Johannes Cairns
Turku Collegium for Science, Medicine and Technology (TCSMT) johannes.cairns@utu.fi ORCID identifier: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1329-2025 |
ecology & evolution, resistance & resilience, bioinformatics, microbial model systems
I am a Collegium Researcher (Title of Docent in Evolutionary Genetics and Bioinformatics, 2023) at the University of Turku, where I lead the Microbial Evolutionary Genetics Lab (utu.fi/meg/). My research focuses on the eco-evolutionary dynamics of microbial communities, antibiotic resistance, and resilience, combining experimental evolution, molecular microbiology, and bioinformatics. I received my PhD in Microbiology from the University of Helsinki in 2018 and have since worked in Finland and the UK. I have authored more than 25 peer-reviewed articles and actively contribute to scientific collaboration, teaching, and science communication. In addition to the University of Turku, I am affiliated with the Department of Computer Science and Organismal and Evolutionary Biology Research Programme, University of Helsinki, and the Finnish Multidisciplinary Center of Excellence in Antimicrobial Resistance Research (FIMAR). Besides my science training, I also have academic training (PhD) and publications in environmental humanities, and am a founding and active member in One Health Finland (est. 2016), reflecting my broad interest in systemic approaches to global health and environmental challenges.
I study the eco-evolutionary dynamics of microbial communities, with a particular focus on how they adapt to environmental disturbances and antibiotic stress. By combining experimental evolution, genetic engineering, and bioinformatics, I aim to uncover the mechanisms that shape microbial resistance, resilience, and community interactions.
I have taught at bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral levels, with experience ranging from lectures and seminars to workshops and curriculum development. My teaching has focused on microbiology, experimental evolution, molecular genetics, and bioinformatics, including international training initiatives. I have also co-designed course material and supervised students across degree levels.
- Postdoc-elämää Sanger-instituutissa (2020)
- Inocula : mikrobiologikillan julkaisu
(D1 Article in a professional journal) - Repeatable ecological dynamics govern the response of experimental communities to antibiotic pulse perturbation (2020)
- Nature Ecology and Evolution
(A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal) - Contrasting the impact of cytotoxic and cytostatic drug therapies on tumour progression (2019)
- PLoS Computational Biology
(A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal) - Mikrobit mediassa: Elisabethkingia anophelis ja miksi viihdyttävyydessä yksityiskohdilla on väliä (2019)
- Inocula : mikrobiologikillan julkaisu
(D1 Article in a professional journal) - Predator coevolution and prey trait variability determine species coexistence (2019)
- Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences
(A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal) - Black Queen Evolution and Trophic Interactions Determine Plasmid Survival after the Disruption of the Conjugation Network (2018)
- MSystems
(A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal) - Construction and Characterization of Synthetic Bacterial Community for Experimental Ecology and Evolution (2018)
- Frontiers in Genetics
(A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal) - Dual-stressor selection alters eco-evolutionary dynamics in experimental communities (2018)
- Nature Ecology and Evolution
(A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal) - Ecology determines how low antibiotic concentration impacts community composition and horizontal transfer of resistance genes (2018)
- Communications Biology
(A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal) - Host range of antibiotic resistance genes in wastewater treatment plant influent and effluent (2018)
- FEMS Microbiology Ecology
(A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal) - Genomic evolution of bacterial populations under coselection by antibiotics and phage (2017)
- Molecular Ecology
(A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal) - Kokeellisen evoluution laboratoriokurssi Viikissä (2017)
- Inocula : mikrobiologikillan julkaisu
(D1 Article in a professional journal) - Mikrobit mediassa: Jääkaappilaser tunnistaa pilantuneen ruoan (2017)
- Inocula : mikrobiologikillan julkaisu
(D1 Article in a professional journal) - Sublethal streptomycin concentrations and lytic bacteriophage together promote resistance evolution (2017)
- Philosophical Transactions B: Biological Sciences
(A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal) - Conjugation is necessary for a bacterial plasmid to survive under protozoan predation (2016)
- Biology Letters
(A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal) - Epäily ei ole miellyttävä tila, mutta varmuus on järjetön (2016)
- Skeptikko
(E1 Popularised article) - Evolving interactions between diazotrophic cyanobacterium and phage mediate nitrogen release and host competitive ability (2016)
- Royal Society Open Science
(A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal) - Kaikki tarinat eivät ole samanarvoisia (2016)
- Helsingin Sanomat
(E1 Popularised article) - Mikrobit mediassa (2015)
- Inocula : mikrobiologikillan julkaisu
(D1 Article in a professional journal) - Mikrobit mediassa (2015)
- Inocula : mikrobiologikillan julkaisu
(D1 Article in a professional journal)



