Professor Emerita of Neurology Hilkka Soininen from the University of Eastern Finland has been chosen as the recipient of the Bengt Winblad Lifetime Achievement Award by the Alzheimer’s Association, in recognition of her long-term achievements and contributions to the field Alzheimer’s and dementia research. The award was announced in the Alzheimer Association’s International Conference in Denver, US, on Monday evening Finnish time.
Professor Emerita Soininen has worked as Professor of Neurology at the University of Eastern Finland and as Chief Physician at Kuopio University Hospital’s Neurocenter. She has led numerous national, international and European Union projects and consortia, and has been principal investigator of several drug trials in Alzheimer’s disease or mild cognitive impairment. Her current focus of research is improving diagnosis, therapy and prevention of Alzheimer’s disease.
“I was completely surprised by this award. It is wonderful for Finnish Alzheimer’s research to get this kind of attention, since Finland has a strong role in Alzheimer’s research. We are active in international networks, and we are especially known for the FINGER Study and the World Wide FINGERS network focusing on the prevention of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. There’s still plenty of work to be done in this field,” Soininen says.
