Saija has MSc on biotechnology from the University of Turku, and she received her PhD titled “Molecular Biology, Genetics and Applications of Yersiniophages” at the University of Turku in 2006. She worked as post-doctoral researcher on cell entry mechanisms of picornaviruses in 2006-2009 and molecular mechanisms of MuA transposition in 2009-2014, both at the University of Turku. She joined the Helsinki Phage Therapy group in 2015 and obtained her Title of Docent in Microbial Genetics at the University of Turku in 2018. Her research interests include virus-host interactions, phage genetics and phage therapy in both humans and animals.
Henni is a Ph.D. researcher at the Doctoral program in Microbiology and Biotechnology, University of Helsinki. Her research concentrates on studying the factors that affect Phage treatment in human and animal use, using zoonotic Staphylococcus aureus, Enterococcus faecalis, and Enterococcus faecium as model organisms. Since 2016, she has been highly involved in developing phage therapy in Finland. This work has included participation in producing phage therapy products for patients and animal trials, optimization of the manufacturing processes, and characterization of new phages, with a particular interest in phage-host interactions. In addition to studying phages, she is actively involved in the supervision of Master’s and Bachelor’s work training periods and thesis works.
Sheetal is completing her doctoral research in the Doctoral Programme in Clinical Research at the University of Helsinki, in collaboration with Karolinska Institute. Her PhD work focuses on factors that influence the success of bacteriophage therapy for pathogens such as Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus, with particular emphasis on orthopaedic infections. She has been involved in isolating and characterizing novel phages, developing high-throughput susceptibility testing methods, and investigating phage defense mechanisms, which help to better understand how bacteria resist phage infections. Sheetal is also actively engaged in projects targeting other antimicrobial-resistant pathogens and is committed to advancing phage therapy as a potential solution for infections resistant to conventional antibiotics. In addition to her research, she mentors students and collaborates on interdisciplinary projects aimed at addressing the growing challenge of antimicrobial resistance.
Kira joined Phage Therapy Group in January 2019. In September 2019, Kira began her hospital microbiologist specialization, first in Oulu and later in Helsinki. Currently Kira is completing her specialization studies and alongside working on her PhD. Her PhD work focuses on characterizing phages that could be suitable for phage therapy and to identify possible features in bacteria that could cause phage resistance.
Hanna is a pharmacist (BSc, specialised in industrial pharmacy) with a MSc in pharmaceutical development from the University of Helsinki and a long experience in GMP-level hospital compounding. She joined the group in autumn 2024 as a PhD researcher on the RESILIENCE project. In her research, she analyses and develops methods for the safe production of therapy-level phage products that meet pharmaceutical quality standards, with a focus on target bacteria relevant to biological warfare. Additionally, she studies the potential of wound dressings and hydrogels as carriers for phages and evaluates their applicability as pharmaceutical excipients.
Peppi is a PhD student and veterinarian in Claudio Oliviero's PHAGEPIG cooperation project with Kiljunen group. In PHAGEPIG project the aim is to detect ETEC strains from diarrhotic post weaned pigs and find phages that infect the strains. Peppi has started her work in the project during 2024.
Inge is working as a laboratory analyst in a collaboration project with Nina Lindfors studying the effects of bone substitutes on bacteria and developing novel means for phage application with a special interest in orthopaedic infections.
Soile joined the Phage therapy laboratory in 2024. She received BSc in Pharmacy from University of Helsinki in 2019 and has since gained extensive experience in pharmaceutical manufacturing in hospital pharmacies. She works as pharmacist/laboratory technician in the RESILIENCE project and participates in the quality and GMM management.
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