Research Council of Finland selects 15 new Academy Professors

The Research Council of Finland (RCF) has decided on funding for 15 new Academy Professorships for the period 1 January 2026–31 December 2031. The revised Academy Professorship funding scheme provides funding to researchers who are at the international forefront of their fields and whose research strives for scientific renewal and breakthroughs.

The funding is designed to support selected Academy Professors in becoming top international researchers and strengthening and raising the level of expertise in their field in Finland. Academy Professors are expected to demonstrate a wide range of impact both during and after the funding period. The aim is also that the Academy Professorship will improve the researchers’ competitive edge in applying for EU and other international research funding.

The Academy Professors sign an employment contract with their host university. The RCF’s funding is directed through the university’s financial administration to fund the research work according to the Academy Professor’s research plan. The six-year funding comes to a maximum of 2.4 million euros per Academy Professor and will be used to cover the Academy Professor’s salary and the project’s research costs, such as research team salaries and travel expenses.

The RCF received 244 applications for Academy Professorship funding. Based on an international peer review, the RCF’s General Subcommittee shortlisted 56 applications to advance to the panel review stage. After this, three multidisciplinary panels (biosciences, health and environmental research; social sciences and humanities research; and natural sciences and engineering research) examined in particular the scientific quality, innovativeness and novelty of the research described in the applications. They also assessed the applicants’ competencies, abilities, expertise and expected achievements.

The overall application success rate was 6 per cent. The competition was extremely fierce, which meant that even several applications that received excellent reviews could not be funded.

Professor Kimmo Nuotio, Chair of the RCF Board and the General Subcommittee, said: “The Academy Professor call shows that internationally excellent research is being conducted in Finland in a delightfully vast range of fields.”

There has been a considerable increase in the proportion of women among Academy Professorship applicants and funding recipients. This year, women accounted for 34 per cent of all applicants, compared to 27 per cent in the previous call in 2019. Of the applicants who advanced to the second call stage, 41 per cent were women (2019: 29%), and women accounted for 47 per cent of those funded (2019: 30%).

The new Academy Professors will begin their term in January next year, at which point there will be a total of 23 Academy Professors, nine of whom are women. Ten of the current Academy Professors will end their terms at the end of 2025.

In future, the RCF plans to open Academy Professorship calls approximately every three years.

Academy Professors 1 Jan 2026–31 Dec 2031:

• Jani Erola (sociology, demography; University of Turku)
• Sarah Green (anthropology and ethnology; University of Helsinki)
• Tuomas Hytönen (mathematics; Aalto University)
• Johanna Ivaska (cellular and molecular biology, biochemistry and biophysics; University of Turku)
• Jari Kaukua (history of philosophy, history, theology; University of Jyväskylä)
• Sari Kivistö (history, literature research; Tampere University)
• Maria Lasonen (theoretical philosophy; University of Helsinki)
• Ari Mähönen (plant biology, developmental biology and physiology; University of Helsinki)
• Mikko Möttönen (physics, nanoscience and nanotechnology; Aalto University)
• Otso Ovaskainen (ecology, evolutionary biology and ecophysiology, computational data analysis; University of Jyväskylä)
• Minna Palmroth (space physics, fluid and plasma physics; University of Helsinki)
• Hanna Vehkamäki (meteorology and atmospheric sciences, climate research; University of Helsinki)
• Aki Vehtari (computational data analysis, statistics; Aalto University)
• Vladislav Verkhusha (biochemistry and biophysics, biomedicine; University of Helsinki)
• Anu Wartiovaara (biomedicine, cellular and molecular biology; University of Helsinki)