29.9.2023

Stiftelsen Eschnerska Frilasarettet sr Foundation enters into an agreement with Åbo Akademi University on doctoral positions

Åbo Akademi University and Stiftelsen Eschnerska Frilasarettet sr Foundation have signed an agreement on the funding of doctoral positions within the framework of the research profile Solutions for Health. The agreement regards three doctoral positions.

The research profile Solutions for Health is an interdisciplinary research profile based on a holistic approach to health. Solutions for Health is one out of four research profiles at Åbo Akademi University. The research within the profile for Solutions for Health ranges from biotechnology, individualised therapies and psychological treatments to health care solutions based on robotics and artificial intelligence. At Åbo Akademi University, there are 14 different doctoral programmes related to the four different research profiles.

According to the agreement, Stiftelsen Eschnerska Frilasarettet undertakes to initially fund three doctoral positions within the research profile for a period of four years starting in 2024. Åbo Akademi University will advertise the positions and employ the doctoral researchers in accordance with the criteria for admission and employment of doctoral researchers.

– This type of agreement suits us perfectly. As a foundation, we are obliged to support preventive healthcare, you have the right knowledge and this funding model also gives a good picture of what the costs look like, says Henrik Karlsson, CEO of Stiftelsen Eschnerska Frilasarettet.

– This collaboration is also very valuable for our doctoral researchers, since the research profilet is interdisciplinary, it gives them much better conditions to interact across faculty boundaries, says Jessica Rosenholm, who leads the research profile Solutions for Health and is a professor of pharmacy.

Solutions for health

The aim of the Solutions for Health research profile is to find new ways of understanding disease and new ways of maintaining and regaining health. As the population’s life expectancy increases, expectations of health in old age have changed, placing new demands on healthcare. Our lifestyles also change over time, posing new challenges for healthcare.

As the research takes a holistic approach to health, it seeks to find solutions that take into account our whole being from the molecules the make up the foundation of our bodies to what is going on deep within our minds. Since it is easier to maintain than to repair, research also aims to promote curative rather than preventive care.