Wellbeing Service Counties of North Savo

Biobank of Eastern Finland is a hospital biobank asking for voluntary consents. The Biobank enables access to samples and clinical data from a genetically unique isolated population, an invaluable asset for pharmaceutical and health research. Population base of Eastern Finland is over 550 000. Biobank samples are collected for diagnostic purposes and in connection with treatment. Samples are linked to longitudinal clinical data collected from date base of Kuopio University Hospital. Biobank sample donors can be recontacted for new biomedical research.
Researcher can submit an access request at Fingenious service. Fingenius offers a gateway to Finnish biobanks and biomedical research and is hosted by Finnish Biobanks – FINBB. We serve both academic and industry researchers. All access requests are evaluated by Scientific Steering Committee. After signing of a material transfer agreement samples and data are delivered to research.
The Biobank of Eastern Finland supports biomedical research that covers promotion of population health, identification of factors contributing to disease mechanisms, prevention of diseases as well as development of products and treatment practices used in health care and medical care.
Biobank of Eastern Finland is established by Eastern Finnish Wellbeing Service Counties of North Savo, South Savo, North Karelia and University of Eastern Finland (UEF). The biobank is one of the key infrastructures of UEF. Finnish BBMRI.fi is a part of BBMRI-ERIC.

Role of institution in the project

Genetically homogenous isolated Eastern Finnish population provides unique opportunities for improving patient care. Genotype data combined with phenotype data offers openings for development of AI solutions aiming at personalized medicine. Identification of new biomarkers that are specifically associated with cancer are useful for prevention, early detection, and treatment. Biobank of Eastern Finland holds vast longitudinal clinical data including follow-up information as well as high quality samples. Cancer research is one of our focus areas and we are experienced in providing histological images and other imaging data e.g. mammography images for researchers.

Prof. Arto Mannermaa

Professor Arto Mannermaa works as a Biobank Director at the Biobank of Eastern Finland and a Professor at the University of Eastern Finland. Mannermaa has 30 years of experience in the research field of molecular pathology of cancer and the components of breast cancer risk. He is head of the Multidisciplinary Cancer Research Community at UEF and director of the Biobank of Eastern Finland. Mannermaa has expertise in cancer genomics and methodologies to study tumor-specific circulating molecules. He has also implemented deep machine learning and Big Data analysis to reveal the interaction of features affecting cancer risk and outcome. Mannermaa has over 300 peer-reviewed publications with over 16,000 citations.

Hanna Kujala

Hanna Kujala is a Research Coordinator at the Biobank of Eastern Finland. Tasks include managing research projects and developing services and processes. She has a PhD in molecular and cell biology of cancer. Kujala has a vast experience in biobanking, as she has served as a project manager and research coordinator at the Biobank of Eastern Finland since 2012 and as a project manager for Finnish Biobank Cooperative – FINBB.

Kimmo Savinainen

Kimmo Savinainen works as a research developer at the Biobank of Eastern Finland. He has a background in cell biology and holds a PhD in cancer biology. Savinainen has extensive experience in biobanking. Since 2012, he has worked as a development manager at the Tampere Biobank, where he was responsible for establishing the biobank. In 2024, he transitioned to the Biobank of Eastern Finland, where his main responsibilities include financial planning and the development of biobank operations. Savinainen has significant expertise in quality management and has served as a quality manager responsible for international affairs at BBMRI-ERIC.fi.

Emma Kaartinen

Emma Kaartinen works on data analyst and project coordinator tasks at the Biobank of Eastern Finland. She has a MSc in Biomedicine and a major in Molecular Medicine from the University of Eastern Finland, and her expertise lies on bioinformatics and cancer genomics. Kaartinen has previously worked as a bioinformatician on breast and ovarian cancer-related projects at the Institute of Clinical Medicine, University of Eastern Finland. She has been involved with biobanking since 2021, initially gaining experience in sample handling at the biobank laboratory and later on working with biobank data in the IT team.

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