The Fifth Annual Meeting of the GeneCellNano Flagship
23th-24th of April 2026, in Helsinki
Program
Thursday, April 23
8:30-9:00 Arrival and registration
Session 1A
9:00-9:15 Opening – Seppo Ylä-Herttuala, Director of GeneCellNano Flagship
9:15-10:00 Invited speaker: Thierry VandenDriessche (Free University of Brussels): Turbo-charging gene therapy
10:00-10:45 Coffee and company booths
Session 1B
Short presentations (Gene Therapy)
10:45-11:05 Johanna Laakkonen (University of Eastern Finland): Venous Malformations: Building the Foundations for Precision Therapy
11:05-11:25 Tiina Nieminen (University of Eastern Finland): Regulatable Riboswitch Vectors for AAV Gene Therapy
11:25-11:45 Peppi Karppinen (University of Oulu): HIF-P4H-2 inhibiting single domain antibody for the treatment of retinopathy of prematurity
11:45-11:55 Sponsored talk: Ciara Finucane (EMIT Imaging): Cryo-Fluorescence Tomography: Transformative 3D Imaging for Gene & Cell Therapy
12:00-13:00 Lunch and company booths
Session 2A
13:00-13:45 Invited speaker: Andres Merits (University of Tartu): Alphavirus RNA Replicase: From Molecular Mechanisms to Therapeutic Platforms
Short presentations (New Technologies/Cell Therapy)
13:45-14:05 Heikki Saari (FRCBS): Platelets as a biological, light activatable drug delivery platform
14:05-14:45 Coffee and company booths
Session 2B
Short presentations (New Technologies/Cell Therapy)
14:45-15:05 Tatu Lajunen (University of Eastern Finland): Building the pre-clinical path for BNCT: MRI methods and future plans
15:05-15:25 Carmine D’Amico (Aalto University): Bridging Structural Design and Translation in Hybrid mRNA Origami
15:25-15:35 Sponsored talk: Miltenyi Biotec
16:00-18:00 Poster session, wine and snacks and company booths.
Odd numbered posters from 16:00 to 17:00
Even numbered posters from 17:00 to 18:00
19:00- 21:00 Dinner
Dinner is served in Paasiravintola, 2nd floor.
Friday, April 24
8:00-8:30 Arrival coffee
Session 3A
8:30-9:15 Invited speaker: Stefaan DeSmedt (Ghent University): Intracellular delivery of biotherapeutics: exploring innovative materials and new physical methods
Short presentations (Nanotechnology)
9:15-9:35 Jooseppi Puranen (University of Eastern Finland): Targeted delivery of nanomedicines to retina and optic nerve
9:35-10:15 Coffee and company booths
Session 3B
Short presentations (Nanotechnology)
10:15-10:35 Eva Bozo and Veronika Skocková (University of Oulu): Fusion of Extracellular Vesicles and Lipid Nanoparticles for Feasible Cargo Loading
10:35-10:55 Seppo Vainio (University of Oulu): Evidence for routing of orally applied biological nanocarrier via the gut to skin for molecular diagnostic
10:55-11:15 Astrid Subrizi (University of Eastern Finland) and Valerio Izzi (University of Oulu): LLM-guided aptamer optimization
11:15-11:25 Sponsored talk: Birta Lif Fjölnisdóttir (Cytiva): Innovation starts early: Turning process development choices into GMP excellence
12:00-13:00 Lunch and company booths
Session 4
13:00-13:20 Jim Lund (CCRM Nordics): Building Regenerative Medicine Ecosystems in the Nordics
13:20-13:50 Lennart Lindfors (AstraZeneca): Big Molecules and Small Particles
13:50-14:20 Jean Duvall (ReproNovo): Lessons from Financing a Biotech
14:20-14:30 Closing words – Seppo Ylä-Herttuala
Best Poster Award
14:35-15:00 Coffee and departure
The GeneCellNano Flagship wants to thank all the sponsors who make this event possible:
