• Portrait of Tiina Kauppinen
  • Associate professor

    Max Rady College of Medicine
    Pharmacology and Therapeutics
    Room SR434 – 710 William Avenue
    University of Manitoba
    Winnipeg, Manitoba R3E 0Z3

    Phone: 204-789-3846
    tiina.kauppinen@umanitoba.ca

    Research summary

    Dr. Tiina Kauppinen is a leading researcher in the field of neuroscience, with a specific focus on the role of microglia in brain function and disease. Her research examines how microglia, immune cells resident in the brain, influence brain function during health and disease, development, and degeneration. She has shown that microglial responses can lead to chronic neuroinflammation, which promotes synaptic toxicity, neurodegeneration, and cognitive deficiency.

    Dr. Kauppinen's research aims to identify the mechanisms regulating microglial responses in order to harness them to promote brain health and recovery in acute (stroke, traumatic brain injury) and chronic (Alzheimer’s disease) central nervous system disorders, brain tumors, and in neurodevelopmental disturbances (fetal exposure to gestational diabetes). Her research interests include neurodegeneration, neurodevelopment, neuroinflammation, and preclinical drug development.

    Dr. Kauppinen is currently a research scientist at the Children’s Hospital Research Institute of Manitoba (CHRIM) and a Principal Investigator in the Neuroscience Research Program at the Kleysen Institute for Advanced Medicine. She is funded by several organizations, including the Alzheimer Society, Canadian Foundation for Innovation, Canadian Institutes of Health Research, Heart and Stroke Foundation, and Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada.

    Research themes

    • Neuroscience

    Research interests

    • neurodegeneration
    • neurodevelopment
    • neuroinflammation
    • preclinical drug development

    Research affiliations

    Keywords

    • Alzheimer’s disease
    • gestational diabetes
    • ischemic stroke
    • microglia
    • synaptic plasticity
    • traumatic brain injury

    Biography

    Dr. Tiina Kauppinen is an accomplished and highly respected researcher in the field of neuroscience. She is currently an associate professor of pharmacology and therapeutics at the University of Manitoba and a principle investigator in the Neuroscience Research Program at the Kleysen Institute for Advanced Medicine, Health Sciences Centre. Additionally, Dr. Kauppinen is a researcher at the Children’s Hospital Research Institute of Manitoba.

    Dr. Kauppinen was born and educated in Kuopio, Finland, where she obtained her master of science in biotechnology and PhD in biotechnology and molecular neuroscience from the University of Kuopio, now known as the University of Eastern Finland. After completing her PhD, she continued her training with a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of California San Francisco (UCSF) where she earned a docent degree in neuroinflammation from the University of Kuopio. Following her postdoctoral training, she stayed on at UCSF as an adjunct assistant professor from 2006 to 2012.

    Throughout her career, Dr. Kauppinen has received numerous awards and accolades for her work. These include the Jordi Folch-Pi Award from the American Society for Neurochemistry, a Fellowship Award from the American Heart Association, post-doctoral fellowships from the Finnish Cultural Foundation and the Sigrid Juselius Foundation, and several awards for best publication and thesis from the University of Kuopio.

    With a strong background in biotechnology, molecular neuroscience, and neuroinflammation, Dr. Kauppinen is an expert in the field of neuroscience, with a specific focus on the role of microglia in brain function and disease. Her research aims to identify the mechanisms regulating microglial responses in order to harness them to promote brain health and recovery in acute and chronic central nervous system disorders, brain tumors, and in neurodevelopmental disturbances.

    Education

    • Docent in neuroinflammation, University of Kuopio, A.I.V. Institute (2007)

    • PhD in molecular brain research, University of Kuopio (2001)
    • Master of Science in biotechnology, University of Kuopio (1998)

    Awards

    2008: Jordi Folch-Pi Award from the American Society for Neurochemistry

    2006-2007: Fellowship Award from the American Heart Association

    2002-2005:

    • Post-doctoral Fellowship from the Finnish Cultural Foundation
    • Post-doctoral Fellowship from the Sigrid Juselius Foundation, Finland

    2001:

    • Best doctoral thesis from the A.I. Virtanen Institute for Molecular Sciences, University of Kuopio, Finland
    • Best Neuroscience Publication from the University of Kuopio, Finland

    Dr. Tiina Kauppinen In the news

    Contact us

    Pharmacology and Therapeutics
    Max Rady College of Medicine
    A205 Chown Bldg., 753 McDermot Avenue
    University of Manitoba (Bannatyne campus)
    Winnipeg, MB R3E 0T6 Canada

    204-789-3553