Vappu Rantalaiho

Vappu Rantalaiho is an Associate Professor (tenure track) at the University of Turku, based in the Department of Internal and Respiratory Medicine & Critical Care, and Skin & Allergy. Her research focuses on autoimmune diseases, particularly rheumatoid arthritis and psoriatic arthritis, with an emphasis on pharmacological interventions, epidemiological trends, and clinical outcomes. She actively contributes to the UN Sustainable Development Goals through her work in improving healthcare outcomes for chronic disease patients.

Her research employs advanced statistical methodologies, including imputation techniques for observational studies and analysis of large-scale register data. Notable collaborations include multi-country studies across European registries to assess treatment responses and disease progression. She has held leadership roles in professional bodies such as the Finnish Rheumatology Association (2017) and consulted on public health initiatives like hygiene and vaccination campaigns at Turku University Hospital (TAYS).

Recent work highlights include investigating hyperuricemia's role in liver disease and exploring psychiatric comorbidities in psoriatic arthritis patients. Her publications span over 70 peer-reviewed articles across rheumatology, epidemiology, and clinical pharmacology, with a growing focus on translational research impacting patient care.