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Sesilja Aranko
Staff Scientist
Person profile
Developing sustainable alternatives for nonrenewable and nondegradable materials is becoming indispensable. Biomaterials are a natural and abundant resource to look for a substitute. They have, however, potential for much more than being a mere replacement for traditional materials, because they can harness superior and novel functions and properties compared to those of traditional materials.
I am interested in developing protein-based materials and composites that possess impressive mechanical properties and unique functionalities mediated by the diverse enzymatic activities of proteins. At this time, my research interests lie primarily in understanding the assembly of proteins into materials and in being able to engineer their properties on a structural basis – both essential in exploiting the full potential of protein-based materials. In particular, I focus on silk-based materials and the molecular-level mechanisms
that guide both their structural organization and properties. In addition, I develop protein ligation methods that may help circumvent some of the current limitations of recombinant silk production. In short, my ultimate goal is todevelop sustainable materials with novel properties tailored for a wide range of biotechnological applications.
Person profile
Developing sustainable alternatives for nonrenewable and nondegradable materials is becoming indispensable. Biomaterials are a natural and abundant resource to look for a substitute. They have, however, potential for much more than being a mere replacement for traditional materials, because they can harness superior and novel functions and properties compared to those of traditional materials.
I am interested in developing protein-based materials and composites that possess impressive mechanical properties and unique functionalities mediated by the diverse enzymatic activities of proteins. At this time, my research interests lie primarily in understanding the assembly of proteins into materials and in being able to engineer their properties on a structural basis – both essential in exploiting the full potential of protein-based materials. In particular, I focus on silk-based materials and the molecular-level mechanisms that guide both their structural organization and properties. In addition, I develop protein ligation methods that may help circumvent some of the current limitations of recombinant silk production. In short, my ultimate goal is todevelop sustainable materials with novel properties tailored for a wide range of biotechnological applications.
Background
I conducted my Ph.D. studies in the laboratory of Dr.Hideo Iwai at the Institute of Biotechnology, University of Helsinki, and defended my thesis in November 2014. My Ph.D. work concerned the characterization and engineering of inteins, a type of protein splicing domains, and studying the principles of protein splicing. After completing my Ph.D., I continued working at the Institute of Biotechnology for one more year on a project aimed at commercializing salt-inducible protein ligation.
In January 2016, I joined the group of Professor Markus Linder at Aalto University to focus my research on biomaterials (Biomolecular materials group). In this work, I have studied the utilization of spider silk proteins as a biomaterial and in particular on the assembly mechanisms of silk proteins that are of essence for the superior properties of the material. In 2017, I obtained a three-year Academy of Finland postdoctoral fellowship in 2017 (of which I have been on maternity leave for one year). As part of the project, I spent a 6-month mobility period at EMBL Hamburg in early 2019, learning X-ray crystallography and solving a protein X-ray structure. Since December 2018, I have also held a staff scientist position at Aalto University.
Background
I conducted my Ph.D. studies in the laboratory of Dr.Hideo Iwai at the Institute of Biotechnology, University of Helsinki, and defended my thesis in November 2014. My Ph.D. work concerned the characterization and engineering of inteins, a type of protein splicing domains, and studying the principles of protein splicing. After completing my Ph.D., I continued working at the Institute of Biotechnology for one more year on a project aimed at commercializing salt-inducible protein ligation.
In January 2016, I joined the group of Professor Markus Linder at Aalto University to focus my research on biomaterials (Biomolecular materials group). In this work, I have studied the utilization of spider silk proteins as a biomaterial and in particular on the assembly mechanisms of silk proteins that are of essence for the superior properties of the material. In 2017, I obtained a three-year Academy of Finland postdoctoral fellowship in 2017 (of which I have been on maternity leave for one year). As part of the project, I spent a 6-month mobility period at EMBL Hamburg in early 2019, learning X-ray crystallography and solving a protein X-ray structure. Since December 2018, I have also held a staff scientist position at Aalto University.