Researcher in various research groups like cancer research (INEXCA), quinoa food innovation research (Clinical Research Nurse in Disruptive Green Project) and recently in COVID research group (Northern Periphery and Arctic Programme Covid-19 Response Umbrella Project). Issues related to precision medicine, personalized care, and the integration of genomics in nursing education are my main areas of interest and are also related to my dissertation.

Designer gene transfer tools (vectors) are key in treating different inherited or acquired diseases safely with gene therapy. With the help of multilevel-optimized vectors based on the Human Immunodeficiency Virus 1 (HIV-1) and CRISPR/Cas, we pursue to develop an effective and safe gene therapy treatment to familial hypercholesterolemia and heart failure, both important diseases in Finland but also leading causes of deaths worldwide. Our research also includes the creation of safe and optimally efficient CAR T cells for cell therapy of cancer, studying the role of nucleoli in health and disease, characterizing genome-wide effects of transgene integration, and assessing the safety of gene transfer. We have shown that the natural tendency lentivirus vectors (LVs) to integrate in a nearly random manner can be modified so that they are less likely to destroy important cellular genes or cause other unwanted side-effects. The modified vectors can also be harnessed for the delivery of desired proteins into target cells. Our approaches to improve the safety and efficiency of gene therapy treatments include multi-level targeting of LVs to the cells and tissues most relevant to achieve a curative outcome and through minimizing the risks for undesired side effects, including insertional mutagenesis and immunogenicity.

I am part of the The GeneCellNano consortium funded by the Academy of Finland’s Flagship Programme.

Hi! I’m Helena, a PhD researcher in social psychology. Nice of you to check out my profile! 😊

I am currently finishing my dissertation on populism. In my dissertation, I aim to explore the appeal of populism through qualitative research. My dissertation is part of a broader research project called Mobilizing Populism led by Professor Inari Sakki of the University of Helsinki.

My research is based on interview data collected in the research project in 2021. In these interviews, we discussed with voters of different Finnish parties different political issues, such as immigration and populism, and the reasons for their voting decisions. In my research, I have focused primarily on examining the divisions between ‘us’ and ‘them’ as constructed in the interviewees’ talk. The sub-studies of my dissertation have been published in social psychology journals and I actively communicate about my research on my LinkedIn profile. The sub-studies are listed below:

Rovamo, H., Pettersson, K., & Sakki, I. (2023). Who’s to blame for failed integration of immigrants? Blame attributions as an affectively polarizing force in lay discussions of immigration in Finland. Political Psychology, 45(2), 235–258. https://doi.org/10.1111/pops.12917

Rovamo, H., & Sakki, I. (2023). Lay representations of populism: discursive negotiation of naturalized social representation. Journal of Community and Applied Social Psychology., 34(1), 1–18. https://doi.org/10.1002/casp.2755

Rovamo, H., & Sakki, I. (2024). Mobilization of shared victimhood in the radical right populist Finns Party supporters’ identity work: A narrative-discursive approach to populist support. European Journal of Social Psychology, 54(2), 495–512. https://doi.org/10.1002/ejsp.3021

Since spring 2024, I have been working as part of a research project called Intergroup Relations and Local Encounters, led by Jari Martikainen from the University of Eastern Finland and funded by the Kone Foundation. The research project focuses on studying how Ukrainian, Middle Eastern, and Finnish young people living in the Savo area perceive each other, their lives, and their future in multicultural Savo.

Alongside my research, I teach and supervise students in social psychology.

Before my studies in social sciences, I graduated as a nurse from the Savonia University of Applied Sciences. I consider that my professional strengths are, on the one hand, my ability to be analytical and systematic and, on the other, my ability to listen and have empathy towards others.

In my work, I get excited about learning or practicing something new every day. I enjoy conversations and listening to others. I sometimes immerse myself in details, but I also love to outline big patterns.