Laura Kakkola
Adjunct Professor, Bioturvapäällikkö/Biosafety Officer
laura.kakkola@utu.fi +358 29 450 4555 +358 46 921 4211 Kiinamyllynkatu 10 Turku |
virology; immunology; infection; zoonoses; biosafety
I am a researcher with the cell biologist's background interested in intra-cellular events on infection, immunological responses (innate and adaptive), effect of host genetics in infectious diseases, and viruses' counteractions on these - including emerging pathogens, virus surveillance and diagnostics. I act as a Biosafety Officer at the Institute of Biomedicine and my responsibilities are to coordinate, supervise and educate laboratory work with infectious pathogens (viruses and bacteria). I am a Laboratory Manager in the Research Center Infections and Immunity, I teach on university courses, supervise MSc and PhD students, and conduct independent research.
My research interests are on virus-host interactions, how viruses interfere with immune responses, and could these events be utilized in vaccine, antiviral drug or diagnostic test development. At the moment I am working with coronaviruses, influenza viruses, filoviruses and flaviviruses.
I have taken the course on Medical pedagogics. I am co-supervising MSc and PhD students, and am a member of thesis committees for PhD students. I have given lectures and taught on laboratory courses at the university level.
- A Combination of N and S Antigens With IgA and IgG Measurement Strengthens the Accuracy of SARS-CoV-2 Serodiagnostics (2021)
- Journal of Infectious Diseases
- A Highly Sensitive and Specific SARS-CoV-2 Spike- and Nucleoprotein-Based Fluorescent Multiplex Immunoassay (FMIA) to Measure IgG, IgA, and IgM Class Antibodies (2021)
- Microbiology spectrum
- COVID-19 mRNA vaccine induced antibody responses against three SARS-CoV-2 variants (2021)
- Nature Communications
- Influenza A Viruses (Orthomyxoviridae) (2021) Encyclopedia of Virology Kakkola Laura, Ikonen Niina, Julkunen Ilkka
- Näkökulmaa bioturvallisuuteen ja biologisen riskin arviointiin (2021)
- Solubiologi
- SARS-CoV-2 Isolates Show Impaired Replication in Human Immune Cells but Differential Ability to Replicate and Induce Innate Immunity in Lung Epithelial Cells (2021)
- Microbiology spectrum
- Comparison of Zaire ebolavirus realtime RT-PCRs targeting the nucleoprotein gene (2020)
- Journal of Virological Methods
- Pandemic influenza A(H1N1 pdm09) vaccine induced high levels of influenza-specific IgG and IgM antibodies as analyzed by enzyme immunoassay and dual-mode multiplex microarray immunoassay methods (2020)
- Vaccine
- Arbovirusuhkat muuttuvassa ympäristössä (2019)
- Moodi
- Asian and African lineage Zika viruses show differential replication and innate immune responses in human dendritic cells and macrophages (2019)
- Scientific Reports
- Interaction of Ebola Virus with the Innate Immune System (2019) Emerging Challenges in Filovirus Infections Felix B. He, Krister Melén, Laura Kakkola, Ilkka Julkunen
- Serological Array-in-Well Multiplex Assay Reveals a High Rate of Respiratory Virus Infections and Reinfections in Young Children (2019)
- mSphere
- Zika Virus Non-Structural Protein NS5 Inhibits the RIG-I Pathway and Interferon Lambda 1 Promoter Activation by Targeting IKK Epsilon (2019)
- Viruses
- Novel activities of safe-in-human broad-spectrum antiviral agents (2018)
- Antiviral Research
- Antiviral properties of chemical inhibitors of cellular anti-apoptotic Bcl-2 proteins (2017)
- Viruses
- Ebolavirus protein VP24 interferes with innate immune responses by inhibiting interferon-lambda 1 gene expression (2017)
- Virology
- Ebolavirus protein VP24 interferes with innate immune responses by inhibiting interferon-λ1 gene expression (2017)
- Virology
- Production, purification and immunogenicity of recombinant Ebola virus proteins - A comparison of Freund's adjuvant and adjuvant system 03 (2017)
- Journal of Virological Methods
- Prospective clinical and serological follow-up in early childhood reveals a high rate of subclinical RSV infection and a relatively high reinfection rate within the first 3 years of life (2016)
- Epidemiology and Infection
- Protein profiling of nasopharyngeal aspirates of hospitalized and outpatients revealed cytokines associated with severe influenza A(H1N1)pdm09 virus infections: A pilot study (2016)
- Cytokine