• About Turku Bioscience Blog Series

      We will start a new Blog series of Turku Bioscience with the purpose to promote and discuss timely topics and to present different opinion points relevant for molecular biosciences. We will have both internal bloggers as well as guest writers. At the time of writing, we are living through the pandemic so at least some of the topics will be related to the highly extraordinary situation, but also other topics will be covered.

      Editors of the blog series: Jukka Westermarck & John Eriksson

    • Grateful to Be a Runner-Up in the University of Turku’s 3MT Competition!

      Grateful to Be a Runner-Up in the University of Turku’s 3MT Competition!

      I am excited and thankful to have been chosen as a Runner-Up in the Three Minute Thesis (3MT®) competition at the University of Turku on Wednesday, 5 March 2025. This experience has been thrilling, challenging, and nerve-wracking, but absolutely rewarding. As someone deeply passionate about science communication and making research accessible to the public, this…

    • New method for producing blood stem cells can revolutionize stem cell transplant therapy

      New method for producing blood stem cells can revolutionize stem cell transplant therapy

      A new method for producing blood stem cells may in the future replace voluntary bone marrow donors as a source of stem cell transplants. Four European research groups will work on developing the ground-breaking approach with support from the European Research Council (ERC). Cecilia Sahlgren, professor of cell biology at Åbo Akademi University, is taking…

    • New Research Group at TBC: Immune cell navigation

      New Research Group at TBC: Immune cell navigation

      Our research aims to understand how immune cells – and especially dendritic cells – navigate and move according to different molecular cues in changing tissue environments.   Gradients of extracellular signaling molecules are a fundamental concept in biology, and gradients of chemotactic cytokines, and chemokines, position cells in development, malignancy, and immunity. Chemotaxis, including gradient…

    • IMMUNOCAP: Positive, upward spiral for immunology research in Turku

      IMMUNOCAP: Positive, upward spiral for immunology research in Turku

        The Research Council of Finland granted EUR 12.3 million to the University of Turku in the Profi 7 call in early 2023. The international panel of experts assessed that the University’s application was of high quality and ranked it among the best applications. The Profi 7 area on immunology, Capitalising Immunity to Combat Disease…

    • New Affiliated Group at Turku Bioscience

      Epstein-Barr virus is the founding member of the ever-growing list of oncogenic viruses and it has been linked to 2% of all cancer cases worldwide. Although better known for causing B-cell lymphomas, EBV infection has recently been associated with a subtype of gastric cancer. The definition of this molecular subtype of gastric cancer has opened…

    • Feeling the Force: A Dive into Mechanobiology in Paris

      I had the opportunity to attend the 5th edition of the International Course on Cell Biology & Cancer on the topic “Cell and Tissue Mechanics” organized by Institut Curie from April 3rd to 7th, 2023. The course aimed to expose participants to cutting-edge concepts in the field of mechanobiology. Although a “course” on paper, all…

    • New Affiliated Group at Turku Bioscience

      From Health to Cancer: Charting the Gut’s Metabolic Shift using Preclinical Mouse Models The power of genetically engineered mouse models (GEMMs) and organoid models have radically transformed how we study cancers and the way we identify new targets for cancer treatment. These tools have provided us with a controlled environment to better understand the changes…

    • Services by Turku Bioscience, part 3: Bioinformatics develops new methods for researching extensive medical materials 

      Medical bioinformatics combines mathematics and computer science with bioscience and medical research. The services of the Medical Bioinformatics Centre are offered especially to biomedical and molecular biology researchers who produce extensive measurement data in their research.

    • Shaping the Future of Immunology in Europe

      Rahul Birdar, a Doctoral Student in Lahesmaa Lab, wrote about his trip to yEFIS 1st Symposium (10-11 November 2022). It was my great pleasure to attend European Federation of Immunological Societies young Immunologist Network’s (yEFIS) first-ever conference. Theme of the symposium held in Germany was Shaping the Future of Immunology in Europe.

    • What is SynGAP syndrome?

      Co-applicants Michael Courtney and Lili Li of the Neuronal Signalling Lab at Turku Bioscience have been awarded a grant from the SynGAP Research Fund (SRF) and Leon and friends e.V. to study targetable defects of SynGAP1 protein variants. Both SRF US & EU are funding this effort.