CryoStore diary - Paulina Pyrek
Secondment at LUKE, Finland | May-June 2026Huomenta! 😊
It has been a while since my last update on the CryoStore blog — but here I am again, “all in white” as we say in Poland (which feels very fitting when you look at the photos from the lab).
At the beginning of May, I started my secondment at Luonnonvarakeskus — also known as the Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke) — located in the charming village of Jokioinen. At first, I was a bit nervous about the language barrier, but that quickly faded. Finland feels surprisingly familiar — the Nordic atmosphere, and even Swedish on some road signs, make me feel like I’m not so far from Norway after all. It didn’t take long before I fell in love with the peaceful landscapes and my daily encounters with wildlife (pheasants included!).
I was so excited about this secondment! Not only because I get to start a new experiment, but also because it gives me the chance to be closely involved in the conservation of endangered cattle breeds, something I truly find meaningful. On top of that, working directly with my co-supervisor, Jaana Peippo, has already been such a valuable and inspiring experience.
During my stay, I am continuing my work on optimizing the vitrification protocol of mature bovine oocytes, with a stronger focus on the lipid component and L-carnitine supplementation. And I really couldn’t have asked for a better team to do this with! I’m incredibly grateful to Jaana and Mervi, who have been supporting me (oocytes can be still challenging) and generously sharing their knowledge on in vitro embryo production. And of course, a big shout-out to Tuula-Marjatta, who is always ready to jump in and help during oocyte aspiration and vitrification—procedures that can take a very long time, especially with the amount of material we’re working with!
long and logistically challenging days in the lab
The first part of my study is now done, and I’m really happy to share some photos of “our babies.” The lab is continuously working on biobanking material from native Finnish breeds, and I’m super excited to hopefully get involved soon and play even a small role in this important conservation work.
But for now — I need to get back to the lab… the second part of my study won’t complete itself!
See you soon 😊
one of our first ‘calves’ in the experiment