Pikkujoulut 2024

Another year past, another opportunity to intake some glögi and chosen treats from the folks of Kaarniranta Lab and the Histology crew! As usual, conversations and merriment were aplenty. This time there was a chance to try on some upside down goggles and complete a small hand-eye coordination trial. The lucky (or skilled?) winner got some treats and curiosities for herself to enjoy. In the evening, there was an opportunity to go for a nice Indian meal at Sanskriti.

A photo of the usual table ornaments at the pikkujoulut.
The cheery Christmas mice and reindeer have gathered on the table again.
A shot through the upside down goggles, showing an upside down scoreboard in the distance.
A shot through the upside down goggles. In an unexpected turn, the narrow aspect ratio ended up being at least as challenging as the flipped sight.

All Work and No Play Makes Jack a Dull Boy

To make sure we’re not dull boys and girls, we make sure to have the occasional breather to play some tabletop games or even brave the great outdoors (in the form of minigolf or such) for some fresh air. This year was no different, with multiple get togethers to strengthen our camaraderie.

A photo of a small get together in November between Ali, Anne, and Mikko.
The latest game afternoon, this time with just three members: Ali, Anne, and Mikko.

A New Docent in the Field of Ophthalmology

We wish to extend our heartfelt congratulations to Maria Hytti for achieving something few can say they could do: she has received the title of a docent, celebrating her significant achievements in scientific publishing and education! Bravo, bravo!

Light art at the park outside the restaurant we celebrated Maria at.
Light art at the park outside the restaurant we celebrated Maria at.

EVER 2024 Congress

Our group once again took part in the annual European Association for Vision and Eye Research (EVER) congress, presenting posters on our recent research on topics such as secretory autophagy, ultrastructural analysis, and serum RNA markers. The presentations were interesting and many ideas were shared among the participants.

Information on how our leader Prof. Kaarniranta had a booth at the EVER congress where he could be asked questions about his work.
Our boss Kai had the opportunity to tell the visitors about his work, he got a whole booth for himself!

Hard Work Leads to Productiveness Which Leads to Recognition

Some exciting news have reached our ears from the outside world. According to a recent bibliometric analysis study (ext. link), our leader, Kai, has been found to have been the most influential author amongst the researchers who published articles in the field of oxidative stress in the retina during the years 2013-2023! We were quite impressed with how convincingly the first place was gotten in both the number of appearances and number of citations. We will continue to strive to publish good quality, interesting articles in the retinal functions fields!

A collage image featuring key information about the article such as Kai being the most productive author in retinal oxidative stress publishing, with the analyzed pool including 2100 publications. Additionally, photos of Kai, our group, and a photo of four hands grasping each other are included as embellishment.
Some key information about the article.

All Large Things Start With a Small Step

We were happy to learn that our teammate Szabi received a grant towards the advancement of dental education through the use of 3D printing and VR-haptics. He is quite proud of this achievement and is excited for the future prospects of the project. Congratulations to Szabi from all the rest of us!

Link to the UEF news article.

Szabolcs Felszeghy happily shaking hands after receiving the grant
The man’s as happy as can be!

A New Doctor Is Born!

We are very happy to declare that our group member Iswariyaraja Sridevi Gurubaran has successfully defended his doctoral dissertation titled “Mitochondrial Damage and Clearance in Retinal Pigment Epithelial Cells, Relevance to Age-Related Macular Degeneration“! The amicable examination was followed with the traditional congratulations, coffee, and cake. In the evening, a karonkka was held at the Lumberjacks’ Lodge, a quaint restaurant with great service and authentic Finnish cuisine. Everyone was jolly and we thank Raja for the great day!

Raja posing at the Lumberjacks' Lodge before his karonkka.
Relieved and proud, the main character of the day: Raja!