Hege Lynum Pedersen

Hege Lynum Pedersen is an Associate Professor at the Department of Medical Biology, UiT The Arctic University of Norway, and serves as Academic Programme Director for the Master programme in Biomedicine. She holds a Master of Science in Biotechnology and a PhD in Molecular Biology. Her research focuses on immunology, autoimmunity, and cancer, particularly lupus nephritis and breast cancer mechanisms. She leads projects investigating disease mechanisms, biomarkers, and therapies in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and lupus nephritis.

Research interests include the role of immune cells, long non-coding RNA NEAT1, DNase I, and neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs) in disease progression. She collaborates with clinicians to develop diagnostic and therapeutic strategies using advanced technologies like flow cytometry and gene expression analysis. Current projects explore glomerular damage in LN, interstitial inflammation mechanisms, and tertiary lymphoid structures in autoimmunity.

As a Principal Investigator, she oversees studies on DNase I regulation and NETosis in SLE. She supervises PhD students, including Aud-Malin Karlsson Hovd. Her work is conducted within the RNA and Molecular Pathology (RAMP) research group, collaborating with experts like Maria Perander and Kristin Fenton.