Saara Ollila

Saara Ollila is a University Lecturer at the Molecular and Integrative Biosciences Research Programme (University of Helsinki, Faculty of Biological and Environmental Sciences). She is also Principal Investigator (PI) for the Translational Cancer Biology Program and Genome Biology Unit.

• Academic rank: Lecturer
• Research areas: Genetics, Developmental Biology, Physiology, Biochemistry, Cell and Molecular Biology
• Email: saara.ollila@helsinki.fi

Research Focus combines genetic analysis of cancer predisposition (particularly mismatch repair genes like MSH2 and MLH1) with molecular mechanisms of intestinal tumorigenesis. Her work explores:

• Genomic instability in Lynch syndrome
• Stromal-epithelial interactions in cancer
• Role of GDNF and NRG1 in intestinal differentiation
• Western diet impacts on bile acid homeostasis
• CRISPR/Cas9-based gene regulation
• Functional testing of missense variants

Publication Trends (2025-2013) show consistent contributions to:

• Translational cancer biology (especially intestinal and thyroid cancers)
• Genome-wide association studies (GWAS)
• Gene editing applications (CRISPR/Cas9)
• Organoid classification algorithms (e.g., Tellu)
• Mechanistic studies of DNA repair and signaling pathways