Vilja Siitonen profile picture
Vilja
Siitonen
Postdoctoral Researcher, Molecular Plant Biology
PhD (FT)
Photosynthetic Microbes group

Contact

Tykistökatu 6
20520
Turku

Areas of expertise

Molecular biology
Protein biology
Bioactive small metabolites
Microbiology
Biotransformation, HPLC, MS, NMR, GC

Biography

I am working as a postdoctoral researcher at photomicrobes research group led by Prof. Yagut Allahverdiyeva-Rinne (www.utu.fi/photo-microbes). I study biotransformations and production of compounds by Chlamydomonas reinhardtii and Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803. During my first postdoc I was studying secondary metabolites, purified and elucidated their structures by NMR. I finished my PhD in 2016 in which my focus was the biosynthesis of an anthracycline antibiotic Nogalamycin. Before starting my PhD I was studying fat production of Streptomyces and my Master thesis was about that. Before graduating as a M.Sc 2010, I spent an exchange year 2005-2006 in Austria, Salzburg.

Teaching

I taught hydrogen production, measuring and biotransformation as a part of a photosynthetis course (2022).

I taught a biotransformation course as a part of a photosynthetic laboratory course (2022).

I taught a HPLC laboratory course as a part of a photosynthetic laboratory course (2021).

I taught a course on molecular biology using Streptomyces (2011).

In addition to that, I am supervising one master thesis at the moment, I have supervised 2 Master thesis works (experimental section in one and the whole work in the other), 3 Bachelor of Science works and planned and supervised 12 project workers works in the laboratory (1–6 months each).

Research

I study biotransformations and production of compounds by Chlamydomonas reinhardtii and Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803. In have also studied secondary metabolism of Streptomyces and related micro-organisms. I studied the genes and proteins in vitro and in vivo as well as the compounds produced by the strains or reactions and solved structures of bioactive compounds by using MS and NMR.

Publications

Sort by: