This was the 15th occasion of the University of Helsinki’s Faculty of Medicine choosing its Alum of the Year. Nominations were accepted for University alumni who have contributed significantly to society and, thus, promoted the public engagement of the Faculty’s disciplines.
The Alum of the Year in 2026 is Tuula Helander, PhD, who serves as Director of the Biotechnology and Medicines Unit at the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health. Helander has extensive experience in various fields and positions in the healthcare sector, including academic research, diagnostics and patient care as well as management, supervision and legislation. Helander has also worked long at the intersection of HUS Helsinki University Hospital and the University of Helsinki.
Helander frequently appears in international arenas as well, having chaired many national steering groups in her unit’s areas of responsibility. She has also held varied EU-level positions, including representing Finland in sub-groups of the European Commission focused on cancer and representing EU member states in and co-chairing the extensive 1+ Million Genomes initiative.
– Finland’s medical expertise is valued. We are consulted, which is why I’ve considered it my obligation to spread our message and try to make a difference internationally, particularly in the EU, Helander says.
Lobbying at the heart of public engagement
Public engagement is one of the three core duties of Finnish universities. Concrete success in it is achieved through multiprofessional cooperation, a good example of which are various legislative projects. Helander played a key role in promoting the amendment of the Act on the Secondary Use of Health and Social Data, which was passed by the Finnish Parliament in late 2025. At the Faculty of Medicine, this change is considered exceptionally significant for research.
In connection with legislative lobbying, Helander has become familiar with RDI growth strategies in the health sector while working as a senior advisor under the permanent secretary at the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health. She emphasises the importance of research and believes that research and education are the lifeblood of our society.
Learning about her nomination as Alum of the Year, Helander in fact thought that the reason for this pleasant surprise could be her active efforts in medicine, healthcare, preparedness and contingency planning. She will certainly maintain her active approach down the line.
– I think the genes of my entrepreneurial family are expressed in my way of advancing things collaboratively, listening to customers, that is, healthcare providers, researchers and especially patients. Working together gives strength and the opportunity for broader impact, Helander sums up.
An active cancer researcher with a solid background in association efforts
For several decades, cancer research and its promotion have constituted a particularly integral element in Tuula Helander’s journey. Helander has headed the FICAN South centre, coordinated the national Comprehensive Cancer Center and, as a special advisor at the Ministry, worked on the National Cancer Center project, among other things. In the application period for the iCAN – Digital Precision Cancer Medicine Flagship, she also successfully serced as a research coordinator for a University of Helsinki Impact team. Alongside all of this, Helander served for over 20 years as a part-time Secretary General of the Finnish Cancer Institute. The foundation has been a key contributor to, for example, the establishment of Finnish Cancer Center FICAN and the Model Country of Individualized Cancer Care initiative.
Broad-based engagement, a feature typical of the disciplines of the Faculty of Medicine, is also evident in Helander’s background. Alongside diverse professional duties, she has been active in scholarly societies and associations since the 1990s. Through her own actions, Helander encourages students and junior researchers to examine their own topics of interest and build networks.
– Your path doesn’t have to be clear from the start, and you don’t have to curb your various interests or panic about a possible delay or even a few breaks in your studies. I encourage students to cultivate breadth, sustained interest, networks and a sense of wonder. You must have time to think, which at times seems to be a dwindling resource in our hectic world, Helander notes.
Strength from multidisciplinary and stakeholder collaboration
In the past decade in particular, the University of Helsinki’s Faculty of Medicine has diversified strongly to tackle societal change and development needs. By strengthening wellbeing and organisational operations through education, and by consolidating multidisciplinary research collaboration around it, we develop new ways of responding to change.
– Versatility, high teaching quality, an extensive research portfolio including world-class research, adaptability. A wonderful place of growth, particularly for students of the Faculty of Medicine, from undergraduates to doctoral researchers, Helander describes the Faculty’s assets.
In addition to the development of education and research, stakeholder collaboration has gained new prominence as a future resource for the Faculty. Its alumni have already collaborated extensively to support the Faculty as well as its degree programmes and students. As Alum of the Year, Helander hopes to empower the Faculty’s future change-makers. She identifies potential particularly between students and alumni, based on mutual interaction and learning.
The Faculty of Medicine has for long also invested in business collaboration and innovation through international activities and its extensive collaboration network. The purpose of strengthening various forms of collaboration is to develop new therapies and integrate expertise into policymaking. Helander also believes that investment in research and advances in research-based knowledge are extremely important in a time where disinformation is challenging society as a whole and potentially increasing polarisation.
– How can you improve and develop anything or lay down policies without research-based knowledge? Helander concludes.