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Meet our Team

We are a dedicated team of experts with diverse stem skill set backgrounds in OB-GYN scientific research, clinical experience, medical technology, mechanical engineering, data science, and business leadership.

Hanna Castrén-Niemi

Hanna Castrén-Niemi 
MBA

Commercial Champion

hanna.castren-niemi@aalto.fi

+358 45 201 3477

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MSc Tech, PhD student Aki Laakso

Aki Laakso
M.Sc (Eng),PhD student

Technical Champion

aki.j.laakso@aalto.fi

+358 50 465 0292

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MD, PhD Leena Rahkonen

Leena Rahkonen
Dos, PhD., MD

Medical Lead

leena.rahkonen@aalto.fi

+358 50 427 1248

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MD, PhD Heidi Kruit

Heidi Kruit
MD, PhD

Clinical Research Lead

heidi.kruit@aalto.fi

+358 50 428 6507

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PhD, Professor Lauri Parkkonen

Lauri Parkkonen
PhD., Prof.

Principal Investigator

lauri.parkkonen@aalto.fi

+358 40 508 9712

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Joy Kanerva-Pulkkinen

Joy Kanerva-Pulkkinen
Nurse, Midwife.

Clinical research Nurse

joy.kanerva-pulkkinen@hus.fi

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Julia Laurila

Julia Laurila
B. Eng.

Master's thesis worker

julia.laurila@aalto.fi

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Nitin Williams
P.hD. (Eng.)

Data Scientist

nitin.williams@aalto.fi

The team's Commercial Champion, Hanna Castrén-Niemi MBA, has C-level executive experience with a strong background in service and online business management, commercialization, and new business and software development. She has worked with both startups and well-established corporations and has served on the boards.

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Our Technical Champion, Aki Laakso DI, has extensive experience in product development and R&D, with a focus on medical sensor products. He has co-founded a medical device start-up and served as its CTO, gaining expertise in various aspects of medical device commercialization.

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Our Medical Lead, Leena Rahkonen, Doc., PhD, MD, and Clinical Research Lead, Heidi Kruit, MD, are renowned industry leaders in obstetrics, perinatology, and gynecology, particularly in the field of Induction of Labor (IOL). They bring decades of experience from both clinical practice and academic research. In addition to their clinical expertise, they are seasoned entrepreneurs, having successfully managed private practices through their own companies for many years.

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Our project's Principal Investigator, Lauri Parkkonen Ph.D., Professor from Aalto University, Department of Neuroscience & Biomedical Engineering. He has an educational background in engineering physics, biomedical engineering, and neuroscience. He has decades of experience in medical technology companies from start-ups to established global market leaders.

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Clinical research nurse, Midwife Joy Kanerva-Pulkkinen, works extensively in specialized wards for pregnant, delivering, and postpartum patients. She has experience in several research projects related to labor induction and several years in pharmacy work. Bachelor of Science studies in social and health administration are currently ongoing.

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Master's student Julia Laurila B. Eng., will be working on her master's thesis focused on the medical regulatory pathway for the project.

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PhD, a Data Scientist Nitin Williams, with extensive experience in developing innovative computational methods for analyzing human Neuroscience data. With post-doctoral research stints at Cambridge University, UK, and Helsinki and Aalto University, Finland, he was awarded the title of Docent (Adjunct Professor) by Helsinki University for his contributions to Neuroscience methods. Nitin also offers data science consultancy to medical technology companies in Finland and the UK.

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