Markku Varjosalo completed his Ph.D. in 2008 (Medical Systems Biology) in the laboratory of Professor Jussi Taipale. After this he continued his scientific career as a Marie Curie Postdoctoral Fellow in the research group of Professor Ruedi Aebersold in ETH Zurich, Switzerland. He has a strong background in genomics and proteomics.
Salla Keskitalo studied biotechnology in University of Kuopio and Medicinal and Industrial Pharmaceutical Sciences in ETH Zurich, Switzerland. Her research activities span from cancer biology to Alzheimer's disease. Currently she focuses on analyzing cellular signaling changes on a proteome level, concentrating on analyzing how the cellular informational flow is transmitted from the cell surface to the nucleus. Currently Salla works as the Laboratory Chief of the HiLIFE Proteomics Unit.
Xiaonan Liu did his PhD at the Institute of Biotechnology, University of Helsinki, where he studied the regulation of Hedgehog signaling pathway. His research focuses on the application of interactomics and phosphoproteomics to understand the complexities of genetic diseases and cancers associated with cellular organelles, especially in primary cilia and mitochondria.
Kari Salokas studied cell- and molecular biology and information technology at the university of Jyväskylä, yielding a background in imaging, virology, and data analysis pipelines. He completed his PhD in biochemistry in 2022 at the university of Helsinki, shifting focus from the wetlab towards proteomics data analysis and bioinformatics. He is currently interested in intracellular signaling, and what state of the art methods can tell us about it.
Erkka Järvinen earned his PhD in Pharmacy from the University of Helsinki in early 2020. Following this, he spent three years at the University of Southern Denmark in a translational pharmacology research group, where he developed cultures and assays for primary hepatocyte spheroids. Upon returning to Finland in 2023, he worked at the Faculty of Pharmacy with a personal grant before joining the Varjosalo lab in the summer of 2024. His current research focuses on using proteomics to identify clinical markers for diseases, particularly cancer, and developing biomarkers for drug therapies. Outside of work, Erkka enjoys playing ice hockey, floorball, and bouldering in the winter, and biking, bike trekking, and hiking in the summer.
Matias Kinnunen, studied biochemistry in the University of Helsinki. Grew an interest in systems biology and transcription factors during master's studies. Jumped into proteomics after graduation as the opportunity presented itself as a transcription factor related systems biology PhD project. Current interests lie in the interactome of transcription factors and transcription factor related fusions found in cancer. Outside work enjoys drawing and the occasional exercise. Matias defended from Varjosalo Lab in December 2023.
Dicle earned her bachelor's degree in Bioengineering from Yıldız Technical University in Istanbul. She then pursued both her master's and doctoral studies in the Molecular Biology-Genetics and Biotechnology Program at Istanbul Technical University. During her PhD research, she focused on identifying Nuclear Factor I (NFI) interaction partners in neuroblastoma. Subsequently, Dicle joined our group and continued her research in the Varjosalo Lab, further investigating the interactome of NFI transcription factors. Outside of her academic pursuits, Dicle enjoys spending time with her family and cats, as well as cooking and baking in her free time.
Iftekhar Chowdhury studied Biotechnology at the University of Helsinki. He has worked in several research groups researching extracellular vesicles, cancer genetics, epigenetics and gene therapy. He has acquainted himself with advanced cell biology, molecular biology, biochemical, immunohistochemical techniques and in vivo research (FELASA accredited). He developed an avid interest in proteomics. His graduate project aims to elucidate the human kinome protein interaction network for a global understanding of the human kinome signalling system and their cancer mutations. As an extra-curricular activity, Iftekhar enjoys working as a freelancing actor for international drama series and advertisement agencies.
Sini Huuskonen, MSc, is a dedicated researcher with a strong background in biochemistry. She earned her Master of Biochemistry from the University of Turku, where she delved into various research projects from researching integrin interactions in cancer to kinase functions related to mental health disorders. Her passion lies particularly in proteomics and understanding intricate and complex protein-protein interactions. Currently finalizing her PhD at the University of Helsinki, Sini's research focuses on the protein interactions between the viruses and host proteins, focusing on viruses such as SARS-CoV-2 and Avian Flu. Her research hold promise for shedding light on viral pathogenesis and potentially making the way for innovative therapeutic interventions for viral diseases.
Hey there, I'm Akshara C Urs, a PhD student. I plunge into the intricate world of protein interactions driving neuronal differentiation, all while navigating the labyrinth of my own existence, just like any other student! When I'm not knee-deep in cells and culture plates, you can catch me indulging in my passions: food, music, and dance. Let's groove through science and life together, one boogie at a time!
Giovanna completed her bachelor's in biotechnology and drug research at the University of Rijeka, followed by a master's in biomedicine at Uppsala University. In 2021, she was awarded the FIMM-EMBL international PhD student funding, allowing her to move to Helsinki and work in multiple labs. She joined the Varjosalo lab as a doctoral researcher where she is currently investigating the molecular function of oncofusions in oncogenesis. In her free time she likes to stay inside, watch a good series or read a book.
Andrea studied medical biotechnology at the University of Naples and completed two experimental theses in biochemistry. During his studies he has been actively involved in projects focused on glioblastoma biology and the evasion of this malignant tumor from the immune system. His research has been extensively centered on unconventional roles of PD-L1 in glioblastoma, highlighting a potential nuclear action. In 2022, he has been in Kuopio for a semester where he worked mostly with brain tumors patients’ samples. With a strong background in protein biochemistry and cancer biology, he has been selected as doctoral researcher through the iCAN flagship and decided to come back in Finland for his PhD. In Varjosalo lab, he is studying the oncogenic potential of transcription factor gene fusion in cancers, mainly evaluating the molecular interactions of such aberrant proteins through mass spectrometry and proteomics methodologies.
Yaxin Jing earned her Master's degree in Bioinformatics from the University of Copenhagen in Denmark. She joined the Varjosalo lab as a doctoral researcher through the iCAN flagship in 2024. Currently her research focuses on multi-omics data analysis, modeling, and machine learning in predictive oncology. Outside of work, she enjoys drawing, playing video games and traveling.
Hanna Vesikukka graduated with a Master’s degree in Molecular Biology and Genetics from the University of Oulu in 2024, focusing on immuno-oncology. A significant portion of her master's studies was completed in collaboration with Università di Pavia, Italy. She conducted a yearlong thesis-related internship at the Rheumatology and Clinical Immunology Laboratory at Humanitas Research Hospital in Milan. Her experimental thesis consisted of two parts: the first focused on verifying autoantibodies as tumor biomarkers in myositis patients, while the second aimed to establish a gold standard method for detecting Antisynthetase Syndrome (ASSD) biomarkers. Inspired by the potential of autoantibodies as cancer biomarkers, Hanna applied with her own research topic proposal and was selected as a doctoral researcher through the iCAN Flagship Program in 2025. In the Varjosalo Lab, her research will focus on detecting and validating autoantibodies as biomarkers in breast and colorectal cancer patients using mass spectrometry and proteomics. She will also develop and optimize a pipeline for antibody detection via mass spectrometry. In her free time, Hanna enjoys walking her dogs, running, meeting friends, and attending cultural events. She is also passionate about heavy metal music, painting, and cooking.
Tanja finished her Bachelor’s studies in 2021 after completing her thesis on optimizing sample preparation for the timsTOF 2 Pro mass spectrometer. She currently works with collaborator projects, the proteomics Core unit, and makes sure that the lab is running smoothly.
“Psst, I’m wearing ghost socks that glow in the dark!”
Antti studied laboratory sciences in Metropolia UAS.
Antti Nykänen studied biochemistry at University of York, UK, and University of Helsinki. Previous experience comes from biomedical research, mainly cancer biology, using biochemical and cell biology methods as well as animal models such as mice and Xenopus. He is now familiarizing himself with proteomic analysis using mass spectrometry, and systems biology in general. Other interests in science include epigenetics and weird RNAs.
Elina Niemelä did her PhD in biochemistry at the Institute of Biotechnology, University of Helsinki studying mRNA splicing and stability. Subsequenctly she has worked as a postdoctoral researcher in the Faculty of Medicine focusing on transcription regulation, epigenetics and metabolism, and has recently joined the Varjosalo lab to study protein kinases and their cancer-related mutations.
Helka Göös studied biochemistry in University of Eastern Finland in Kuopio. During her undergraduate studies she developed interest in protein chemistry and therefore decided to continue as a graduate student in the field of systems biology of the human transcription factor protein interactions.
Jaakko Teppo carried out his graduate project, focusing on the application of proteomics to preclinical drug discovery and development, in a collaboration between the Faculty of Pharmacy and the Institute of Biotechnology. Besides drug discovery and development, his research interests include single cell proteomics and multiomics integration.
Leena Yadav completed Masters of Science in Zoology (cell-biology as specialization) from University of Delhi, India. Her graduate project focuses on protein phosphatase associated molecular networks that are based protein protein interactions.
Lisa Gawriyski studied Bioinformatics at the University of Helsinki. Her interest is in both computational and biochemical work. Her graduate project focused on preimplantation development and multiomics exploration of some of the factors engaged in Embryonic Genome Activation. Lisa defended from Varjosalo Group in September 2023.
Rigbe Weldatsadik studied Information Systems as an undergraduate at Addis Ababa University, Ethiopia. She then completed her masters in Bioinformatics at Aalto University, Finland. Her graduate project focuses on the application of Pooled sequencing in variation detection and protein database creation in beta hemolytic streptococci.
Saara Laulumaa completed her PhD from University of Oulu, Finland, in 2016. For her thesis she studied structure and dynamics of myelin protein P2 and myelin mimicking membranes in the laboratory of Professor Petri Kursula. She joined Professor Jette Kastrup’s group in University of Copenhagen, Denmark, as a post-doctoral researcher, working with drug design for ligand-binding domains of ionotropic glutamate receptors in 2016-2019.
Sini Miettinen has been working in a molecular biology laboratory for over 15 years, and is familiar with several molecular biology techniques including cell culture, protein purification, DNA, RNA and protein gel analysis, PRC, qPCR, and DNA quantification techniques (cloning, transformation, transfection, cross linking, genotyping, making competent cells, staining of mouse embryos and tails, dehydration of mouse embryos). In addition Sini has worked with Illumina Next Gen sequencing instruments and automated liquid handling, and maintained several laboratory instruments. Sini used to take care of the Core Unit and mass spectrometers in the lab.
Tiina Öhman completed her PhD in 2006 in the laboratory of Professor Gahmberg in University of Helsinki. After this she worked as a post-doc in the protein chemistry laboratory at Institute of Biotechnology 2007-2015. She is specialized in modern mass spectrometry-based proteomic techniques, particularly quantitative proteomics and PTM analysis.
Yih Tyng (Rita) Bong studied Veterinary Medicine at National Pingtung University of Technology and Science in Taiwan, followed by a master's in Conservation Medicine at Tufts University, USA. She completed her Ph.D. in Integrative Pathobiology at the University of California, Davis, USA in 2021, focusing on environmental toxicopathology of microcystin and its effect on animals. She joined the Varjosalo lab in Finland in 2021 as a postdoctoral researcher, developing a proficiency in proteomics and data analysis using R. Her current project investigates the global interactome of uterine leiomyoma with MED12 G44D mutation, aiming to enhance our understanding of tumorigenesis and identify potential treatment alternative through drug repurposing.