People

• Research Program Director of the Cell & Tissue Dynamics Research Program (2022-), Institute of Biotechnology, University of Helsinki (Finland)
• Research Director (2022-), Institute of Biotechnology, University of Helsinki (Finland)
• Assistant/Associate Professor (2013-2021), Institute of Biotechnology, University of Helsinki (Finland)
• Maître-Assistant in Evo-Devo with Prof. M.C. Milinkovitch (2010-2013), University of Geneva (Switzerland)
• Postdoctoral Fellow in Evo-Devo with Prof. D. Duboule (2005-2009), University of Geneva (Switzerland)
• PhD in Life Sciences with Prof. W. Wahli (2005), University of Lausanne (Switzerland)

Complete researcher profile and publications on the University of Helsinki research database.

Kaisa did her PhD at the Institute of Biotechnology, University of Helsinki, where she studied the maturation and injury response in the corneal epithelium of zebrafish. She is now coordinating the multiple lab activities and helping with ongoing research on Evo-Devo.

Selected publications:

• Ikkala K, Raatikainen S, Koivula H & Michon F. Zebrafish cornea formation and homeostasis reveal a slow maturation process, similarly to terrestrial vertebrates' corneas. Frontiers in Physiology 13: 906155 (2022). (Article)
• Ikkala K, Raatikainen S & Michon F. Zebrafish Corneal Wound Healing: From Abrasion to Wound Closure Imaging Analysis. The Journal of Visualized Experiments 1: 181 (2022). (Article)
• Ikkala K, Stratoulias V & Michon F. Unilateral zebrafish corneal injury induces bilateral cell plasticity supporting wound closure. Scientific Reports 12(1): 161 (2022). (Article)

Kaisa's profile and publications on the University of Helsinki research database.

Simone obtained a Master’s degree in Cell and Developmental Biology at the University of Pisa (Italy) and a PhD degree in Neuroscience at the University of Helsinki in March 2022. He now continues working on brain evo-devo as a Postdoctoral Researcher in our Lab.

Selected publications:

• Macrì S & Di-Poï N. The SmARTR pipeline: a modular workflow for the cinematic rendering of 3D scientific imaging data. iScience 27(12): 111475 (2024). (Article)
• Ollonen J, Khannoon EK, Macrì S, Vergilov V, Kuurne J, Saarikivi J, Soukainen A, Aalto IM, Werneburg I, Diaz Jr RE & Di-Poï N. Dynamic evolutionary interplay between ontogenetic skull patterning and whole-head integration. Nature Ecology & Evolution (2024). (Article)
• Macrì S, Aalto IM, Allemand R & Di-Poï, N. Reconstructing the origin and early evolution of the snake brain. Science Advances 9(39): eadi6888 (2023). (Article)
• Macrì S, Savriama Y, Khan I & Di-Poï N. Comparative analysis of squamate brains unveils multi-level variation in cerebellar architecture associated with locomotor specialization. Nature Communications 10(1): 5560 (2019). (Article)

Simone's profile and publications on the University of Helsinki research database.

Kristen has extensive experience in developmental biology and has recently joined our lab as a Postdoctoral Researcher focusing on squamate evo-devo.

Selected publications:

• Kurtzeborn K, Kwon HN, Iaroshenko V, Faisal I, Ambrož M, Jin X, Qureshi T, Kupari J, Ihermann-Hella A, Väänänen J, Tyynismaa H, Boušová I, Park S, Kuure S. Comparative whole-genome transcriptome analysis in renal cell populations reveals high tissue specificity of MAPK/ERK targets in embryonic kidney. BMC Biology 20(1): 112 (2022). (Article)
• Kwon HN, Kurtzeborn K, Iaroshenko V, Jin X, Loh A, Escande-Beillard N, Reversade B, Park S & Kuure S. Omics profiling identifies the regulatory functions of the MAPK/ERK pathway in nephron progenitor metabolism. Development 149(19): dev200986 (2022). (Article)
• Li H, Kurtzeborn K, Kupari J, Gui Y, Siefker E, Lu B, Mätlik K, Olfat S, Montaño-Rodríguez AR, Huh SH, Costantini F, Andressoo JO & Kuure S. Postnatal prolongation of mammalian nephrogenesis by excess fetal GDNF. Development 148(10): dev197475 (2021). (Article)

Kristen's profile and publications on the University of Helsinki research database.

Maksim finished a PhD program in Cellular and Molecular Biology at the St Petersburg State University (Russia) in 2022 and obtained a PhD degree at the Zoological Institute of Russian Academy of Sciences. He has recently joined our lab as a postdoctoral researcher, specializing in bioinformatics.

Selected publications:

• Mikhailov KV, Karpov SA, Letcher P M, Lee PA, Logacheva MD, Penin AA, Nesterenko MA, Pozdnyakov IR, Potapenko EV, Sherbakov DY, Panchin YV & Aleoshin VV. Genomic analysis reveals cryptic diversity in aphelids and sheds light on the emergence of Fungi. Current Biology 32(21): 4607 (2022). (Article)
• Nesterenko M & Miroliubov A. From head to rootlet: comparative transcriptomic analysis of a rhizocephalan barnacle Peltogaster reticulata (Crustacea: Rhizocephala). F1000Research 11: 583 (2022). (Article)
• Nesterenko M, Shchenkov S, Denisova S & Starunov V. The digenean complex life cycle: phylostratigraphy analysis of the molecular signatures. Biological Communications 67(2): 65-87 (2022). (Article)

Maksim's profile and publications on the University of Helsinki research database.

Joni defended his PhD degree from our lab at the University of Helsinki in March 2024. He is currently continuing his project on Craniofacial Evo-Devo as a Postdoctoral researcher.

Selected publications:

• Ollonen J, Khannoon EK, Macrì S, Vergilov V, Kuurne J, Saarikivi J, Soukainen A, Aalto IM, Werneburg I, Diaz Jr RE & Di-Poï N. Dynamic evolutionary interplay between ontogenetic skull patterning and whole-head integration. Nature Ecology & Evolution (2024). (Article)
• Salomies L, Eymann J, Ollonen J, Khan I & Di-Poï N. The developmental origins of heterodonty and acrodonty as revealed by reptile dentitions. Science Advances 7(51): eabj7912 (2021). (Article)
• Da Silva FO, Fabre AC, Savriama Y, Ollonen J, Mahlow K, Herrel A, Müller J & Di-Poï N. The ecological origins of snakes as revealed by skull evolution. Nature Communications 9(1): 376 (2018). (Article)
• Ollonen J, Da Silva FO, Mahlow K & Di-Poï N Skull development, ossification pattern and adult shape in the emerging lizard model organism Pogona vitticeps: a comparative analysis with other squamates. Frontiers in Physiology 9: 278 (2018). (Article)

Joni's profile and publications on the University of Helsinki research database.

Daria obtained a Master’s degree in Evolutionary Biology at the Lomonosov Moscow State University (Russia). Her Master’s thesis on morphofunctional specialization and evolution of body structures in amniotes was conducted at at the Lomonosov Moscow State University (Russia) and Howard University (USA). She has been greatly interested on Evolutionary and Developmental Biology since her bachelor’s and is currently doing her PhD on Evo-Devo.

Selected publications:

• Razmadze D, Salomies L & Di-Poï, N. Squamates as a model to understand key dental features of vertebrates. Developmental Biology  516: 1-19 (2024). (Article)
• Diogo R, Razmadze D, Siomava N, Douglas N, Fuentes JSM & Duerinckx A. Musculoskeletal study of cebocephalic and cyclopic lamb heads illuminates links between normal and abnormal development, evolution and human pathologies. Scientific Reports 30(9): 991 (2019). (Article)
• Razmadze D, Panyutina AA & Zelenkov NV. Anatomy of the forelimb musculature and ligaments of Psittacus erithacus (Aves: Psittaciformes). Journal of Anatomy 233(4): 496-530 (2018). (Article)

Daria's profile and publications on the University of Helsinki research database.

Ida recently obtained her Master's degree in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology in our lab at the University of Helsinki. She is now starting her PhD studies on Craniofacial Evo-Devo.

Selected publications:

• Ollonen J, Khannoon EK, Macrì S, Vergilov V, Kuurne J, Saarikivi J, Soukainen A, Aalto IM, Werneburg I, Diaz Jr RE & Di-Poï N. Dynamic evolutionary interplay between ontogenetic skull patterning and whole-head integration. Nature Ecology & Evolution (2024). (Article)
• Macrì S, Aalto IM, Allemand R & Di-Poï, N. Reconstructing the origin and early evolution of the snake brain. Science Advances 9(39): eadi6888 (2023). (Article)

Caleb obtained his Master’s degree in Biological Sciences at the University of Manitoba, Canada. He is now working on Craniofacial Developmental Genetics as a PhD student.

Selected publications:

• Kurchaba N, Cassone BJ, Northam CT, Ardelli BF & LeMoine CMR. Effects of MP polyethylene microparticles on microbiome and inflammatory response of larval zebrafish. Toxics. 8(3): 55 (2020). (Article)
• Northam CT & LeMoine CMR. Metabolic regulation by the PGC-1α and PGC-1β coactivators in larval zebrafish (Danio rerio). Comp. Biochem. Physiol. A Mol. Integr. Physiol. 234: 60-67 (2019). (Article)
• Ugwuagbo KC, Maiti S, Omar A, Hunter S, Nault B, Northam CT & Majumder M. Prostaglandin E2 promotes embryonic vascular development and maturation in zebrafish. Biology Open. 8(4): bio039768 (2019). (Article)

Caleb's profile and publications on the University of Helsinki research database.

Killian obtained his Master’s degree in Systematics, Evolution and Paleontology at the Sorbonne University & National Museum of Natural History, France. He is now starting projects on Craniofacial EvoDevo as a PhD student.

Selected publications:

• Leblanc K, Pintore R, Galvão A, Heitz E, Provini P. Foot adaptation to climbing in ovenbirds and woodcreepers (Furnariida). J Anat. 242(4): 607-626 (2023). (Article)
• Fouquet A, Leblanc K, Framit M, Réjaud A, Rodrigues MT, Castroviejo-Fisher S, Peloso PLV, Prates I,..., Fabre AC. Species diversity and biogeography of an ancient frog clade from the Guiana Shield (Anura: Microhylidae: Adelastes, Otophryne, Synapturanus) exhibiting spectacular phenotypic diversification. Biol. J. Linn. Soc. 132(2): 233-256 (2021). (Article)

Killian's profile and publications on the University of Helsinki research database.

Fabien obtained a joint Master’s degree in Paleontology at the Ecole Normale Supérieure de Lyon (France) and Institute of Biotechnology (Finland), working on the evolution of vertebrate tooth complexity using fossil and modern data. He is currently continuing this project as a PhD student.

Selected publications:

Lafuma F, Corfe IJ, Clavel J & Di-Poï N. Multiple evolutionary origins and losses of tooth complexity in squamates. Nature Communications 12: 6001 (2021). (Article)

Fabien's profile and publications on the University of Helsinki research database.

Juuso studies in the Master´s Programme in Life Science Technologies at Aalto University, specializing on complex systems and network science. He is currently doing his Master thesis on Evo-Devo in our lab under the supervision of Daria Razmadze.

Laura studies in the Master's Programme in Genetics and Molecular Biosciences. She is currently doing her internship and Master thesis on Evo-Devo in our lab under the supervision of Kristen.

Linn studies in the Master's Programme in Genetics and Molecular Biosciences. She is currently doing her internship and Master thesis on Evo-Devo in our lab under the supervision of Daria.

Ann-Christine Aho and Maria Partanen (Faculty of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Helsinki) are involved in the management and care of reptile species in our lab.