During the past decade, researchers have expanded our knowledge about how the intestinal tract can affect and maintain our overall health and well-being. For example, numerous research findings regarding the connection between the gut and the brain (i.e. the gut-brain axis) have revealed new mechanisms about the effects of intestinal microbes and nutrition on brain function and health. In addition to absorbing nutrients, our intestinal tract has an important task of prohibiting the influx of harmful microbes and substances into circulation. This task is often referred to as intestinal barrier function. Compromised intestinal barrier function can lead to increased intestinal permeability which has been associated with several diseases and disorders, such as inflammatory bowel diseases, irritable bowel syndrome, metabolic syndrome, and diabetes.
In my PhD work, my main research focus was intestinal permeability and its role in health and disease. I obtained my PhD from the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Helsinki in 2018. In 2019, I moved to Sweden and started to work as a postdoctoral researcher at the Örebro University in Nutrition-Gut-Brain Interactions Research Centre. After 4.5 years, I moved back to Finland during the fall of 2023 and I currently work as a Senior Specialist at Häme University of Applied Sciences.