Faculty of Medicine
Human Microbiome Research Program (HUMI)
P.O. / Box 21
Haartmaninkatu 3
00290 University of Helsinki
Finland
HELMI reasearch contact information:
Principal investigator, Director of Human Microbiome Research Program
PhD, Docent
Anne Salonen has multidisciplinary training in biosciences and PhD in molecular virology (2004). She has studied human microbiomes since 2007. Her current research focuses on early life microbiota, microbiota-driven dietary response stratification and the role of vaginal microbiota in obstetric and gynaecological health.
Contact information:
Emeritus Professor of Human Microbiomics and co-Principal Investigator of the HELMI birth cohort
Post-doctoral researcher
Katri Korpela has PhDs in ecology (2014) and microbiology (2016). She is responsible for developing and applying bioinformatic tools for microbiota analysis and data integration in the group.
Post-doctoral researcher
Alise Ponsero is a microbiologist with a passion for data science! She received her PhD in microbiology from the University of Paris-Saclay (France), working on redox biology and protein secretion in the baker’s yeast. After her PhD, she pursued a second master’s degree in computer science to gain critical computational skills. She joined in 2018 the Dr. Hurwitz lab at the University of Arizona as a postdoctoral fellow, where she was involved in the development of cyberinfrastructures aiming to help microbiologists to share their data and run large-scale analyses on connected supercomputing resources. In 2021, she joined the group as a postdoctoral fellow working on the HELMi project. Her current research focuses on the development of bioinformatic tools to analyze massive metagenomic datasets, leveraging her expertise in both microbialogy and bioinformatics.
Post-doctoral researcher
Eveliina Hanski's (PhD, 2023) research focuses on the drivers and consequences of gut microbiota maturation in early life. In particular, she studies the relative importance of pre and post-natal factors on the developing gut community, as well as whether microbiota maturation trajectories predict health outcomes.
PhD
The focus of my phD project has been unraveling the interplay between the human intestinal microbiota, diet and intestinal barrier function in the context of non-alcoholic fatty liver diseases and type 2 diabetes, by both association studies (next-generation sequencing of bacterial 16S rRNA) and in vitro mechanistic studies.
PhD student
My project is based on HELMi cohort study data collected in this group. My study will focus on characterising the development of intestinal microbiota of infants ages 0-2 and how that relates to infant health. The main focus will be on the following effectors and their combinatory effects: birth mode, breastfeeding, antibiotics, probiotics and FUT2 genotype.
PhD student
My project is part of the Sweet Crosstalk International Training Network and will explore the interactions between the vaginal microbiota and the cervicovaginal mucus in terms of health, HPV infection, and infertility. In the scope of this project we will utilize next generation sequencing and mass spectrometry techniques coupled with bioinformatics.
My research interests fall within cancer biology, immunology & the microbiome project with direct clinical applications. In terms of studies I have significant interests in neurosciences, organic chemistry, and quantum mechanics
PhD student
I graduated from Savitribai Phule Pune University in India, with a M.Sc. degree in Biotechnology. I was introduced to the field of microbiome in my master's project, where I studied the effect of mild traumatic brain injury on gut microbiota dynamics. As an ESR in the Sweet Crosstalk network, my PhD project will utilize the HELMI cohort data to understand how glycans in mother milk affect infant immunity and their gut microbiome structure. I am interested in learning more about the data analysis of the 16S rRNA gene seq and animal experiments using murine models. In my leisure days I like to write, travel, experience the local culture and listen to music.
MD, PhD student
MD, PhD student
M.Sc., Research Technician, HUMI-coordinator
Tuomas (M.Sc.; B.Eng.) has worked as a Product Developer in dietary supplement industry and as a Research Technician in the University of Helsinki. His research has focused mainly on human microbiology and clinical nutrition.
Bachelor student
Anni is a bachelor student in molecular bioscience from Viikki campus. She holds an MA from Education but has switched over to natural sciences after discovering that her true calling is located under a microscope. She is eager to learn as much as possible about working in laboratory during her summer training period in Salonen group. Anni is interested in human microbiome and its connections to health and well being.