معرفی
Lena Thorn is an Associate Professor in the Department of General Practice and Primary Health Care at the University of Helsinki's Faculty of Medicine, holding the Title of Docent and serving as Supervisor for the Doctoral Programme in Clinical Research. She maintains active clinical roles as General Practitioner at Itä-Uudenmaan hyvinvointialue (2023–present) and Head Physician at HUS, Perusterveydenhuollon yksikkö (2019–present), while leading major diabetes research initiatives.
Her research centers on type 1 diabetes complications, particularly diabetic kidney disease and cardiovascular outcomes. The long-running FinnDiane Study (1997–present) under her leadership has established critical epidemiological frameworks for understanding metabolic risk factors. Current work examines aging in diabetes through the LifeOne study and familial clustering of complications, bridging primary care practice with population-level research.
Dr. Thorn's 2025 publications reveal strong trends in precision diabetes medicine, with studies analyzing biomarker efficacy for kidney disease prediction, pregnancy-related cardiovascular risks, and neuroimaging correlations. Her work consistently addresses translational gaps between clinical practice and complications prevention.
Scientific Awards:
- Vuoden nuori tutkija (Young Researcher of the Year) from Suomen Diabetestutkijat ja Diabetologit (2009)
- Vuoden nuori tutkija (Young Researcher of the Year) from Suomen nefrologiyhdistys (2012)
She actively mentors students through 14 Master's/Licentiate supervisions and doctoral committee roles, while securing continuous project funding since 1997. Her leadership in the Finnish Diabetic Nephropathy Study and LifeOne project demonstrates sustained research impact with over 100 publications.
The FinnDiane Study Group forms the core of her research ecosystem, integrating clinical data from national registries with molecular analyses at Folkhälsan Research Centre. This collaborative network spans primary care clinics, university hospitals, and international research partners to advance diabetes complications understanding.
