People

Principal investigator

Professor of Translational Medicine, Department of Biochemistry and Developmental Biology and Translational Cancer Medicine Program (CAN-PRO)

Director, Wihuri Research Institute

Director, HelVi-AAV Gene Transfer and Cell Therapy Core Facility

Professor, Uppsala University

Postdoctoral researcher

I joined the Mäkinen lab as a postdoctoral researcher in 2015 in Uppsala, and relocated with the lab to Helsinki in early 2025. I have a background in developmental biology and vascular biology, and my research focuses on the role of lymphatic endothelium in organ-specific homeostasis and inflammation. 

PhD student

I joined the Mäkinen lab in Uppsala in December 2023, and relocated to Helsinki in early 2025 to start my doctoral studies within the iCANDOC program. Before joining the lab, I completed my studies in India, where I worked on cardiovascular regeneration and collateral artery formation in neonatal mice in Bangalore. Additionally, I joined briefly the European Center for Angioscience in Mannheim to study the role of endothelial cell-cardiomyocyte cross talk during heart development. Currently I am particularly interested in the study of lymphatic vasculature in a pathophysiological context. 

Postdostoral researcher

I recently completed my PhD in Ralf Adams’ research group at the Max Planck Institute for Molecular Biomedicine, Germany. My PhD work focused on investigating the molecular and functional heterogeneity in bone endothelial cells. In September 2024 I joined Mäkinen lab as a postdoc, and now I focus on the characterization of lymphatic capillary endothelial cells. Outside of the confocal room, I enjoy photography and traveling.

University Researcher at the University of Helsinki

Researcher (Bioinformatician) at WRI

I got my Ph.D. in Pathology and M.Sc. in Human Genetics from the University of Helsinki. After my Ph.D., I worked as a postdoc and later as an affiliated researcher in Professor Patrik Ernfors’ group at Karolinska Institutet. My research focused on neural crest biology, brain mesenchymal cells, and neuro-oncology. Currently, I am working on cutting-edge technologies in single-cell and spatial MultiOmics. I construct sequencing libraries and develop deep-learning-based bioinformatics methods for analysis. When I’m not working, I love running and trying out new recipes in the kitchen! 

Visiting scientist

I joined Taija as a senior researcher in Uppsala a few years back having a prior background as a PI at the Ludwig Institute for cancer research working on growth factor receptors. My expertise lies mainly in the in vitro and molecular direction. Still based mainly in Uppsala this year I will be in Helsinki more sporadically as a visiting scientist.

Postdoctoral researcher

I received my PhD in Molecular and Cell Biology in Prague with Lenka Rossmeislova on the interplay between adipose tissue and the lymphatic system. I joined the lab in 2023 in Uppsala and relocate to Helsinki in spring 2025. I am working on organ-specific collecting lymphatic vessel development.