Recent activities in A.I. Virtanen Institute
6.5.2021 Researchers discover novel non-coding RNAs regulating blood vessel formation. The study, conducted by the research groups of Associate Professor Minna Kaikkonen-Määttä and Professor Seppo Ylä-Herttuala, provides a better understanding of the complex interplay of ncRNAs with gene regulation, which might open up novel therapeutic approaches in the future. The results were published in the Molecular and Cellular Biology Journal.
28.4.2021 A top-level international research team including Research Director Annakaisa Haapasalo has developed a new algorithm for the diagnostics of dementia. The algorithm is based on blood and cerebrospinal fluid biomarker measurements. These biomarkers can be used to aid setting of an exact diagnosis already in the early phases of dementia. More information here.
27.4.2021 Proof of Concept funding for Professor Tarja Malm, “Functional biomarker for Alzheimer’s disease”. New approaches for early diagnosis of AD are of a great importance for identification of optimal starting point for disease-modifying interventions. Here we test our newly identified functional biomarker approach in AD patient cells.
8.4.2021 The coronavirus can also enter the brain. “There are receptors on the surface of some brain cells which allow the coronavirus to penetrate the cell,” Academy Research Fellow, Associate Professor Katja Kanninen said in a Brain Awareness Week webinar.
26.3.2021 Doctoral dissertation of MSc Meike Keuters. “Developing and testing novel treatment strategies in mouse models of cerebrovascular accidents“
8.3.2021 Rokote Laboratories Finland Ltd., is a newly-founded, Finnish academic spin-out working to develop and introduce to the markets a nasal spray vaccine against COVID. The vaccine is based on research carried out at the University of Helsinki and the University of Eastern Finland. More information here.
1.3.2021 Jussi Tohka appointed as Professor of Biomedical Image and Signal Analysis.
24.2.2021 Many genes associated with the risk of coronary artery disease act through the liver. A new study published in The American Journal of Human Genetics.