| Lysyl oxidases: Cloning and characterization of the fourth and the fifth human lysyl oxidase isoenzymes, and the consequences of a targeted inactivation of the first described lysyl oxidase isoenzyme in mice | ||
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This work was carried out at the Collagen Research Unit and the Department of Medical Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Oulu, and Biocenter Oulu during the years 1994-2002.
I wish to express my deepest gratitude to my supervisor, Proferssor of the Academy of Finland Kari Kivirikko, for his inspiring attitude, never-ending optimism and continuous encouragement throughout this work. I would like to express my sincere thanks to Professor Taina Pihlajaniemi for providing excellent research facilities during these years, and to Professor Ilmo Hassinen for the stimulating atmosphere in our Department. Docent Johanna Myllyharju deserves my warmest thanks for her helpful advice and the never-ending optimism that she has shown towards my work in these years. I am also truly grateful to Docent Leena Ala-Kokko for her optimism towards my work, and for the opporturnity to spend ‘some serious quality time’ in Philadelphia during the summer of 1998.
Associate Professors Helena Kuivaniemi and Philip Trackman are acknowledged for their thorough reviewing and valuable comments on the manuscript of this thesis.
My kindest thanks belongs to my colleague, Hilkka Tikkanen, for her valuable contribution to this study. I would like to express my thanks to Eija-Riitta Hämäläinen and Ritva Kemppainen for their advice during my first steps in the Department. I wish to thank my co-authors Raija Soininen and Docent Juha Räsänen for their extremely valuable contribution to the last manuscript in this thesis, and their helpful advice in field of research. I also would like to thank my other co-authors Docent Raija Sormunen and Kaarin Mäkikallio for their essential contribution to this work.
I wish to express my most warmest thanks to Lauri Eklund and Harri Elamaa for their friendship, support, and many unforgettable moments both at work and outside the lab for the past ten years. Anne Latvanlehto and Jaana Väisänen are acknowledged for all their support and for all those scientific and non-scientific discussions during these years. I also want to thank Merja Nieminen, Kati Rautavuoma, Laura Silvennoinen, and Ari-Pekka Kvist for the support they have shown to me. I wish to acknowledge Ritva Nissi and Jussi Vuoristo for the cheerful, and sometimes even desperate, moments during this work and when organizing the dissertation party. Most of all, every single member of our group deserves my warmest thanks for creating a good scientific, but also quite relaxing, atmosphere in our Department.
I wish to thank the staff of the Department, especially Riitta Polojärvi and Jaana Jurvansuu, for their excellent and thorough technical assistance at all stages during this work, Juha Näpänkangas for helping with computers, and Pertti Vuokila, Marja-Leena Kivelä, Auli Kinnunen, and Seppo Lähdesmäki for their kind help in many problems during these years. I would also like to thank Sandra Barkoczy for the careful revision of the language of this thesis.
I owe my greatest gratitude to my parents, Marja-Leena and Tuomo, and to my brother Jari, for the support and love that they have always shown to me. I also wish to thank all my friends outside the lab, especially Maarit Mäkitalo, who always has such a positive attitude towards life. I want to express my special thanks to the members of the Canyon band, who have made it possible to share and do the most pleasurable and relaxing thing in life – music.
Finally, and above all, I owe my most sincere thanks to my wife Michaela for her never-ending support. The true spirit and force of my life has always been your love and friendship, and will always be. I dedicate this thesis to you.
This work has been supported by the Finnish Cultural Foundation and the Finnish Center of Excellence Programme (2000-2005) of the Academy of Finland.
Oulu, May 2002 Joni Mäki