Students graduating this spring from the Degree Programme in Biomedicine at the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Turku will present their Bachelor’s theses at the Terveydeksi - New Discoveries 2025! thesis seminar. In addition, students from the Drug Discovery and Development and Biomedical Imaging tracks of the Biomedical Sciences Master's programme and students from the Human Neuroscience Master's programme will present their Master's theses at the seminar. Some of the Biomedical Imaging students are from Åbo Akademi University. The seminar will take place on 22 April 2025 in the Osmo JärvihHall of Medisiina C, and on 23–25 April 2025 in the Alhopuro hall of Medisiina D. The seminar is open to all interested participants.
Biomedicine is the major subject in the Bachelor’s Degree Programme in Biomedicine. The programme combines those areas of science and medicine that are essential for understanding the origins of disease and developing treatments.
“The programme provides an understanding of how the body works, the main mechanisms of disease development, the factors that influence them, and the basis of medical treatments. In the thesis, students delve into the scientific literature and prepare a presentation on an interesting topic related to the field,” says Professor Sari Mäkelä, head of the programme.
The Master's Degree Programme in Biomedical Sciences is available in two different tracks, Biomedical Imaging or Drug Discovery and Development. In 2025, Master's Degree Programme in Human Neuroscience is joining the New Discoveries thesis seminar as well. The language of instruction of these programmes at the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Turku is English.
“Studying in an international Master's programme in English develops the ability to communicate and communicate in an international environment. The studies in Drug Discovery and Development track will cover the new drug development process, starting with the design of new drug molecules and continuing with the study of potential drugs through experimental models and clinical patient studies,” explains Professor Ullamari Pesonen, who is responsible for the Master's degree in Drug Discovery and Development.
An important part of the Master's studies is an extensive independent research project, on the basis of which a thesis is written in English. The thesis is presented at the joint New Discoveries thesis seminar in the spring of the upcoming graduation.
Master’s theses investigate various problems related to basic biomedical research and drug development using experimental methods
The topics of the theses presented at the New Discoveries seminar will cover several interesting areas in biomedical research. There will be presentations on new modes of action of future anticancer drugs, MS disease diagnostics and progression, the structure of viruses and bacteria, new drug treatments for osteoarthritis pain, diagnostics of inflammatory bowel diseases and reporting of adverse effects by drug users. There will be also presentations on how the brain looks in neuropsychiatric disorders and how the environment shapes our brains, use of PET and MRI imaging in diagnostics, AI-based methods for MRI image interpretation, electron microscopy image analysis, 3D bioprinting in tissue engineering and imaging for cancer and drug discovery – just to name some. Several theses have developed completely new research models that allow the study of drugs with completely novel modes of action.
On Tuesday, 22 April from 8.30 to 16.00, the Bachelor’s theses of the degree programme in Biomedicine will be presented (in Finnish). On Wednesday, 23 April from 8.30 to 16.10, the English-language Master’s theses of students in Human Neuroscience and Biomedical Imaging will be presented. On Thursday, 24 April, from 8.30 to 16.30, there will be theses from three different majors: Human Neuroscience, Biomedical Imaging, and Drug Discovery and Development (in English). On Friday, 26 April, from 8.30 to 16.20, the whole day is reserved for Drug Discovery and Development theses (in English).
More information:
Education Coordinator Nina Vainikka, med-mdp@utu.fi
