Congratulations to Feiyi Wang for her recent first author publication in Cell Genomics.
Wang F, Liu A, Yang Z, Vartiainen P, Jukarainen S, Koskela S, Oram R, Allen L, Ritari J, Partanen J; FinnGen; Perola M, Tuomi T, Ganna A. Effects of parental autoimmune diseases on type 1 diabetes in offspring can be partially explained by HLA and non-HLA polymorphisms. Cell Genom. 2025 Apr 25:100854. doi: 10.1016/j.xgen.2025.100854.
Feiyi is a doctoral researcher under the supervision of Andrea Ganna and Tiinamaija Tuomi at FIMM, University of Helsinki. Her PhD research focuses on the genetic risk and familial aggregation of autoimmune diseases, particularly type 1 diabetes and multiple sclerosis. In her recent publication, she investigates the associations between T1D in offspring and 50 parental autoimmune diseases, including epidemiological analyses using FinRegistry, a comprehensive Finnish nationwide registry dataset, and genetic analyses using the FinnGen study, partitioning the genetic risk into HLA and non-HLA components. In this paper, she also proposes a parental polygenic score that properly integrates both HLA and non-HLA contributions to improve the prediction of T1D risk in offspring. This work represents the main focus of her PhD research, and she is scheduled to defend her thesis on June 16.
Congratulations to Linda Ottensmann her recent first author publication in EbioMedicine.
Ottensmann L, Tabassum R, Ruotsalainen SE, Gerl MJ, Klose C, McCartney DL, Widén E; FinnGen; Simons K, Ripatti S, Vitart V, Hayward C, Pirinen M. Examining the link between 179 lipid species and 7 diseases using genetic predictors. EBioMedicine. 2025 Mar 28;114:105671. doi: 10.1016/j.ebiom.2025.105671.
Linda is a doctoral researcher in the Statistical and Population Genetics group led by Matti Pirinen. She has a background in Bioinformatics and Biostatistics. Her doctoral research focuses on Lipidomics and its link to genetics and cardio-metabolic disease risk. Utilizing lipidomics data from the GeneRISK cohort she identified genetic loci associated with lipid species in GWAS and detected genetic links between lipid species and diseases beyond standard lipids. In her recent publication, she examines the link between lipid species and diseases by utilizing data from FinnGen, UKBB, and Generation Scotland. In her free time, she enjoys reading, running, and other outdoor activities.
Congratulations to Reyhane Eghtedarian her recent first author publication in Translational Psychiatry.
Eghtedarian R, Tervi AM, Jones SE; FinnGen; Partinen M, Viippola E, Ollila HM. Narcolepsy as a potential risk factor for Schizophrenia. Transl Psychiatry. 2025 Feb 17;15(1):55. doi: 10.1038/s41398-025-03259-w.
Reyhane is a PhD student jointly supervised by Hanna Ollila and Helena Kilpinen. She is interested in understanding the shared genetic determinants between sleep conditions and neuropsychiatric disorders through computational and experimental approaches. She utilizes genetic data, medical histories, and health records from FinnGen to elucidate the links between sleep and neuropsychiatric disorders. Additionally, she is using genome editing tools to model sleep phenotypes in iPSCs to better understand the effect of genetic variants on the morphology and transcriptome of the iPSC-induced neurons. Her recent publication, studies the causality between narcolepsy and schizophrenia, showing narcolepsy as a potential risk factor for schizophrenia in different ethnic backgrounds, and a modest bidirectional causality from schizophrenia to narcolepsy. Outside research, she enjoys cooking, watching movies, and outdoor activities.
Congratulations to Felix Vaura, Lea Urpa, Stephanie Zellers, Hannes Bode and Linda Ottensmann for receiving the Yrjö Jahnsson Foundation grant.
The Yrjö Jahnsson Foundation awards grants for postgraduate studies and research in economics, medicine and health economics and for the organization of scientific conferences.
Felix is a postdoctoral researcher in the Ripatti group, where he uses electronic health record data to understand how genes influence individual responses to cardiometabolic medications. His goal is to contribute to the implementation of personalized genomic medicine in everyday primary care. While Felix enjoys watching South Korean thrillers in his spare time, his two toddlers much prefer endless rewatches of Disney movies.
Lea is a postdoctoral researcher in the group of Hanna Ollila studying the genomic intersections of chronic disease, neurodevelopmental disorders and sleep. Her free time is mostly taken up by a delightfully energetic toddler, climbing, and reading.
Stephanie is a postdoctoral researcher in the Kaprio Group. She leverages unique "natural experiments" alongside twin and family data to understand causal influences of environmental exposures on behavior and health. In her free time, she is heavily involved with the association Blues Dance Helsinki ry as an event organizer and dance teacher. She also likes cooking, baking, and studying Mandarin and Finnish languages.
Hannes is a doctoral researcher in the Kaprio and Ollikainen groups. His research investigates the connections between environmental and behavioral factors and breast cancer risk, focusing on how these connections are reflected in DNA methylation patterns. Outside of his research, Hannes shreds the trails on his mountain bike through the forests around Helsinki. He enjoys the heat in the hottest saunas in the city and regularly plunges into ice-water.
Linda is a doctoral researcher in the Statistical and Population Genetics group led by Matti Pirinen. She has a background in Bioinformatics and Biostatistics. Her doctoral research focuses on Lipidomics and its link to genetics and cardio-metabolic disease risk. In her current project, she examines the link between lipid species and diseases by utilizing data from FinnGen, UKBB, and Generation Scotland. She enjoys reading, running, and other outdoor activities in her free time.
Congratulations to Hannes Bode for his recent first author publication in Clinical Epigenetics.
Bode, H.F., He, L., Hjelmborg, J.V.B. et al. Pre-diagnosis blood DNA methylation profiling of twin pairs discordant for breast cancer points to the importance of environmental risk factors. Clin Epigenet 16, 160 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1186/s13148-024-01767-y
Hannes is a doctoral researcher at FIMM under the supervisions of Jaakko Kaprio and Miina Ollikainen. His doctoral research aims to understand how various risk factors that contribute to breast cancer risk are reflected on DNA methylation, to assess its potential as a biomarker.
To study this complex relationship, Hannes is leveraging twin data from the Older Finnish Twin Cohort. By focusing on twin pairs where one sister was diagnosed with breast cancer and the other remained cancer-free, he employs a natural case-control study design. This powerful design draws advantage from the many similarities between sisters in twin pairs, enabling a more precise analysis of DNA methylation associated with their difference in breast cancer risk.
Outside of his research, Hannes enjoys the great outdoors, sauna and attending heavy metal concerts.
Congratulations to Annina Preussner for her recent first author publication in European Journal of Human Genetics.
Preussner A, Leinonen J, Riikonen J, Pirinen M, Tukiainen T. Y chromosome sequencing data suggest dual paths of haplogroup N1a1 into Finland. Eur J Hum Genet. 2024 Oct 28. doi: 10.1038/s41431-024-01707-7.
Annina is a doctoral researcher at FIMM in the genomics of sex differences group led by Taru Tukiainen. Her doctoral research focuses on Y-chromosomal genetic variation and its potential role in complex disease sex differences, mainly utilizing extensive Finnish datasets such as FINRISK and FinnGen. Her most recent study described the fine-scale Y-chromosomal landscape in Finland, offering novel insights into the men who settled the country. Besides Y chromosomes, Annina enjoys running, longer hikes, and all sorts of creative activities on her free time.
Congratulations to Michaela Feodoroff for her recent first author publication in Oncoimmunology.
Feodoroff M, Hamdan F, Antignani G, Feola S, Fusciello M, Russo S, Chiaro J, Välimäki K, Pellinen T, Branca RM, Lehtiö J, D Alessio F, Bottega P, Stigzelius V, Sandberg J, Clancy J, Partanen J, Malmstedt M, Rannikko A, Pietiäinen V, Grönholm M, Cerullo V. Enhancing T-cell recruitment in renal cell carcinoma with cytokine-armed adenoviruses. Oncoimmunology. 2024 Sep 25;13(1):2407532. doi: 10.1080/2162402X.2024.2407532.
Michaela Feodoroff is a doctoral researcher under the supervision of Vilja Pietiäinen in Olli Kallioniemi’s group at FIMM and Mikaela Grönholm in Vincenzo Cerullo’s group at the Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Helsinki, with co-supervision from clinician Antti Rannikko (University of Helsinki/HUS). Michaela’s research focuses on cancer immunotherapies for urological solid tumors, particularly clear cell renal cell carcinoma. She is also involved in the iCAN Flagship subproject on complex organoids (COMPORG), where she utilizes 3D cell models, clinically relevant drug compounds, and oncolytic adenoviruses. Currently, Michaela’s work centers on immune system-mediated control of tumor growth and disease progression, contributing to precision and translational cancer medicine.
Congratulations to Kristen Nader for her recent first author publication in Bioinformatics.
Nader K, Tasci M, Ianevski A, Erickson A, Verschuren EW, Aittokallio T, Miihkinen M. ScType enables fast and accurate cell type identification from spatial transcriptomics data. Bioinformatics. 2024 Jul 1;40(7):btae426.
Kristen Nader is a PhD student in the Aittokallio and Pitkänen groups, with a background in cancer genomics and bioinformatics. Her research focuses on single-cell technologies, translational science, and machine learning. Kristen is particularly interested in leveraging diverse data modalities to study and target tumor heterogeneity. Her latest work involves repurposing ScType for the fast and efficient annotation of spatial transcriptomics data, enabling researchers to streamline their analyses and gain clearer insights into tissue architecture, tumor microenvironments, and cell-cell communication.
Congratulations to Gabin Drouard for his recent first author publication in BMC Medical Informatics and Decision Making.
Drouard G, Mykkänen J, Heiskanen J, Pohjonen J, Ruohonen S, Pahkala K, Lehtimäki T, Wang X, Ollikainen M, Ripatti S, Pirinen M, Raitakari O, Kaprio J. Exploring machine learning strategies for predicting cardiovascular disease risk factors from multi-omic data. BMC Med Inform Decis Mak. 2024 May 2;24(1):116.
Gabin Drouard is a PhD student in the Kaprio group with a background in statistics and epidemiology. The focus of his research is on the combination of multi-omic approaches and family designs to gain insight into population health. In particular, he has gained experience using twin designs to elucidate how genetics and environment shape omic associations with traits such as BMI, alcohol consumption, or biological aging. During his PhD, Gabin mobilized and utilized multiple omics data from the Finnish Twin Cohort, including proteomics, metabolomics, transcriptomics, epigenetics, and polygenic risk scores.
Congratulations to Arina Tagmazian for her recent first author publication in the European Journal of Neuroscience.
Tagmazian AA, Schwarz C, Lange C, Pitkänen E, Vuoksimaa E; Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative. ArcheD, a residual neural network for prediction of cerebrospinal fluid amyloid-beta from amyloid PET images. Eur J Neurosci. 2024 Apr 4. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/ejn.16332
Arina Tagmazian is a doctoral researcher at the Institute for Molecular Medicine Finland (FIMM), University of Helsinki. She is a member of both the Vuoksimaa Group, which focuses on cognitive and brain aging, and the Esa Pitkänen Group, which specializes in machine learning applications in biomedicine. Arina’s research involves using deep learning and image processing to study cognitive and brain aging in healthy and cognitively impaired individuals. Her most recent publication introduces a novel deep learning model (ArcheD) that enhances the prediction of the Alzheimer's disease biomarker (cerebrospinal fluid amyloid-beta) level directly from amyloid PET images, independent of tracers, brain reference regions, or preselected regions of interest. ArcheD holds potential for clinical application in determining the state of cerebrospinal fluid amyloid-beta (Aβ CSF) and enhancing early detection of Alzheimer's disease. In her free time, you can meet Arina at Lindy Hop parties across town or somewhere in a park sketching.
Congratulations to Lea Urpa for her recent first author publication in the European Journal of Human Genetics.
Urpa, L., Kurki, M.I., Rahikkala, E. et al. Evidence for the additivity of rare and common variant burden throughout the spectrum of intellectual disability. Eur J Hum Genet (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41431-024-01581-3
Lea completed her PhD in the Palotie and Daly groups in February 2024 and is currently a postdoctoral researcher in the Ollila group. Her interests involve the genetic contributions to neuropsychiatric disorders, including new research directions in the interaction between infection and neurological and psychiatric disorders. Her most recent paper identified contributions to intellectual disability and functioning not just from rare, highly penetrant genetic variants, but also from common variants identified in genome-wide association studies. Her free time is mostly taken up by a very energetic toddler, cycling, and reading.
Congratulations to Satu Strausz for her recent first author publication in the Nature Communications.
Strausz, S., Abner, E., Blacker, G. et al. SCGB1D2 inhibits growth of Borrelia burgdorferi and affects susceptibility to Lyme disease. Nat Commun 15, 2041 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-45983-9
Satu is a postdoctoral researcher in the Ollila group, whose recent study has focused on Lyme disease, a tick-borne illness caused by bacteria of the genus Borrelia, which presents a significant public health concern globally. Investigating the intricate interplay between host genetics and susceptibility to Lyme disease, Satu's work has unveiled novel insights into the genetic factors underlying susceptibility. Utilizing epidemiological and genetic data from FinnGen and the Estonian Biobank, the research has identified two previously known variants and an unknown common missense variant within the gene encoding Secretoglobin family 1D member 2 (SCGB1D2) protein, contributing to increased susceptibility to Lyme disease.Outside of research, you can often find Satu at the horse stable or skateboarding with children, enjoying her time with both horses and kids.
Congratulations to Anniina Tervi for her recent shared first author publication in Science!
Krishna C, Tervi A, Saffern M, Wilson EA, Yoo SK, Mars N, Roudko V, Cho BA, Jones SE, Vaninov N, Selvan ME, Gümüş ZH; FinnGen§; Lenz TL, Merad M, Boffetta P, Martínez-Jiménez F, Ollila HM, Samstein RM, Chowell D. An immunogenetic basis for lung cancer risk. Science. 2024 Feb 23;383(6685):eadi3808. doi: 10.1126/science.adi3808.
Anniina is a doctoral researcher in the Ollila group, focusing on the intricate interplay between immunogenetics and complex chronic diseases. Her research delves into conditions such as Raynaud's syndrome and Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (M.E./CFS). Notably, her recent publication contributes to the understanding of lung cancer susceptibility. The study identified an association between HLA-II (human leukocyte antigen) heterozygosity and reduced lung cancer risk, particularly in smokers. This finding suggests the immune system's potential to recognize and eliminate pre-cancerous cells triggered by smoking. This study sheds light on the significance of the immune system in cancer risk and may inform future lung cancer screening strategies. Outside of research, she enjoys spinning classes, reading, and outdoor activities.
Congratulations to Zhiyang Wang for his recent first author publication in Journal of Exposure Science & Environmental Epidemiology!
Wang Z, Whipp AM, Heinonen-Guzejev M, Foraster M, Júlvez J, Kaprio J. The association between urban land use and depressive symptoms in young adulthood: a FinnTwin12 cohort study. J Expo Sci Environ Epidemiol. 2023 Dec 11. doi: 10.1038/s41370-023-00619-w.
Zhiyang Wang is a doctoral researcher in Group Kaprio, with a background in epidemiology. His doctoral project is about the relationship between the exposome, the totality of environments, and adolescent and adult mental health as a part of the EU Horizon project: Equal-Life. Utilizing the FinnTwin12 cohort and residential history from DVV, he established a comprehensive and longitudinal environmental database classified into 15 types of domains. He works on investigating the complex effect of the exposome, such as interaction and nonlinearity, on multiple psychological phenotypes via advanced machine learning methods and combines the exposome concept with the twin design novelly. In his spare time, he likes classic menswear.