About Us

Neurocenter Finland is a unique collaborative network that brings together Finnish expertise in neuroscience. It was established in 2021, following a preparation and founding phase funded by ministries as part of Finland’s Health Sector Growth Strategy. Continuing this work, we contribute to the National Health and Wellbeing Sector Growth Strategy. Since 2021, the operations have been based on a contractual collaboration network funded by our 12 member organizations.

Brain diseases, including neurological and psychiatric disorders, are the leading cause of lost healthy life years both in Finland and globally. In response to global brain health challenges, our goal is to increase cross-border collaboration between wellbeing services counties, companies, academic researchers, patients, and citizens. We believe that better brain health in the future will be achieved by promoting the development and accessibility of preventive, diagnostic, and therapeutic practices and technologies – based on high-quality research. Good brain health is the cornerstone of a safe and thriving society.

We also aim to strengthen the prerequisites for research, development, and innovation (RDI) activities and to foster an innovative and productive culture in the field of neuroscience, in collaboration with various stakeholders. These include the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health, the Ministry of Education and Culture, the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment, the Academy of Finland, Sitra, and Business Finland.

To support the future success of Finland’s RDI activities, we work closely with other centers of excellence: the Finnish Biobank Cooperative, the Finnish Drug Discovery Center, and the Finnish Cancer Center FICAN. We are excited to make Finnish neuroscience visible internationally and attractive in terms of partnerships, investments, and expert mobility to strengthen Finland’s competitiveness in the neuroscience RDI field.

Coded to connect – together we are stronger!

Mission

Neurocenter Finland aims to achieve better brain health and tackle brain diseases more efficiently by strengthening research collaborations in neuroscience and promoting innovation and development of new personalised healthcare.

Vision

Neurocenter Finland is an internationally recognised player and a highly soughtafter partner that promotes Finland’s competitiveness in neuroscience expertise and commercial success.

Coded to connect

A key objective is to create a structure of collaboration and platform for researchers and other stakeholders. Furthermore, it makes relevant information in neurosciences conveniently available.

The right contacts

Latest research information

Finnish brain research is highly advanced and on par with international standards. Our task is to raise the profile of brain research in the media and keep the discussion going. This is done to steer the allocation of resources from domestic and foreign sources to brain research. We are currently preparing Finland’s Brain Health Strategy in collaboration with Suomen Aivot ry (Finnish Brain Council, Member of European Brain Council).

Research funding

Promotion of data accessibility

We promote better accessibility and usability of research data. It is important for us to ensure that researchers have access to relevant and easily available data. We monitor developments closely, as a key prerequisite for the usability of research data is up-to-date and effective legislation and its interpretation, which we advance in collaboration with key stakeholders.

The EU’s new EHDS Regulation (European Health Data Space), adopted in January 2025, improves citizens’ ability to manage their own health data and facilitates data exchange between EU countries. The regulation establishes uniform rules for the use of health data in research and innovation.

In Finland, national implementation is underway under the leadership of the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health (STM), with the goal of removing barriers to research and harmonizing legislation.

Neurocenter Finland has actively participated in the preparation process to ensure that the needs of neuroscience research are taken into account and that the safe and efficient use of neurodata is guaranteed as part of research legislation and the secondary use of health data.

Join our network

Neurocenter Finland creates better brain health and methods of personalised disease prevention, care and rehabilitation by fostering research collaboration and innovation activities in neuroscience.

Get in touch with your local expert and join our network

At present, however, the brain research field in Finland is fragmented, and the existing resources and intellectual capital are not being used efficiently. To change this, we need to invest in Finnish brain research now, so that we can become a global leader in brain research and promote brain health and improve the quality of life of patients and their loved ones.

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