Jussi Koivumäki

In science, I have a longstanding interest in employing computer models of cardiac muscle cells (cardiomyocytes) and tissue to study the

1. cellular triggers and substrates that cause and maintain arrhythmias,
2. phenotypic characteristics of immature cardiomyocytes,
3. pathomechanisms related to cardiac contractile (dys-)function, and
4. effect of cellular signalling on excitation-contraction coupling.

In teaching, I'm interested in investigating and applying different teaching approaches and learning environments in the field of technical sciences in higher education, particularly the flipped learning and blended learning approaches.

• In 2021, I was partially employed by the FLIP&Learn project that is conducted in collaboration with University of Eastern Finland, Tampere University and University of Turku. During that time, I developed the first flipped implementation for Biomedical Engineering Principles course.

• Atrial fibrillation (AFib): cellular mechanisms causing and maintaining arrhythmias and contractile dysfunction
• The gender gap in heart disease: sex-dependent differences in cardiac disorders
• Electromechanical alterations in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM)
• Translation of hiPSC-based findings to human context.

Computational Biophysics and Imaging Group

• computational cardiology
• mathematical modelling
• systemsphysiology
• excitation-contraction coupling
• arrhythmias
• intracellular Ca2+ dynamics

• University Lecturer; Tampere University, FI; current position
• Visiting Researcher; IEPT, UKE, DE; 04-05/2018
• Postdoctoral Researcher; Tampere University, FI; --> 12/2020
• Postdoctoral Researcher; University of Eastern Finland, FI; --> 02/2018
• Visiting Researcher; UC Davis, USA; 10-11/2016
• Researcher Scientist (part-time); Fibrux Ltd (startup company), FI; 03-06/2015
• Researcher Scientist (full-time consulting); Stanford School of Medicine, USA; 01-03/2015
• Postdoctoral Fellow; Simula Research Laboratory, NO; --> 12/2014
• Visiting Researcher; KIT, Karlsruhe, DE; 01-02/2012
• Postdoctoral Researcher; University of Eastern Finland, FI; --> 07/2011
• Graduate Student; University of Oulu, FI; --> 12/2009

Full list of publications at Google Scholar.

•  JT Koivumäki, T Korhonen, P Tavi
  Impact of sarcoplasmic reticulum calcium release on calcium dynamics and action potential morphology in human atrial myocytes: a computational study
  PLoS Comput Biol 7(1): e1001067. 2011. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1001067. 
• JT Koivumäki, N Naumenko, T Tuomainen, J Takalo, M Oksanen, KA Puttonen, S Lehtonen, J Kuusisto, M Laakso, J Koistinaho, P Tavi
  Structural immaturity of human iPSC-derived cardiomyocytes: in silico investigation of effects on function and disease modelling
  Front Physiol 9:80. 2018. DOI: 10.3389/fphys.2018.00080. 
• JT Koivumäki, G Seemann, MM Maleckar, P Tavi
  In silico screening of the key cellular remodeling targets in chronic atrial fibrillation
  PLoS Comput Biol 10(5): e1003620. 2014. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1003620.
• MD Lemoine, T Krause, JT Koivumäki, M Prondzynski, ML Schulze, E Girdauskas, S Willems, A Hansen, T Eschenhagen, T Christ
  Human iPSC-derived engineered heart tissue as a sensitive test system for QT prolongation and arrhythmic triggers
  Circ Arrhythm Electrophysiol 11:e006035. 2018. DOI: 10.1161/CIRCEP.117.006035. 
• L Skibsbye, T Jespersen, T Christ, MM Maleckar, J van den Brink, P Tavi, JT Koivumäki
  Refractoriness in human atria: Time and voltage dependence of sodium channel availability
  J Mol Cell Cardiol 101:26–34. 2016. DOI: 10.1016/j.yjmcc.2016.10.009.