Principal investigator, Docent in Microbiology
Office 3210 (Biocenter 1)
email: jenni.hultman@helsinki.fi
tel: +358-2941-57111, +358-50-4487041
My main research interest in molecular microbial ecology with special interest in warming arctic region. I endeavor to determine functions and interactions of the microbial communities in order to understand how microbes in the arctic soils respond to the warming on a molecular scale. In addition in my lab I want to understand how microbial activity and resulting GHG production, or consumption, are altered upon thaw and upon resulting increase in nutrients. My lab’s research is interdisciplinary, combining cutting edge high-throughput sequencing technologies, genetics of microorganisms, bioinformatics and development of new techniques to the study the genetic response of microbes to different environmental conditions.
Postdoctoral Researcher in the Arctic Microbial Ecology group
Department of Microbiology
PO BOX 56 (Viikinkaari 9)
FI-00014 University of Helsinki, Finland
Phone: +358-2941-59317
Email: igor.pessi at helsinki.fi
Postdoctoral Researcher in the Arctic Microbial Ecology group
Department of Microbiology
PO BOX 56 (Viikinkaari 9)
FI-00014 University of Helsinki, Finland
Phone: +358-2941-59317
Email: eeva.eronen-rasimus at helsinki.fi
PhD student in the Arctic Microbial Ecology group. My PhD is about functions and activity of soil microbial communities in the changing Arctic.
email: sirja.viitamaki@helsinki.fi
I am a postdoc in the Arctic microbial ecology group.
Due to global warming, permafrost is thawing fast, providing large amounts of carbon and nutrients for activated microbes. Through microbial metabolism, greenhouse gases are released into the atmosphere, accelerating climate change. The focus of my postdoctoral project is on the diversity of microbial viruses residing in permafrost and their impact on host microbes in the realm of global warming. I will analyse metagenomic and metatranscriptomic datasets obtained from permafrost samples and isolate new viruses from such samples. A specific focus of my research is on archaeal viruses, as methanogenic archaea are the sole biological producers of methane on our planet and thus are key carbon cyclers. The proposed project is expected to provide novel information on virus-host interactions in thawing permafrost, helping to understand the extent of microbial feedback to climate change.
Renata stated as an intern in March 2021 and continues with her MSc thesis on winter time microbial activity on tundra. She is also analyzing GHG fluxes from the below snow communities with Christina Biasi from Universisty of Eastern Finland.
Alvar started his MSc thesis on fungal genomes from tundra metagenomes in June 2021
Tanja Orpana, research assistant 2018-2019
Colin Smith, intern and MSc student together with the Jet Prepulsion lab 2019-2020
Aino Rutanen, research assistant and MSc student 2018-2020
Heli Marttila, research assistant and MSc student 2018-2020