Why HOWARU^®

“As a Tech Lead of the Early life Nutrition Platform, my work is to innovate, design and manage studies that increase our knowledge on how infant health could be supported via microbiome modulation. This modulation can be done via products that either contain probiotics, meaning living microbes that can go through infant gastrointestinal tract alive, or prebiotics, which are food for these beneficial microbes.

“These microbes are connected to our health in ways that seem incredible. Already, right after birth, they secrete small particles that are able to have short- and long-term effects in infant bodily systems. Sometimes, those effects can last until adulthood, and impact the risk of certain diseases. I find that quite amazing and have been curious to understand better and better how exactly this happens – and that is the road I am still on as a researcher.

“I love it when our team explores opportunities to help small children in the future. It is highly motivating to work towards improving the health of the next generation.

“In 2019 I gave a TED Talk on infant microbiota development, and the opportunities probiotics and human milk oligosaccharides offer for infant health. The talk has already been watched over 2 million times. Giving that talk was an opportunity to increase awareness of how important it is to secure infant microbiota development from the very beginning of life, and I am so proud that I got to give it.”

“I work in a team that investigates what kind of effects bacteria have on human health. My role is to help the team to understand the effect of bacteria on the immune system, which fights off the bad bacteria and takes care of the good bacteria.

“I have always wanted to understand how human biology and the immune system work. So, when the opportunity came along to participate in leading edge global scientific projects and to learn from the scientific community, I took it!

“I’m proud to say that in 2011, the Medical Faculty of the University of Helsinki gave me the Thesis of the Year Award for my work on how innate immunity differentiates between self and non-self.”

“In our research team, we investigate how beneficial bacteria, called probiotics, provide health benefits—for instance, by supporting the function of the microbes within our bodies. In my role, I am especially intrigued by how probiotics can support women’s health and reproduction.

“Growing up, I was very interested in biology and nature and curious about what happened when I was sick and what caused my symptoms.  It was no surprise that I decided to pursue a master’s degree in biology at the University of Helsinki. During my studies, I became more and more interested in bacteria and viruses, so I decided to specialize in infectious diseases. In my PhD studies, I directed my interest into human microbiota and probiotics and became really curious about how supporting the endogenous bacteria in our bodies could be an alternative treatment for infectious diseases.

“Today, I love brainstorming with my team to find new ideas for how to conduct research. I also enjoy that in my job, I get to interact with different scientists, colleagues, and customers all around the world and receive deeper insight in my work and ways to develop myself further.”

“I am a nutrition scientist by training, and human health has always been a great interest of mine. Before joining the company in 2017, I studied the impact of dietary compounds on health. It has been a great opportunity to broaden my understanding on how our health is affected by a multitude of factors, including probiotics.

“Today, my specific interest is how athletes and physically active people could benefit from probiotics. Probiotics, especially could support the well-being of people doing sports and help them do their best when they train and participate in competitions.

“I’ve loved science ever since I was a kid. Doing scientific research is like doing detective work with a team of experts from many different areas. I am grateful to be surrounded by such wonderful colleagues from whom I learn all the time.”

“I started as a student working with lactobacilli for pigs. The concept of probiotics was interesting, and the idea of using them in humans seemed even more relevant and interesting. Today, I work with colleagues in the lab, doing preclinical research on probiotics as well as clinical studies. We write up and publish our learnings and present them at conferences.

“Every now and then, I work with colleagues from other companies on questions we all have regarding probiotics, which we try to solve together.

“Although I am very much a scientist and would be happy to do science for the fun of it, it is satisfying to see our research lead to a product that can help people live healthier lives.”

“I am interested in researching how the trillions of microorganisms that live within and on our bodies can communicate with the brain and vice-versa. Right now, I am mainly focused on understanding how probiotics can influence how our brain works and how we behave. I keep track of this kind of research taking place all over the world and together with my team we build on the existing knowledge by designing and conducting new studies to understand the role of probiotics in brain health.

“I was always fascinated by human health and physiology. The human body is truly magnificent, and we continue to learn more about how it functions every day. As a student, I was curious about how the foods we ate impacted our metabolic health. As I became increasingly aware of the critical role of the microbiome in health and disease, my research expanded to identify how probiotics could alter the microbiome, improve health and decipher the pathways which made that possible.

“Probiotic bacteria may be microscopic, but they have a big impact on our health; this interests me a lot!  By consuming probiotics as part of a healthy diet, we are consuming evidence-based, naturally-occurring interventions to preserve and restore our health.

“I am proud of our first product launch in Brain Health: HOWARU® Calm. Stress has become increasingly prevalent worldwide and for many of us, it has a significant impact on our daily lives. HOWARU® Calm is a clinically studied probiotic which can help people manage the psychological response to stress to promote overall well-being and a relaxed state of mind. I am proud of what our team and I have achieved with this product, and I am proud of the continued work that we do within the Brain Health platform.”