Mikael Knip

Mikael Knip, MD, PhD, is Èmeritus Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Helsinki. His research focuses on type 1 diabetes and other immune-mediated diseases in children and adolescents. Currently Dr. Knip is working as a Research Director and group PI in the Research Program for Clinical and Molecular Metabolism, Faculty of Medicine, University of Helsinki. He has been one of the PIs on the Finnish Diabetes Prediction and Prevention (DIPP) study since its start in 1994. Dr. Knip was 2007-2018 the PI for the international TRIGR (Trial to Reduce IDDM in the Genetically at Risk) study testing the hypothesis that weaning to an extensively hydrolysed formula will reduce the frequency of beta-cell autoimmunity and type 1 diabetes in children at risk. The EU-funded DIABIMMUNE study set out to test the hygiene hypothesis in type 1 diabetes and other immune-mediated diseases and revealed among other things that the infant intestinal microbiota affects the risk of autoimmunity. In the INITIALISE Dr. Knip will mainly contribute WP4, 5 and 6. He will be the coordinator of the clinical demonstrator project (WP6).