Iiris Hovatta

Iiris Hovatta is a Professor at the Department of Psychology, University of Helsinki. She serves as a supervisor for the Doctoral Programme in Integrative Life Science and the Doctoral Programme Brain & Mind. Her research focuses on the genetic and neurobiological basis of anxiety disorders, employing multidisciplinary approaches including mouse models, gene expression profiling, and miRNA analysis.

Her teaching encompasses genetics, genomics, and behavioral neuroscience, with courses like Behavioral Genetics and co-organization of the Finnish Symposium on Biological Psychiatry. Recent projects include Disease-predisposing or resilience-promoting? Decoding the systems biology and behavioural predictors and determinants of the tipping point of stress and Myelin plasticity in anxiety disorders, funded by foundations like Sigrid Juséliuksen Säätiö and Jane ja Aatos Erkon säätiö.

Scientific awards include the

• Duodecim Writing Award
• Poster Award at ESF Functional Genomics and Disease Meeting
• Pro Gradu Thesis Supervisor Award
• Psychiatric Research Foundation's Year's Anxiety Disorder Researcher Award
• Rosalind Franklin Young Investigator Award

She actively participates in international conferences such as ECNP 2024 and the German Society for Anxiety Research Annual Meeting, and her work intersects with cardiovascular health, biological aging, and psychiatric research.