Anni Soikkeli | PhD

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I am currently working as a joint postdoctoral researcher in the groups of Jukka Alinikula and Jukka Hytönen at the Institute of Biomedicine, University of Turku. I hold an M.Sc. degree in Genetics and completed my doctoral research in the Alinikula group, where I investigated the cancer-associated off-targeting of somatic hypermutation. My doctoral research combined approaches and concepts from immunology, genetics, virology, and cancer biology to investigate the mechanisms and consequences of aberrant somatic hypermutation.

In addition to my research experience, I have a background in clinical laboratory diagnostics. During my work as a laboratory technician, I gained practical experience in the diagnostics of Lyme borreliosis and autoimmune diseases.

My research interests include:

  • Developing and improving diagnostic tools for Lyme borreliosis, tick-borne encephalitis (TBE), and emerging tick-borne diseases (TBDs)
  • B-cell biology and vaccine-induced immune responses against tick-borne diseases
  • The mechanisms and consequences of somatic hypermutation off-targeting in genomic proto-oncogenes and viral contexts