Neurometabolomics Group

Group Leader

Alex Dickens, DPhil

Docent

alex.dickens@utu.fi

Group Website

Aims

Metabolomics, included is a powerful tool to understand how the underlying biological processes occur in health and disease. They also provide a rich source of potential biomarkers for the diagnostic or progression of the disease. The study of the brain is difficult due to the inability to observe changes in humans directly. Metabolomics has been shown to be a key tool in predicting the outcome of several brain injuries. Our lab develops cutting edge analytic chemistry techniques to measure a wide range of small molecules that are important in brain disease and health. We then use these tools in both human samples and models of the disease to understand the underlying mechanisms behind the observed metabolite changes in order to better understand the disease pathology. The lab consists of a mix of analytical chemistry, biologists and experts in multivariate data processing.

Location & Facilities

Turku Bioscience Centre
Tykistökatu 6
FI-20520, Turku
Finland

Turku Centre for Chemical and Molecular Analytics
Department of Chemistry, University of Turku
Henrikinkatu 2
20500, Turku
Finland

Senior Researchers

  • Dominika Olesova
  • Petra Chalova
  • Denys Mavrynsky
  • Tuomas Karskela

Doctoral Students

  • Malik Mohd Azhar
  • Ilia Evstafev (shared with Matej Oresic)

Collaborators & Partners

  • Matej Oresic, University of Turku and Örebro University, Finland/Sweden
  • Tuulia Hyötyläinen, Örebro University, Sweden
  • Daniel Anthony, University of Oxford, UK
  • Kate Lambertsen, University of Southern Denmark, Denmark

Main funding

  • Academy Fellowship, Research Council of Finland, Finland
  • INITIALISE, Horizon Europe, European Europe
  • EDC_MASLD, Horizon Europe, European Europe
  • IMMUNE-TBI, Sigrid Jusélius Foundation, Finland
  • RE-IMAGINE-CROPS, Horizon Europe, European Europe

Selected Publications

  1. Lamichhane S, Dickens AM, Buchacher T, Lou T, Charron-Lamoureux V, Kattelus R, Karmacharya P, da Silva LP, Kråkström M, Rasool O, Sen P, Walker C, Patan A, Gentry EC, Zuffa S, Arzoomand A, Lakshmikanth T, Mikeš J, Mebrahtu A, Vatanen T, Raffatellu M, Zengler K, Hyötyläinen T, Xavier RJ, Brodin P, Lahesmaa R, Dorrestein PC, Knip M, Orešič M. Microbiome-derived bile acid signatures in early life and their association with islet autoimmunity. Nat Commun. 2025 Dec 3. doi: 10.1038/s41467-025-66619-6. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 41339624.
  2. Aatsinki AK, Lamichhane S, Isokääntä H, Sen P, Kråkström M, Alves MA, Keskitalo A, Munukka E, Karlsson H, Perasto L, Lukkarinen M, Oresic M, Kailanto HM, Karlsson L, Lahti L, Dickens AM. Dynamics of gut metabolome and microbiota maturation during early life. iScience. 2025 Sep 25;28(11):113596. doi:10.1016/j.isci.2025.113596. PMID: 41280675; PMCID: PMC12636393.
  3. Barron A, Dickens AM, Tuulari JJ, Hyötylainen T, Kortesluoma S, Merisaari H, Pulli EP, Silver E, Kumpulainen V, Copeland A, Saukko E, Lewis JD, Karlsson L, Orešič M, Karlsson H. Prenatal exposure to perfluoroalkyl substances predicts multimodal brain structural and functional outcomes in children aged 5 years: a birth cohort study. Lancet Planet Health. 2025 Sep;9(9):101309. doi: 10.1016/j.lanplh.2025.101309. Epub 2025 Oct 10. PMID: 41077058.
  4. Chesney E, Mazibuko N, Oliver D, Minichino A, Lamper AD, Chester L, Reilly TJ, Lloyd M, Kråkström M, Dickens AM, Orešič M, Lynch E, Stoloff G, Mehta MA, McGuire P. Novel Lipid Formulation Increases Absorption of Oral Cannabidiol (CBD). Pharmaceutics. 2024 Dec 1;16(12):1537. doi: 10.3390/pharmaceutics16121537. PMID: 39771516; PMCID: PMC11728838.
  5. Dickens AM, Johnson TP, Lamichhane S, Kumar A, Pardo CA, Gutierrez EG, Haughey N, Cervenka MC. Changes in lipids and inflammation in adults with super- refractory status epilepticus on a ketogenic diet. Front Mol Biosci. 2023 Oct 23;10:1173039. doi: 10.3389/fmolb.2023.1173039. PMID: 37936721; PMCID: PMC10627179.
  6. Dickens AM, Sen P, Kempton MJ, Barrantes-Vidal N, Iyegbe C, Nordentoft M, Pollak T, Riecher-Rössler A, Ruhrmann S, Sachs G, Bressan R, Krebs MO, Amminger GP, de Haan L, van der Gaag M, Valmaggia L, Hyötyläinen T; EU-GEI High Risk Study Group; Orešič M, McGuire P. Dysregulated Lipid Metabolism Precedes Onset of Psychosis. Biol Psychiatry. 2021 Feb 1;89(3):288-297. doi: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2020.07.012. Epub 2020 Jul 25. PMID: 32928501.
  7. Dickens AM, Borgan F, Laurikainen H, Lamichhane S, Marques T, Rönkkö T, Veronese M, Lindeman T, Hyötyläinen T, Howes O, Hietala J, Orešič M. Links between central CB1-receptor availability and peripheral endocannabinoids in patients with first episode psychosis. NPJ Schizophr. 2020 Aug 26;6(1):21. doi: 10.1038/s41537-020-00110-7. PMID: 32848142; PMCID: PMC7450081.
  8. Dickens AM, Posti JP, Takala RSK, Ala-Seppälä H, Mattila I, Coles JP, Frantzén J, Hutchinson PJ, Katila AJ, Kyllönen A, Maanpää HR, Newcombe V, Outtrim J, Tallus J, Carpenter KLH, Menon DK, Hyötyläinen T, Tenovuo O, Orešic M. Serum Metabolites Associated with Computed Tomography Findings after Traumatic Brain Injury. J Neurotrauma. 2018 Nov 15;35(22):2673-2683. doi:10.1089/neu.2017.5272. Epub 2018 Aug 21. PMID: 29947291.
  9. Dickens AM, Tovar-Y-Romo LB, Yoo SW, Trout AL, Bae M, Kanmogne M, Megra B, Williams DW, Witwer KW, Gacias M, Tabatadze N, Cole RN, Casaccia P, Berman JW, Anthony DC, Haughey NJ. Astrocyte-shed extracellular vesicles regulate the peripheral leukocyte response to inflammatory brain lesions. Sci Signal. 2017 Apr 4;10(473):eaai7696. doi: 10.1126/scisignal.aai7696. PMID: 28377412; PMCID: PMC5590230.