016Professor of Internal Medicine (chair), University of Helsinki
2010Professor of Nephrology (chair), University of Helsinki (from 15.12.2010 until 31.1.2016)
2008Specialist in Insurance Medicine
1996Docent (Associate Professor) in Internal Medicine, University of Helsinki
1992Specialist in Nephrology, University of Helsinki, Faculty of Medicine
1990Specialist in Internal Medicine, Helsinki University Central Hospital (HUCH)
1989DMSc (Doctor of Medical Science), University of Helsinki, Faculty of Medicine
1982Licensed Physician
1982MD, University of Helsinki, Faculty of Medicine
1978Candidate of Medicine, University of Helsinki, Faculty of Medicine
______
Research Training and Experience
1994 -Supervisor and Director, FinnDiane Study Group
1990 - 1992Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Guy’s Hospital, London, (Prof. Giancarlo Viberti)
1986 - 1992Research Fellow, Social Insurance Institution (KELA)
1982 - 1990Research Fellow, 4th Department of Medicine, HUCH (Prof. Leif Groop)
1980 - 1985Research Fellow, Minerva Research Institute (Prof. Frej Fyhrquist)
______
Awards and Honors
2013Fellow of Royal College of Physicians Edinburgh (FRCPE)
2013Emil R. Rosenqvist’s Prize
For the best paper of Internal Medicine 2008-2012 (Groop et al. The Presence and Severity of Chronic Kidney Disease Predicts All-Cause Mortality in Type 1 Diabetes; Diabetes 2009, 58, 1651-1658) awarded by Finska Läkaresällskapet (Finnish Medical Society)
2012Novo Nordisk Foundation Lecture Award
Why does a subset of patients with diabetes develop kidney disease?
47th Annual Meeting of the Scandinavian Society for the Study of Diabetes, Helsingör
2010Kimmelstiel-Wilson Lecture
Baker IDI & George Institute Symposium, Diabetic nephropathy – an acquired or inherited diabetic complication?
Melbourne, Australia 17-18 July 2010
2009Sylvi Calas Grant for Senior Scientists
awarded by the Finnish Kidney Foundation (Grant given every 5th year for outstanding research in nephrology)
2009EASD Castelli Pedroli Prize – 24th Camillo Golgi Lecture
Diabetic nephropathy – means, motive and opportunity
EASD Wien 30.9.2009
2008Cunningham Lecture in Integrative Physiology
Diabetic complications – are they acquired or inherited? University of London Ontario, Canada
______
Teaching Experience
2015 -Chair of the Academy of Cardiovascular Risk Outcomes and Safety Studies in Type 2 Diabetes (ACROSS T2D) (Boehringer Ingelheim)
2015 -Faculty member, Danish Diabetes Academy (Malaga 2015)
2010 -Faculty member, EASD Postgraduate Courses (Wroclaw, Poland 2010, Odessa, Ukraine 2011, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia 2011, Kiev, Ukraine 2012, Cape Town, South Africa 2012, Dubai, United Arab Emirates 2012, 2013, 2017, Oman 2013, Istanbul 2013, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates 2014, Budapest 2014, Portoroz, Slovenia 2015, Sofia, Bulgaria 2017)
2009Repeated the EASD Scientists Training Course in Helsinki 23-27.11.2009
2008Arranged the EASD Scientists Training Course in Helsinki 13.-17.10.2008
2007 -Chairman of the EASD Scientists Training Course (Barcelona 2007, Helsinki 2008-09, Heidelberg 2010-2011, Barcelona 2012, Hannover 2013)
2005Arranged the 20-hour teaching course “From idea to doctoral thesis” for the medical students at the University of Helsinki, Faculty of Medicine
1993Clinical Teacher, HUCH, IVth Department of Medicine (4 months)
1988 -Teaching of medical students, HUCH Department of Medicine (mainly diabetes and nephrology)
______
Commissions of Trust
Scientific Nominations
2017 -Member of NOVO NORDISK FOUNDATION committee for Steno Collaborative Grants
2017 -Member of Steno Diabetes Center Odense Scientific Advisory Board
2017 -Member of ABBVIE Global Advisory Board (atrasentan)s
2016 -Member of SANOFI Global Advisory Board(sotagliflozin)
2015 -Member of JANSSEN Global Advisory Board (canagliflozin)
2015 -Member of ASTRAZENECA Global Advisory Board (dapagliflozin)
2013 - 2016 Honorary Secretary of the EASD (responsible for the scientific program of the EASD annual meetings) 2014-2016
2012 - 2013Adjunct Honorary Secretary of the EASD 2013
2012 -Member of MEDSCAPE ADVISORY BOARD
2012 - 2016Principal Investigator of the Global MARLINA Study
2011 -Chairman of the Scientific Committee of the Board of the MINERVA FOUNDATION
2011 - 2013 Chairman of the EASD Golgi Prize Selection Committee
2011Member of NOVARTIS Global Advisory Board (vildagliptin)
2011 -Chairman of the Board of the SIGNE AND ANE GYLLENBERG FOUNDATION
2010Member of CEBIX Advisory Board (C-peptide)
2010 -Member of BOEHRINGER INGELHEIM Global Advisory Board (linagliptin and empagliflozin)
2009 - 2011Chairman of the Directors of the Minerva Research Institute
2008 - 2011Member of the Scientific Committee of the Board of the MINERVA FOUNDATION
2008 - 2012Member of the National Advisory Board (vildagliptin, Novartis Finland)
2008 -Member of the Boardof the MINERVA FOUNDATION
2008 - 2011President of the EDNSG (European Diabetic Nephropathy Study Group)
2007 - 2013Chairman of the EASD Scientists Training Course
2007 - Member of the Board (WALDEMAR von FRENCKELL FOUNDATION)
2006Scientific Reviewer for Science Foundation Ireland (5 million € grant)
2004 - 2006Member of the Research Council, Faculty of Medicine, University of Helsinki
2001 -Member of the Board (DIABETES RESEARCH FOUNDATION FINLAND)
1997 - 2010Member of the Board (Signe and Ane Gyllenberg Foundation)
1997 - 2000Secretary of the EDNSG (European Diabetic Nephropathy Study Group)
______
Reviewer of Grants and Prizes
2016Reviewer of EASD Minkowski Prize
2016Reviewer of EFSD Rising Star Programme
2016Reviewer of Novo Nordisk Foundation/EASD Price for Excellence
2016Reviewer of Maratona de Saude Foundation Prize (Lisbon, Portugal)
2015Reviewer of EASD Minkowski Prize
2015Reviewer of EFSD Rising Star Programme
2015Reviewer of Novo Nordisk Foundation/EASD Price for Excellence
2015 Reviewer of Postdoctoral Fellow Research grants for the Danish Diabetes Academy
2014Reviewer of EASD Minkowski Prize
2014Reviewer of EFSD Rising Star Programme
2014Reviewer of research grants for the Austrian Diabetes Association
2014Reviewer of Postdoctoral Fellow Research grants for the Danish Diabetes Academy
2013Reviewer and chair of EASD/EFSD Novo Nordisk Partnership Grants (May 2013)
2012Reviewer and chair of EASD/EFSD Novo Nordisk Partnership Grants (May 2012)
2011Reviewer of grants for the Biomedicum Helsinki Foundation (September 2011)
2011Reviewer of grants for the Swedish Research Council (August 2011)
2011Reviewer of EASD/ESFD Novo Nordisk Partnership Grants (May 2011)
2010Reviewer of grants for the Swedish Research Council (August 2010)
2008Reviewer of grants for the Danish Diabetes Association
2008 -Expert reviewer for JDRF
2006Scientific Reviewer for Science Foundation Ireland (5 million € grant)
______
Other Commitments
2010 Member of the Board (Oy Medix Ab)
2009 - 2010Member of the Board (Yhtyneet Medix Laboratories)
2007 - 2010Member of the Board (Medix Laboratories)
1997 - 1999Member of the Board (Chamber Orchestra AVANTI!)
______
Organizer of International Meetings
2013Organizer of Symposium “Diabetes – A Threat to Mankind” in Helsinki 7-8 June 2013
2009Member of Organizing Committee, 30th Anniversary Congress of the Nordic Society of Nephrology, Helsinki in August 2009 Organizer of EASD Scientists Training Course, Helsinki
2008Organizer of EASD Scientists Training Course, Helsinki 13-17.10.2008
2008Co-chair (Herman Haller, Giancarlo Viberti) of ISN Nexus Symposium on Diabetes and the Kidney, Dublin 2008
2007Member of Organizing Committee, EURO-PD Meeting, Helsinki 2007
2006President of the European Diabetic Nephropathy Study Group Meeting, Helsinki 2006
1993 - 1997 Chairman of the Social Program Committee and Member of the Organizing Committee for the IDF (International Diabetes Federation) Congress in Helsinki in July 1997
______
Abstract Reviewer
2016Abstract Review Committee Chair, EASD Munich, September 2016
2016Abstract Reviewer, ESH Paris, France, June 2016
2015Abstract Review Committee Member, IDF Vancouver, Canada, December 2015
2015Abstract Review Committee Chair, EASD Stockholm, September 2015
2014Abstract Review Committee Chair, EASD Vienna, September 2014
2014Abstract Review Committee Member, ERA-EDTA, Amsterdam, the Netherlands, May-June 2014
2013Abstract Review Committee Member, IDF Melbourne, Australia, December 2013
2013Abstract Review Committee Member, ERA-EDTA, Istanbul, Turkey, May 2013
2011Abstract Reviewer, World Congress of Diabetes (IDF), Dubai, UAE 2011
2011Abstract Reviewer, Member of Program Selection Committee, EASD Lisbon 2011, September 2011
2011Abstract Review Committee Member, ERA-EDTA, Prague, Czech Republic, June 2011
2010Abstract Reviewer, Member of Program Selection Committee, EASD Stockholm 2010
2010Abstract reviewer, World Congress of Nephrology, Vancouver, Canada, April 2011
2010Abstract Review Committee Member, ERA-EDTA, Munich, Germany, June 2010
2009Abstract reviewer, World Congress of Nephrology, Milan, Italy May 2009
2008Abstract reviewer, Member of Organizing Committee, 5th WCPD, Helsinki 2008
2008Abstract Review Committee Member, ERA-EDTA, Stockholm 2008
2006Abstract Reviewer, Member of Program Selection Committee, EASD Copenhagen 2006
2005Abstract Review Committee Member, EASD Athens 2005
______
Service at Editorial Boards
2015-Member of the Advisory Board, ACTA DIABETOLOGICA
2008 - 2011Member of the Advisory Board, DIABETOLOGIA
2007 - 2011Review Editor for INTERNATIONAL DIABETES MONITOR
2007 - 2011Associate Editor, KIDNEY INTERNATIONAL
2004 - 2007Associate Editor, DIABETOLOGIA (diabetic complications, genetics)
2000 - 2005Member of the Editorial Board for HUSARI (Official journal of the HUCH)
1999 - 2001Associate Editor, DUODECIM (Finnish Medical Journal)
1997 - 2001Editor-in-Chief, Finska Läkaresällskapets HANDLINGAR(the Journal where von Willebrand published his remarkable finding on the von Willebrand factor)
______
Research Interests and Achievements
The Finnish Diabetic Nephropathy Study (FinnDiane)
The Finnish Diabetic Nephropathy Study (FinnDiane) represents the largest and by far the most thoroughly characterized patient cohort of patients with type 1 diabetes with or without diabetic nephropathy in the world. The main aim is to explain why one third of patients with diabetes will develop diabetic nephropathy, a complication that is associated with a remarkably increased risk of premature mortality. In patients on dialysis or having received a kidney transplant the standardized mortality rate (SMR) is increased approximately 18-fold, in patients with macroalbuminuria 9-fold, and in patients with microalbuminuria 3-fold. However, if the patients have no signs of diabetic kidney disease, i.e. their albumin excretion rate is normal; there is no additional risk of premature mortality. Thus, the increased risk of premature mortality is entirely due to diabetic nephropathy (Groop et al. Diabetes 2009).
In order to achieve the aim the FinnDiane Study Group has four legs (phenotyping team, genetics team, bioinformatics team and a cell and molecular biology team) that work in concert to dissect the pathogenesis of the devastating complication.
The phenotyping team focuses on the thorough clinical characterization of the patients including such methodologies as pulse wave analysis (tonometry), Holter-monitoring, 24-h blood pressure monitoring, ECG, cardioechography, spiroergometry, autonomic function testing, carotic IMT imaging, fundus photograpy, corneal focal microscopy, DEXA (bone density and body fat distribution), as well as a full clinical examination including questionnaires regarding the presence of complications, history of life style factors, physical exercise, diet, and psychological aspects. The team has published a number of seminal papers showing that HbA1c variability (Wadén et al. Diabetes 2009), the metabolic syndrome (Thorn et al. Diabetes Care 2005), lipid abnormalities (Tolonen et al. Diabetologia 2008, Tolonen et al. Diabetologia 2009), high LPS at baseline (Nymark et al. Diabetes Care 2009), and chronic inflammation (Saraheimo et al. Diabetologia 2003) predicts the development and progression of diabetic nephropathy. The team has also shown that type 1 diabetes is associated with a reduced baroreflex sensitivity (BRS), a predictor of cardiovascular disease in the general population, and that the reduced BRS can be restored by an easy maneuver like slow breathing (Rosengård-Bärlund et al. 2009). This is important since a reduced BRS has previously been interpreted as organic autonomic neuropathy, but our studies show that at least at the early stage the abnormality is still functional and reversible. The team has also published a number of important papers on new biomarkers like sRAGE (Thomas et al. Diabetologia 2011), osteoprotegerin (Gordin et al. Diabetes Care 2013), L-FABP (Panduru et al. Diabetes Care 2013), tumor necrosis factor alpha receptor-1 (Forsblom et al. Diabetes Care 2014), osteopontin (Gordin et al. Diabetes Care 2014), and urinary adiponectin (Panduru et al. Diabetes Care 2015).
The genotyping team is currently analyzing GWAS and exome sequencing data from the FinnDiane cohort. The team was the first to describe 2 genetic variants on chromosomes 2 and 15 conclusively associated with ESRD, and 1 variant on chromosome 4 suggestively associated with diabetic nephropathy in the so far largest GWAS study on diabetic complications in patients with type 1 diabetes. Further analysis of the GWAS data showed a significant and conspicuous difference between males and females regarding the variant on chromosome 2 that was previously shown to be conclusively associated with ESRD. The paper was accompanied by an Editorial in the same issue of JASN suggesting that this particular paper represented a paradigm shift that will change the way one should analyze GWAS data with respect to diabetic complications. In order to maximize the success rate, the FinnDiane has liaised with groups from Boston, Dublin and Belfast (GENIE consortium) as well as the SUMMIT consortium (Malmö, Oxford, Dundee). An exciting project in collaboration with Professor Karl Tryggvason from the Karolinska Institute and Singapore is focusing on whole genome sequencing of sib-pairs with type 1 diabetes but discordant for diabetic nephropathy. Our longstanding collaboration with Professor Tryggvason led to the discovery of a variant on chromosome 3 that was strongly associated with diabetic nephropathy (He et al. Am J Hum Genet 2009). This variant is located in the close vicinity of the Nck1-gene, a gene that codes for the formation of podocytes. The team has furthermore shown that proliferative diabetic retinopathy has a heritability rate of more than 50% (Hietala et al. Diabetes 2008). A key observation is that parental hypertension and type 1 and/or 2 diabetes are associated with increased risk of diabetic nephropathy in the offspring (Thorn et al. Diabetes Care 2009).
The bioinformatics team has brought on board a number of useful tools to analyze the huge amount of data FinnDiane is generating, tools such as self-organizing maps (SOM) (Mäkinen et al. 2008), estimation of VLDL, IDL, LDL, HDL2, apoA-1 and apoB from Friedewald inputs (Niemi et al. Ann med 2009), as well as the use of NMR (Mäkinen et al. Mol Syst Biol 2008). The team further exploited a novel algorithm, ‘Bag of Naive Bayes’, whose marker selection strategy is complementary to that of conventional genome-wide association models based on univariate association tests. The analysis was per- formed on a genome-wide association study of 3,464 patients with type 1 diabetes from the FinnDiane Study and subsequently replicated with 4,263 type 1 diabetes patients from the Steno Diabetes Centre, the All Ireland-Warren 3-Genetics of Kidneys in Diabetes UK collection (UK–Republic of Ireland) and the Genetics of Kidneys in Diabetes US Study (GoKinD US). This study supported the previously identified findings on the RGMA/MCTP2 region but also suggested novel susceptibility loci for ESRD. This new methodology highlights the importance of applying complementary statistical methods to detect novel genetic variants in diabetic nephropathy and, in general, in complex diseases (Sambo et al. Diabetologia 2014).
The cell and molecular biology team concentrates on the effects of LPS as well as the AGEs and related defense mechanisms on the development of diabetic nephropathy. Key papers have been published on the MIF receptor in diabetic injury (Sanchez-Nino et al. JASN 2009) as well the OSBP related protein 3 (Lehto et al. J Cell Sci 2008). Recent work suggested that SMPDL3b may be an important modulator of podocyte function by shifting suPAR-mediated podocyte injury from a migratory phenotype to an apoptotic phenotype and that it represents a novel therapeutic glomerular disease target (Yoo et al. JASN 2014).We also demonstrated that increased cholesterol in association with downregulation of ATP-binding cassette transporter ABCA1 occurs in normal human podocytes exposed to the sera of patients with type 1 diabetes and albuminuria (DKD) when compared with diabetic patients with normoalbuminuria (DKD) and similar duration of diabetes and lipid profile. Glomerular downregulation of ABCA1 was confirmed in biopsies from patients with early DKD (n = 70) when compared with normal living donors (n = 32). Induction of cholesterol efflux with cyclodextrin (CD) but not inhibition of cholesterol synthesis with simvastatin prevented podocyte injury observed in vitro after exposure to patient sera. Subcutaneous administration of CD to diabetic BTBR (black and tan, brachiuric) ob/ob mice was safe and reduced albuminuria, mesangial expansion, kidney weight, and cortical cholesterol content. This was followed by an improvement of fasting insulin, blood glucose, body weight, and glucose tolerance in vivo and improved glucose-stimulated insulin release in human islets in vitro. Our data suggest that impaired reverse cholesterol transport characterizes clinical and experimental DKD and negatively influences podocyte function. Treatment with CD is safe and effective in preserving podocyte function in vitro and in vivo and may improve the metabolic control of diabetes (Merschner-Gomez et al. Diabetes 62:3817–3827, 2013).
The FinnDiane Study Group has built up an extensive national and internal network of collaborators that enables maximization of the resources for the genetic studies, but also for sharing of data and collaboration. Despite FinnDiane’s young age it is remarkable that many observations represent major achievements in diabetic nephropathy. The many publications from the group during the recent years have also made FinnDiane an attractive collaborator for many distinguished research groups from all over the world.