The world needs researched information and thought-provoking art.

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

Art

The Foundation supports Finnish art and culture in accordance with varying criteria that are decided on annually. In 2025, the grants were awarded to artists who address aspects of climate change, biodiversity loss or the state of Finnish nature in their work.

Grant applicants

What's new

The Foundation established a fund to support the Seili and Kevo research stations

The Seili and Kevo research stations of the University of Turku are known especially for their longitudinal environmental studies. The rapidly advancing climate change accentuates the role of these exceptionally long time series and the continuity of the underlying field research.

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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.

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Blogs

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

Did mitochondrial genomes play an role in the extinction and survival of species?

Mitochondria are power generators that provide cells with energy. They also regulate the essential cellular functions, such as ageing and cell death. Mitochondrial research may yield new information on, for example, the extinction of species or the adaptation of organisms to their environment.

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Genome editing offers new opportunities for the treatment of diabetes

Diabetes affects hundreds of millions of people worldwide. Due to its widespread prevalence, new options for the treatment of diabetes are urgently needed. Scientists are now exploring the possibilities for using genome editing tools to correct specific gene mistakes that cause diabetes.

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Could ultrasound provide a new tool for the study of foetal insulin metabolism?

The elevated blood sugar level of the expecting mother affects her foetus in many ways including, for example, liver size, blood circulation, fat concentration and metabolism. Researchers are now exploring if ultrasound imaging could provide an efficient method for the monitoring of foetal metabolism and facilitate a more individualised treatment of diabetes during pregnancy.

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Articles

Now is the time to prepare for future pandemics

Although the COVID-19 pandemic has been tackled, the threat of pandemics has not vanished. Scientists cannot say when the next pandemic will break out, what will cause it or how deadly it will be. All they know is that new pandemics will definitely appear in the future – and now is the time to prepare for them.

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‘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.

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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.

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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

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