Current Members

Pekka Ruusuvuori, DSc (Tech), Associate Professor, Tenure track 2nd phase

Pekka leads the Bioimage Informatics Group at the University of Turku. His research focuses on developing computational methods for analyzing biomedical images, with applications in digital pathology, cancer research, and cell biology. The group develops AI-based tools for tissue analysis and works at the intersection of machine learning and biomedicine.

Contact: pekka.ruusuvuori(/at/)utu.fi

📍 Institute of Biomedicine, MedD5, Kiinamyllynkatu 10, 20520 Turku

Sartaj Ahmed Salman, PhD

Sartaj is a postdoctoral fellow in the Bioimage Informatics Group at the Institute of Biomedicine, University of Turku, Turku, Finland. He received his Ph.D. in Informatics from the University of Electro-Communications in Tokyo, Japan. His current research focuses on developing self-supervised foundation models for computational pathology, aiming to improve cancer diagnosis and prognosis from whole-slide images. His broader research interests include deep learning, computer vision, medical image analysis, computational pathology, bioimage informatics, and machine learning for biomedical applications, with a focus on digital pathology and AI-assisted cancer diagnostics.

Contact: sartaj.salman(/at/)utu.fi

Nisar Ahmed, PhD

Nisar Ahmed is a Senior Researcher at the University of Turku Institute of Biomedicine, Finland, and a SYS-Life Postdoctoral Fellow. His current research focuses on advancing predictive modeling of cardiovascular diseases through the integration of spatial omics and computational histopathology, leveraging multimodal data fusion and representation learning to enable precision medicine. With a strong background in artificial intelligence, machine learning, and biomedical data science, he has developed AI-driven solutions for complex real-world challenges across healthcare and other domains. His research interests span computational pathology, multimodal learning, trustworthy AI, and the development of next-generation data-driven approaches for disease diagnosis, prognosis, and personalized healthcare.

Contact: nisar.ahmed(/at/)utu.fi

Masi Valkonen, MSc

Masi is a doctoral researcher in the Bioimage Informatics Group.

Contact: masi.f.valkonen(/at/)utu.fi

Hesam Hakimnejad, MSc

Hesam is a doctoral researcher in the Bioimage Informatics Group.

Contact: hesam.hakimnejad(/at/)utu.fi

Niloufar Rahimizadeh Asli, MSc

Niloufar is a doctoral researcher in the Bioimage Informatics Group.

Contact: niloufar.n.rahimizadehasli(/at/)utu.fi

Hanga Tárkányi, MSc

Hanga is a mathematician from Budapest, Hungary with a Master’s degree in Statistical Data Analytics from Tampere University. She works in the Bioimage Informatics Group as an ImmuDocs doctoral researcher. Her current research focuses on creating quantitative spatial tissue analyses in 3D employing AI foundation models.

Contact: hanga.tarkanyi(/at/)utu.fi

Hyder Abbas, MSc

Hyder is a project researcher in the Bioimage Informatics Group.

Contact: hyabba(/at/)utu.fi

Phuong Le, MD

Phuong is a Project Researcher in the Bioimage Informatics Group and is currently a Master’s student in Biomedical Imaging at the University of Turku (UTU), Finland, and a research assistant at the Institute of Biomedicine, University of Turku. Previously, she graduated as a Medical Doctor and obtained her first Master’s degree in Medical Morphology (Pathology) from the University of Medicine and Pharmacy at Ho Chi Minh City (UMP), Vietnam. She has more than 10 years of experience as a pathologist, with expertise in evaluating a wide range of general histopathology specimens. Her current research focuses on deep learning interpretation in computational histopathology, particularly the analysis of model-driven features in survival prediction using histopathology imaging.

Contact: phuong.th.le(/at/)utu.fi

Teemu Tuominen, BSc

Teemu is a research assistant in the Bioimage Informatics Group.

Contact: teemu.s.tuominen(/at/)utu.fi

Linda Lehtniemi, Bsc

Linda is a research assistant in the Bioimage Informatics Group and is currently a Master’s student in Biomedical Engineering and Health Technology at the University of Turku (UTU), Finland.

Contact: linda.o.lehtniemi(/at/)utu.fi

Siiri Kopra, Bsc

Siiri is a research assistant in the Bioimage Informatics Group and is currently a Master’s student in Biomedical Engineering and Health Technology at the University of Turku (UTU), Finland.

Contact: siiri.a.kopra(/at/)utu.fi

Madumali Nissanka, MSc

Madumali is a summer intern in the Bioimage Informatics Group and is currently a Master’s student in Biomedical Imaging at the University of Turku (UTU), Finland.

Contact: mbdani(/at/)utu.fi

Bishwajit Shil, MSc

Bishwajit is a summer intern in the Bioimage Informatics Group and is currently a Master’s student in Biomedical Imaging at Åbo Akademi University, Finland.

Contact bishwajit.shil(/at/)abo.fi