Jette is an Assistant Professor at the University of Helsinki (Finland) since 2021 and at the Karolinska Institutet (Sweden) since 2023.
Jette did her graduate studies at the ETH Zurich (Switzerland) focusing on asymmetric cell division in the lab of Prof. Yves Barral. This work started her interest in stem cells. Jette performed her postdoctoral studies at the MIT (US) in the lab of Prof. Angelika Amon, where she discovered cellular enlargement as an aging factor of blood stem cells.
Her independent research team is investigating how blood stem cells fail to maintain their functions during aging and leukemia. She was awarded the ERC Starting Grant in 2024.
jette.lengefeld@helsinki.fi
Soham did his bachelor’s in Biotechnology from Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University (New Delhi, India), finishing 12th best of all India in his discipline. He pursued his master’s in Molecular and Cellular Biology from Ludwig Maximilians University (Munich, Germany). Scientifically, his interest lies in understanding how cells regulate their size and the implications of size regulation. In his free time, he loves to boulder, hike, and mingle with people.
Congratulations, Soham! He received a University-funded doctoral candidate position for 3 years by the Doctoral Programme in Biomedicine.
soham.bharadwaj@helsinki.fi
Emilie did her doctoral studies in Toulouse (CBI, France) working on the regulation of ribosome biogenesis by the MAPK signaling pathway in the Henry/Henras lab. She has been attracted to the study of cellular aging since her early university years. She now wishes to elucidate the underlying mechanisms that connect changes in HSC size to their dysfunction during age-related diseases.
Congratulations, Emilie! She received a certificate of excellence by EMBO!
emilie.cerezo@helsinki.fi
Di completed his undergraduate studies in Clinical Medicine at Hunan Normal University in Changsha, China. He then pursued a master’s degree in Internal Medicine from Fudan University in Shanghai, China. Di will join us in October 2023 to understand the relationship between cell size, aging and metabolism.
Congratulations, Di! He is funded by iCANDOC Doctoral Pilot Programme.
di.wu@helsinki.fi
Noel completed his undergraduate studies in Biology from the University of Salamanca (Spain). After earning his master degree in cell biology at the University of Geneva (Switzerland), he moved to the University of Trento (Italy) to pursue his PhD in synthetic biology in the Mansy lab. Then, he transitioned to the Ludwig Maximilians University-Munich (Germany) as a postdoctoral researcher in the Braun lab. Throughout both his PhD and postdoc periods, he used different approaches to construct synthetic cells to gain a deeper understanding of the fundamental principles of living cells. Now, his research interest centers on investigating the role of stem cells in leukemia.
noel.yehmartin@helsinki.fi
Elina finished her bachelors and master’s degrees in Cell and Molecular Biology at the University of Jyväskylä, Finland. She works as a laboratory coordinator with versatile tasks from coordinating and integrating lab resources to technical experimental support. Elina’s research project focuses on identifying factors that rejuvenate HSCs. Outside the lab Elina is a live music-enthusiast, cat lover, gamer and an outdoors person. She is also a licensed swim instructor, cocktail bartender and a former sushi chef in case there is a need.
elina.hurskainen@helsinki.fi
Jonah Anderson earned his Bachelor and Masters in Life Science & Technology at Leiden University and Delft University of Technology (the Netherlands) with a focus on cell biology. His scientific interests lie with the mechanisms of aging. He will be studying the connection between cellular enlargement and aging in human samples.
jonah.anderson@ki.se
I completed my Bachelor’s degree in Biology at the University of Leipzig in Germany and am currently completing my Master’s degree in Biochemistry/Biomedicine with a specialization in Hematology. In order to broaden my knowledge and opportunities, I have decided to go abroad after graduation and aim to start my PhD soon. Scientifically, I am particularly interested in the field of cancer and stem cell research.
anastasiya.pak@ki.se
Laura is a postdoctoral researcher in Jette Lengefeld’s lab and Esa Pitkänen’s group. In her current project she will focus on cell size variability among healthy donors in FinnGen and hematological patients utilizing multi-omics data. Before, she did a postdoc in Outi Kilpivaara’s and Ulla Wartiovaara-Kautto’s Hematological Genetics lab, and Esa Pitkänen’s Machine Learning in Biomedicine group within an iCAN subproject. There her research focused on understanding how leukemias arise from premalignant conditions utilizing single-cell sequencing data and TP53 variant status of single-cells. She received her PhD in computer science in the field of data mining (University of Helsinki), and her MSc and BSc in bioinformatics (Friedrich Schiller University in Jena, Germany).
Congratulations, Laura! She is co-funded by HiLIFE.
Emilie has a PhD in Neuroscience from Aix-Marseille University, France. She studied neurodegeneration in the context of aging and Parkinson’s disease. She broadened her professional experience as a scientific training specialist as a scientific project manager in a startup.
She is a very interesting question regarding aging and age-related diseases. In Jette’s team, she will explore the mechanisms underlying blood stem cell aging: does the microenvironment impact cell size during aging?
When not nurturing her insatiable curiosity with science, she is enjoying her life in Finland with her husband, her 18 month-old daughter and her 2 cats. They love hiking, dancing to kpop or latino music and board games.
Vandhana completed her Bachelor’s degree in Biotechnology from Vellore Institute of Technology, Vellore, India. At present, she is pursuing her masters in the GMB program at UH. Her academic achievements include an AIR 28 in a national-level Life sciences examination in India. She is highly interested in the fields of Cell and Molecular Biology and Structural Bioinformatics. She has joined the Stem Cell Size lab as a research trainee. Apart from academics, she loves doing various artistic works especially pencil sketching as well as cooking.
vandhana.sundarusha@helsinki.fi
Panos completed his Bachelor’s degree in Molecular Biology and Biotechnology from the University of Crete, Greece. After the completion of his undergraduate studies, Panos moved in Helsinki, Finland for a semester as an Erasmus+ student, and then in Cologne, Germany for an Erasmus+ internship, focusing on stem cell research and neurogenetics. Eventually, he moved back to Helsinki to pursue his Master’s degree in Genetics and Molecular Biosciences at the University of Helsinki. His main research interests focus on stem cells aging, cancer and genetics. Outside the lab, he enjoys outdoor activities, playing basketball, and reading. He also volunteers with international student organizations in Finland and abroad.
Send us your CV, list of publications, motivation letter including a description of your research interests, and the names and telephone numbers of at least two referees at this email address: jette.lengefeld@helsinki.fi
We are looking forward to your applications!