Federica Valerio - Postdoctoral researcher

I have a PhD in Genetic and Molecular Biology from the University of Pavia, Italy (2021).

I am now working on a comparative genomics project aiming at characterizing the genomic diversity of Wolbachia in various insects, their phylogenetic relationship and evolutionary history.

Twitter: @Federica_Vale

Camila S. Beraldo - PhD student

I have a BSc in Biological Sciences (2016) and a MSc in Ecology (2018) from the University of Sao Paulo, Brazil. For my PhD, I work on the diversity, transmission, and evolution of symbionts in the insect community associated to Plantago lanceolata in the Aland islands, Finland. My research combines fieldwork and experiments in the laboratory with molecular work. I am funded by LUOVA, and co-supervised by Prof. Saskya van Nouhuys at IISc, India.  Twitter: @camilasberaldo

Elina Hanhimaki - Technical assistant

I am a microbiologist enthusiast with an interest in the versatile connections between animals and their associated microbiota. I have a BSc degree in Biology (2018) and a MSc degree in Genetics (2021) from the University of Oulu, Finland. I completed both degrees by studying gut microbiota diversity. I am now a Technical assistant in the ISEE lab, investigating variation in microbiota and metagenomic data.

Uxue R. Rodriguez - Research assistant / Master student

I am interested in plant symbiosis, evolution and adaptation. I graduated in genetics in Barcelona and joined a Master program in plant biology at the University of Helsinki. I first joined the ISEE lab as a research assistant in the lab and now study the quadripartite interaction between insect, their symbionts, their host plant, and plant viral pathogens. Project co-supervised by Dr. Hanna Susi from the University of Helsinki. Twitter: @Urezola

Julian Schach - Master student

I have a BSc degree in Ecology from the University of Calgary. I am interested in insect ecology and evolution, and I am excited to further explore host-symbiont interactions in Cotesia parasitoid wasps.

Project co-supervised by Dr. Federica Valerio, the University of Helsinki.

Sanna Korhonen - Master student

I am currently a MSc’s student in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of Helsinki. I wrote my BSc’s thesis on how insects protect themselves against parasitoids at different life stages and I am interested in host-parasite interactions in a braod ecological sense. For my MSc’s these in the ISEE lab, I will test the potential role of parasitic mites in the horizontal transfer of Wolbachia in Damselflies.

Past Members

Valeria Valanne - Research assistant (2023)

Adrian Colino Barea - Research assistant (2023)

Andrew House - Research assistant (2022)

Rebekka Kukowski - Research assistant (2022)

Jenny Malmberg - MSc

Completed her Master’s thesis in ISEE on the effect of male-male competition and sex-ratio distortion on females’ reproductive organs in butterflies.

Project co-supervised by Dr. Pasi Sihvonen at LUOMUS natural history museum, Helsinki.

Work published HERE.

Now: High school educator in Helsinki

Susanna Linna - MSc

Completed her MSc’s studies in Genetics and Molecular Biosciences at the University of Helsinki in 2022. MSc’s thesis in ISEE on the microbiota of caterpillars from natural habitats with different degrees of anthropogenic degradation.

Now: work at Orion Oy in Helsinki

Arttu Saarinen - BSc

Completed his BSc’s training in Ecology in ISEE, and investigated the role of Wolbachia in speciation.

Now: MSc’s student in Ecology and Evolutionary Bio in Helsinki

Mikael Englund - BSc

Joined the ISEE in the Spring 2020 to complete training in Ecology. Investigated symbiotic infections in weevils.

Now: PhD student in Helsinki

Cornelia Martel - MSc

Completed her Master’s thesis in 2020. In the ISEE lab she investigated ancestry and the favoured ecological routes of transfer of various endosymbionts between different species of a unique insect community.                                Twitter: @cecmartel1

Now: working for the dairy company Skanemejerier, Sweden

Junchen Deng - MSc

Completed his Master’s thesis in ISEE in 2020. He investigated the biogeography of Wolbachia in European Damselflies. Co-supervised by Prof. Erik Svenson from Lund University. Work published HERE.

Now: PhD candidate at the Jagiellonski University of Krakow, Poland, in the lab of Piotr Lukasik.                                                                 Twitter: @JunchenDeng

Daniel Blande - postdoc (2019)

Bio-informatician now working in Kuopio, Finland. In the ISEE group, he was in charge of developing methods for metagenome analyses. Work published here.

Olivera Stojilovic - Intern (2019)                                      Aude Giraud - Intern (2019)

LinkedIn                                                                       Link

Isa Bengzon - BSc

Completed her Bachelor studies at the Lund University, with a project in the group investigating strain diversity in the Wolbachia infecting Russian Melitaea butterflies. LinkedIn

Meri Lahteenaro - BSc

Meri joined the group in the spring 2017 to complete her training program in Ecology. She investigated the protective role of overwintering nests in the Glanville fritillary  butterfly, Melitaea cinxia. The results of her project were published in the Journal Ecology and Evolution.                 Twitter: @MLahteenaro

Now: PhD studies at the University of stockholm, Sweden. webPage              

Carolina Sánchez Carpena - ERASMUS

Zana Sinko - Professional school lab trainee

Ekaterina Pylsy - Professional school lab trainee

Opinnäytetyö-Ekaterina Pylsy.docx (In Finnish, with Abstract in English)

Szabolcs Péterfi  - Professional school lab trainee

Shravya Kadali - Master student

Shravya worked on a joint project with Prof. Ayco Tack from the Stockholm University. She investigated the symbiont community within the insect food-web of oak trees.

Minna Kohonen - Summership

Completed her training program in Ecology in 2015. She investigated the potential for Wolbachia to protect its host against hyperparasitoid. Work published in the Journal of Experimental Biology.

Now: Master’s student in Ecology and Evolutionary Bio at the University of Helsinki