Academy Researcher Keni Vidilaseris, Ph. D.
Originally from Indonesia, I have been a postdoctoral researcher in Helsinki since 2014. I study the membrane bound pyrophosphatases from protist parasites as a potential drug target. I got my Ph.D. in 2014 with Dr. Gang Dong (Max F. Perutz Laboratories, University of Vienna) with a scholarship from ASEAN-European Academic University Network on the BILBO1 protein from T. brucei. In 2017, I received a postdoctoral research grant from the Academy of Finland, and in 2023 I became an independent group leader as an Academy Research Fellow. I share laboratory space and people with Adrian.
Mimmu Hiltunen, M. Sc
I joined the lab in 2022 as a research assistant and PhD researcher. During my PhD I aim to structurally and functionally characterize Patched domain containing 1 (PTCHD1). Prior to joining I obtained a BSc and MPhil in cell and molecular biology from the University of Jyväskylä and carried out my master’s thesis research on enzymes involved in lignocellulose degradation at the Technical Research Centre of Finland (VTT). I was then part of Hideo Iwai’s group at the University of Helsinki, where I assisted in structurally and functionally characterizing sortases and inteins.
Sadegh Bekverdi, M. Sc.
I joined the lab in 2023 as a PhD researcher. My project is to characterise the full-length structure of RET tyrosine kinase with and without ligands, with the aim of understanding how mutations in RET lead to MEN2 neoplasias and MTC (medullary thyroid carcinoma. Before joining Adrian’s lab, I did my Masters at UEF.
Orquidea De Castro Ribeiro, Ph. D.
Orquidea joined the lab in 2019 as a Research Technician. She was a Research Fellow at Trinity College Dublin, where she was a Task manager in the ITN project Aromagenesis, and at Imperial College, where she first worked on membrane proteins. Orquidea obtained her Licenciate in Biochemistry at the University of Algarve – Portugal. In 2012, she obtained her PhD at the University of Minho, Portugal in collaboration with VTT (Technical research Center).
Tuukka Eerikkilä
Tuukka joined the laboratory in 2013, when it moved to Biosciences. He works part-time in the lab, helping with technical support and ordering. In his spare time, he is a drummer in a band.