NCMM is an international biomedical research centre at the University of Oslo, with the overall objective of translating basic medical research into clinical practice. It is also the Norwegian node of the Nordic EMBL Partnership for Molecular Medicine and thus among the closest international collaboration partners of FIMM.
Janna Saarela, M.D. Ph.D, has been the Head of FIMM Technology Centre from 2009. She has overseen the growth of FIMM research infrastructure platforms into the state-of-the-art national actor that the Technology Centre now is. Furthermore, she has contributed significantly to the development of clinical sequencing activities in Finland.
Dr. Saarela has acted as the Deputy Director of FIMM since 2011. Her own research group focuses on genomics of both rare and common human immune disorders.
“With her research interests and clinical expertise, and particular focus on understanding the biological pathways and mechanisms behind immune diseases, Dr. Saarela’s research fits extremely well with NCMM’s emphasis on translational research. Her work also further complements that of several of NCMM’s existing research groups”, said Elisa Bjørgo, the Chief Administrative Officer at NCMM.
“We are incredibly grateful to Janna Saarela for her countless scientific, technical and administrative contributions to FIMM through the years. Janna has truly been at the heart of FIMM as a scientific community for so many years and it is a great loss to all of us to have her step down as the Head of FIMM Technology Centre, and more than that, to lose her steady presence in guiding FIMM. While it is hard for us to consider moving ahead without her daily advice and leadership, we are so proud that she has been offered this opportunity and offer our warmest congratulations to her as she embarks on this new endeavor”, said Mark Daly, Director of FIMM.
“We congratulate also NCMM and are excited about the opportunity to form even closer research collaborations to Oslo.”
Read more from the NCMM press release.