Iina Laitinen

Positron emission tomography (PET) imaging is a very visual and quantitative way of seeing what is happening to the molecules in the body. In the field of biology, we often have to settle for measuring processes indirectly, so it is very powerful to be able to see how the tracers are moving in the body over time. When I was giving a course in PET imaging to PhD students, it was always exciting to see their first impressions. There was usually a – “Wow, now I see!”. And even though I am less involved in the hands-on imaging nowadays, I’m still in it for the wow.

“I’m still in it for the wow!”

Struck early by the wow-effect
I started my career at the University of Turku in Finland, where my research topic was inflammatory diseases. Along the way I was introduced to PET imaging and was struck by the wow-effect. I went on to do my PhD in imaging of atherosclerosis, and then spent five years as a post doc in Munich. I then started working for Sanofi and moved to Frankfurt to set up a PET laboratory there. I met Antaros Medical when Sanofi was looking for a partner to solve a research question, which involved developing a specific PET tracer. It was a very fruitful and highly scientific collaboration. And my experience of working with Antaros Medical throughout the project made me feel that it would be a good place to work. So, when the opportunity arose, I joined the company and moved to Gothenburg.

The right place to fulfil the potential of imaging
PET imaging is a fantastic tool to gain a deeper understanding of a disease or drug. A PET imaging protocol can be designed to illuminate or locate a target, to help answer a question about the mechanism of action, or even to quantify processes and measure drug effects. There are so many possibilities for what we can do with PET. But because it is a field that requires quite specialised knowledge, the opportunities for using PET are not always taken in drug development. There are always going to be new questions to answer and new things to try and understand further, so there is a constant need for new methods to be developed. At Antaros Medical, we are always working to fulfil the potential of PET in drug development.

Living close to nature in Gothenburg
Being an outdoorsy person, I really like living in Gothenburg. The city and its surroundings offer a lot of nature and different biotypes, like the various forests, lakes, and the archipelago. I love to hike, and less than five kilometres from my doorstep is a place where you can make a fire and camp out in the open. I also appreciate art and music, and Gothenburg has lots of opportunities for that as well, so I find it is a good combination and a nice balance. I can live in the city and still be close to both cultural experiences and the outdoors.