Fiia Söderholm, Lejish Vettikkat Parameswaran, Milla Rosenlund and Eloi Schmauch received the Doctoral Researcher Awards. Professor Anne-Mari Souto was recognised with the Doctoral Supervisor Award.
The Doctoral Researcher Awards and Doctoral Supervisor Award of the University of Eastern Finland were presented at the first ever UEF Research Day 2026 held on the Joensuu Campus on 29 January.
The Doctoral Researcher Award of the Philosophical Faculty was granted to Dr Fiia Söderholm. Her doctoral dissertation is titled Supporting students in general upper secondary education: Longitudinal perspectives of school burnout and engagement and represents the field of special education.
The dissertation is of a high academic quality. The results of Söderholm’s dissertation are directly applicable to everyday educational practice. “Söderholm is a researcher who approaches her work with curiosity and perseverance. She models how science can enrich everyone’s daily life through learning, discussion and practical application,” according to the award presenters.
The Doctoral Researcher Award of the Faculty of Science, Forestry and Technology was presented to Dr Lejish Vettikkat Parameswaran. His doctoral dissertation is titled Ecosystem-scale emissions of biogenic and agricultural aerosol precursors into the boreal atmosphere and represents the field of applied physics.
Parameswaran’s doctoral dissertation contains substantial advances in our understanding of ecosystem-scale emissions. The dissertation is well written, it handles the technical aspects in detail, and the research explains clearly the importance of the different individual techniques that were employed to achieve the results. His work has high significance in the field of atmospheric sciences.
The Doctoral Researcher Award of the Faculty of Social Science and Business Studies was granted to Dr Milla Rosenlund. Her doctoral dissertation is titled Shared Decision-Making: Towards Patient-Centred Care and represents the field of health and human services informatics.
Rosenlund’s research forms a coherent, high‑quality whole and the results directly inform the planning of wellbeing‑area services. Throughout her doctoral journey, Rosenlund has been a dedicated researcher, skilled mentor and constructive colleague.
The Doctoral Researcher Award of the Faculty of Health Sciences was presented to Dr. Eloi Schmauch. His doctoral dissertation is titled Transcriptomics for translational medicine: Study of RNA expression in cardiac diseases and auto-immunity and represents the field of medicine.
The dissertation presents an exceptionally coherent and scientifically rigorous body of work. Schmauch demonstrates a rare combination of technical proficiency, originality and interdisciplinary vision. His work has global scientific significance and clinical relevance.
The Doctoral Supervisor Award was granted to Acting Professor Anne-Mari Souto from the Philosophical Faculty in recognition of her exemplary guidance of doctoral researchers. According to the criteria for the Doctoral Supervisor Award, it is presented to a supervisor who fosters doctoral researchers’ growth and research progress and strengthens their agency. Through insightful mentorship, the supervisor supports the development of independent thinking, community membership and high‑level research skills.
Doctoral researchers from each faculty have been awarded for their research excellence since the establishment of the University of Eastern Finland. The awardees were selected by Rector Tapio Määttä and Vice Rector Jussi Pihlajamäki, and Researcher Training Services.