Marja Makarow - Biography#

Marja Makarow is vice-president of the Academy of Finland, the public funding agency for fundamental research since 2012. She is former vice-rector for research (2003-2007) and professor of applied biochemistry and molecular biology at the University of Helsinki, where after she served as chief executive of the European Science Foundation in Strasbourg France (2008-2011). Marja Makarow advised the EU Commissioner for Research and Innovation in the European Research Area Board ERAB, and the Finnish Government in the Council for Research and Innovation Policy in 2008-2012. She has served as president of the European Molecular Biology Conference (EMBC/EMBO) and delegate of Finland in the council of the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL), and established the Institute for Molecular Medicine Finland, a member of the Nordic EMBL Partnership for Molecular Medicine. She is chair of the ERC Starting grants panel on genomics, genetics, systems biology and bioinformatics, member of the governing board of the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT) and former chair of the jury of one the world’s largest innovation prize, the Millennium Technology Prize. Marja Makarow is co-author of the Finnish strategy for health research and innovation, chairs the Finnish research infrastructure committee and is delegate of Finland in the European Strategy Forum for Research Infrastructure ESFRI. She serves on strategic councils of several European top universities and has steered research assessments of a number of them. She is member of Academia Europaea since 2011.