The Health Insights 2026 event brings together healthcare professionals, researchers, companies, startups, and investors who share a common goal: to promote innovation and health worldwide. This year’s topics include Future Clinical RDI, Personalised Medicine, Prevention, and Aging.
Health Insights 2026 will be held at the Kuopio Music Center on August 19–20 and is open to all interested parties. Registration is currently open. University of Eastern Finland staff and students are eligible for discounted ticket prices, as the university is a member of the Kuopio Health innovation ecosystem organising the event.
Now in its fifth year, the event will feature presentations and panel discussions by experts from the university, businesses, the Northern Savo Wellbeing Services County, Savonia University of Applied Sciences, and the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health. The programme is still being updated.
Health Insights 2026 will kick off on Wednesday, August 19, with the Future Clinical RDI session. Speakers include Professor and Chief Physician Aarno Dietz, who leads the Hearing Valley project; Samu Lehtonen, CEO of Marginum, a company developing cancer surgery technology rooted in university research; Sonja Soininen, Associate Professor and Chief Physician at the Osmo Teaching Clinic; and Outi Forsström, Project Manager at the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health. Tim Sheppard from IQVIA will provide a business perspective on global pharma trends & future clinical RDI. The panel discussion will be moderated by Professor Juha Töyräs, Director of Research and Innovation at the Wellbeing Services County. The session also serves as the closing event for the university and the Wellbeing Services County’s parallel ERDF-funded RDI projects, which aim to strengthen clinical research, development, and innovation activities in the region.
The afternoon session on Personalised Medicine will be chaired by Vittorio Fortino, Professor of Bioinformatics and Machine Learning. Speakers include Arto Mannermaa, Professor of Personalised Medicine and Biobanking; Antti Poso, Professor of Drug Design; and Anna-Maija Tolppanen, Professor of Pharmacoepidemiology and Real-World Data Analytics. Perspectives on the use and regulation of artificial intelligence and health data will be presented by Katri Harjuveteläinen of Regulyn Oy and Chrisna Ravys of HealthFox. In the evening, a cruise on lake Kallavesi will offer networking opportunities.
On Thursday, August 20, the morning session on Prevention will be chaired by Jussi Pihlajamäki, Vice Rector for Research and Innovation at the university. Speakers include Professor Marjukka Kolehmainen and Professor of Health Economics Janne Martikainen, who will examine the cost-effectiveness of metabolomics-based health check in Finland. Jussi Hahtela of Biohit will discuss early diagnostics – the shift from treating to preventing.
The afternoon session on Aging will be chaired by Mikko Ylilauri from Savonia University of Applied Sciences. Erkki Soini from Esior will discuss the burden of Alzheimer’s disease, and Professor Eino Solje, Director of the Brain Research Unit, will highlight the assets of clinical neuroresearch in Kuopio. Presentations will also be heard from Tarja Malm, Professor of Molecular Neurobiology, and Mikko Tiihonen of Forsante. The day will conclude with a networking dinner.
Programme and registration: Health Insights 2026 - Kuopio Health
For further information, please contact:
Kuopio Health:
Marja-Terttu Nyman-Lappalainen, 050 387 2664, [email protected]
University of Eastern Finland:
Planning and Development Specialist Heli Laine, 050 533 8891, [email protected]
Development Manager Anna Karjalainen, 050 338 6269, [email protected] (UEF clinical RDI-ecosystem (UEF-RDI) project)
