Sanja studies the evolution of care behaviours and social organization in social insects, connecting behavioral data with molecular, physiological and morphological lines of inspection. The insect societies control the development of individuals through socially transferred materials, which sparked Sanja’s broader theoretical interest in them as a potential accelerator of evolution.
After completing her PhD in Helsinki in 2020 she held post-doc positions in Fribourg and Lausanne, after which she returned to Helsinki in 2025. In addition to research, she is also very involved in environmental advocacy and popularizing science, for example by writing children' s books on biodiversity.
