Human immune cells are capable of coordinating their own movement more independently than previously thought. InFLAMES researcher Jonna Alanko has discovered that immune cells do not just passively follow the chemical cues in their environment. Quite the contrary, they can also shape these cues and navigate in complex environments in a self-organised manner.
This year, the Elias Tillandz Prize was awarded to two outstanding research articles, which involved a mechanism related to the migration of cancer cells and a new analysis of a grave dating back to the early Middle Ages. The Prize was awarded to the researchers at the BioCity symposium on Thursday, 24 August 2023.
Registration to BioCity Symposium is open until 11 August 2023. BioCity Symposium is one of the most important meetings in Turku region for researchers working in the fields of bio- and molecular medicine. This year the event is arranged with title Sculpting tissues – Cells, matrix and forces.
Researchers have found a possible explanation as to why higher breast density and older age increase the risk of breast cancer.
Folate-based radiopharmaceuticals can be used in positron emission tomography (PET) imaging to detect folate receptors in brain tumours. The discovery of folate receptors and their exploitation potential with respect to brain tumours is a new and significant finding in the field.
Docent Pekka Postila and Professor Olli Pentikäinen from the Institute of Biomedicine and InFLAMES Flagship have received 100,000 dollars in funding from the SynGAP Research Fund (SRF) for SynGAP syndrome research.
Through immunotherapies utilising Immune Checkpoint Blockers (ICB), advanced solid cancers can today be treated with unprecedented efficacy. However, not all patients respond positively to these treatments. InFLAMES researcher, Docent Carlos Rogerio Figueiredo and his team are working to uncover the underlying causes of this resistance to ICB. They focus on patients suffering from malignant melanomas and lung cancers as main research models.
New technologies aim to find revolutionary ways to diagnose, treat and prevent diseases. The second InFLAMES Flagship Corporate Corner of 2023 will focus on the topic from the perspectives of both researchers and companies. The InFLAMES Corporate Corner will take place on 11th May from 12 to 16 at the Visitor and Innovation Centre Joki in Turku. The event is open to all.
A new nasal pertussis vaccine against whooping cough has shown promising results. The vaccine was shown to be safe and to work against whooping cough in a study conducted in healthy adults. Professor Qiushui He and Project Researcher Alex-Mikael Barkoff from the InFLAMES research flagship of the University of Turku participated in the study. The research article was published in the esteemed medical journal Lancet.