Research on Finnish National Diseases Evaluated Internationally Significant
Cardiovascular and metabolic research at the University of Turku studies the origins and prevention of cardiovascular disorders and diabetes among the Finnish population.
Turku PET Centre is a joint effort of the University of Turku, Åbo Akademi University, and the Hospital District of Southwest Finland.
An international group has evaluated the cardiovascular and metabolic research ‒ an area of strength in research ‒ at the University of Turku.
The evaluation report states that the long follow-up studies and the extensive population data collected in them have produced exceptionally valuable information on cardiovascular diseases, their origins, and prevention.
‒ And will continue to do so also in the future. For example, the ongoing TEDDY and DIPP projects keep producing new information on the risk factors and prevention of type 1 diabetes, says the chair of the evaluation group, professor Matti Uusitupa from the University of Eastern Finland.
The Extensive Data in International Use
The evaluation group thinks highly of the fact that the information produced in the follow up studies, some of which have been going on for decades, can also be used in international consortiums studying the genetics of chronic diseases on a more general level.
Especially two projects: the YFS project, which started in 1980 and studies the cardiovascular diseases among young Finns, and the STRIP project, which started in 1990 and studies the prevention of atherosclerosis and coronary heart disease among young Finnish people alike, are not only exceptional in Finland, but offer good data for international research.
‒ The research in this area has also been especially productive in expanding its efforts to studying the significance of exercise and different psychological factors, Uusitupa adds.
PET – the Crown Jewel of Biomedicine in Turku
The international evaluation group ranked Turku PET Centre as a crucial factor in the success of the research area. The Centre is a joint effort of the University of Turku, Åbo Akademi University, and the Hospital District of Southwest Finland. The Centre is the Academy of Finland’s Centre of Excellence (CoE) in 2008–2013.
– The Centre is the crown jewel of biomedicine in Turku. It gives a lot of possibilities for studying diabetes, for example, by enabling imaging pancreas B cells among other things, Uusitupa says.
He continues to state that Turku PET Centre is one of the leading centres in Europe – if not the leading one.
– The Centre could support this field of research in all of Finland even more.
Development through Evaluation
When it comes to the future of the evaluated field, the review strengthens the vision the University has in store for it.
‒ The field of cardiovascular and metabolic research got good reviews and its position as an area of strength in research is justified. In future, it will be important to invest in a biobank and our possibilities to increase research activities in genetics and bioinformatics. This was a clear suggestion in the report, too, Vice-Rector Suominen says.
The members of the evaluation group: Professor Leif Groop, Lund University, Professor Ulf de Faire, Karolinska Institutet, Professor Michael Stumvoll, University Hospital Leipzig, Professor Ulf Smith, Sahlgrenska University Hospital and Professor Matti Uusitupa, University of Eastern Finland. The group visited the University of Turku May 30–31 in 2012.
Text: Taru Suhonen