Nationality: Finnish
Position: Clinical Lecturer, Paediatrics and Adolescent Medicine / Adjunct Professor, Department of Clinical Medicine
Research Fields: respiratory tract infections, especially acute otitis media.
ESWI member since 2022
Dr. Tähtinen received her Doctor of Medicine from the University of Turku in 2004. After graduating, she worked as a GP and resident in paediatrics in Central Finland and then as a PhD student at the University of Turku. In 2012, she successfully defended her PhD thesis entitled “Treatment of acute otitis media”. The same year, she received the ESPID Young Investigator Award and was selected as a Researcher of the Year by the National Graduate School of Clinical Investigation. After obtaining her PhD degree, Dr. Tähtinen continued her specialisation in paediatrics at the Turku University Hospital, Department of Paediatrics and Adolescent Medicine.
In 2013, Dr. Tähtinen moved to the United States to work as a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Boston University School of Medicine. During her time in Boston, Dr. Tähtinen also studied at the Harvard Medical School Global Clinical Scholars Research Training Program in which she graduated in 2015. During the summer of 2017, she worked as a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. The ESPID Fellowship Award allowed Dr. Tähtinen to continue her post-doc project in collaboration with the researchers from Boston University and Harvard University.
Paula Tähtinen is an Adjunct Professor and Clinical Lecturer at the University of Turku, Finland. She is also working as a paediatrician at Turku University Hospital. Her research focuses on respiratory tract infections, especially acute otitis media.
Currently, Paula Tähtinen is setting up her own research group with the main focus on prevention and treatment of respiratory tract infections. She is the author of 30 scientific publications, several book chapters and UpToDate articles. Dr. Tähtinen has been actively involved in the development of scientific and professional education at the University of Turku. She has also served as a Young ESPID (European Society for Paediatric Infectious Diseases) country representative and a committee member at the ESPID Research Networking Committee.
