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A.B.M. Manjur (kaiser.manjur@uef.fi)

The projects I am working on are important research in the field of gene regulation. Furthermore, the TFs that we study, glucocorticoid receptor (GR) and androgen receptor (AR) are important therapeutic targets in inflammation and prostate cancer respectively. On the chromatin environment, GR and AR exert their functions by interacting with other assisting proteins, coregulators. Thus, coregulators can affect the outcome of GR and AR activation through different processes, such as chromatin remodeling, histone-binding and post-translational modification. Despite the importance of coregulatory interactions in GR and AR function, the protein interactomes of these important drug targets have remained poorly defined. The results from these projects will enable us to increase our understanding about the regulatory mechanisms of these two physiologically important TFs.

Adam Kositsky (adam.kositsky@uef.fi)

Research interests:

  • Structure and function of soft tissues in health and disease
  • Neuromusculoskeletal consequences to tendon harvesting for orthopaedic procedures
  • Development of new methodology for in vivo measurement of human soft tissue properties
  • Comparative anatomy and biomechanics

Africa-EU relations, migration, development and integration

The Africa-EU relations, migration, development and integration (AEMDI) project, aims to bring into conversation leading academics, policy makers, political observers and practitioners from civil society to explore and examine intra-Africa migration on one hand and EU-Africa relationships vis-à-vis migration on the other hand. Efforts to integrate Africa, through the RECs, should, then, be informed by lessons and parallels drawn from across Africa, and chiefly, the integration experience of the EU—particularly the Schengen Area—in moving from free movement of labour (only) to EU citizenship, as enshrined in Article 20 (1) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. Its main activities of AEMDI will include two international workshops and one international conference. One workshop will be hosted by the University of Eastern Finland and another by the Centre for the Study of Governance Innovation (GovInn) at the University of Pretoria, South Africa. The main output of AEMDI activities will be a scientific edited volume, based on deliberations in and papers from the workshops. The main outcome of AEMDI is the promotion of the Jean Monnet Programme and adoption of best practices from the EU`s successes in regional integration, in Africa. The impacts of AEMDI will include increased networking and expertise between/of academics, policy makers, professionals and relevant stakeholders in Africa and the EU. AEMDI responds to the need to promote development and well-being in Africa through, among other things, learned experiences from observed successes in EU integration.

Ágnes Németh (agnes.nemeth@uef.fi)

Her doctoral thesis dealt with issues of regional policy, relational-governance and mega-events planning. She has been involved in European research projects (European Science Foundation, FP7) in border studies focusing on cross-border cooperation processes and the social (de)construction of borders. In her post-doctoral research, she studies foreigners’ socio-economic engagement in different Finnish urban environments with the aim of producing knowledge on the local particularities and challenges of integration processes. She is managing the international project “ECoC-SME: Actions for inducing SME growth and innovation via the ECoC event and legacy” (Interreg Europe, 2019-2021).

Ahmed Mohamed (ahmed.mohamed@uef.fi)

I have studied Bachelor of Pharmacy at University of Tanta, Egypt and Master degree in Systems Biology at University of Skövde, Sweden (supported by the Swedish Institute Study Scholarship). I have been honoured to be part of the UEF-Neuro-Innovation program (MSCA-COFUND).
We are working on air pollution and its effects on the human peripheral immunity in both healthy individuals and Alzheimer disease (AD) patients. We aim to reveal the mechanistic effects of air pollution on blood cell signatures and profiles and discover novel biomarkers for air pollution prediction. We also aim to find the molecular correlations between AD and air pollution as well as peripheral biomarkers for AD diagnosis. Our work comprises of investigating the transcriptome and epigenome of the immune cells as one population as well as single cell populations, using both; in-vivo and in-vitro models. We use functional assays to confirm the outcoming results.
This study is part of the Alzheimer disease and Air pollution (ADAIR) project which is part of the EU Joint Programme – Neurodegenerative Disease Research (JPND) project. We will provide insights on how air pollution affects peripheral immunity, possibly providing mechanistic explanation on the increased risks on human health.

Ahmed Tawfek (ahmed.tawfek@uef.fi)

Part of the team focusing on the development of COVID-19 Vaccine.
M.Sc (general toxicology), University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio, Finland.
B.Sc (Pharmaceutical Sciences), Alexandria University, Egypt.
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Aija Lulle (aija.lulle@uef.fi)

I am a migration scholar and geographer, currently working on a project Returning home? Making and imagining ageing futures. This research examines the lives of ageing people in the historical context of recent large-scale emigration and the unprecedented acceleration of population ageing in Eastern Europe. Its rationale originates from an urgent necessity to understand the wellbeing needs of ageing people. The theoretical approach is grounded in concepts from human geography and migration theory, focusing on migrants’ capabilities to aspire. The project utilises sensory, practical and imaginative homemaking practices.

Prior to my current research post, I was Lecturer and Senior Lecturer at Loughborough University, UK. My experience includes intense teaching and diverse fieldwork in Baltics, Nordic countries, border regions with Russia and the UK. In addition, I have significant leadership and administrative skills (as Director of the Diaspora and Migration Research Centre in Latvia (2014-2015) and as head of Doctoral Programmes in Geography and Environment in Loughborough (2021-2022).

 

Aino-Kaisa Piironen (aino-kaisa.piironen@uef.fi)

I’m working in the Cellular Neurobiology research group led by Katja Kanninen. My doctoral research is focused on discovering plasma biomarkers for mental health dysfunction in adolescents, and the effects of environmental and lifestyle factors on mental health. The research is a part of and supported by the H2020 project Equal Life.