Merja Joensuu

My research aims to transform our understanding of neurological disease and translate fundamental discoveries into new therapeutic opportunities.

A major breakthrough from my laboratory has challenged the longstanding view of how the brain is powered. We demonstrated that neurons can mobilise endogenous fatty acids to generate mitochondrial ATP energy, revealing a previously unknown energy pathway that supports synaptic function. This discovery opens new avenues for understanding neurological disorders associated with impaired lipid metabolism and mitochondrial dysfunction. We are now investigating how these findings can be translated into metabolic therapies for rare inherited neurological disorders, including hereditary spastic paraplegias, where emerging evidence suggests that disturbances in neuronal fatty acid metabolism and bioenergetics may represent a convergent disease mechanism across several subtypes.

My team also develops human induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) and organoid models to uncover disease mechanisms that are difficult to investigate using conventional experimental systems. These human-relevant platforms enable us to evaluate emerging therapeutic approaches, including gene and metabolic therapies, while advancing alternatives to animal-based preclinical research.

Beyond neurological disease, our research has identified cellular mechanisms exploited by viruses, opening new avenues for host-directed antiviral therapies targeting protein lipidation, with potential broad-spectrum activity against multiple viral pathogens. We are also investigating how viral infections may compromise neuronal metabolic resilience and accelerate neurodegeneration in vulnerable individuals, aiming to identify therapeutic strategies that strengthen neuronal resilience to infection-induced stress and prevent disease progression.

By bridging fundamental cell biology, advanced imaging, human disease modelling and therapeutic development, our research seeks to convert discoveries at the molecular level into meaningful advances in human health.