The Academy of Finland newsletter will keep you updated on basic research funded in Finland and on other news from the Finnish world of science and research. In case you wish us to send this to someone else in your organisation or if you do not want to receive these newsletters in the future, please let us know at viestinta@aka.fi.
Features:
- Members to Academy of Finland Board and four Research Councils appointed
- Academy of Finland partner in new Finnish innovation centre in Silicon Valley
- Academy to cooperate with Egypt in environmental research
- Academy to fund energy research with nine million euros
- Projects selected to Power in Finland Research Programme
- Finnish Antarctic research evaluated
- Baltic Sea conference interviews on the web
- Academy-funded research attracted much debate on hormone therapy
- Academy of Finland October round of application attracted 1,440 applications
Scroll down for more on these stories
MEMBERS TO ACADEMY OF FINLAND BOARD AND FOUR RESEARCH COUNCILS APPOINTED
The Council of State has appointed the chairs and members to the Academy of Finland's four Research Councils for the three-year term 1 January 2007–31 December 2009. The Research Councils decide on the allocation of research funding in their fields of expertise. Chairs of the Academy's Research Councils are Professor Paavo Pelkonen (Research Council for Biosciences and Environment) from the University of Joensuu, Professor Eila Helander (Research Council for Culture and Society) from the University of Helsinki, Professor Erkki Oja (Research Council for Natural Sciences and Engineering) from Helsinki University of Technology and Professor Kalervo Väänänen (Research Council for Health) from the University of Turku.
In the coming three-year term the members of the Academy of Finland Board are Pelkonen, Helander, Oja and Väänänen as well as Senior Vice President Tiina Mattila-Sandholm (Valio R&D) and Director Pirkko Nuolijärvi (Research Institute for the Languages in Finland). The Board is chaired by the Academy President to be appointed in December 2006.
Research Council for Biosciences and Environment
Chair:
Professor Paavo Pelkonen (Forest Production Ecology)
University of Joensuu
Members:
Professor Jaana Bamford (Molecular Biology, Virology)
University of Jyväskylä
Professor Marina Heinonen (Functional Foods)
University of Helsinki
Professor Hely Häggman (Plant Physiology)
University of Oulu
Professor Jouni Häkli (Regional Studies)
University of Tampere
Research Director Juha Kämäri (Environmental Change Research)
Finnish Environment Institute
Professor Reijo Lahti (Biochemistry)
University of Turku
Docent Jyrki Luukkanen (Climate, Biodiversity and Futures Studies)
Turku School of Economics
Professor Liselotte Sundström (Evolution Biology)
University of Helsinki
Director Leena Vestala (Gene and Biotechnology)
Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry
Professor Karl Åkerman (Cell Biology)
University of Kuopio
Research Council for Culture and Society
Chair:
Professor Eila Helander (Church Sociology)
University of Helsinki
Members:
Professor Pertti Haapala (Finnish History)
University of Tampere
Research Professor Matti Heikkilä (Social Policy)
National Research and Development Centre for Welfare and Health (Stakes).
Research Director Päivi Hovi-Wasastjerna (Visual Communication)
University of Art and Design Helsinki
Professor Anne Kovalainen (Economic Sociology, Business Know-how)
Turku School of Economics
Professor Jaakko Pehkonen (Economics)
University of Jyväskylä
Professor Lea Rojola (Finnish Literature)
University of Turku
Professor Pekka Ruohotie (Vocational Education)
University of Tampere
Professor Katariina Salmela-Aro (Psychology)
University of Jyväskylä
Professor Marja Tuominen (Cultural History)
University of Lapland
Professor Jan-Ola Östman (Nordic Languages)
University of Helsinki
Research Council for Natural Sciences and Engineering
Chair:
Professor Erkki Oja (Computer Science)
Helsinki University of Technology
Members:
Professor Helena Aksela (Physics)
University of Oulu
Professor Jaakko Astola (Signal Processing)
Tampere University of Technology
Research Professor Johanna Buchert (Process Biotechnology)
VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland
Professor Hannu Hänninen (Mechanical Engineering)
Helsinki University of Technology
Professor Timo Jääskeläinen (Optics)
University of Joensuu
Professor Pertti Mattila (Mathematics)
University of Helsinki
Professor Jarmo Partanen (Electrical Engineering)
Lappeenranta University of Technology
Research Professor Tuija Pulkkinen (Space Research)
Finnish Meteorological Institute
Professor Kaisa Sere (Computer Science)
Åbo Akademi University
Professor Pirjo Vainiotalo (Organic Chemistry)
University of Joensuu
Research Council for Health
Chair:
Professor Kalervo Väänänen (Cell Biology)
University of Turku
Members:
Professor Anssi Auvinen (Epidemiology)
University of Tampere
Professor Helena Gylling (Clinical Nutrition and Internal Medicine)
University of Kuopio
Professor Kirsti Husgafvel-Pursiainen (Genetics, Toxicology)
Finnish Institute of Occupational Health
Professor Marja-Liisa Hänninen (Food and Environmental Hygiene)
University of Helsinki
Professor Tatu Juvonen (Clinical Medicine, Surgery)
University of Oulu
Professor Jorma Keski-Oja (Cancer Biology)
University of Helsinki
Professor Mikael Knip (Paediatrics)
University of Helsinki
Research Director Anna-Elina Lehesjoki (Medical Genetics)
University of Helsinki
Professor Tuula Salo (Oral Pathology)
University of Oulu
Professor Pia Vuorela (Pharmaceutical Chemistry)
Åbo Akademi University
ACADEMY OF FINLAND PARTNER IN NEW FINNISH INNOVATION CENTRE IN SILICON VALLEY
FinNode, the new Finnish innovation centre, will open in Silicon Valley, USA, in January 2007. The innovation centre will serve Finnish and US companies and researchers. FinNode's objective is to accelerate the arrival of Finnish companies onto the USA market, to augment the mobility of researchers and research cooperation between Finland and the USA, and to add to the attraction of Finland as a target for investment and as a place to establish a business. The innovation centre has been established by Finpro, the Finnish National Fund for Research and Development (Sitra), the Academy of Finland, Tekes – Finnish Funding Agency for Technology and Innovation, and VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland.
Almost all the founding organisations already operate in the USA. However, FinNode brings all their services under one roof, making them more easily accessible to customers. The centre will also develop new joint services. FinNode aims for open cooperation with all parties involved in innovation. Activities in Finland are primarily linked to the operations of the founding organisations. In the USA, FinNode is part of the network for Finnish export promotion and internationalisation (the EPI actors). Besides actors from FinNode, it includes other Finpro offices, Tekes USA East Coast office and delegations from Finland's Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The official opening of the FinNode centre in Santa Clara, Silicon Valley, will take place on 24 January 2007.
ACADEMY TO COOPERATE WITH EGYPT IN ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH
The Academy of Finland and the Academy of Scientific Research & Technology in Egypt will sign an agreement on joint calls for and joint funding of joint research projects. The purpose is to increase Finnish-Egyptian research collaboration in different fields. Mutual interest has already been shown in environmental research and in the fields of design. Other fields discussed include medical sciences and the development of information society.
The first joint call will be launched in January 2007 in the field of environmental research. A requirement for a joint project is a joint research plan submitted by a Finnish-Egyptian research team. The Academy's criteria for joint projects with Egypt, as well as with other countries, include in addition to the added value to be expected from the project, also the scientific quality and innovativeness of the research plan.
ACADEMY TO FUND ENERGY RESEARCH WITH NINE MILLION EUROS: BROAD-BASED RESEARCH PROGRAMME TO MEET ENERGY PRODUCTION CHALLENGES
The Academy of Finland is set to launch a new, innovative research programme on energy next year. The Sustainable Energy Research Programme (SusEn) is aimed at boosting basic research in the energy field and reconciling research into environmentally-friendly and sustainable energy production with economic factors at the early stages of research.
The aim is also to create a more in-depth and working dialogue between researchers and industrial actors in the field of basic research, meanwhile building mechanisms for rapid and effective application of new knowledge. The challenges facing energy research include in particular harmonisation of environmental effects and the economic edge conditions as well as the optimal use of renewable natural resources for raw materials and energy. This requires a multidisciplinary approach.
Starting in 2008, the programme will focus on researching and developing raw materials, technologies and processes related to energy production and energy use, as well as on analysing socio-economic and political systems used to manage these. An overall objective is curbing climate change. The SusEn programme is scheduled to run for four years, with a funding of nine million euros.
PROJECTS SELECTED TO POWER IN FINLAND RESEARCH PROGRAMME
The projects to the Power in Finland Research Programme of the Academy of Finland have been selected. The programme will start at the beginning of 2007 and run until 2010. The projects within the programme were granted a total of 6.5 million euros. The key issues of the programme include the practices of the governmental system, government bodies and the administration, the EU membership, economic power, the media, the increased importance of knowledge in society and a number of other issues.
The projects receiving funding are: Leadership, Power and Fear; Power Elites and the Concepts of Power: Governing the Finnish Market Regime; Diversed Power in Gendered Corporation: Workplaces and Gender Equality; Perceptions of Power in Finnish Forest and Nature Conservation Policy: A Political Psychology Application; Citizen Power in Representative Democracy; Governing Competition Society – The Finnish Market Regime in Comparative perspective: Political Institutions; Media, Citizenship and Circuits of Power; Knowledge/Power in Urban Development; Pension Power in Finland; The Power of Culture in Producing Common Sense; Paradoxes of Finnish Gender Power Order: A Research Project on Law, Politics and Multilevel Governance; The Triumph of Competition: Deregulation and Institutional Change in the Finnish Economy, 1960–2005; Power, Supranational Regimes and New University Management in Finland; Governance of Finnish Energy Policy-making: From Governmental Control and Regulation to Market-based Domination?; Challenging Power: Equality, Diversity and the Integration of Ethnic and National Minorities in Finland; Strategic Practices: Hidden Histories of Gender in Finland; The European Union as an International Actor: Analysing the EU's External Policies from the Perspective of a Small Member State; Public Economics, Economic Power and Distribution; Forcing the Way: Women in Professional Networks of Power and Knowledge in 20th-Century Finland; Transformations in Law and Power; The Reproduction of Power Structures in Finland 1660–2005.
FINNISH ANTARCTIC RESEARCH EVALUATED
An international expert panel that evaluated the scientific quality of Finnish Antarctic research concludes that part of Finnish Antarctic research has been successful, but as a whole, it remains below the level of international research. According to the panel, the quality of research could be improved by increasing both national and international networking of research. Collaboration could be further fostered through research and funding policy measures, for instance. Due to relatively weak international and national collaboration within Finnish research, the critical mass of research is not achieved, especially as Finnish research teams are small.
The panel further recommends that Finnish Antarctic research be upgraded by planning it more strictly from the vantage-point of research-driven objectives. At present, the panel notes, research funding allocation is too much rooted in Finland's participation in the Antarctic Treaty and the research input required by this Treaty.
The evaluation panel's final report "Antarctic Research in Finland 1998–2005: International Evaluation" is available in pdf-format on the Academy of Finland website at www.aka.fi/publications
BALTIC SEA CONFERENCE INTERVIEWS ON THE WEB
The international Baltic Sea conference convened over 300 Baltic Sea experts in Helsinki in November. The conference was very topical since the EU is presently working to formulate a Marine Strategy, the aim of which is to improve the status of the marine environment. Headed by the Academy of Finland, the Baltic Sea countries are also preparing a joint, multidisciplinary research programme, which seeks to generate new knowledge in support of the sustainable development of the Baltic Sea. Video interviews with scientists and experts and other material available on the conference website at www.eu2006balticsea.net
ACADEMY-FUNDED RESEARCH ATTRACTED MUCH DEBATE ON HORMONE THERAPY
A postmenopausal hormone therapy trial conducted in Estonia indicates that hormone therapy does not improve women's quality of life. The group receiving hormones and the comparison group showed no differences in general quality of life. Only those women that experienced hot flashes and night-time sweating reported beneficial effects. These results were obtained from the Estonian Postmenopausal Hormone Therapy trial (EPHT) funded by the Academy of Finland and conducted under the leadership of Research Professor Elina Hemminki from the National Research and Development Centre for Welfare and Health (Stakes). In addition to Stakes, other participants in the trial were the University of Tampere, the University of Tartu and the National Institute for Health Development (TAI) from Estonia.
Hormone therapy led to an increased number of health care visits and increased treatment costs. In comparison to the control group, more lower abdominal ultrasounds and electrocardiograms were performed on the group receiving hormone therapy, but there were no differences in the number of gynaecological or breast surgeries, bone density measurement or mammography. The women receiving hormone therapy showed slightly more cardiovascular disease, cerebral circulatory disease and cancer in comparison to the women who did not take hormones. However, these differences were not statistically significant. The hormone recipients had less fractures and less hot flashes and night-time sweating than the comparison group, but they also had more flow. There were no differences in depression, sleep disorders, fatigue, dizziness or bloating.
The EPHT trial is the first European randomised controlled long-term hormone therapy trial. The women in this trial were younger than those in the American WHI study completed earlier. Furthermore, the effect of postmenopausal hormones on use of healthcare services was studied for the first time.
ACADEMY OF FINLAND OCTOBER ROUND OF APPLICATION ATTRACTED 1,440 APPLICATIONS
A total of 1,440 applications were submitted to the Academy of Finland in the October application round. Of the applications, 542 were submitted for research posts. The Academy has two types of research posts for application: Academy Professor and Academy Research Fellow. Both Academy Professors and Academy Research Fellows work at universities or research institutes. The Research Council for Natural Sciences and Engineering received most applications, followed by the Research Council for Culture and Society, the Research Council for Biosciences and Environment and the Research Council for Health.
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