Professor Mauri Kostiainen

Erasmus, 2003-2004, Supramolecules
(University of York)
MSc, 2005, Organic Chemistry
(University of Helsinki)
PhD, 2008, Technical Physics
(Helsinki University of Technology)
PostDoc, 2008-2010, Physical Virology
(Radboud University Nijmegen, NL)
Research Associate, 2011-2013
Applied Physics (Aalto)
Assistant Professor, 2013-2016
Biohybrid Materials (Aalto)
Associate Professor (Tenured), 2016-2020
Biohybrid Materials (Aalto)
Full Professor, 2020-
Biohybrid Materials (Aalto)

CONTACT:
Biohybrid Materials Group
Department of Bioproducts and Biosystems
Aalto University, Kemistintie 1
FI-02150 Espoo, Finland
mauri.kostiainen(at)aalto.fi

Dr. Eduardo Anaya

Eduardo Anaya-Plaza received his PhD in 2016 from the Universidad Autonoma de Madrid (Spain), under the supervision of Prof. Torres and Dr de la Escosura, focusing on the synthesis and characterization of water-soluble phthalocyanines and their application in nanomedicine and photovoltaics. In 2016 he moved to the University of Birmingham (UK) joining Prof. Paula Mendes’ group. In February 2018 he moves to Aalto University (Finland) with a MSCA Individual Fellowship (BiHyOMat, project number 794536). Eduardo is currently working as an Academy Research Fellow and heading the Photoactive Organic Materials group. His research interests lie at the interface of chemistry, biology, and physics, working on the synthesis and conjugation of organic chromophores with biological scaffolds such as proteins, DNA origami, and cellulose derivatives, in order to develop biohybrids with optoelectronic properties.

Swarnalok De (together with prof. J. Vapaavuori)

I did my PhD on plant virology as a student of the Doctoral Programme in Plant Sciences (DPPS) at the University of Helsinki in 2014-2019 (Plant-Virus Interactions group). The major focus of my doctoral research was to understand the molecular mechanisms behind different roles potyviral silencing suppressor HCPro plays during PVA infection cycle." 

In 2020, I received a one-year postdoctoral grant from The Ella and Georg Ehrnrooth Foundation and joined the 'Multifunctional Materials Design' research group at Aalto University to study material science aspects of potato virus A nanoparticles. I joined the BiHy group in 2022. 

My current research activities focus on producing functional nano-structures with potato virus A particles via various self-assembly techniques (virus nanotechnology). 

Dr. Lijo George

Chemistry professional with research experience in academia and in pharmaceutical industry. Strong background in synthetic organic chemistry, photochemistry and polymer chemistry. Well versed in multi-step synthesis and purification of organic compounds that find application in pharmaceutical and material science. Experience in polymer synthesis using techniques such as ring-opening polymerization, atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP), polyurethane and polyester polymerization.

Seitz Iris

I am part of the BiHy group since summer 2020 in order to conduct my doctoral studies, after completing my M.Sc. studies in Nanobiotechnology at Aalborg University (Denmark) and B.Sc. studies in Innsbruck (Austria). I am very much interested in research conducted at the interface of physics, chemistry and biology including the functionalization of DNA nanostructures and self-assembly, for example sensing using DNA and DNA cages for drug delivery. I will be working on engineering of DNAzymes and the encapsulation of DNA origami structures for efficient delivery.

Alba Sanz Velasco

I finished my Bachelor´s Degree in chemistry at the University of Zaragoza (Spain). Being already aware of my interest in R&D, I studied a Master´s Degree in Applied Research in Chemical and Paharmaceutical Industry (Barcelona, Spain). Then, having received a fellowship in Medical Chemistry on IQM-CSIC (Spain) I moved to Madrid. At the same time, I started a Master´s Degree at UNED (Spain) focused on the synthesis of photoswitchable compounds for ACh receptors. I joined BiHy group in November 2021 to start a PhD project based on the encapsulation of highly-emitting fluorophores within protein cages. 

Otso Luotonen

I received my MSc degree in Chemical, Biochemical and Materials engineering from Aalto University in 2022, with a major in Fibre and Polymer Engineering and minor studies centred mostly on nanomaterials and surface science. I carried out my master’s thesis work in Orlando Rojas’ group Biobased Colloids and Materials, where I also worked as a research assistant afterwards. I also have background in biochemistry from my BSC degree at KU Leuven (Belgium) and work as research assistant at VTT.

As of 2022, I am part of the Biohybrid Materials group as a doctoral researcher, funded by the LIBER (Life Inspired Hybrid Materials) Centre of Excellence.

Dr. Veikko Linko

Dr. Veikko Linko is a Research Fellow who holds two Docentships; one in Chemical Engineering (field: Bionanotechnology) at the Aalto University and another in Physics (field: Molecular Nanotechnology) at the University of Jyväskylä. His research interests include DNA nanotechnology, self-assembled and biohybrid materials, drug-delivery applications, nanolithography, molecular electronics and plasmonics. (homepage)

Anna Klose