Maria is a trained geneticist and molecular biologist, having completed her PhD at the University of Helsinki under the mentorship of Prof. Mart Saarma. Her doctoral research focused on the endocrine roles of the GDNF family of neurotrophic factors in transgenic mouse models. In her postdoctoral work, Maria explored the in vivo functions of the unconventional neurotrophic factors MANF and CDNF, developing and characterizing knockout mouse models for both. The unexpected diabetic phenotype observed in MANF knockout mice sparked her current research interests. Maria is now a group leader at the Institute of Biotechnology. Outside of work, she enjoys spending time with family and friends, exploring the outdoors, walking her dog, golfing, and attending gym classes.
Julia is an experienced molecular biologist with her training obtained in UK, Germany and Finland. She completed her PhD in Physiology and Neuroscience at the University of Helsinki under the supervision of Dr Andrii Domanskyi. Her PhD dissertation examined the role of microRNAs in Parkinson’s disease and included studying ability of microRNAs to regulate expression of trophic factors MANF and CDNF. Currently Julia is a postdoctoral researcher in Maria Lindahl’s group, where she is exploring the role of m6A methylation in pathogenesis of diabetes with a focus on finding potential preventative therapeutics. In her free time, she likes strength training (muscles are important for prevention of T2D), reading books in company of her two cats and traveling with her friends.
Huini is a Doctoral Researcher in the Doctoral Programme in Biomedicine at Lindahl Lab. She holds a master’s degree in Translational Medicine from the University of Helsinki, where her master’s thesis focused on the role of autophagy in glioblastoma. She also gained one year of research experiences on cancer metastasis at the Karolinska Institutet in Sweden. Huini is deeply passionate about translational research in drug discovery and development. For her PhD, she uses preclinical mouse models to investigate the roles of ER stress-regulating neurotrophic factor MANF in pancreatic beta cells, with the goal of developing novel therapeutic strategies for type 1 diabetes. In her free time, she enjoys reading, hiking, cycling and taking on new challenges.
Liisa graduated with a bachelor’s degree in molecular biology from the University of Tartu and is currently enrolled as a master’s student in Genetics and Molecular Biosciences at the University of Helsinki. She joined the lab as part of the HiLIFE Research Project. Her project aims to characterize the effect of MANF and its mimetic compounds on insulin-resistant liver cells and thereby investigate the potential of MANF therapeutics in type 2 diabetes. Besides lab work, she enjoys cooking, hiking and playing board or video games.
Sari studied biotechnology at the Espoo-Vantaa Institute of Technology. She works as a laboratory technician in the Lindahl and Saarma groups, making sure everything in the lab runs smoothly. Alongside taking care of everyday lab routines, she also helps in research projects with different cell and molecular biology techniques. Outside the lab, she enjoys pilates, the gym, outdoor adventures with her dog, and relaxing with some knitting.