Dr. Mikko Airavaara graduated from University of Helsinki and his thesis explored the role of endogenous GDNF in brain dopaminergic systems and its role in addiction.  From October 2007 until July 2011, Dr. Airavaara was a postdoctoral fellow at the National Institute on Drug Abuse in Maryland, USA under guidance of Dr. Barry Hoffer. From 2011, he has been an academy of Finland research fellow at the Institute of Biotechnology in Mart Saarma’s laboratory as a team leader. His expertise is in Parkinson’s disease, ischemic brain injury, neurotrophic factors, viral gene delivery, brain dopaminergic system and models of drug craving. He is very experienced on viral vectors as well as on pre-clinical models of Parkinson’s disease. Dr. Airavaara has published eighteen peer-reviewed articles.