People

Professor, group leader

Sirkku is a professor of urban environmental policy at the Ecosystems and Environment Research Program at the University of Helsinki and the leader of our multidisciplinary research group Urban Environmental Policy. She is also a guest professor at the Centre for Climate Science and Policy Research, Linköping University in Sweden. Her area of expertise is environmental and adaptation policy, in cities in particular. She is interested in bringing different fields together to understand challenges associated with sustainability in cities. She is interested in theoretical and conceptual development, linked to methodological development.

She has led research projects in both developed and developing countries and she has been a deputy chief scientist of the Nordic Centre of Excellence on Adaptation Research (NORD-STAR) and spent four years (2 as vice-chair) in the Finnish Climate Change Panel, a scientific organisation to advice the Finnish Government on climate policy. She is also a member of Future Earth Finland core group.

University researcher

Janina joined the UEP group in 2017. Her research is focused on climate change adaptation related topics. She is currently working on urban climate health risks, adaptation policy development (national sectoral and local level), sustainable agri-food systems and inter- and transdisciplinary research methods. Her broader research interests cover the complex decision-making processes in changing socio-ecological systems and the development of novel methodological approaches, such as serious gaming, as well as dialogue in the science-policy-practice interface. 

Janina holds a MSc degree and a PhD (passed with distinction, 2020) in Environmental change and policy from the University of Helsinki. In her doctoral thesis she studied the societal and environmental change process and outcomes involved with adaptation in the Nordic agriculture. 

Post-doctoral researcher

Alexandra Malmström (née Jurgilevich) joined the UEP group as a doctoral student in 2015. She is currently conducting post-doctoral research focusing on urban climate-induced health risks, systemic risks, and adaptation governance at different levels. Her broader research interests and experience include urban climate change risks, adaptation and its governance at different levels, interactions between climatic and socio-economic changes, as well as futures studies and governance in uncertainty. 

Alexandra holds a PhD (passed with distinction, 2021) in Environmental Change and Policy from the University of Helsinki. Previously she obtained an MA degree in European studies, focusing on European policy and law, as well as a Specialist degree in international economic relations.

Doctoral Candidate

Fanny joined the UEP group in the beginning of 2016 as a PhD student. Her research is focused on cross-border impacts of climate change on energy systems of the Nordic countries. She is applying a supply chain risk assessment methodology, and is currently preparing an article on cross-border impacts on bioenergy supply in Finland and Sweden. She is broadly interested in climate and energy policy, climate change adaptation and mitigation, and well as renewable energy and future energy systems.

Fanny holds an MSc in Environmental Sciences from University of Turku and a BSc in Biology from the Åbo Akademi University. She did her Master’s thesis on climate policies of oil producing countries with case studies from Saudi Arabia, Nigeria and Ecuador. Previously, Fanny has worked as a researcher in the Climate Change Programme at the Finnish Environment Institute, and as an intern in the Species Programme at the UNEP-WCMC in Cambridge, UK.

Doctoral candidate

Maija Nikkanen joined the UEP group in 2019. Her research focuses on disaster governance, namely storm-related disruptions and allocation of responsibility regarding preparedness. She has published on vulnerability of households facing storm-induced power outages. Currently she is working on an article exploring regional cooperation between authorities and other societal actors concerning weather-related disruptions.  

Maija holds an MSc in Environmental change and policy from the University of Helsinki. Her interests include climate change adaptation, disaster risk reduction, civil protection, and environmental history. Previously she has worked for the Finnish National Rescue Association on various projects associated with safety and security. 

Doctoral candidate

Heidi Tuhkanen joined the UEP as a doctoral student in 2019. Her research focuses on exposing and exploring the trade-offs related to disaster risk reduction and development decision making as one approach to enabling deliberate transformation. Her work has taken place within the context of post-disaster reconstruction and redevelopment in the Philippines. She is currently expanding this research to also cover climate risk reduction in the Northern European context. Her work is funded by the Tiina and Antti Herlin Foundation.

Heidi also works as a senior expert at Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI), where she is a member of the IRDR International Center of Excellence for Transforming Development and Disaster Risk hosted at SEI. At SEI she works broadly with adaptation, resilience, transformation, and urban sustainability. Heidi holds a M.Sc. in Urban Environmental Management from Wageningen University.

Doctoral candidate

Julia Tuomimaa joined the UEP group 2022. Her research focuses on urban heat island phenomenon adaptation and she is currently working on an analysis of urban heat island adaptation indicators and policy instrument effectiveness. 

Julia holds an MSc in Environmental change and global sustainability from University of Helsinki. Her interests include risk assessment, urban heat island management, climate change adaptation indicators, and climate risk and vulnerability.

Doctoral Candidate

Pontus joined the UEP group in April 2022. He is based in Uppsala, Sweden, sharing his time as a doctoral candidate at the University of Helsinki with part-time work at the Baltic University Programme’s Coordinating Secretariat at Uppsala University. His PhD project looks into how local food security is impacted by the food production on a local and regional level in the Baltic Sea Region.

Pontus Ambros has his background in Biology and Sustainability Science, holding a MSc in Environmental Studies and Sustainability Science from Lund University, Sweden and a BSc in Environmental Biology from Åbo Akademi University, Finland. He also works as a project administrator at the Baltic University Programme, Uppsala University.

Doctoral Candidate

Päivi joined the UEP group in 2023. Her research interests include climate risk management, modes of adaptation governance and just transition in adaptation. In her PhD project, she will be looking into ways to enhance regional adaptive capacity with a special focus on cross-border impacts and business sector in Helsinki-Uusimaa region. The project is funded by the EU Regional Development Fund and carried out in cooperation with Helsinki-Uusimaa Regional Council.

Päivi holds a M.Soc.Sc in International Relations from the University of Tampere and MSc in Carbon Management from the University of Edinburgh. She has previously worked as a researcher in the Climate Change programme in the Finnish Environment Institute, as a Policy Officer in Finnish Association for Nature Conservation and completed internships in the UNFCCC Secretariat in Bonn, Germany and in the Unit of International Environmental Policy in the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland.

Doctoral Candidate

Scott joined the UEP group in May 2023 as a research assistant, pending his admittance to the DENVI doctoral program in January 2024. His research focuses on the digitalization of climate change risk assessments and adaptation measures. He is currently working with partners in the Regions4Climate project to build an urban digital twin of the City of Helsinki and Uusimaa region that considers climate hazard, exposure, vulnerability, and response.    

Scott holds a MSc from the University of Helsinki in Environmental Change and Global Sustainability. His research interests include climate change adaptation, climate justice, sustainability transitions, participatory processes, and visualizations for decision-making.