معرفی
Lea Sistonen, PhD, is a Professor of Cell and Molecular Biology at the Faculty of Natural Sciences and Engineering, Biochemistry and Cell Biology department of Åbo Akademi University. With over 154 publications spanning four decades, her research focuses on heat shock factors (HSF1/HSF2) as central regulators of cellular stress response, transcriptional regulation, and proteostasis networks. She leads the CellMech Center of Excellence in Cellular Mechanostasis (2019-2024), a multidisciplinary project investigating mechanical stress responses.
- Active in transcriptional regulation and stress biology research
- Principal investigator in CellMech project with collaborators across Finland
- Key expertise in heat shock factors, sumoylation, and cell adhesion mechanisms
Her work reveals novel connections between mechanotransduction and nuclear gene expression, particularly through nuclear talin-1 functions. Recent studies (2024-2025) explore HSF2's role in viral gene expression and cancer progression. Publications in FEBS Journal, iScience, and Cell Stress and Chaperones demonstrate her impact across molecular chaperones, transcriptional memory, and stress-induced cellular adaptations.
