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Mariagnese Barbera ([email protected])

Dementia epidemiology and prevention with particular interest in:

  • link with cardiovascular risk factors
  • subjective cognitive decline
  • multimodal intervention

Experience with qualitative studies

Projects:

  • HATICE (coordinator of the Finnish study)
  • FINGER (effect of the intervention on cardiovascular risk factors)
  • MIND-AD (qualitative studies)
  • CAIDE (coordinator of CAIDE 85+)
  • WHO Guidelines for the dementia risk reduction (evidence review team)

Marjukka Kolehmainen ([email protected])

My research concerns about the health effects of foods and their components that I have been studying in acute, short and long term clinical dietary interventions for more than 20 years. Regarding foods, main scientific interest has been in the impact of whole grain cereals and berries and more recently also in other plant based foods and their bioactive components from the molecular level to whole body physiology. The recent research focus has been in the effects mediated by the gut microbiota and related gut barrier function. Thus, we have been setting up in vitro model for studying gut microbiota activity and will continue developing it further with modular gut barrier interaction modelling. Gut related activities are of great interest since its strong interaction with high fibre and protein foods and contribution to the development of inflammation, but also its contribution to both physical and mental health and wellbeing. In addition, I am interested in gut-liver axis and gut barrier permeability in this context, if we can find diet related factors to support healthy gut barrier and to prevent liver disease.

Northern Dimensions of European Union Actorness

This research deals with the EU’s role as a global actor by focusing on one of the a highly sensitive area: relations with Russia. Despite the apparent frustration of EU neighbourhood policy ambitions due to Russian interventions, particularly in regard to Ukraine, lessons need to be learned from this experience. There will be little alternative to interest-based but mutually constructed regional cooperation and the EU still offers the most attractive alternative.

Outi Kähkönen ([email protected])

I work as an Senior Researcher at the Department of Nursing Science at the University of Eastern Finland.

I work as a university researcher at the Department of Nursing Science at the University of Eastern Finland. My research focuses on treatment adherence among people with chronic illnesses, the role of social support, and the development of patient education. In my doctoral dissertation, I examined treatment adherence among patients with coronary artery disease after percutaneous coronary intervention. The study highlighted patients’ individual challenges as well as concrete strategies to support their long-term engagement in care.

Currently, I lead a research project aimed at developing patient education for individuals with atrial fibrillation, in collaboration with both national and international partners. The goal is to strengthen patients’ active role in their care process and to develop approaches that address their individual educational needs.

In addition, I explore occupational well-being in the field of education – particularly the stressors and well-being-promoting factors affecting healthcare educators and students.

The aim of my research is to produce impactful and practice-oriented knowledge that supports both patient well-being and occupational well-being in the higher education context, especially within continuously evolving environments.

PROMEQ

In PROMEQ, health inequities are considered as resulting from the complex interplay between individual, cultural and societal factors, taking expression as deficits in physical, cognitive, mental, social, environmental and material resources of quality of life. The central idea of the PROMEQ is to develop and demonstrate novel models of promotion of health and wellbeing that are able to talk to and assimilate vulnerable groups and motivate and empower positive transitions in their health and wellbeing. Moreover, PROMEQ will use social marketing to achieve positive changes in health and wellbeing. Four groups are selected for interventions: (1) young people (NEETs, i.e. not in education, not in employment, not in training); (2) persons receiving basic unemployment benefit; (3) adult refugees, and (4) multi-users of social and health care. While the focus is on the groups at the disadvantaged end of the scale, the results also inform universal application. A holistic and systematic approach to the health and welfare promotion is developed that meets these deficits and aims at improving peoples own resources and capabilities for positive transitions.

Ramya Ambikapathi ([email protected])

I am a YUFE4 postdoctoral researcher working on nature-based sustainable solutions for mitigating drought stress in urban greenery. My research involves experimental studies on urban trees in Kuopio, Finland, with a focus on above- and belowground changes, including biogenic volatile organic compound (BVOC) emissions and soil microbial communities. The goal is to enhance the resilience of urban ecosystems under changing climate conditions through biochar-based interventions.

I actively collaborate with stakeholders such as Arbclimb Oy, a professional tree care company, Finland and the Climate Emergency Officer from the Colchester City Council, UK. Additionally, I work with the School of Life Sciences at the University of Essex, where I explore high-throughput phenotyping technologies to assess drought responses in urban tree saplings.