I am a sociologist and Docent in Social and Public Policy (University of Eastern Finland) and in Russian and Eurasian Studies (University of Helsinki). I currently work as the director of the Helsinki Inequality Initiative (INEQ). For a long time, I have studied post-socialist civil society and welfare and led several interdisciplinary and international research projects on child welfare in Russia and carried out peer-research with young adults transitioning into independent living from different forms of care. The outcomes of this research have been published as an edited book ‘Reforming Child Welfare in Post-Socialist Space: Institutional Change in Russia’ by Routledge in 2021 and as numerous peer-reviewed articles in different journals, including Europe Asia Studies, Demokratizatsiya, Laboratorium, Governance, Global Social Policy. Currently I serve as a principal investigator in two research projects: one focusing on young people, mental wellbeing and peer support in the context of social media (TUBEDU), another on linguistic vulnerability in social work (SOSKIELI). Both projects involve elements of co-research. I am also a founding member of the Finnish Co-research Network and an editor of the recently published, first Finnish speaking (open access) text book on co-research ‘Kanssatutkimus: Ihanteet ja käytännöt’ [Co-research: Ideals and Practices] by Tampere University Press (2023).