The Biodiversity Genomics Group goes online!

At the 1^st of June 2025, we officially launched our new (virtual) home of the Biodiversity Genomic Group. Welcome to biodiversitygenomics.org!

Who are we?

We, the Biodiversity Genomics Group at the University of Oulu, focus on applied research in the field of conservation and environmental genomics, biodiversity monitoring, and wildlife forensics since 2023. Our research comprises a variety of study species, such as Siberian flying squirrels, cheetahs, bay mussels and insects. We cover a range of habitats, from local river systems to the Atlantic, Arctic and Southern Ocean, from the rainforests of South America to the tundra and taiga environments of Finland. We are applying state-of-the-art genomic methods such as on-site whole-genome sequencing and targeted genome capture, ancient DNA analysis, and epigenomics as well as inexpensive, non-invasive monitoring techniques such as SNP-genotyping, metabarcoding and methylation profiling to address conservation questions. A central part of our work is local capacity building, engagement of the public, close collaboration with national and international stakeholders, and the development of applied genetic tools that aid in nature conservation.

What is this website about?

We want to introduce us to the interested visitor as a research group with all our research projects, our outreach to the public, our teaching output, and last but not least our research group members!

In our researcher’s profile pages we highlight our personal work, interests, and who we are as scientists. There, you can also find all the contact information from each of us!

The project pages give an overview of what we do, who is doing it, how the project got funded, who is collaborating with us, and what we already produced in the framework of the project.

Under ‘teaching‘ we provide mainly information for interested students: you can find the courses and lectures we give, already completed theses, and our contact if you want to get involved.

As outreach becomes more and more important and part of the work of researchers in general, we use our website to present what kind of outreach we do. Media coverage includes articles in newspapers, magazines or online, social media posts and even documentary films. Have a look at our contributions to conferences and similar occasions. A glance at the gallery will paint a literal picture of who we are and what we do. If you’re interested in aspects of our daily work, read along in our new blog! Stay updated on the latest news with the announcements or take a more detailed, personal look behind the science of our projects. Read more on our excursions, conferences we visited, field seasons, and more with the field notes. Coming soon are our taxon profiles, where we want to give the spotlight to our amazing study organisms. Subscribe to our newsletter if you want to stay updated with our posts!
A very applied and interactive outreach is the Flying Squirrel Citizen Science project: inform yourself how you can contribute to our research and help flying squirrel conservation!

Head over to our research to find a list of our publications or check out the resources available in the lab and for bioinformatics. In the future, we will also provide sampling guides and best practice guides there!

This website is still in development! So, stay tuned for the next updates! We are delighted by your visit! We are happy to get into contact with you!

Greetings from the wonderful Oulu,
The Biodiversity Genomics Group 🧬💚