Mikko Karttunen

Dr. Mikko Karttunen is a Professor at Western University, holding joint appointments in the Department of Physics & Astronomy and the Department of Chemistry. He is a Canada Research Chair Tier 1 in Computational Materials and Biomaterials Research. His research focuses on computational studies of biological and soft matter systems, with particular emphasis on lipid membranes, biomaterials, and machine learning applications in materials science.

Dr. Karttunen earned his PhD in Condensed Matter Physics from McGill University (1999) and MSc in Physics from Tampere University of Technology (1993). He has held previous positions at Eindhoven University of Technology (Netherlands), the University of Waterloo, and was a postdoctoral fellow at the Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research in Germany.

His research interests span computational chemistry, biological physics, and materials science, with projects involving molecular dynamics simulations, AI-driven modeling, and collaborations with experimental groups. Key areas include lipid diffusion, membrane proteins, magnetic materials, and drug delivery systems.

Dr. Karttunen has received prestigious awards including the Finnish Academy of Science and Letters membership, Ontario Early Researcher Award, and NSERC Discovery Accelerator. His group actively collaborates globally and hosts researchers from over 17 countries.

His work integrates theory, simulation, and machine learning to address challenges in biomaterials, drug design, and soft matter physics, with applications in biomedicine and nanotechnology.