A private foundation has made a significant donation to the University of Helsinki to accelerate research on neurodegenerative diseases at the Institute for Molecular Medicine Finland (FIMM). The donation highlights the exceptional research opportunities offered by Finland and the University of Helsinki.
The donation has been earmarked to support research on neurodegenerative diseases and their risk and protective factors, including immunity and genetics.
In practice, this means research that combines largescale genetic and other molecular data with detailed information on immune responses, viral infections and vaccinations - a rapidly emerging field that is reshaping how scientists understand diseases such as Alzheimer's disease.
The longterm goal is gamechanging: to identify individuals at high risk early on, to lower disease risk through preventive immune enhancement measures such as vaccinations or antiviral treatments, and so delay the onset of diseases like Alzheimer's further into old age.
The donation, made through the Swiss foundation Pipistrel, is the first private donation ever received by FIMM and marks an important milestone for the institute.
"This is a very special moment for us. Receiving our first private donation is a strong vote of confidence in FIMM's scientific vision and the research environment we have built together with our local and global partners," says , Director of FIMM.
Evidence linking infections to neurodegenerative diseases is rapidly accumulating
In recent years, several highimpact international studies have provided compelling evidence that viral exposures and immune processes appear to influence the risk and progression of neurodegenerative diseases. These findings suggest that some of the most common and devastating brain diseases could, in the future, be prevented, delayed or treated in entirely new ways.
The research concept supported by the donation focuses on understanding how genetic susceptibility interacts with immune responses and environmental exposures over a person's lifetime.
According to the donor, who wishes to remain anonymous, the decision to support research at FIMM was based on the exceptional capabilities the institute has built up over many years, this all driven by its scientific ambitions to influence patient treatment through world class science.
"The emerging evidence linking immunity, infections and neurodegeneration is really new and comes from the ability to analyse very large medical databases. It now seems likely that this approach will fundamentally change medical practice and significantly reduce the burden of neurodegenerative disease globally," he says.
Finland's unique strengths enable ambitious research
Finland's comprehensive health registers, populationbased studies and biobank network, combined with ambitious research initiatives such as the FinnGen study with genetic data from hundreds of thousands of participants, create a globally unique foundation for studying complex diseases across the life course.
At FIMM, these data resources are integrated with cuttingedge expertise in genomics, AI and data science, molecular medicine and translational research, and is supported by a wide international collaboration network.
The donor has mentioned that these strengths are no coincidence.
"The bold decisions taken by the University of Helsinki to establish and support over the years an institute like FIMM, with its focus on scientific excellence in the context of translational research, important partnerships with other organisations in Finland and abroad and of course the longterm investments by the Finnish government, are key enablers. Very few places in the world can realistically carry out this kind of research at scale," he notes.
Seed funding enables bold initiatives
With the donation, FIMM will open a competitive project proposal call in early 2026. One to two research projects will receive seed funding to explore innovative approaches to neurodegenerative disease research within the scope of the donation.
For Director Ripatti, private donations play an important role in enabling bold and timely research initiatives.
"Seed funding allows researchers to take risks, to combine disciplines in innovative ways and to test novel hypotheses using unique data resources. The donation will help us stay at the forefront of transformative research of one of the biggest burdens in our ageing societies," he says.
The foundation's motivation is rooted in a desire to give back by supporting modern medical and scientific research that will have broad societal impact.
"Neurodegenerative diseases affect so many individuals and families. There is now a new opportunity to help many, potentially in a relatively short time frame. The hope is, that by supporting novel approaches made possible by recent dramatic progress in AI, molecular biology and big data science, we can contribute to a future where these diseases start much later in life, or can be prevented altogether".
FIMM and its partners, both national and international, have a very important opportunity to bring dramatic new insights into these terrible diseases and so ultimately bring major benefit to patients in Finland and around the world.
