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Viliina Silvonen ([email protected])

I am a folklorist specialising in the Karelian lament tradition. My research is situated at the intersection of folklore studies and ethnomusicology, covering topics ranging from the emotions and affectivity of historical lament performances on archival audio recordings to a variety of contemporary adaptations of laments within Finland. Additionally, I incorporate insights from critical heritage studies, with particular interest in postcolonial discourse and minority perspectives related to Karelian culture in Finland.

I am a grant-based postdoctoral researcher at the Karelian Institute of the University of Eastern Finland, where I work remotely. I am also a Research Fellow at the Finnish Literature Society’s Research Department, and my office is located there in Helsinki.

Currently, I am researching contemporary applications of the lament tradition from the perspectives of religion and spirituality (Feb 2026–Mar 2027; Alfred Kordelin Foundation). I am also involved in the project “Controversial Folklore: Involving Communities in Future Archival Research” (2026–2029; Sibelius Academy, University of the Arts; Kone Foundation, PI: Outi Valo).

I defended my dissertation in the field of Folklore Studies at the University of Helsinki in January 2022. In my dissertation, I analysed the emotions, affect, and poetics of Olonets Karelian laments using archival recordings. This study combines perspectives from folkloristic and linguistic anthropological performance and practice theories as well as interdisciplinary emotion and affect theories. Methodologically, the research is based on analyses of text, music, and sound/voice, as well as multisensory observation.

In the ”Kyynekanavat – Laments in Contemporary Finland” project (2021–2025, Kone Foundation, University of Eastern Finland, PI: Elina Hytönen-Ng), I collaborated with folk musician and lamenter Emmi Kuittinen. We studied lamenting as a performing art and contemporary folk music, exploring different ways to integrate scholarly and artistic perspectives; among other things, we published an audio article. In that project and in the project ”Karelian Perspective on Folk Music in Finland” (2023–2025, Finnish Cultural Foundation, University of Eastern Finland, PI: Pekka Suutari), I have also analysed the diverse interpretations and contradictions within the lamenting scene in present-day Finland.

I am a member of the editorial board for the Elore Journal, and I have founded a popular science blog Päivystävä folkloristi (‘a folklorist on-call’) with my colleagues in 2018.

 

Vilja Rentto ([email protected])

Vilja Rentto (formerly Johansson) is a University Teacher in International Environmental Law. Her research focuses on developments in international, EU and national climate law. In her doctoral dissertation, she studies the legal evolution of the concept of a just transition as part of governance efforts to ensure the fairness and legitimacy of climate policymaking.

Ville Hautamäki ([email protected])

Senior researcher at the computer science department. Focusing on data science, with specialization in statistical inference and deep learning. At the moment, I teach regularly following courses, Probabilistic inference for data science, Bayes-inference and annual summer school on machine learning. My current application areas are autonomous agents, bioinformatics and speech technology.

Ville Kivivirta ([email protected])

My research focuses on information and organizing in societies and service ecosystems. In addition to conducting policy analysis based on my professional background in HR and administrative science, I explore process-oriented thinking to offer alternative configurations for mainstream tropes.

Ville Kolehmainen ([email protected])

The research areas of the team of Prof. Kolehmainen are computational inverse problems and uncertainty quantification. The main part of the research is on development of mathematical models and computational inverse problems methods for image reconstruction in medical tomography imaging techniques such as X-ray tomography, diffuse tomography and MRI. The research team actively collaborates with system experts and clinical specialists on development of novel imaging techniques, which typically involve fusion of different types of imaging data and lead to large scale 3D or 4D imaging with sparse measurement data

Ville Paakinaho ([email protected])

I serve as an Associate Professor and research group leader at the Institute of Biomedicine, University of Eastern Finland. Our research aims to decipher how interactions between nuclear proteins influence gene regulation in cancer, and how these alterations contribute to the development of drug resistance. In addition, we investigate the activity, interactions, and dysregulation of these proteins in other disease contexts. More detailed description of my research can be found at our research group page (Paakinaho lab).

Ville-Samuli Haverinen ([email protected])

I am a postdoctoral researcher in critical border studies at the Karelian Research Institute at the University of Eastern Finland. My work is funded through Profi 9 funding awarded to the university by the Research Council of Finland. I investigate how digital technologies, including biometric databases, automated risk assessment and interconnected information systems, reshape the governance of migration and human mobility. Focusing on Finland within the wider European context, I examine how borders operate beyond physical checkpoints through data collection, profiling and anticipatory categorisation.

My research brings together critical border studies, digital sociology, and migration and integration research to explore how these systems shape access to mobility, rights and societal membership. Building on my earlier work on integration discourse and the “gaze of integration”, I develop the concept of the “digital gaze of integration”. This concept connects the categorisation of people before they cross borders with the expectations they encounter within welfare state institutions. I also investigate how migrants navigate, negotiate and contest these practices in everyday life.

I combine critical discourse analysis of policy and legislative materials with the examination of technical documentation and qualitative interviews with migrants, border practitioners, digital rights advocates and integration professionals. My aim is to understand how digital infrastructures reproduce or challenge inequalities and what they mean for accountability, rights and inclusion in European migration governance.

Virpi Jylhä ([email protected])

Senior Lecturer at Health and Human Services Informatics Master’ Degree Program
Postdoctoral researcher at PROSHADE research project
Trainer of JBI Comprehensive Systematic Review Training Program

Virpi Kaisto ([email protected])

I hold a Doctorate in Social Sciences (DSocSci), Human Geography. My doctoral study explored the Finnish-Russian borderland as a lived space during the period from 2013 to 2018. The research examined how residents on both sides of the border imagined and used their local environment in a period of relatively free cross-border mobility. My previous studies have also focused on the everyday life of people living in the Finnish-Russian borderland and on territorial development in border areas.

My last research project was CHANEBO (Challenges at EU’s North-East External Borders). It analysed the impacts of Russia’s war in Ukraine war and the suspension of the CBC ENI programs on the north-eastern external border regions of the EU. It developed policy recommendations on how EU cohesion policy can better support the resilience and sustainable development of its external border regions in the face of future crises.