New Year, New Job for Ville Friman

The new year means a new principle investigator for the Ralstonia Phage project. Original lead Ville Friman has returned to his native Finland after 12 years in the UK. He joins the University of Helsinki as Professor of Microbiology. Ville has handed project leadership over York colleague Dr Andrea Harper. Andrea has been involved in the Ralstonia Phage project since the start so is well placed to step into Ville’s shoes.

Ville said “While I’m excited about the new job opportunity at the University of Helsinki, it will be sad to leave the UK behind after 12 years of working here. The Ralstonia Phage project will be in the safe hands of Co-I, Andrea Harper, and I will remain a close collaborator and hope to see everybody in March during the next project catch-up event.”

Andrea is a geneticist and lecturer in plant biology at the University of York. Her research focuses on using genetic data to understand traits of importance for the environment, food security and agricultural sustainability. Reflecting on her new role Andrea said “I am excited to take over the lead of the Ralstonia Phage project, and the project team and I look forward to continuing our close collaboration with Ville, and working together to deliver great science and impact from the project”.

The BPD Coordination team would like to thank Ville for his project leadership and contributions to the wider programme, wishing him all the very best for his new role. And we look forward to working more closely with Andrea over the coming months.

Read more about Ville’s new appointment

Read more about the Ralstonia Phage project