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The non-profit foundation supports, promotes and maintains research in clinical medicine and other university-level health sciences in Turku University Hospital and its area of influence.

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The non-profit foundation supports, promotes and maintains research in clinical medicine and other university-level health sciences in Turku University Hospital and its area of influence. The foundation was founded by the decision of the Council of the Hospital District of Southwest Finland on 14th October 1999.

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Geneticist Sini Keskinen studies hereditary pancreatic cancer risk

Pancreatic cancer is difficult to diagnose because it usually progresses without symptoms until it is already advanced. In her doctoral research, Sini Keskinen studies hereditary pancreatic cancer risk to help identify people at increased risk, monitor them and detect cancer as early as possible.

Jaakko Koskenniemi: Major Grant from the Marita and Heikki Vaiste Fund (€100,000) for research on the origins of type 1 Diabetes

Curiosity led Jaakko Koskenniemi to begin doctoral research already during medical school. – During my first summer working in medicine, I became familiar with a remarkable difference in reproductive health between children studied in Turku and Copenhagen. The researchers had an interesting hypothesis regarding the effects of environmental chemicals. I ended up writing my doctoral

Measuring the Body’s Stress Hormone to Gain Insight into the Effects of Retirement

Konsta Kuusento is a 31-year-old Licentiate of Medicine from Turku. “I graduated as a physician from the University of Turku in 2020, in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic. I have mainly worked in primary health care and am specializing in general practice. I started the doctoral program in clinical research at the University of

Writing a doctoral dissertation on neonatal oxygen deficiency while completing a medical degree

Niina Viitaharju, a fifth-year medical student, spun her advanced studies topic on neonatal oxygen deficiency into a doctoral dissertation project. Since 2023, she has worked for a clinical research programme on the topic in Turku. At the moment, her Lic. Med. degree and part of her dissertation work is set to be completed by spring–summer

Taru Garthwaite, PhD, received funding for a conference trip in sports medicine

Taru Garthwaite’s doctoral dissertation in clinical physiology and nuclear medicine was examined at the University of Turku in September 2024. In July 2024, she presented her research at the 29th Annual Congress of the European College of Sport Science in Glasgow. The TYKS Foundation enabled her participation with a travel grant.

More physical activity and mobility is needed in 24-hour care of older adults

“We in Finland have made shockingly low investments in caring for older adults. We are leaving older generations behind as we tear down our care services for older adults and make our care criteria increasingly stringent,” says Noora Narsakka, MSc (Public Health), who, in her doctoral dissertation on nursing, examines how physical activity and mobility

Artificial intelligence for developing clinical decision-making support systems

The development of modern-day health care is increasingly multidisciplinary, involving not only traditional medicine, nursing science and laboratory fields but also, for example, computing scientists and other natural scientists in joint technology projects. Akseli Reunamo graduated with a master’s degree in Biology, from Physiology and Genetics line, from the University of Turku, in 2022. At

TYKS Foundation helped enable important further training in Canada

10 October 2022 Docent and Chief Physician Peter Boström, Director of the Administrative Branch of Urology at Turku University Hospital, has received valuable further training abroad. The TYKS Foundation supported this training with a scholarship for three years. Peter Boström decided to specialise in urology. He had specialised in surgery because of his dissertation on

André Sourander, founder and director of the Research Centre for Child Psychiatry, is a distinguished and versatile researcher of mental health problems among children and young people.

18 June 2020 The research conducted by André Sourander, Professor of Child Psychiatry, has grown into a research unit for child psychiatry consisting of 55 researchers in Turku. The unit’s achievements include the development of digital support services for children and parents that have been proven to be effective through research. They can be used

TYKS Foundation provides a wide range of support to researchers of nursing

10 October 2022 Johanna Olli, Master of Health Sciences, is preparing her doctoral dissertation on supporting the inclusion of children with disabilities. The topic emerged from her own nurse’s work with paediatric neurology patients. She sees the dissemination of research results as a duty of the researcher. When working in paediatric neurology at the Kymenlaakso

Advancing the treatment of children’s ear infections

12 October 2022 Paula Tähtinen’s doctoral dissertation on antibiotic treatment of children’s ear infections was examined at the University of Turku in 2012. Families with children who participated in a research project led by Docent Aino Ruohola knew the study as a Pikkunorsu (English: Little Elephant). The research unit of the TYKS Foundation was important

The TYKS Foundation helped initiating research on children’s infections

12 October 2022 Lauri Ivaska graduated as licentiate of medicine from the University of Turku in 2009. After that, he worked for, e.g., the Mynämäki and Paimio health centres, the joint emergency services of Turku University Hospital (TYKS) and the anaesthesiology and paediatric units of the Central Hospital of Central Finland before specialist training in

TYKS Foundation Board invites nominations for the recipient of the Jarmo Karppi Award for an outstanding cancer researcher by 3:00 p.m. on 15 October 2026

Travel Grants Available in Autumn 2026

TYKS Foundation grants for 2026

Geneticist Sini Keskinen studies hereditary pancreatic cancer risk

Jaakko Koskenniemi: Major Grant from the Marita and Heikki Vaiste Fund (€100,000) for research on the origins of type 1 Diabetes

Measuring the Body’s Stress Hormone to Gain Insight into the Effects of Retirement

Writing a doctoral dissertation on neonatal oxygen deficiency while completing a medical degree

Taru Garthwaite, PhD, received funding for a conference trip in sports medicine

More physical activity and mobility is needed in 24-hour care of older adults

Artificial intelligence for developing clinical decision-making support systems

TYKS Foundation helped enable important further training in Canada

André Sourander, founder and director of the Research Centre for Child Psychiatry, is a distinguished and versatile researcher of mental health problems among children and young people.

TYKS Foundation provides a wide range of support to researchers of nursing

Advancing the treatment of children’s ear infections

The TYKS Foundation helped initiating research on children’s infections

Today’s research is good treatment tomorrow

Health through research

Support our research

News

TYKS Foundation Board invites nominations for the recipient of the Jarmo Karppi Award for an outstanding cancer researcher by 3:00 p.m. on 15 October 2026

Travel Grants Available in Autumn 2026

TYKS Foundation grants for 2026

Read researcher stories

Geneticist Sini Keskinen studies hereditary pancreatic cancer risk

Today’s research is good
treatment tomorrow