Short Curriculum Vitae, Pia M. Vuorela
Full names: Vuorela, Pia Maarit (née Härmälä)
Date and place of birth: 03.03.1961, Vasa, Finland
Social status: Married, 1 child (1993)
Present position: Professor of Pharmaceutical Chemistry since 08.2005
Contact information
Åbo Akademi University
Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences
Department of Biochemistry and Pharmacy
Division of Pharmacy
BioCity
FI-20520 Åbo
phone +358-2-2154267
fax +358-2-2153280
gsm +358-504096419
email (firstname.lastname@abo.fi)
Education and training
| Matriculation examination, Närpes Gymnasium | 05.1980 |
| Master of Pharmacy (Pharmacognosy), University of Helsinki | 05.1988 |
| Laudatur studies in Pharmaceutical Chemistry | 05.1991 |
| Ph.D. (Pharmacognosy), University of Helsinki, accepted with the highest degree laudatur | 12.1991 |
| Docent in Pharmacognosy, University of Helsinki | 02.1994 |
| Approbatur in University pedagogics, University of Helsinki | 02.2003 |
| Docent in Pharmaceutical chemistry, Åbo Akademi University | 11.2003 |
Previous professional appointments (1982-2005)
- Ciba-Geigy Ltd, Basle, Switzerland; research assistant
- University of Helsinki, Department of Pharmacy, Division of Microbiology; assistant
- ETH-Zürich (Eidgenöschische Technische Hochschule), Switzerland; visiting Ph.D. student
- University of Helsinki, Department of Pharmacy, Division of Pharmacognosy; assistant, project manager, university lecturer
- University of Helsinki, Department of Pharmacy, Drug Discovery and Development Technology Center; chief research scientist, director
Supervised Ph.D. theses (at the University of Helsinki if not indicated otherwise)
- Mousa, Ola: Ethnopharmacological and phytochemical studies on certain Egyptian Ficus species (1995)
- Liang, Hai-Rui: Phytochemical and capillary electrophoretic characterization and quantitative structure-migration relationships of flavonoids from Epimedium (1997)
- Ojala, Tiina: Biological screening of plant coumarins (2001) PDF (ethesis.helsinki.fi)
- Haansuu, Pasi: Demethyl (C11) cezomycin — a novel calcimycin antibiotic from the symbiotic, N2-fixing Actinomycete Frankia (2002) PDF (ethesis.helsinki.fi)
- Yrjönen, Teijo: Extraction and planar chromatographic separation techniques in the analysis of natural products (2004) PDF (ethesis.helsinki.fi)
- Tammela, Päivi: Screening methods for the evaluation of biological activity in drug discovery (2004; Albert Wuokko prize in 2006 from the Finnish Pharmaceutical Society) PDF (ethesis.helsinki.fi)
- Fallarero Linares, Adyary: Actividad antioxidante y neuroprotectora in vitro del extracto acuoso del alga Bryothamnion triquetrum (Ceramiales, Rhodomelaceae), Biology Faculty, University of Havana, Cuba (2004; Best thesis award from the University of Havana)
- Kreander, Kari: A study on bacteria-targeted screening and in vitro safety assessment of natural products (2006) PDF (ethesis.helsinki.fi)
- Laitinen, Leena: Caco-2 cell cultures in the assessment of intestinal absorption: Effects of some co-administered drugs and natural compounds in biological matrices (2006) PDF (ethesis.helsinki.fi)
- Alvesalo, Joni: Drug discovery screening and the application of genomics and proteomics in the drug development process for Chlamydia pneumoniae (2007) PDF (ethesis.helsinki.fi)
Special interest areas
Nature is an abundant source of novel chemotypes and pharmacophores. Only a small fraction of natural resources have been systematically investigated for the presence of bioactive compounds. The potential of natural products as a source for new drugs or as tools for pathway screening and target identification is by far not exhausted.
- Publications: around 100
- Application notes, congress abstracts, poster, lecture, and other scientific presentations: around 200
- Patents accepted or pending: 4