She obtained her PhD degree in Azerbaijan, conducting part of her research in Prof. G Horvath's lab in Budapest with the support of a UNESCO fellowship. She also spent approximately one and a half years collaborating with Prof. I. Vass's group in Szeged, BRC. In 2002, she joined the Molecular Plant Biology unit at the University of Turku as a postdoctoral research fellow. By 2009, she had earned the Docent title in Bioenergetics. Presently, she holds the position of Professor of Basic and Applied Photosynthesis at the University of Turku. She chaired the NordAqua Nordic Center of Excellence, funded by NordForsk, from 2017 to 2022, and is currently involved in coordinating or partnering in several Nordic, EU, and national consortia. Additionally, she serves as the chair of the Biocity Turku Research Programme, "Advanced Bioresources and Smart Bioproducts".