Veijo Salo

I am a medical doctor by training and a cell biologist by passion. My research centers on one fundamental question: how do cells organize and control lipid metabolism? 

During my PhD in lipid cell biology, I uncovered mechanisms that regulate how cells handle and distribute lipids. I developed innovative tools to trace lipid flux in living cells and engineered systems to precisely manipulate key regulators, revealing how membrane proteins define where lipid-related processes occur. For my postdoctoral work at EMBL Heidelberg, I deliberately stepped into structural biology to understand these processes at a deeper level. I became an expert in in situ cryo-electron tomography, a technique that allows us to visualize molecular machinery directly inside intact cells. To overcome limitations in nanoscale protein localization, we developed genetically encoded nanoparticles (GEMs), expanding cryo-ET to cellular phenomena where prior structural knowledge is limited.

Using these approaches, I have begun to reveal how key lipid regulators are organized at the nanoscale within cells, providing new insight into how membrane architecture shapes organelle biogenesis. Today, my laboratory at Karolinska Institutet integrates cell biology and in-cell structural biology to understand how liver cells balance lipid storage and lipid secretion. This balance is central to metabolic health, and its disruption contributes to common diseases such as fatty liver disease and cardiovascular disorders.

Lipid flux and cellular self-organization

Lipids are fundamental building blocks of cellular life. Beyond serving as energy stores, they define membrane identity, shape organelles, and regulate signaling and metabolic adaptation. Yet many core principles remain unresolved. How do cells decide when to store lipids versus mobilize or secrete them? How do membranes remodel to generate new organelles? How do local lipid environments influence protein activity and cellular fate

My laboratory investigates how lipid flux is organized across scales — from molecular interactions to whole-cell architecture. We combine advanced fluorescence imaging, genome engineering, and in-cell structural biology to visualize membrane remodeling directly inside intact cells. A central focus is understanding how nanoscale membrane organization encodes metabolic decisions, particularly in liver cells where lipid storage and secretion must be precisely balanced to maintain systemic health. Disruption of these processes contributes to common diseases including fatty liver disease and cardiovascular disorders.

By integrating cell biology with cryo-correlative microscopy and in situ cryo-electron tomography, we aim to uncover the molecular logic that governs lipid flux in health and disease.

Join the lab

We welcome curious and motivated researchers who are excited about membrane biology, metabolism, and advanced imaging.
If you are interested in joining the lab, feel free to get in touch.

More about our reserach can be found on our lab website.