The new research programmes of the University of Helsinki’s Faculty of Medicine will launch in January 2019. The maximum duration of the programmes is six years.
The application process, which began in October, is almost done. The scientific evaluation process concluded in a site visit that the international Scientific Advisory Board made to the Meilahti Campus, and the evaluation report will be finished in the coming days.
The Dean of the Faculty will make the final decision on the new research programmes by the end of June.
Twelve research programme candidates participated in the scientific evaluation.
“In total, the research groups that have applied to become research programmes employ approximately 1,660 people, of whom 143 are principal investigators, 74 clinical researchers and 58 postdoctoral researchers. That’s quite a crowd,” says Professor Hannu Sariola, who coordinated the application process.
“A research programme must be a strong hub of research groups, providing synergy benefits and combining basic, translational and clinical research while demonstrating the potential to produce high-level scientific discoveries,” states Sariola.
Professor Norman Rosenblum from the University of Toronto’s Research Institute of the Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) led the international Scientific Advisory Board. The other members of the group were Professor Peter Lichter, National Center for Tumor Diseases Heidelberg (NCT); Professor Kristina Schoonjans, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL); Professor Lars Farde, the Karolinska Institutet; and Professor Martin Blaser, New York University.
Twelve research programme candidates
- Applied Tumor Genomics (ATG) / Group Leader: Lauri Aaltonen
- Translational Cancer Medicine Program (CAN-PRO) / Group Leader: Kari Alitalo
- Human Microbiome Research / Group Leader: Willem de Vos
- Systems Oncology (ONCOSYS) / Group Leader: Sampsa Hautaniemi
- Big Data for Lifelong Health (BigLIFE) / Group Leader: Jaakko Kaprio
- Program in Translational Immunology (TRIMM) / Group Leader: Satu Mustjoki
- Individualized Drug Therapy (INDIVIDRUG) / Group Leader: Mikko Niemi
- Translational Stem Cell Biology and Metabolism (STEMM) / Group Leader: Timo Otonkoski
- Cognitive, Systems, and Translational Neuroscience (CoSTra) / Group Leaders: Satu Palva and Teija Kujala
- Sleep and stress in health and in transition from acute to chronic diseases (SLEEPWELL) / Group Leader: Tiina Paunio
- Clinical and Molecular Metabolism (CAMM) / Group Leader: Kirsi Pietiläinen
- Inflammation in cardiovascular diseases / Group Leader: Juha Sinisalo