Ahmed is an Associate professor at the University of Eastern Finland, as well as an Academy research fellow at the University of Helsinki.
Ahmed graduated from a PhD program at the University of Helsinki and completed his DDS at the University of Mosul.
He was previously employed as a Post-Doc in Prof. Tuula Salo’s group at the University of Helsinki, and during his career has also practiced as dentist.
Aini's research focuses on the prognostic value of neutrophils in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.
Aini graduated from the Doctoral program in Clinical Research at the University of Helsinki, and her work gained her the award for “Best Thesis in Dentistry 2021”.
She was previously employed as a PhD student in prof. Tuula Salo’s group, and as a research assistant in Prof. David Rice’s group at the University of Helsinki. She has also practiced as occupational therapist and dentist.
Meri's research focuses on providing oral cancer patients with better and more effective treatments, in particular investigating immune checkpoint inhibitors as a new therapy modality.
Meri graduated from the Doctoral program in Clinical Research at the University of Helsinki, and also completed her DDS at the University of Helsinki.
She was previously employed as a PhD student in prof. Tuula Salo’s group and is still practicing as a dentist. She has recently been appointed as Chief Dental Officer for the Kymenlaakso region.
Zivile's research focuses on finding neo-antigens and study the resistance mechanisms to immunotherapy in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.
Adam's research focuses on biomarkers in Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma. This includes both already known as well as potential new prognostic factors.
Adam is currently a dental student at the University of Eastern Finland (UEF) on a PhD study track.
Jovanna's research project focuses on uncovering the immunosuppressive mechanisms of IDO1 and the oral microbiome in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.
Jovanna holds a B.Sc. in Biology from the University of Patras and a M.Sc. in Biomedicine from Uppsala University. During her studies she completed an internship at Karolinska Institute in Qiang Pan Hammarström's research group, and conducted three additional research projects during her master's studies.
She has also worked in Tuula Salo's oral cancer research group at the University of Helsinki, and in Marisol Soengas's melanoma research group at the Spanish National Cancer Research Center (CNIO) in Madrid.
Martina's research focuses on identifying resistance mechanisms and improving the patients’ response to immunotherapies in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.
Martina completed a B.Sc. in Biotechnology from the University of Udine and a M.Sc. in Molecular biology and Genetics from the University of Pavia.
During her studies she took part in two Erasmus+Interniship programs, in the “Sampaolesi group” at KU Leuven and in the “Viral zoonosis research unit” at the University of Helsinki.
Varuni's research focuses on determining the prognostic value of neutrophils in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma and identifying its role in cancer progression.
Varuni completed two M.Sc. degrees, in Cellular and Molecular Immunology from the University of Colombo and in Biochemistry from the University of Oulu.
She was previously employed for two years as a teacher/scientific assistant at the University of Colombo, and as a research assistant in the “Complement group” at the University of Helsinki.