The pharmaceutical industry needs reliable partners to carry out extensive clinical studies in connection with the development of new drugs. Dozens of clinical trials are going on in the departments of the Helsinki University Central Hospital, with participation by the Faculty's researchers. Such commissioned research is coordinated by the Clinical Research Institute HUCH Ltd.
The Faculty and the hospital also collaborate, together with companies from Finland and abroad, in research and development related to medical technology and biomaterials.
Endowed professorships have in recent years become an established practice for companies to support medical research. Such corporations as Alko Inc, Amgen Inc, Valio Ltd and the University Pharmacy have endowed fixed-term professorships on the Meilahti Campus.
MeVac is a vaccine research centre operated by the University of Helsinki and Helsinki University Hospital, which conducts research commissioned by pharmaceutical companies as well as studies initiated by academic investigators. The unit is headed by Professor of Infectious Diseases Anu Kantele.
The vaccine research centre is located at Biomedicum on the Meilahti medical campus.
Kaarlo Simojoki is the first professor of practice appointed at the University of Helsinki’s Faculty of Medicine. The professorship is funded with an endowment by Alko Oy.
A Finnish-language interview of Simojoki is available here.
A hub of health and life sciences established in Meilahti provides support for international networking and processing ideas.
In the basic and specialisation education of doctors and dentists, the Faculty of Medicine’s key partners include the HUS Helsinki University Hospital, the hospitals in its area of responsibility as well as the health centres located in Helsinki, Vantaa and Espoo. The planning of education involves cooperation with other Finnish medical faculties.
The Faculty conducts research cooperation with other universities, research institutes and businesses.
Close cooperation partners include the Institute for Molecular Medicine Finland (FIMM) and the Neuroscience Centre, which are both units of the University of Helsinki’s Helsinki Institute of Life Science (HiLIFE).
The Faculty also conducts cooperation related to brain research with Aalto University. These efforts are realised, for example, in the BioMag Laboratory, a unit specialised in brain- and heart-related research on the Meilahti hospital premises, jointly operated by the University of Helsinki, Aalto University and HUS Helsinki University Hospital.
Diverse research and education cooperation is also conducted with the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare and the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health. Biomedicum Helsinki, a centre of medical research and training, provides good preconditions for on-campus research cooperation. In addition to research groups from the University, Helsinki University Hospital, FIMM and the Hospital District of Helsinki and Uusimaa, active on the premises are the Folkhälsan Research Center, the Minerva Foundation, the aeromedical and force health protection units of the Centre for Military Medicine as well as several pharmaceutical companies.