Iiro Salminen

Biological Science doctoral student in the Faculty of Science

I'm a 'visiting' Biology grad from Finland, though having lived in Canada for 5 years now, I'm wondering if I should start referring to myself as a Finnish-Canadian. I do not know if there's much of interest about myself, so I'll just say I like to do a little bit of cycling in free my time and enjoy a craft beer before riding back home. Wait, I guess that is technically not allowed.

WHY DID YOU CHOOSE TO COME TO SFU?

I wanted to combine gene evolution and the evolution of consciousness itself in a degree, though I have to admit that my thoughts on the subject had not evolved very far at the time, but my supervisor was also combining evolutionary biology with psychology and neurological sciences in his work, so that seemed like a natural place for me to head towards. Of course, I did not end up studying exactly what I first thought of, but in retrospect, I suspect few people do.

HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOUR RESEARCH OR YOUR PROGRAM TO A FAMILY MEMBER?

I am researching how genes (which are like molecular recipes of hereditary traits) may regulate the formation of human behaviors and whether one can make more informed predictions of the 'how' and 'why' questions by considering the evolutionary past of us and our genes.

WHAT ARE YOU PARTICULARLY ENJOYING ABOUT YOUR STUDIES/RESEARCH AT SFU?

I feel that I've been given a good deal of freedom and responsibility in my studies, though I guess that also scares me at times.

HAVE YOU BEEN THE RECIPIENT OF ANY MAJOR OR DONOR-FUNDED AWARDS? IF SO, PLEASE TELL US WHICH ONES AND A LITTLE ABOUT HOW THE AWARDS HAVE IMPACTED YOUR STUDIES AND/OR RESEARCH.

I've received the Graduate Fellowship award a total of 4 times during my studies. The award has always let me focus on my studies fully for that semester and as such, and so, I think neither students (or Universities for that matter), should underestimate the impact (and necessity) of such awards.

HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOUR PROGRAM/POSTDOC POSITION TO SOMEONE STILL SEARCHING FOR A PROGRAM OR POSTDOC POSITION?

I plan to graduate with practical skills of independent lab work in molecular biology and next-gen sequencing and with theoretical knowledge in evolutionary biology, bioinformatics, epigenetics, and little bit of psychology, too.

Contact : isalmine@sfu.ca