Säätiöiden post doc –pooli’s spring application round – applicantshit a record high

On 14th April 2026 the Säätiöiden post doc -pooli foundations awarded some 980,000 euro to
20 post-doctoral scholars. A record number of 196 post-doctoral scholars from around Finland
took part in the spring application round. In two years time, the number of applicants has
increased by 70%. In this round, grants could be awarded to 10% of the applicants.

Each year, the foundations involved in the Pool allocate altogether 3.2 million euro to post-
doctoral scholars. The research periods abroad vary from 6 months up to 24 months. The Pool’s
next application round will take place from 15 August until 15 September 2026, when some 1.6 million euro will be given in grants. The results of this round will be published in December
2026.

One of the grants awarded by the Finnish Cultural Foundation was received by PhD Krista Juurikka, who is moving to Canada to work on research into chronic inflammation of the central nervous system.

“Neuroinflammation, or chronic inflammation of the central nervous system, is harmful to the brain and has been linked to chronic diseases such as dementia. At the same time, vaccines targeting viral infections have been shown to protect against dementia, suggesting that viral infections play a role in the development of central nervous system disorders. Immune cells of the central nervous system, known as microglia, are known to protect the CNS from infections, but their mechanisms of action during viral infection are not yet well understood. This research investigates the function of microglial cells during viral infection of the central nervous system at the cellular and molecular level,” Juurikka explains.

What is the Säätiöiden post doc -pooli?

The Finnish Foundations’ Post Doc Pool was founded in 2009 to support researchers and
Finnish research in becoming more international. During this time, the Pool’s foundations have
granted over 40 million euros to post-doctoral researchers heading abroad from Finland. After
33 application rounds, already over 850 scholars have received funding through the Pool. Over
one third of the grants have been awarded for two-year periods.

Säätiöiden post doc -pooli has proven to be an important instrument of research funding which
has enabled young scholars with families to finance research periods at top universities abroad.
The grants awarded by the Pool are determined flexibly in accordance with the applicant’s
needs and they often include their family’s moving expenses and children’s day care or school
fees.

During the current three-year-period 2025-2027 there are thirteen foundations involved in the
pool. They are Ella and Georg Ehrnrooth Foundation, Emil Aaltonen’s Foundation, Alfred
Kordelin Foundation, the Foundation for Economic Education, Päivikki and Sakari Sohlberg
Foundation, Finnish Academy of Science and Letters, Finnish Cultural Foundation, the Finnish
Medical Foundation, Swedish Cultural Foundation in Finland, the Society of Swedish
Literature in Finland, Finnish Foundation for Technology Promotion, Jenny and Antti Wihuri
Foundation and the Ulla Tuominen’s Foundation.

Grants from the Finnish Cultural Foundation in spring 2026

This spring, the Finnish Cultural Foundation awarded seven postdoctoral research grants. One of the recipients, PhD Ashwini Kedari, will travel to Denmark to conduct research on the AI-assisted design of connexin channels and connexin-binding proteins.

Connexins mediate communication between cells, and dysfunctions in these channels are associated with several diseases, including impaired wound healing, cardiac arrhythmias, and neurophysiological disorders. Research in this field is challenged by the dynamic structure of the channels and the lack of suitable molecular tools. Kedari’s goal is to develop the first generation of AI-assisted de novo protein binders.

PhD Aylin Rosberg will travel to the United Kingdom to study individual differences in cognitive functioning and susceptibility to depression using large population-level brain imaging datasets.

The research is based on connectome harmonics, a mathematical method used to describe connections between brain regions and to examine brain function at the network level. So far, the method has been applied mainly in small datasets, and its potential in population-scale research has not yet been widely utilized. The aim of the study is to increase understanding of how brain connections are organized and to identify new biomarkers for cognitive and mental health research.

• PhD Krista Juurikka
• PhD Ashwini Kedari
• MD Tero Korhonen
• D. Soc. Sc Konstantinos Kostas
• D. Soc. Sc Teemu Lari
• PhD Aylin Rosberg
• PhDIvan Zamotkin