Erik Knutsen

Erik Knutsen is an Associate Professor at the Institute of Medical Biology, Faculty of Health Sciences, UiT The Arctic University of Norway. He holds a PhD in Medical Biology and a Master’s in Molecular Biotechnology. He currently serves as the Study Program Leader for the Bachelor program in Biomedicine and teaches cellular biology at undergraduate and graduate levels.

His research is centered on breast cancer metastasis, focusing on molecular mechanisms such as epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT), tumor microenvironment, non-coding RNAs, and single-cell sequencing. He leads a major project using single-cell RNA-seq to subclassify breast cancer cells in lymph nodes for improved diagnosis and personalized treatment. His goal is to prevent overtreatment and understand tumor dormancy and recurrence.

Erik’s recent publications span high-impact journals like Nature, PNAS, and Journal of Clinical Investigation, with research themes in bioinformatics, CRISPR/Cas, serglycin, miRNA regulation, and liquid biopsies. His work often involves large-scale computational analysis and collaboration with clinicians, bioinformaticians, and molecular biologists.

Scientific Awards:

• No specific awards listed in the provided text.

Erik is currently supervising two PhD students and one master student as main supervisor, and one PhD student as co-supervisor. He has previously supervised multiple master’s, bachelor’s, and Erasmus+ trainee students. His research is supported by strong national and international collaborations, including work with George A. Calin at MD Anderson. He has led projects on functional RNA profiling, miRNA variations, and transcriptome analysis in cancer. He is based in Tromsø and actively contributes to both research and education in molecular oncology.