Collegium Helveticum
Switzerland
fellow
Eveliina Hanski
2025-2026
Discipline(s)
Health Sciences
Theme(s)
Health
Fellowship dates
›
Biography
Eveliina Hanski is a researcher working at the intersection of microbial ecology and ageing. Her work investigates how the gut microbiome–a community of microbes living in the gut–develops in early life, and how these early dynamics influence health later on. At the Collegium, she will investigate whether disruptions to the gut microbiome in early life can alter the pace of biological ageing.
Originally from Finland, Eveliina earned her PhD at the University of Oxford (UK) in 2023, where she studied host-microbiome interactions. Before joining the Collegium, she held postdoctoral positions at both the University of Oxford (UK) and the University of Helsinki (FI). Eveliina works across diverse study systems, integrating ecological, molecular, and biomedical approaches. Alongside her research, she has tutored biology undergraduates at the University of Oxford and contributed to public outreach, including delivering an invited talk at a National Geographic event.
Research Project
Unraveling the Role of the Gut Microbiome in Aging
This project explores whether dynamics in the early-life gut microbiome shape how individuals age. Microbial communities in the gut play a central role in regulating key physiological systems. Disruptions in early life to this ecosystem—such as those caused by environmental stress—may have long-term effects on health. One potential outcome is “age acceleration,” a condition in which biological ageing progresses faster than chronological age.
As a fellow at the Collegium Helveticum, Eveliina Hanski is developing an epigenetic clock to measure biological age in natural populations of house mice. Using this tool, she will analyze large datasets—including microbiome and individual characteristic data—to explore whether early-life microbial environments can predict differences in ageing patterns later in life. The project aims to deepen understanding of how microbiome dynamics shape development and health across the lifespan, offering insights relevant to both ecological science and human health.
Research Interests:
gut microbiome; microbiology; epigenetics; biological ageing; developmental biology; early-life stress; ecological science; human health; lifespan development; epigenetic clocks; age acceleration; physiological regulation; environmental stress; ecological genetics; house mice; animal ecology; longitudinal data analysis; microbiome dynamics; chronological vs biological age; public health.