The world needs researched information.

The Sakari Alhopuro Foundation promotes and supports medical research, biodiversity, entrepreneurship as well as cultural and social well-being in Finland.

Medical Science

The Foundation specifically supports young doctors, so that they might have the opportunity to conduct research already during their studies and immediately after graduating.  

Grant applicants

Nature

More research data is needed about the impacts of climate change on our planet’s future. The Foundation seeks to advance an understanding of the biodiversity of nature as a means of promoting a more sustainable use of our natural surroundings.

Grant applicants

What's new

Foundation funding of over half a billion euro for science, art and civil society projects

In October, the European Day of Foundations and Donors will be held as a reminder of the valuable work being carried out by foundations and their significant role in society.

Read more

Sakari Alhopuro:

THE PURPOSE OF LIFE IS FOUND IN HELPING OTHERS

‘What is the purpose of life? As a doctor, I have often considered that the purpose of life is found in helping others’, states Sakari Alhopuro, founder of the Foundation.

Read more

Blogs

Get to know the work of researchers by reading our blogs!

An invisible threat – concentrations of nanoplastics in the Archipelago Sea are now being measured

Nanoplastics are tiny pieces of plastics, smaller than bacteria, which originate as a result of the wearing and breakdown of plastics. We are already quite familiar with microplastics, but nanoplastics are still lesser known. Nanoplastic particles are 1,000 times smaller than microplastics. In addition to our environment, they have been found in human bodies, even in breast milk. There is an obvious need for researched information.

Read more

Our brain favours harmony

Music is one of those experiences that brings joy and inspires emotions universally. But why do we find pleasure in listening to music? One of the keys is harmony, which rests on the perception of certain musical notes as pleasant or unpleasant.

Read more

Should Parkinson's disease be referred to in plural?

Parkinson’s disease is among the most extensively studied diseases but its underlying causes still remain a mystery. The symptoms and disease progression vary individually to such a great extent that there is reason to ask if we should be speaking of a group of diseases rather than a single disease. Already for years, researchers have attempted to identify different subtypes of the disease to facilitate its predictability and diagnostics. My research approaches the question from a new angle – through muscle symptoms and muscle findings.

Read more

Articles

‘My path to research began on the island of Seili’

In the summer of 2011, biology student Katja Mäkinen could not have imagined that her first internship in the field, at the Archipelago Research Institute of the University of Turku, would alter her dreams of becoming a teacher. However, that’s exactly what happened, and that field work on Seili sparked her interest in research work and led her to a career as a researcher.

Read more

Fighting the coronavirus with nasal sprays

According to researchers at the University of Helsinki, coronavirus infections can best be prevented by means of a nasally administered vaccine. In addition to the vaccine, the researchers are also developing a nasal spray to serve as a ‘biological mask’. These are two separate preparations, which are based on different technologies and used differently. The nasal spray may complement the protection provided by vaccines and be particularly suitable for individuals responding poorly to vaccines.

Read more

The first ever Sakari Alhopuro Prize awarded to Professor Kalervo Väänänen and archipelago nature photographer Jaakko Ruola

The Sakari Alhopuro Foundation’s Board has selected Professor Kalervo Väänänen and nature photographer Jaakko Ruola as the recipients of the Sakari Alhopuro Prize. The prize is awarded in recognition for their influential contribution to the protection of the Archipelago Sea. Now awarded for the first time, the prize sum amounts to 50,000 euro to be shared by the prize winners.

Read more

Saving the Archipelago Sea calls for legislative actions, the stick and the carrots

The Archipelago Sea is one of the most spectacular natural environs in Finland – but for how long? Eutrophication caused by phosphorus and the resulting algal blooms in the sea pose a serious threat to the natural and recreational values of the unique marine environment and the various forms of livelihood in the archipelago. Immediate, binding and efficient actions are needed to reverse the current development.

Read more

Professor Pentti Huovinen received the A. I. Virtanen Prize

Named after the only Finnish Nobel laureate in science, the A .I. Virtanen Prize has been awarded to Professor Pentti Huovinen in recognition of his internationally significant research in the field of bacteriology.

Read more

Contact information

Sakari Alhopuro Foundation

Carita Rantanen, M.Sc. (Econ.), eMBA
Managing Director
phone. 040 503 9609

Board of Directors of the Foundation

Pentti Huovinen, D.Med.Sc.,
Professor of Bacteriology
Chairman of the Board
Jyri Heinonen, LL.M. with court training
Vice Chairman of the Board
Ilppo Vuorinen, Ph.D.,
Professor Emeritus of Environmental Research
Member of the Board
Saara Alhopuro, Master of Political Science, diplomat
Member of the Board

Email addresses are in the form: firstname.lastname(at)sakarialhopuronsaatio.fi

Privacy policy statement

Read more