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.

Igor Pessi

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

ResearchGate

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Eeva Eronen-Rasimus

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

Research gate

Sirja Viitamäki

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

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Aino Rutanen

I am working on my MSc thesis on microbial genomes assembled from arctic soils in Rastegaissa, Norway.

aino.rutanen at helsinki.fi

tel +358-2941 59295

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Colin Smith

I am an intern in Arctic Microbial Ecology group and work on metagenomics and metatranscriptomics of Alaskan permafrost.

Tatiana Demina

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.