About
Veli Mäkinen is a Professor at the Department of Computer Science, University of Helsinki, and holds the title of Docent in the same department. He leads the Genome-scale Algorithmics research group and is affiliated with the Helsinki Institute for Information Technology (HIIT). Mäkinen serves as a supervisor for doctoral programmes in both Integrative Life Science and Computer Science at the University of Helsinki.
- Professor, Department of Computer Science, University of Helsinki
- Docent, Department of Computer Science, University of Helsinki
- Supervisor, Doctoral Programme in Integrative Life Science
- Supervisor, Doctoral Programme in Computer Science
- Affiliated with Helsinki Institute for Information Technology (HIIT)
His research focuses on algorithmic bioinformatics, genome-scale algorithmics, and computational methods for genomic sequence analysis. Mäkinen's work encompasses data structures, string algorithms, and graph theory applied to bioinformatics challenges such as variation detection, sequence alignment, and pan-genome analysis.
Recent publications highlight his advancements in graph indexing, elastic founder graphs for scalable genomic analysis, and innovative approaches to colinear chaining. These works often intersect with high-throughput sequencing and quantum computing applications in bioinformatics.
Scientific awards include:
- Hyvä tutkija award, University of Helsinki (2007)
Mäkinen has received significant funding through grants such as EU Horizon Europe's "TeamPerMed" project and multiple Finnish Academy grants for research on cancer genetics and genomic epidemiology. He is an active editor for BMC Bioinformatics and has organized key conferences like IWOCA 2016 and WABI 2017.
