Finalizing the Pox-MUSCLE project

Today it was my last working day in Finland. I am happy. I think I can look back in time and be proud of what I have done. Hard work anyway. And fruitful. 4 papers and 4 communications to congresses.

M. Estévez, P. Kylli, E. Puolanne, R. Kivikari, M. Heinonen. Fluorescence spectroscopy as a novel approach for the assessment of myofibrillar protein oxidation in oil-in-water emulsions. Meat Science, 80, 1290-1296, 2008.

M. Estévez, P. Kylli, E. Puolanne, R. Kivikari, M. Heinonen. Oxidation of skeletal porcine myofibrillar proteins in oil-in-water emulsions: interactions with lipids and effect of selected phenolic compounds. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, 56, 10933-10940, 2008.

M. Armenteros, M. Heinonen, F. Toldrá, V. Ollilainen, M. Estévez. Analysis of protein carbonyls in meat products by using the DNPH method, fluorescence spectroscopy and Liquid-chromatography-Electrospray Ionisation-Mass spectroscopy (LC-ESI-MS). Meat Science, in press.
M. Estévez, V. Ollilainen, M. Heinonen. Analysis of protein oxidation markers α-aminoadipic and g-glutamic semialdehydes in food proteins by using LC-ESI-Multi Stage Tandem MS. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, 57, 3901-3910, 2009.

I expect to write another two and probably a review about protein oxidation. I did all this with efficient contributors. They were helpful and in some cases (Mónica Armenteros) made good part of the experimental work. In the picture you can see some of them.

The lady in the middle is the group leader. Marina has been a wonderful supervisor. She comprises, from my point of view, all kinds of good skills for supervising research work: intelligent and full of expertise, helpful and eager to help, patient, kind, prudent, generous and reasonable person. She trusted me by giving me the freedom I needed to develop my own ideas. She contributed by giving wise advice and logistic assistance. Just perfect for me. She's a big name in Food Chemistry worldwide and she deserves it absolutely. The other ladies, Riitta (Senior researcher), Tuuli (PhD student), Marjo (Postdoc), Hanna and Johanna (Research students) have been nice colleagues at work. Amongst the men (not invited to the above picture), Velimatti was my guiadance with the LC-MS; Miikka Olin the skilful technician every researcher would dream of and Petri Kylli my closest collaborator at the beginning in the lab who is now looking for a more profitable life in Orion company. Kirsti and Maija assisted me in the lab while Ritva, Anna-Liisa, Taina and the cheerful and smily Hillu helped me with the boring bourocratic issues. But perfect is nothing and I might comment a couple of tricky issues. To be classist/snob is an endemic disease, not only at University but actually everywhere in this country. They might not even know about it if some roles are common and in a way, well established in the Finnish society. But it appears very clear to me. I hate talking generally cause I have met people who are the opposite to that...But that is my feeling: too much talk about that "everyone is the same (no ranks)" but the social status is noticiable quite often. I personally hate titles when those are used to put yourself in an upper position and look down on somebody else. I never said I was a postdoc while working in the lab and I worked myself as a PhD student doing every single experiment and cleaning every single test-tube (that is not always common for postdocs). Usually, those who know less, think they are much better that they actually are while advanced minds (like my supervisor aforementioned) are usually modest and prudent. Both situations are found here. But this is the same everywhere. Finns and Spaniards who think that Finland and Spain are the best countries to live (respectively) usually consider that they have nothing to learn abroad. They should travel more to realise that they are totally wrong.

I will miss all of them but maybe, particularly, the youngsters because of the social life we shared outside University and the last person I mentioned: Hillu. I wish you the best and the doors of our house in Spain are fully open for you whenever you want. Your kindness and endless attention will be forever remembered and appreciated. It is just that I cannot forget a single thing you did for me. Like, for instance, when you did not bother to call and find out everything about my health insurance in Finland when I did not even know where to go or whom to call in case of emergency. In Finland, a sincere and naive smile like yours is sometimes as wonderful as finding shelter under the hard rain. Never change!