Minerva Foundation Institute for Medical Research

Minerva Foundation Institute for Medical Research is a private research institute maintained by the Minerva Foundation. Minerva Institute is located at Biomedicum Helsinki, an Academic Medical Center in Helsinki, in close association with University of Helsinki in a large congolomerate of modern laboratories with research groups in the biomedical and medical research fields.

The Institute, the history of which dates back to 1959, combines basic biomedical research with clinical investigation relevant to common diseases. The overarching aims of Minerva Institute are to generate 1) new fundamental knowledge and mechanistic insight, 2) innovations for the development of future diagnostic approaches, and 3) preventive measures and treatments for common diseases.

At Minerva about 40 persons including scientists, PhD students and technical assistants are actively working in nine research groups. The Institute’s focus areas are metabolic and cardiovascular diseases, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, and neurodegenerative or neuropsychiatric disorders. The study objectives, rooted in the fundamental molecular mechanisms of disease, are addressed at Minerva Institute through a spectrum of approaches ranging from studies employing pure proteins and lipids, cell cultures, and genetically engineered animal models, to in vivo studies in human subjects.