She joined the Molecular Plant Biology unit at the University of Turku as a postdoctoral research fellow in 2002. In 2009, she was awarded the title of Docent in Bioenergetics. Since 2010, she has led the Photosynthetic Microbes Lab (http://www.utu.fi/photo-microbes) at the University of Turku. Currently, she holds the position of full professor of Basic and Applied Photosynthesis. She was involved as a junior PI in the Finnish Centre of Excellence and later chaired the Nordic Centre of Excellence, NordAqua: “Towards Versatility of Aquatic Production Platforms: Unlocking the Value of Nordic Bioresources” (www.nordaqua.fi), funded by NordForsk Bioeconomy program (2017–2022).

She serves as the national node for the SUNERGY EU initiative (https://sunergy-initiative.eu/) and as an executive board member of the SUNER-C EU CSA, actively working towards creating a large-scale european ecosystem for solar fuel and chemical production.

She is also the Director of the BioCity Turku Research Programme “Advanced Bioresources and Smart Bioproducts – Towards Sustainable Bioeconomy” (SmartBio, www.smartbio.fi), and the Deputy Director of the RCF FIRI FIN-BioFoundry infrastructure (2025-2028).

Her research primarily focuses on plant, algal, and cyanobacterial photosynthesis, particularly on alternative electron transport routes and their role in the regulation of photosynthesis. Her team is leveraging this knowledge to develop sustainable biotechnological applications through two main strategies: a short-term approach focused on producing sustainable algal biomass for a circular bioeconomy, and a long-term approach centered on creating emerging living cell factories and engineered living materials for the production of solar chemicals and fuels. Thus, her team utilize both natural biodiversity and advanced engineering techniques.

The team is engaged in several EU, Nordic, and national projects, and we maintain close interactions with stakeholders and industry partners. 

Currently, the team is investigating: (i) Alternative electron transport pathways and the regulation of photosynthesis in cyanobacteria and green algae; (ii) The development of solid-state cell factories and engineered living materials (ELMs) for efficient production of solar chemicals and fuels; (iii) Green electricity generation from cyanobacteria and algae through exoelectrogenesis, including its mechanisms of action; (iv) The biodiversity of Nordic cyanobacteria and algae for efficient remediation of industrial effluents, nutrient recovery, and production of value-added products.

Major projects as Principal Investigator/coordinator:

2025-2028 - RCF national roadmap infrastructure FIN-BioFoundry - deputy-director;
2024-2026 - Business Finland co-research project AlgaCircle - PI;
2024-2028 - EU HE RIA, Solar to Butanol S2B - coordinator;
2024-2029 - Jane and Aatos Erkko foundation, PhotoFactory - coordinator;
2023-2027 - Research Council of Finland, Photo-e-Mat - coordinator;
2023-2027 - Finnish Cultural Foundation - PI;
2022-2026 - EU Horizon Europe IA, REALM - PI;
2023-2025 - Tandem Industry Academia, Finnish Research Impact Foundation, AgriAlga -PI;
2022          - Donation from Maa- ja vesitekniikan tuki ry -PI;
2022-2025 - EU CSA, SUNER-C - PI;
2021-2023 - Research project grant from the Novo Nordisk Foundation - PhotoCat - coordinator;
2020-2023 - EU FET-Open, FuturoLEAF -PI;
2020-2023 - Novo Nordisk Foundation - PhotoPro - PI;
2019-2023 - Academy Project Funding, AlgaLEAF - PI;
2018-2022 - Academy Project Funding, Revisiting Photosynthesis -PI;
2017-2022 - NordForsk NCoE "NordAqua" - director

*** Our group is always looking for motivated post-docs and PhD students. If you are interested in any of the research areas we pursue you can contact YAR (allahve[a]utu.fi) along with your CV.

**** M.Sc and B.Sc students who are intrested to do their thesis projects can contact YAR (allahve[a]utu.fi) directly.

She has been teaching the 'Advanced Photosynthesis' and 'Bioenergetics' courses since 2009. Currently, she serves as the chair of the MSc program in Sustainable Biotechnological Processes.