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Frans MäyräProfessor, Director
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Raine KoskimaaProfessor, Vice Director
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Olli SotamaaProfessor
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Jaakko SuominenProfessor
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Juho HamariProfessor
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Jaakko PeltonenProfessor
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Elina KoskinenMain Research Coordinator
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Maria RuotsalainenCoordinator
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Lilli SihvonenCoordinator
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Thomas ApperleySenior Research Fellow
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Kati AlhaUniversity Lecturer
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Jaakko StenrosUniversity Lecturer
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Joleen BlomPostdoctoral Researcher
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Mikko MeriläinenPostdoctoral Researcher
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Jani KinnunenPostdoctoral Researcher
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Usva FrimanPostdoctoral Researcher
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Heikki TyniPostdoctoral Researcher
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Riikka AuravaDoctoral Researcher
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Chien LuDoctoral Researcher
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Ville KankainenDoctoral Researcher
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Taina MyöhänenDoctoral Researcher
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Elisa WiikDoctoral Researcher
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Leland MasekDoctoral Researcher
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Hanne GrasmoDoctoral Researcher
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Mark MaletskaDoctoral Researcher
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Kalle LaaksoResearcher
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Matilda StåhlPostdoctoral Researcher
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Rainforest Scully-BlakerPostdoctoral Researcher
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Aska MayerDoctoral Researcher
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Casey O’DonnellVisiting Researcher
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Souvik MukherjeeAffiliated Researcher
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Marko SiitonenAssociate Professor
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Veli-Matti KarhulahtiSenior Researcher
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Kai TuuriSenior Researcher
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Tanja VälisaloLecturer
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Jukka VarsaluomaLecturer
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Jonne ArjorantaUniversity Lecturer
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Evgenia AmeyPostdoctoral Researcher
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Tero KerttulaPostdoctoral Researcher
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Miia SiutilaDoctoral Researcher
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Minna Kallinen-KuismaDoctoral Researcher
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Jasmine PoikelaDoctoral Researcher
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Ville MalinenDoctoral Researcher
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Emilia TurtiainenDoctoral Researcher
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Henri NergDoctoral Researcher
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Markku ReunanenSenior University Lecturer
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Rami MähkäUniversity Lecturer
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Maria B. GardaPostdoctoral Researcher
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Katriina HeljakkaPostdoctoral Researcher
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Joseph MaceyPostdoctoral Researcher
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Henry KorkeilaDoctoral Researcher
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Mayara Araujo CaetanoDoctoral researcher
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Jukka VahloPostdoctoral Researcher
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Karoliina KoskinenProject Researcher
frans.mayra@tuni.fi
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6283-417X
Website: www.unet.fi
Blog: www.fransmayra.fi

Raine Koskimaa
raine.koskimaa@jyu.fi

Olli Sotamaa
olli.sotamaa@tuni.fi

Jaakko Suominen
jaakko.suominen@utu.fi

Juho Hamari
juho.hamari@tuni.fi

Jaakko Peltonen
jaakko.peltonen@tuni.fi
elina.m.koskinen@tuni.fi
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4082-6582
Website: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Elina-Koskinen

Maria Ruotsalainen
maria.a.t.ruotsalainen@jyu.fi

Lilli Sihvonen
lilli.sihvonen@utu.fi
ORCID:

Thomas Apperley
thomas.apperley@tuni.fi

Kati Alha
kati.alha@tuni.fi
jaakko.stenros@tuni.fi
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0320-7042
Website: https://jaakkostenros.wordpress.com
johanna.blom@tuni.fi
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2206-4497
Website: http://joleenblom.com
mikko.merilainen@tuni.fi
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9621-684X
Website: http://www.mikkomerilainen.com
ResearchGate: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Mikko_Merilaeinen

Jani Kinnunen
jani.kinnunen@tuni.fi
usva.friman@tuni.fi
Friman serves as the chairperson for The Finnish Association for Game Research (2023), a board member for the international Esports Research Network (2023), and an editorial board member for The Finnish Yearbook of Game Studies (since 2015). She is the first editor of the book Pelit kulttuurina (‘Games as Culture’, Vastapaino, 2022).
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1537-5297
Website: http://usvafriman.net

Heikki Tyni
heikki.tyni@tuni.fi

Riikka Aurava
riikka.aurava@tuni.fi
chien.lu@tuni.fi
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3143-4202
Website: https://humblelu.github.io/personal_website
ville.kankainen@tuni.fi

Taina Myöhänen
taina.myohanen@tuni.fi

Elisa Wiik
elisa.wiik@tuni.fi

Leland Masek
leland.masek@tuni.fi

Hanne Grasmo
hanne.grasmo@tuni.fi

Mark Maletska
mark.maletska@tuni.fi

Kalle Laakso
laakso.kalle@tuni.fi

Matilda Ståhl
matilda.stahl@tuni.fi

Rainforest Scully-Blaker
rainforest.scully-blaker@tuni.fi

Aska Mayer
aska.mayer@tuni.fi

Casey O’Donnell
casey.odonnell@tuni.fi
ORCID:https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5396-6384
Website: https://caseyodonnell.org/

Souvik Mukherjee

Marko Siitonen
marko.siitonen@jyu.fi

Veli-Matti Karhulahti
veli-matti.m.karhulahti@jyu.fi

Kai Tuuri
kai.tuuri@jyu.fi

Tanja Välisalo
tanja.valisalo@jyu.fi

Jukka Varsaluoma
jukka.varsaluoma@jyu.fi
jonne.arjoranta@jyu.fi
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0148-7626
Website: https://jonne.arjoranta.fi

Evgenia Amey
evgenia.e.amey@jyu.fi
Evgenia Amey is a Postdoctoral Researcher at the University of Jyväskylä. Currently, her research focuses on the interconnections between (in)game books and fan texts. Her previous research focused on media tourism, spatial engagement with fiction and fan cultures.

Tero Kerttula
tero.t.kerttula@jyu.fi

Miia Siutila
mimasi@utu.fi
Miia Siutila is a Doctoral candidate at University of Turku, department of Media studies. She also works as a researcher in University of Jyväskylä. Her research focuses on esports as a hobby and the cultures of play and practices where esports evolves. Siutila’s research interests also include esports relation to mental and physical health.

Minna Kallinen-Kuisma
minna.kallinen-kuisma@jyu.fi
Minna Kallinen-Kuisma, MSc (Econ and Bus Admin) is a University Teacher and Doctoral candidate at the University of Jyväskylä. Her research on esports leadership focuses on ethical leadership, responsible leadership and shared leadership in esports teams and organisations. Kallinen-Kuisma’s research interests also include esports management and business, esports organisations and esports ecosystem.

Jasmine Poikela
jasmine.k.poikela@jyu.fi
Jasmine Poikela is a doctoral researcher at University of Jyväskylä under the study of Contemporary culture. She is writing her PhD on game writing. The main focus of her research is to map out the different forms of game writing and figure out how to script for video games in an appropriate way, taking into account the structure of the story and the agency of the player. She has also gained experience in teaching creative writing, especially focused on multimodality.

Ville Malinen
ville.m.j.malinen@student.jyu.fi

Emilia Turtiainen
emilia.s.o.turtiainen@student.jyu.fi

Henri Nerg
henri.m.nerg@jyu.fi

Markku Reunanen
markku.reunanen@aalto.fi

Rami Mähkä
rarema@utu.fi

Maria B. Garda
maria.garda@utu.fi

Katriina Heljakka
katriina.heljakka@utu.fi

Joseph Macey
jrmace@utu.fi
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9770-739X
Researcher profile: https://www.tut.fi/Gamification/members/joseph-macey

Henry Korkeila
henry.m.korkeila@utu.fi
Henry Korkeila is PhD candidate at the University of Turku. He holds M.Sc. in Internet and Game Studies from the University of Tampere. Henry’s research examines avatarization of our analog cultures as they inevitably turn into digital cultures. Special focus is on avatars themselves, usage of avatars in their different contexts including online video game genres, such as massively multiplayer online and multiplayer online battle arena games and social media platforms like Twitter and Instagram. Currently, Henry approaches avatars through the types of capital, or resources, they have.

Mayara Araujo Caetano
mayara.a.caetano@utu.fi
As a person born and raised in Brazil, I am also interested in sharing about Brazilian playing and gaming cultures. My publications have covered gender, race, class, consumption, accessibility to technology, esports, and communities.
[I also go by Maya; the pronouns I use are she/her]

Jukka Vahlo
jukka.l.vahlo@jyu.fi

Karoliina Koskinen
Karoliina Koskinen is a Project Researcher at the Centre of Excellence in Game Culture studies at the University of Turku. Her current projects center around preservation of the early non-digital game history in Finland, sustainability in digital gaming, historic and contemporary cultures of creative computing, and she is also taking part in a study that utilises Postcolonial theory to analyse a Finnish board game from the 1930s. Her research interests include Postcolonial theory, sustainable development, collective memory and memory studies. Karoliina is a University of Aberdeen graduate of 2020 and graduated from her Masters in International Relations in Historical Perspective from Utrecht University in August 2021.
Alumni
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Janne PaavilainenMain Scientific Coordinator
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Pauliina RaentoDocent, Senior Researcher
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Jonna KoivistoPostdoctoral Researcher
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Aleena ChiaPostdoctoral Researcher
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Sabine HarrerPostdoctoral Researcher
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Jan ŠvelchPostdoctoral Researcher
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Dale LeorkeSenior Research Fellow
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Mattia ThibaultSenior Researcher
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Emil Lundedal HammarPostdoctoral Researcher
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Lobna HassanPostdoctoral Researcher
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Maria TörhönenDoctoral Researcher
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Hanna JärvenpääDoctoral Researcher
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Riikka TurtiainenSenior Lecturer
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Petri SaarikoskiSenior Lecturer
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Nannan XiPostdoctoral Researcher
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Tero PasanenPostdoctoral Researcher
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Evan TornerVisiting Researcher
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Lars de WildtVisiting Researcher
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Diego A Mejía-AlandiaVisiting Researcher

Janne Paavilainen
janne.paavilainen@tuni.fi

Pauliina Raento

Jonna Koivisto
jonna.koivisto@tuni.fi

Aleena Chia
aleena.chia@jyu.fi

Sabine Harrer
Sabine Harrer is a Senior Lecturer at the Game Design Department Gotland, Uppsala University (SE). Previously, they have been a Postdoctoral Researcher at the Centre of Excellence in Game Culture Studies, University of Tampere (FI). Their research focuses on critical game studies, HCI and intersectionality, and creation-based knowledge making. They are also the author of Games and Bereavement (transcript 2018), and a member of the Copenhagen Game Collective. Their game-related projects can be found at enibolas.itch.io.

Jan Švelch
Jan Švelch is a game production studies scholar, currently based at Charles University, Faculty of Arts. His research interests include video game production, monetization, paratextuality, and Magic: The Gathering. Between 2018–2020, he was a post-doctoral researcher at the Centre of Excellence in Game Culture Studies at University of Tampere. Besides research, he has more than ten years of experience as a freelance journalist covering video games and music for various Czech magazines, including the Metacritic-aggregated Level. For a brief period, he worked as a data analyst for the leading Czech video game studio Bohemia Interactive.

Dale Leorke
dale.leorke@tuni.fi
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8741-1758
ResearchGate: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Dale_Leorke

Mattia Thibault
mattia.thibault@tuni.fi

Emil Lundedal Hammar
emil.hammar@tuni.fi

Lobna Hassan
lobna.hassan@tuni.fi

Maria Törhönen
maria.torhonen@tuni.fi

Hanna Järvenpää
hanna.e.jarvenpaa@jyu.fi

Riikka Turtiainen
riikka.turtiainen@utu.fi

Petri Saarikoski
petri.saarikoski@utu.fi

Nannan Xi
nannan.xi@tuni.fi

Tero Pasanen
tero.pasanen@gmail.com

Evan Torner
evan.torner@gmail.com

Lars de Wildt
lawjdewildt@gmail.com
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6901-6903
Website: larsdewildt.eu

Diego A Mejía-Alandia
Diego A Mejía-Alandia is a Postdoctoral Researcher at Tampere University’s Centre of Excellence in Game Culture Studies, and at the Game Research Lab, and a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the University of Seville (Spain). He holds an MFA in Literary and Cultural Studies; an MA in Translation and Interculturality; an MA in Scriptwriting, Narrativity and Audiovisual Creativity; and a PhD in Philological Studies from the University of Seville.
His research focuses on phenomena of memory and identity involved in cultural processes derived from national history—such as generational trauma, interculturality, migration, and nostalgia—as well as the ties of cultural/national memory and individual/collective identity with material and popular cultures. Currently, he holds a two-year Margarita Salas grant funded by the Spanish Ministry of Universities and the European Union (NextGenerationEU) to work on an individual project on representations of post-Communist nostalgia in video games, VR and digital experiences.