Team members
Kati Hanhineva, professor, group leader
Kati Hanhineva, professor, group leader
Kati Hanhineva, professor, group leader
Contact: kati.hanhineva[at]utu.fi
Kati Hanhineva is professor in food development with special focus on Nordic foods and health effects at the University of Turku, Department of Life Technologies, Food Sciences unit. She also holds Research Director position at the School of Public Health and Clinical Nutrition at the University of Eastern
Contact: kati.hanhineva[at]utu.fi
Kati Hanhineva is professor in food development with special focus on Nordic foods and health effects at the University of Turku, Department of Life Technologies, Food Sciences unit. She also holds Research Director position at the School of Public Health and Clinical Nutrition at the University of Eastern Finland. Her main research focus is within the biochemistry of foods, especially phytochemical compounds and the effect of food processing such as fermentation on their composition. Likewise, molecular level understanding of the role of nutrition in maintaining good health, and food-microbiota interaction are within the core of the research. The key analytical technology at the different stages of research is the mass-spectrometry based metabolic profiling that her group has developed and utilized for various food and nutrition related applications, in particular within projects related to the beneficial health effect of whole grain rich diets.
Matti Ruuskanen, University Lecturer
Kati Hanhineva, professor, group leader
Kati Hanhineva, professor, group leader
Contact: matti.ruuskanen[at]utu.fi
My background is in environmental microbiology, which I studied during my MSc studies at University of Helsinki, and in my PhD at University of Ottawa in Canada. I recently completed my postdoc in computational health sciences with Prof. Leo Lahti at University of Turku. My current research topics inclu
Contact: matti.ruuskanen[at]utu.fi
My background is in environmental microbiology, which I studied during my MSc studies at University of Helsinki, and in my PhD at University of Ottawa in Canada. I recently completed my postdoc in computational health sciences with Prof. Leo Lahti at University of Turku. My current research topics include microbiome data science, and connections of human microbiomes with both health and chronic diseases. Outside of science, I spend time with my family at friends, make music, dance, and do various outdoor activities.
Ville Koistinen, postdoc
Kati Hanhineva, professor, group leader
Ville Koistinen, postdoc
Contact: ville.koistinen[at]utu.fi
I did my Master's in Pharmaceutical Chemistry at the University of Eastern Finland. Currently, I am working as a post doc in both the University of Eastern Finland and the University of Turku as well as the COO at Afekta. My research topics and interests are closely related to the identification of metabo
Contact: ville.koistinen[at]utu.fi
I did my Master's in Pharmaceutical Chemistry at the University of Eastern Finland. Currently, I am working as a post doc in both the University of Eastern Finland and the University of Turku as well as the COO at Afekta. My research topics and interests are closely related to the identification of metabolites, particularly phytochemicals, in various studies ranging from food science to clinical nutrition and multi-omics approaches. During my free time, I spend time at the gym, with my cats and other friends, or with collectables.
Marjo Tuomainen, postdoc
Kati Hanhineva, professor, group leader
Ville Koistinen, postdoc
Contact: marjo.tuomainen[at]uef.fi
I have PhD in biotechnology. I am interested in lifestyle changes and food and on human health and role of gut microbiota modifying the effect. I am experienced in targeted and non-targeted metabolomics analyses.
Iman Zarei, postdoc
Topi Meuronen, postdoc
Topi Meuronen, postdoc
Contact: iman.zarei[at]uef.fi
I am currently a postdoctoral fellow at the Institute of Public Health and Clinical Nutrition, UEF. Prior to arriving to Finland, I completed my PhD in Human Nutrition, minor in Molecular Biology & Biotechnology at the University of the Philippines joined with Colorado State University, USA, in 2018. My PhD re
Contact: iman.zarei[at]uef.fi
I am currently a postdoctoral fellow at the Institute of Public Health and Clinical Nutrition, UEF. Prior to arriving to Finland, I completed my PhD in Human Nutrition, minor in Molecular Biology & Biotechnology at the University of the Philippines joined with Colorado State University, USA, in 2018. My PhD research focused on identification of dietary biomarkers in cereal bran using metabolomics from human intervention studies in adults and children and determination of cereal bran property in inhibiting bacterial pathogenicity in mouse cell line. I also worked over three years as a researcher/PhD scholar at the Grain Quality and Nutrition Center as well as the Genetic Transformation Laboratory at the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) in the Philippines. My work at IRRI included rice metabolomics, identification rice varieties with high protein content, and genetic modifications of rice for vitamin A (Golder Rice project) and iron and zinc bio-fortification. I did my master’s degree in Biochemistry at the University of Pune, India. I received my B.S. in Cellular and Molecular Biology & Biochemistry in Iran. Ice-swimming, cross-country skiing, and cooking have been my constant, and hopefully life-long passions. I am also inspired by helping better peoples’ lives.
Topi Meuronen, postdoc
Topi Meuronen, postdoc
Topi Meuronen, postdoc
Contact: topi.meuronen[at]utu.fi
I did my Master’s in Biomedicine at the University of Eastern Finland and completed my PhD studies at the Institute of Public Health and Clinical Nutrition at the University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio in 2022. My research interests are closely related to use of metabolomics and lipidomics approaches to stud
Contact: topi.meuronen[at]utu.fi
I did my Master’s in Biomedicine at the University of Eastern Finland and completed my PhD studies at the Institute of Public Health and Clinical Nutrition at the University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio in 2022. My research interests are closely related to use of metabolomics and lipidomics approaches to study the effects of various dietary exposures, e.g. dietary fats, whole grain products, and plant protein sources, on both humans and animals models. In my free time, I like to spend time with my friends doing outdoor activities including cross country skiing and cycling.
Veera Houttu, postdoc
Topi Meuronen, postdoc
Veera Houttu, postdoc
Contact: veera.houttu[at]utu.fi
I obtained my PhD degree in Amsterdam UMC at the University of Amsterdam focusing on the role of gut microbiota, dietary and exercise therapy in patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. I have Master’s degree in clinical nutrition and I am registered dietitian/nutritionist. Thereby my expertise
Contact: veera.houttu[at]utu.fi
I obtained my PhD degree in Amsterdam UMC at the University of Amsterdam focusing on the role of gut microbiota, dietary and exercise therapy in patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. I have Master’s degree in clinical nutrition and I am registered dietitian/nutritionist. Thereby my expertise lies in conducting clinical studies and clinical nutrition in combination with gut microbiota and metabolism in metabolic diseases such as NAFLD. Currently, I am coordinating and conducting the Newplant dietary intervention in Hanhineva’s lab at the University of Turku. Apart from science, I enjoy spending time with my family and friends as well as doing sports. I am also very adventurous and therefore I enjoy travelling and learning about new cultures.
Ambrin Farizah Babu, postdoc
Retu Haikonen, doctoral candidate
Hany Ahmed, doctoral candidate
Contact: ambrin.babu[at]uef.fi
I earned my PhD in Nutrition from the University of Eastern Finland, where I contributed to the BestTreat project (www.besttreat.eu). My doctoral research focused on using a non-targeted metabolomics approach to investigate the effects of lifestyle interventions on Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD).
Contact: ambrin.babu[at]uef.fi
I earned my PhD in Nutrition from the University of Eastern Finland, where I contributed to the BestTreat project (www.besttreat.eu). My doctoral research focused on using a non-targeted metabolomics approach to investigate the effects of lifestyle interventions on Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD). Prior to this, I obtained a Master’s degree in Molecular Life Sciences from the University of Lausanne, Switzerland.
Currently, my post-doc work focuses on leveraging metabolomics to explore how dietary exposures influence metabolic health in animal models and translating these insights to human health. My research interests include gut microbial metabolomics and the development of advanced machine learning methods for analyzing complex biological data.
Hany Ahmed, doctoral candidate
Retu Haikonen, doctoral candidate
Hany Ahmed, doctoral candidate
Contact: hany.ahmed[at]utu.fi
I obtained my MSc. in nutritional science together with a licensure of nutritionist from the University of Eastern Finland in 2019. Since 2020, I have pursued a PhD degree in food chemistry at the University of Turku. My research interest is in human health and metabolomics approaches utilizing both untargeted
Contact: hany.ahmed[at]utu.fi
I obtained my MSc. in nutritional science together with a licensure of nutritionist from the University of Eastern Finland in 2019. Since 2020, I have pursued a PhD degree in food chemistry at the University of Turku. My research interest is in human health and metabolomics approaches utilizing both untargeted LC-MS/MS and targeted GC-MS methods. My PhD work, part of the ERA-NET NEURON 2019 funded project “Gut2Behave”, focuses on discovering the role of metabolites in the gut-brain axis communication and the potential modulatory effect of nutrition.
Retu Haikonen, doctoral candidate
Retu Haikonen, doctoral candidate
Retu Haikonen, doctoral candidate
Contact: retu.haikonen[at]uef.fi
Hey, Im Retu, really open minded person with good sense of humor and active lifestyle. I have a Master of science from biomedicine UEF. Directly after finishing my master thesis I was honored to start as a PhD candidate in Kati’s group. Although I been working as an early stage researcher for a while now, I
Contact: retu.haikonen[at]uef.fi
Hey, Im Retu, really open minded person with good sense of humor and active lifestyle. I have a Master of science from biomedicine UEF. Directly after finishing my master thesis I was honored to start as a PhD candidate in Kati’s group. Although I been working as an early stage researcher for a while now, I still feel that there is a Peter Pan inside me and I definitely want to keep it that way as it helps me get excited for new research question and technics. My research interest is related to computer based biology and bioinformatics and I will further develop my expertise on the way to PhD.
Jasmin Raita, doctoral candidate
Retu Haikonen, doctoral candidate
Retu Haikonen, doctoral candidate
Contact: jasmin.j.raita[at]utu.fi
I have a MSc in Food Chemistry from 2019, and I'm currently a doctoral researcher at the Food Sciences unit at the University of Turku. My research focuses on the impact of various processing techniques on the biochemical composition of plant-based foods by using a non-targeted metabolomics approach. Addi
Contact: jasmin.j.raita[at]utu.fi
I have a MSc in Food Chemistry from 2019, and I'm currently a doctoral researcher at the Food Sciences unit at the University of Turku. My research focuses on the impact of various processing techniques on the biochemical composition of plant-based foods by using a non-targeted metabolomics approach. Additionally, I will study the effects of different fermentation techniques on the biochemical composition of foods made from plant-based sources. My research interest is on plant-based foods and everything related to them. On my free time I enjoy spending time with my cats, and doing different sports and crafts.
Sara Ferreira Rocha, doctoral candidate
Sara Ferreira Rocha, doctoral candidate
Sara Ferreira Rocha, doctoral candidate
Contact: saroch[at]utu.fi
I am a PhD student in Food Science and my main interest is studying metabolomics and its health impact at cellular level. My research is focused on the impact of whole-grain diets on the brain-gut axis. I did my MSc in Biochemistry at the University of Porto in Portugal. I also did an internship in Cellular Healt
Contact: saroch[at]utu.fi
I am a PhD student in Food Science and my main interest is studying metabolomics and its health impact at cellular level. My research is focused on the impact of whole-grain diets on the brain-gut axis. I did my MSc in Biochemistry at the University of Porto in Portugal. I also did an internship in Cellular Health, Intervention, and Nutrition lab at Aarhus University. In my free time, I like to read, bake, take a walk through nature, go out with friends or talk about F1 or football.
Artur Sannikov, doctoral candidate
Sara Ferreira Rocha, doctoral candidate
Sara Ferreira Rocha, doctoral candidate
Contact: artur.sannikov[at]utu.fi
Hi! I'm a PhD student in Kati's group. I obtained my Master's degree in
Molecular Biology and Bioinformatics. During my Master's thesis, I
investigated ecology of cable bacteria in marine sediments. I used
various bioinformatic and Unix tools, complemented with Python, to study
their interactions with othe
Contact: artur.sannikov[at]utu.fi
Hi! I'm a PhD student in Kati's group. I obtained my Master's degree in
Molecular Biology and Bioinformatics. During my Master's thesis, I
investigated ecology of cable bacteria in marine sediments. I used
various bioinformatic and Unix tools, complemented with Python, to study
their interactions with other sediment inhabitants. From 2022, I'm
pursuing my PhD in food sciences investigating the impact of food
refinement on human metabolism and microbiota using my expertise in
bioinformatics and Unix.
In my free time, I like hiking, traveling, reading, and playing
plot-driven videogames.
Shania Saini, doctoral candidate
Sara Ferreira Rocha, doctoral candidate
Dennisse Avella, doctoral candidate
Contact: shsain[at]utu.fi
I am a Doctoral researcher working in the EU-funded HealthFerm project at the University of Turku (UTU, Finland) since August 2023. My key research area is in exploring the link between the metabolite composition and sensory profile of the developed food products. I obtained my MSc (Tech) degree in Food Developme
Contact: shsain[at]utu.fi
I am a Doctoral researcher working in the EU-funded HealthFerm project at the University of Turku (UTU, Finland) since August 2023. My key research area is in exploring the link between the metabolite composition and sensory profile of the developed food products. I obtained my MSc (Tech) degree in Food Development from UTU in May 2023 and my BSc degree in Microbial - Food Technology from Panjab University (PU, India) in September 2020. Both these programmes have trained me extensively in food microbiology and oenology. Outside the Food Sciences unit, I experience joy while baking, napping, watching Netflix, and annoying my sister.
Dennisse Avella, doctoral candidate
Sara Ferreira Rocha, doctoral candidate
Dennisse Avella, doctoral candidate
Contact: dennisse.avella[at]afekta.com
I am starting my doctoral research in Finland with Afekta Technologies and the University of Eastern Finland, working on the HUMAN project (Harmonising and Unifying Blood Metabolomics Analysis Networks) as part of a Marie Curie Doctoral Network. In this project, we look to address human LC-MS-based
Contact: dennisse.avella[at]afekta.com
I am starting my doctoral research in Finland with Afekta Technologies and the University of Eastern Finland, working on the HUMAN project (Harmonising and Unifying Blood Metabolomics Analysis Networks) as part of a Marie Curie Doctoral Network. In this project, we look to address human LC-MS-based blood metabolomics limitations, investigate the implementation of novel blood microsampling techniques, and evaluate the use of the developed methods in diet/exercise interventions.
I just finished an Erasmus Mundus Joint Master degree - Excellence in Analytical Chemistry, where I focused mainly on its application to industry. Between my master's degree and my bachelor's in Chemistry, I worked for around 5 years in Pharmaceutical industrial analyses.
I love learning about new analytical techniques and doing research in the lab. I am very excited about learning about LC-MS, metabolomics, data analysis, and their application to lifestyle/health interventions.
I enjoy spending my free time with my loved ones, watching movies, practicing sports, and team cooking.