Laura Kakkola profile picture
Laura
Kakkola
Docent, Institute of Biomedicine
Laboratory Manager, Institute of Biomedicine
Adjunct Professor, Bioturvapäällikkö/Biosafety Officer

Contact

+358 29 450 4555
+358 46 921 4211
Kiinamyllynkatu 10
20520
Turku

Areas of expertise

virology
immunology
infection
zoonoses
biosafety

Biography

I am a researcher with the cell biologist's background interested in intra-cellular events on infection, immunological responses (innate and adaptive), effect of host genetics in infectious diseases, and viruses' counteractions on these - including emerging pathogens, virus surveillance and diagnostics. I act as a Biosafety Officer at the Institute of Biomedicine and my responsibilities are to coordinate, supervise and educate laboratory work with infectious pathogens (viruses and bacteria). I am a Laboratory Manager in the Research Center Infections and Immunity, I teach on university courses, supervise MSc and PhD students, and conduct independent research.

Teaching

I have taken the course on Medical pedagogics. I am co-supervising MSc and PhD students, and am a member of thesis committees for PhD students. I have given lectures and taught on laboratory courses at the university level.

Research

My research interests are on virus-host interactions, how viruses interfere with immune responses, and could these events be utilized in vaccine, antiviral drug or diagnostic test development. At the moment I am working with coronaviruses, influenza viruses, filoviruses and flaviviruses.

Publications

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The comprehensive SARS-CoV-2 ‘hijackome’ knowledge base (2024)

Huuskonen, Sini; Liu, Xiaonan; Pöhner, Ina; Redchuk, Taras; Salokas, Kari; Lundberg, Rickard; Maljanen, Sari; Belik, Milja; Reinholm, Arttu; Kolehmainen, Pekka; Tuhkala, Antti; Tripathi, Garima; Laine, Pia; Belanov, Sergei; Auvinen, Petri; Vartiainen, Maria; Keskitalo, Salla; Österlund, Pamela; Laine, Larissa; Poso, Antti; Julkunen, Ilkka; Kakkola, Laura; Varjosalo, Markku
(A1 Vertaisarvioitu alkuperäisartikkeli tieteellisessä lehdessä )

Neutralizing antibodies after the third COVID-19 vaccination in healthcare workers with or without breakthrough infection (2024)

Communications medicine
Reinholm Arttu, Maljanen Sari, Jalkanen Pinja, Altan Eda, Tauriainen Sisko, Belik Milja, Skön Marika, Haveri Anu, Österlund Pamela, Iakubovskaia Alina, Pasternack Arja, Naves Rauno A., Ritvos Olli, Miettinen Simo, Häkkinen Hanni K., Ivaska Lauri, Tähtinen Paula A., Lempainen Johanna, Kantele Anu, Kakkola Laura, Julkunen Ilkka, Kolehmainen Pekka
(A1 Vertaisarvioitu alkuperäisartikkeli tieteellisessä lehdessä )

Long-term COVID-19 vaccine- and Omicron infection-induced humoral and cell-mediated immunity (2024)

Frontiers in Immunology
Belik, Milja; Reinholm, Arttu; Kolehmainen, Pekka; Heroum, Jemna; Maljanen, Sari; Altan, Eda; Österlund, Pamela; Laine, Larissa; Ritvos, Olli; Pasternack, Arja; Naves, Rauno A.; Iakubovskaia, Alina; Barkoff, Alex-Mikael; He, Qiushui; Lempainen, Johanna; Tähtinen, Paula A.; Ivaska, Lauri; Jalkanen, Pinja; Julkunen, Ilkka; Kakkola, Laura
(A1 Vertaisarvioitu alkuperäisartikkeli tieteellisessä lehdessä )

Coronavirus spike protein-specific antibodies indicate frequent infections and reinfections in infancy and among BNT162b2-vaccinated healthcare workers (2023)

Scientific Reports
Kolehmainen Pekka, Huttunen Moona, Iakubovskaia Alina, Maljanen Sari, Tauriainen Sisko, Yatkin Emrah, Pasternack Arja, Naves Rauno, Toivonen Laura, Tähtinen Paula A, Ivaska Lauri, Lempainen Johanna, Peltola Ville, Waris Matti, Kakkola Laura, Ritvos Olli, Julkunen Ilkka
(A1 Vertaisarvioitu alkuperäisartikkeli tieteellisessä lehdessä )