Kari Kustaa Alitalo (born 21 May 1952 in

Kuopio Kuopio (, ) is a Finnish city and municipality located in the region of Northern Savonia. It has a population of , which makes it the most populous municipality in Finland. Along with Joensuu, Kuopio is one of the major urban, economic, and cult ...

) is a

Finnish Finnish may refer to: * Something or someone from, or related to Finland * Culture of Finland * Finnish people or Finns, the primary ethnic group in Finland * Finnish language, the national language of the Finnish people * Finnish cuisine See also ...

MD and a medical researcher. He is a foreign associated member of the

National Academy of Sciences The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, non-governmental organization. NAS is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the Nati ...

of the US. He became famous for his discoveries of several

receptor tyrosine kinase Receptor tyrosine kinases (RTKs) are the high-affinity cell surface receptors for many polypeptide growth factors, cytokines, and hormones. Of the 90 unique tyrosine kinase genes identified in the human genome, 58 encode receptor tyrosine kinase ...

s (RTKs) and the first growth factor capable of inducing

lymphangiogenesis Lymphangiogenesis is the formation of lymphatic vessels from pre-existing lymphatic vessels in a method believed to be similar to angiogenesis (blood vessel development). Lymphangiogenesis plays an important physiological role in homeostasis, meta ...

vascular endothelial growth factor C Vascular endothelial growth factor C (VEGF-C) is a protein that is a member of the platelet-derived growth factor / vascular endothelial growth factor (PDGF/VEGF) family. It is encoded in humans by the ''VEGFC'' gene, which is located on chromosom ...

(VEGF-C). In the years 1996–2007 he was Europe's second most cited author in the field of

cell biology Cell biology (also cellular biology or cytology) is a branch of biology that studies the structure, function, and behavior of cells. All living organisms are made of cells. A cell is the basic unit of life that is responsible for the living and ...

."Publication Analysis 1996-2007. Cell Biology."
Lab Times. 2007. Number 5, pages 42-44 Alitalo is currently serving as an

Academy Professor In some countries, an academy professor is a scientist appointed to function as professor and/or conferred to the official professor rank by the academy of sciences of that country, rather than by any university establishment. Such scientists are ...

for the Academy of Finland. Alitalo received the

Leopold Griffuel Prize The Leopold Griffuel Prize (Prix Leopold Griffuel) for translational and clinical research is sponsored by the French ARC Foundation for Cancer Research. The prize is designed to reward the accomplishments of and encourage further research among th ...

in 2002

. Wikipedia. Accessed June 3rd, 2013 and the 2006

Louis-Jeantet Prize for Medicine Established in 1986, the Louis-Jeantet Prizes are funded by the ''Fondation Louis-Jeantet'' and awarded each year to experienced researchers who have distinguished themselves in the field of biomedical research in one of the member states of t ...

. He also received the 2005 Eric Fernström Foundation's Nordic Prize and the 2009 In-Bev Baillet Latour Health Prize. In 2014, he received the Dr. A.H.

Heineken Prize The Heineken Prizes for Arts and Sciences consist of 11 awards biannually bestowed by Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences. The prizes are named in honor of Henry Pierre Heineken, son of founder Gerard Adriaan Heineken, Alfred Heineken, ...

for Medicine.

References

External links

Personal webpage

University of Helsinki The University of Helsinki ( fi, Helsingin yliopisto, sv, Helsingfors universitet, abbreviated UH) is a public research university located in Helsinki, Finland since 1829, but founded in the city of Turku (in Swedish ''Åbo'') in 1640 as the ...

1952 births Living people Cell biologists Molecular biologists Cancer researchers Members of the Finnish Academy of Science and Letters Foreign associates of the National Academy of Sciences Members of Academia Europaea Winners of the Heineken Prize Finnish biochemists Members of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences {{Finland-scientist-stub