Heidi Isokääntä Successfully Defends Dissertation on Gut Microbiome Deveopment

Turku, 26 September 2025 – Bioanalyst Heidi Isokääntä has successfully defended her doctoral dissertation in medical microbiology at the University of Turku. The defense took place on 26 September 2025, from 12:00 to 16:00 in the Osmo Järvi Hall, Medisiina C, Chinamyllynkatu 10, Turku.

Her dissertation, titled “Utilization of Next Generation Sequencing and Metabolomics in Human Microbiome Studies: Optimized Laboratory Methods and Exploratory Findings on Gut Microbiome and Metabolome Development in Early Life”, examined innovative laboratory methods and offered new insights into the development of gut microbiota and metabolism in early childhood. It also highlighted the application of next-generation omics techniques in clinical microbiota research.

The dissertation was publicly examined by Docent Mikael Niku (University of Helsinki), with Docent Alex Dickens (University of Turku) serving as custos. The defense was conducted in Finnish.

Heidi Isokääntä’s research provides valuable contributions to understanding human microbiome development and its implications for early-life health.

Dissertation in the University’s Publications Archive: https://urn.fi/URN:ISBN:978-952-02-0290-3