Name: Outi Maija Helena Salo-Ahen
Date & place of birth: 5th May, 1976 in Nokia
Education:
* Ph. D. in Pharmacy, University of Kuopio, Dept. of Pharmaceutical Chemistry (22.02.2006)
* Master of Science in Pharmacy, University of Kuopio, Dept. of Pharmaceutical Chemistry (20.06.2001)
* Bachelor of Science in Pharmacy, University of Kuopio (04.05.1999)
* Graduate from Upper Secondary School (High School), Tampereen normaalikoulun lukio (03.06.1995)
Current Position:
Post-doctoral researcher, Structural Bioinformatics Laboratory, Åbo Akademi University, Turku, Finland
(1st June 2009- )
Previously:
Post-doctoral Fellow, EML Research gGmbH, Molecular and Cellular Modeling Group, Heidelberg, Germany
1.4.2006-31.5.2009Researcher, Ph.D. University of Kuopio, Dept. of Pharmaceutical Chemistry
23.02.2006-31.03.2006
Ph.D. student, researcher, University of Kuopio, Dept. of Pharmaceutical Chemistry
* 01.08.2001- 22.02.2006 (full time)
* 01.03.2001-31.07.2001 (part-time)
Teaching experience:
* Assistant in laboratory/modeling courses
(University of Kuopio: Pharmacognosy 80 h, Basics of Pharmaceutical Organic Chemistry 150 h, Drug Design 20 h, Medicinal Chemistry 25 h, Symposium in Bioinformatics 2001 3 h; University of Heidelberg: Modeling and Simulation of Biomolecular Interactions 4 h)* University of Kuopio: Supervisor of Bachelor's (1) and Master's theses (4)
Åbo Akademi University: Supervisor of a computational laboratory project of a MSc student (1)
* Lectures: Ligand-based drug design (Åbo Akademi 2010, 2 h)
Other Working Experience:
* I have worked as prescriptionist (B.Sc. Pharm.) altogether for 11 months during the years 1998-2000
(including the practical training as a student). The latest pharmacy shop where I worked in 2000
was Haka-apteekki in Tampere. 6 months of these 11 months I worked in the hospital pharmacy of
Tampere University Hospital in 1999.
* In years 1995-1997 I worked altogether 6 months as a technical assistant in two pharmacy shops.
* In 1995 I worked voluntarily for 3 months as a kitchen assistant in the Wycliffe Centre, England.
Language Skills:
* Finnish - mother tongue
* English - fluent
* Swedish - good
* German - good
* Russian - moderate
* French - basics
* Spanish - basics
* Italian - basics
Personal Grants:
*
Finnish Cultural Foundation (2004, 2006)
* Suomen Apteekkariliitto (2004)
* Finnish Pharmaceutical Society (2005)
* Academy of Finland (2005)
* University of Kuopio, Saastamoinen Foundation (2006)
* EML Research gGmbH, Postdoctoral Fellowship (2008, 2009)
Graduate School Position:
National Graduate School in Informational and
Structural Biology (Åbo Akademi); 1st Jan, 2002 --> 31st Dec, 2005
Publications: Journal articles: 1. Salo OMH, Lahtela-Kakkonen M, Gynther J, Järvinen T, Poso A: Development of a
3D model for the human cannabinoid CB1 receptor. J. Med. Chem. 47: 3048-3057,
2004 2. Kokkola T, Salo O, Poso A, Laitinen JT: The functional role of cysteines
adjacent to the NRY motif of the human MT1 melatonin receptor. J. Pineal Res.
39: 1-11, 2005 3. Saario SM, Salo OMH,
Nevalainen T, Poso A, Laitinen JT, Järvinen T, Niemi R: Characterization of the
sulfhydryl-sensitive site in the enzyme responsible for hydrolysis of
2-arachidonoyl-glycerol in rat cerebellar membranes. Chem. Biol.
12: 649-656, 2005 4. Savinainen JR, Kokkola T, Salo OMH, Poso A, Järvinen T, Laitinen JT:
Identification of WIN55212-3 as a competitive neutral antagonist of the human
cannabinoid CB2 receptor. Br. J. Pharmacol.
145: 636-645, 2005 5. Raitio KH, Salo OMH, Nevalainen T,
Poso A, Järvinen T: Targeting the Cannabinoid CB2 Receptor: Mutations, Modeling
and Development of CB2 Selective Ligands. Review. Curr. Med. Chem.
12: 1217-1237, 2005 6. Parkkari T, Salo OMH, Huttunen KM, Savinainen JR, Laitinen JT, Poso A,
Nevalainen T, Järvinen T: Synthesis and CB1 receptor activities of
dimethylheptyl derivatives of 2-arachidonoyl glycerol (2-AG) and 2-arachidonyl
glyceryl ether (2-AGE). Bioorg. Med. Chem. 14: 2850-2858, 2006 7. Salo OMH, Raitio KH, Savinainen JR, Nevalainen T, Lahtela-Kakkonen M,
Laitinen JT, Järvinen T, Poso A: Virtual screening of novel CB2 ligands using a
comparative model of the human cannabinoid CB2 receptor. J. Med. Chem.
48: 7166-7171, 2005 8. Salo OMH, Savinainen JR, Parkkari T, Nevalainen T, Lahtela-Kakkonen M,
Gynther J, Laitinen JT, Järvinen T, Poso A: 3D-QSAR studies on Cannabinoid CB1
Receptor agonists: G-protein activation as biological data. J. Med. Chem.
49: 554-566, 2006 9. Saario SM, Poso A, Juvonen RO, Järvinen T, Salo-Ahen OMH: FAAH Inhibitors From Virtual Screening of the Endocannabinoid System. J. Med. Chem. 49: 4650-4656, 2006 10. Wölkart K, Salo-Ahen OMH, Bauer R: CB Receptor Ligands from Plants. Review. Curr. Top. Med. Chem. 8: 173-186, 2008 11. Salo-Ahen OMH: Editorial. Curr. Top. Med. Chem. 8: 172, 2008 12. Henrich S, Salo-Ahen OMH, Huang B, Rippman F, Cruciani G, Wade RC: Computational approaches to identifying and characterizing protein binding sites for ligand design.
Review. J. Mol. Recognit. 23: 209-219, 2010 13. Cardinale D, Salo-Ahen OMH, Guiatoli G, Ferrari S, Venturelli A, Franchini S, Battini R, Wade RC, Costi MP: Design and characterization of a mutation outside the active site
of human thymidylate synthase that affects ligand binding. PEDS 23: 81-89, 2010. Epub 2009 Dec 2. 14. Cardinale D, Salo-Ahen OMH, Ferrari S, Ponterini G, Cruciani G, Carosati E, Tochowicz AM, Wade RW, Costi, MP: Homodimeric Enzymes as Drug Targets. Review. Curr. Med. Chem. 17: 826-846, 2010 Abstracts: 1. Salo O, Höltje H-D, Höltje M,
Schleifer K-J, Poso A: Molecular Modelling of Human Peripheral Cannabinoid
Receptor (CB2) Ligands. Arch. Pharm. Pharm. Med. Chem. 334 (Suppl. 1) 53, 2001
2. Salo O, Järvinen T, Gynther J, Poso A: Building a pharmacophore model for CB1
cannabinoid receptor. Euro QSAR 2002, the 14th European Symposium on
Quantitative Structure-Activity Relationships, 09-13 September, Bournemouth, U.K.
Abstracts: Session 3, Modelling the Chemistry, poster no 120, 2002 3. Salo OMH, Järvinen T, Gynther J, Poso A: Building a pharmacophore model for
CB1 cannabinoid receptor. In: EuroQSAR 2002 Designing drugs and crop protectants:
processes, problems and solutions. pp. 190-191. Eds. Ford M, Livingstone D,
Dearden J, Van de Waterbeemd H, Blackwell Publishing Ltd., 2003 4. Salo OMH, Järvinen T, Gynther J, Poso A: Building and validating a 3D model
for the CB1 receptor. 2003 Symposium on Cannabinoids, Burlington Vermont,
International Cannabinoid Research Society, 2003 5. Salo OMH, Jöhren K, Höltje H-D, Järvinen T, Poso A: Molecular dynamics
simulations of the human cannabinoid CB1 receptor model in a DPPC bilayer.
EuroQSAR 2004, the 15th European Symposium on Quantitative Structure-Activity
Relationships & Molecular Modelling, 05-10 September, Istanbul, Turkey.
Abstracts p. 274, 2004 6. Saario SM, Salo OMH, Nevalainen T,
Poso A, Laitinen JT, Järvinen T, Niemi R: Inhibition of MGL-like enzymatic
activity in rat cerebellar membranes by N-arachidonylmaleimide and analogs. 2004
AAPS Annual Meeting and Exposition, November 7-11, Baltimore, MD, USA. Abstract
CD, Vol. 6, Issue S1, Abstract W4128, 2004
7. Castillo-Meléndez JA, Saario SM, Salo OMH, Nevalainen T, Poso A, Laitinen JT,
Järvinen T, Koskinen AMP: Synthesis of novel monoglyceride lipase (MGL)
inhibitors. The 2nd Brazilian Symposium on Medicinal Chemistry, Current Trends
in Drug Discovery and Development. November 22-24, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Abstracts p. 42, 2004 8. Salo OMH, Savinainen JR, Lahtela-Kakkonen M, Laitinen JT, Järvinen T, Poso
A: Virtual Screening of novel cannabinergic ligands using a comparison model of
the CB2 receptor. 2005 Symposium on Cannabinoids, Burlington Vermont,
International Cannabinoid Research Society, p. 90, 2005 9. Saario SM, Salo OMH, Nevalainen T, Poso A, Laitinen JT, Niemi R, Järvinen
T: N-Arachidonylmaleimide is a potent inhibitor of MGL-like enzymatic activity
in rat cerebellar membranes. 2005 Symposium on Cannabinoids, Burlington Vermont,
International Cannabinoid Research Society, p. 117, 2005 10. Salo OMH, Käsnänen H, Jöhren K,
Höltje H-D, Järvinen T, Poso A: Molecular dynamics simulations of the human
cannabinoid CB1 receptor model in a DPPC bilayer. In: EuroQSAR 2004 QSAR &
Molecular Modelling in Rational Design of Bioactive Molecules.pp. 435-436. Ed. Aki (Sener) E, Yalçin I. Baskent Klise ve Matbaacilik, Ankara, Turkey, 2005 11. Parkkari T, Salo OMH, Huttunen KM, Savinainen JR, Laitinen JT, Poso A, Nevalainen T, Järvinen T: Dimethylheptyl derivatives of 2-arachidonoyl glycerol (2-AG) and 2-arachidonyl glyceryl ether (2-AGE): Synthesis and CB1 receptor activity. J Mex. Chem. Soc. 2006, 50, Special Issue 1, IUPAC ICOS-16, p. 111. 12. Nevalainen T, Parkkari T, Salo OMH, Huttunen KM, Savinainen JR, Laitinen JT, Poso A, Järvinen T: Dimethylheptyl derivatives of 2-arachidonoyl glycerol (2-AG) and 2-arachidonyl glyceryl ether (2-AGE): Synthesis and CB1 receptor activity. 2006 Symposium on Cannabinoids, Burlington Vermont, International Cannabinoid Research Society, p. 124, 2006 13. Salo-Ahen OMH, Costi MP, Wade R: Searching for the hot spots in the dimer interface of the human thymidylate synthase. German Conference on Bioinformatics, GCB 2006, Tuebingen, Germany, 20-22 September, Poster abstracts p. 74, 2006 14. Parkkari T, Salo OMH, Savinainen JR, Laitinen JT, Makriyannis A, Poso A, Järvinen T, Nevalainen T: Benzazolyl aryl ureas: Structurally novel class of CB1 receptor ligands. 17th Annual Symposium on the
Cannabinoids, Saint-Sauveur, Quebec, Canada, June 26-30, 2007. Book of abstracts p. 79. 15. Salo-Ahen OM, Costi MP, Wade RC: Tackling the cellular drug resistance of thymidylate synthase - disruption of an obligate dimer. American Chemical Society 234th National Meeting and Exposition, Boston, MA, USA, August 19-23, 2007. Abstract CD, Abstract No: 473. 16. Salo-Ahen OMH, Wade RC: Tracing the activation path of human thymidylate synthase by targeted molecular dynamics. Methods of Molecular Simulation '08, Heidelberg, Germany, 7-10 October, 2008. Poster abstracts p. 14. 17. Salo-Ahen OMH, Wade RC: Novel approaches to inhibit the human thymidylate synthase - Exploring the enzyme structure by molecular modeling and simulation techniques. Drug resistance in ovarian carcinoma: biomarkers and treatments. Modena, Italy, 19-20 February, 2009.
AND: Frontiers in Medicinal Chemistry, Heidelberg, Germany, 15-18 March, 2009. 18. Salo-Ahen OMH, Henrich S, Garg D, Wade RC: Highlights of molecular modeling and simulations of human thymidylate synthase in LIGHTS. Drug resistance in ovarian carcinoma: biomarkers and treatments. Modena, Italy, 19-20 February, 2009. 19. Salo-Ahen OMH, Wade RC: Computational studies of the activation/inactivation of human thymidylate synthase: Implications for drug design. Therapeutic Applications of Computational Biology and Chemistry. Hinxton, UK, 1-3 March, 2010. Theses Molecular Modeling of the Endogenous
Cannabinoid System - Usability of Modeling Results in Drug Design. Ph.D.(Pharm.)
thesis, University of Kuopio, 2006 Quantitative Structure-Activity
Relationships of CB1 and CB2 Receptor Ligands. M.Sc.(Pharm.) thesis,
University of Kuopio, 2001. Antisense Oligonucleotides as
Potential Drugs. B.Sc.(Pharm.) thesis, University of Kuopio, 1999. Oral
Presentations: * GROMACS
as part of drug design at the University of Kuopio. Computational Chemistry
Workshop, CSC - Scientific
Computing Ltd, Espoo 20.10.2003 *
Building and validating a 3D model for the CB1 receptor. ISB seminar in Ruka,
Lappi 8.-11.12.2003 * Molecular dynamics simulations of the human
cannabinoid CB1 receptor model in a DPPC bilayer.
ISB seminar in Luosto, Lappi 7.-10.12.2004 * Tackling the cellular drug resistance of thymidylate synthase. Introductory Meeting of Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, University of Cologne, Germany 13.10.2006 * Searching for binding pockets at the dimer interface of thymidylate synthase. Computer Simulation and Theory of Macromolecules, Huenfeld, Germany 20.-22.4.2007 * Tackling the cellular drug resistance of thymidylate synthase - disruption of an obligate dimer. American Chemical Society 234th National Meeting and Exposition, Boston, MA, USA, 19.-23.8.2007 * Highlights of molecular modeling and simulations of human thymidylate synthase in LIGHTS. Drug resistance in ovarian carcinoma: biomarkers and treatments. Modena, Italy, 19-20 February, 2009. * Novel approaches to inhibit the human thymidylate synthase - Exploring the enzyme structure by molecular modeling and simulation techniques.
EML Seminar, EML Research gGmbH, Heidelberg, Germany, 18 May, 2009.
Organized meetings: *
ISB Spring seminar in Naantali 17th-18th May, 2004 (member of the organizing
committee) *
ISB Winter
seminar in Saariselkä, Lapland 12th-15th December, 2005 (member of the
scientific organizing committee)
Other:
* Young Researcher's Prize of the Graduate School in Pharmaceutical Research (2006)
* Guest Editor of Current Topics in Medicinal Chemistry:
Volume 8, Issue 3 "The Medicinal Chemistry of Agents Targeting the Endogenous Cannabinoid System", 2008
Courses and Seminars:
* Medientraining fuer Wissenschaftler 25th-26th September, 2006, Klaus Tschira Stiftung gGmbH, Villa Bosch, Heidelberg, Germany
Alexander von Humboldt Foundation
1st May 2006-31st July 2007