People

Our international group consists of people with differing and varied backgrounds.

We strongly favour the transfer of knowledge from seniors to the new generation of algologists and thus our group has people in different phases of their career path. We also emphasize gender equality in the group.
Jaanika Blomster, PI, Group leader

Dr Jaanika Blomster (PhD, Queen's University Belfast, UK)

I am lecturer in Algal Systematics at the University of Helsinki and my research interests are on genomics and systematics of various algal groups, mainly green algae and cryptophytes. I have also carried out sea-ice algal metagenomic projects, and recently, expanded my work to population biology of macroalgae (). I am also involved in projects on the use of macroalgae for different purposes, such as the production of nanocellulose and for using macroalgae for food and feed.
Maryam Abidizadegan, PhD student

Maryam Abidizadegan is a doctoral student at the University of Helsinki, Doctoral Programme in Microbiology and Biotechnology. Her research aims to identify some bioactive compounds of cryptophyte algae and assess optimal growth conditions for their commercial production.
Roxana Preston, PhD student

I am a doctoral candidate in LUOVA, the Doctoral Programme in Wildlife Biology Research at the University of Helsinki. I joined the in 2018. My research interests involve primary producers within marine environments. I have a background in marine research, having gained my BSc (Hon) in Marine Biology from Swansea University and an MRes in Ecology from the University of Brighton. My research has focused on the use of molecular methods and marine algae. My supervisor are Drs Jaanika Blomster, Ellen Schagerström and Perttu Seppä.

I work as a research assistant in the Algae Factory project and I have just started my MSc thesis on algological topic. I follow the growth of algae by sampling the photobioreactor every day. My MSc thesis is about the effects of light intensity on pigments of E. gracilis and Selenastrum sp. and the utilization of the pigments in food and cosmetic industry. I my life sustainability issues are of utmost importance and I see algae also as a tool of sustainable development. By using the algae wisely, we can make use of industrial sidestreams, trap nutrients and simultaneously produce valuable compounds. I am excited about the possibilities algae can provide for the humankind.
Alumni

Post Doc

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PhD

Marika Tossavainen (PhD, University of Helsinki) 2010 - 2019 > HAMK Häme University of Applied Sciences