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Profile

I’m a researcher specializing in computational biology and bioinformatics, with a focus on how microbes influence human health. I develop and apply statistical and algorithmic methods to analyze gut microbiome data, and have worked on multiple open-source tools that help scientists track bacterial pathogens, study the microbiome, and understand how bacteria influence diseases such as cancer.

My background spans academic research, entrepreneurship, and the trade union movement, including organizing large-scale events and being elected to the board of the Finnish union of university researchers and teachers. I’m interested advocating for better working conditions in academia and turning complex data into results with translational potential and bridging the gap between research and real-world impact.

Skills

• Creative problem solving

  Skilled in identifying data-driven solutions quickly and developing them into finished products. My research profile demonstrates this with a range of innovative technical advances and ground-breaking work in applying them to real-world problems.

• Data presentation and communication

  Experience in presenting and publishing research results in international venues and in communicating data driven action points. In addition to my scientific work, I have authored data based strategy documents, statements, and recommendations for a trade unions.

• Project management

  Proven ability to plan and execute research and software development projects, both in teams and independently. My management experience also consists of leadership roles in research projects, event organization, and in labour rights advocacy.

Technical

Experience

University of Oslo

Researcher
2025–ongoing

I am currently focusing on the ecology, evolution, and epidemiology of bacterial species that are associated with the development of several cancer types. My work is based on analyzing microbiome data to understand how these bacteria contribute to cancer development and how significant their impact is for the individual.

University of Helsinki

Postdoctoral researcher
2023–2024

I developed highly scalable softwarefor microbial genomics, which enabled comparative studies of gut microbiome diversity between high and low-to-middle income countries. Our results culminated in a research paper linking diversity in the gut microbiome to differences in population-level incidence of colorectal cancer.

Helsinki Institute for Information Technology

Doctoral researcher
2018–2022

My PhD focused on statistical modelling of microbiome data from pathogenic bacteria. I produced software tools for accurately identifying the bacteria in a sample and pioneered more efficient genomic epidemiological analyses from metagenomics data, which have since been widely adopted by others in the field.

Heldata oy

Part-time entrepreneur
2018–2022

I was involved in organizing an annual Data Science networking event in Helsinki. My responsibilities were day-to-day operation of the company, event planning and management, and aiding sales & marketing. With around 500 participants in 2019, Data Science Day was the largest data science recruiting event in Finland.

Stokastiko oy

Independent consultant
2016–2018

I consulted organizations in statistics, data analysis and web services. This included a 3-day course into statistics, maintaining static websites for a nonprofit organization, and statistical analyses.

Volunteer experience

Vice chair

Helsinki University Association of Researchers and Teachers
2020–2025

During my terms, I worked on making the union more proactive, on member recruitment, and on increasing our influence to a level more proportional to our size. I also took extra responsibility in management of the union, and wrote several statements, opinion pieces, and strategy documents that influenced its direction.

Board member

Finnish Union of University Researchers and Teachers
2023–2025

I was involved in planning the union’s strategy and key focus areas, primarily focusing on bringing labour rights to the forefront of the union’s activities. I also had an active role in the group preparing goals and strategy for the 2025 wage negotiations round, and in the recruitment of a new executive officer in 2024.

Contact

Tommi Mäklin – – –