Pekka Kärkkäinen is University Lecturer of Ecumenics since June 2013.

During his academic career Kärkkäinen has focused on following areas of late medieval and Reformation thought: 1. theology of the Holy Spirit, 2. theology of the Trinity and, 3. philosophical psychology.

In his doctoral dissertation Martin Luthers trinitarische Theologie des Heiligen Geistes (Von Zabern / Vandenhoek & Ruprecht 2005) Kärkkäinen analyzed Luther's view of the Holy Spirit in the context of late medieval theology. As a postdoctoral researcher he has investigated Aristotelian philosophical psychology in Luther's immediate context, which included works of Luther's scholastic teachers in the University of Erfurt. The research has been carried out as a part of two National Centres of Excellence in Research funded by the Academy of Finland: Philosophy of Mind (2002-7) and Philosophical Psychology, Morality and Politics (2008-13). He has authored several articles and edited two volumes: Trinitarian Theology in the Medieval West (Luther-Agricola-Society 2007) and (with Simo Knuuttila) Theories of Perception in Medieval and Early Modern Philosophy (Springer 2008).

Kärkkäinen is currently a member of the Centre of Excellence in Reason and Religious Recognition (2014 onwards). Current research interests include: 1. Early Lutheran teaching of philosophical psychology, in particular Johannes Bernhardi (d. 1534) and Philip Melanchthon, 2. Late medieval philosophical schools and the formation of protestant philosophy, and 3. Interaction between psychology and theology in medieval and sixteenth century thought.