Kari Alitalo

Cancer researcher and Academy Professor Kari Alitalo, stationed at the University of Helsinki Meilahti Campus, is a prominent expert in the vascular growth factors that sustain cancerous tumours. Of the currently known blood and lymphatic vessel growth factors, three out of five have been identified by Alitalo and his team.

When developing cancer treatments, Alitalo’s team takes advantage of the cancer cells’ dependence on the healthy tissue surrounding the tumour, studying ways to prevent the growth of signalling pathways, that is, blood and lymphatic vessels.

Alitalo’s research group has also shown that lymphatic growth factors play a key role in the formation of metastases. When cancer spreads, the lymphatic vessels function as highways for cells.

The studies on growth factors have broadened Alitalo’s research field from cancer to other conditions, such as cardiovascular diseases, obesity and diabetes.

Alitalo heads the Molecular Cancer Biology Programme at the University of Helsinki Faculty of Medicine, which aims to combine basic research and the diagnostics and treatment of diseases. He also studies other diseases, especially at the Wihuri Research Institute at Biomedicum Helsinki, where he works as the director.

Alitalo has published 418 original articles and 122 reviews, which make him one of the most frequently cited researchers in Europe. In 1996–2007, for example, Alitalo was the second most cited European cell biologist.

Text: Virve Pohjanpalo
Translation: Language Centre/Language Services, University of Helsinki