MESSAGE FROM THE P³G CHAIR

On behalf of the entire international P³G community, it is with great sorrow that I acknowledge the passing of our dear friend, colleague and fellow Board member, Leena Peltonen-Palotie. A founding member of P³G, Leena brought vision, passion and commitment. We have all witnessed her courage and determination in the last few years in her battle with cancer. She continued to build, participate and foster the research of tomorrow. Her very presence brought renewed energy and direction to P³G and many other initiatives. We will pay tribute to her at our P³G meeting in April. Leena will be sorely missed and our thoughts go out to Aarno and their children.

- Bartha Maria Knoppers

Below are excerpts from the notice prepared by our colleagues at ENGAGE.

Professor Leena Peltonen-Palotie, MD, PhD., Academician of Science, passed away on March 11, 2010. Professor Peltonen-Palotie, was awarded the honorary title of Academician of Science in October 2009 and was one of the world's foremost and most respected experts in genetic research. Her research serves as an excellent example of how basic molecular biology can be combined with medicine to gain a better understanding of different diseases.

Academician Peltonen-Palotie was the recipient of several international accolades, including the Antoine Marfan Award, the Anders Jahre Prize, the European van Gysel Prize for Biomedical Research and the Eric K. Fernström Prize.

Over a career that spanned 37 years, Peltonen-Palotie ran research groups at the University of Oulu, the University of Helsinki, the National Public Health Institute of Finland, the University of California Los Angeles, the Broad Institute of MIT Harvard in Boston and the Sanger Institute in Cambridge, UK.

Her team identified genetic mutations associated with dyslipidemias, lactose intolerance, MS disease, schizophrenia, obesity and heart diseases. The team also established how these mutations mechanically lead to the actual onset of disease. Their efforts have paved the way to new diagnostic tests and to screenings for disease carriers. She also excelled in training young students of science having, among other things, mentored more than 70 PhD theses – thus influencing and inspiring several new generations of scientists. Importantly, she was also very determined to share new information about human genetics and disease to the general public, and by explaining these sometimes difficult issues in an open, clear and personal way.

She was a Professor at the National Public Health Institute (1991–1994) and at the National Public Health Institute and the University of Helsinki (1995–1998 and 2002–2003). In 1998, she moved to the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) to establish a major genetic research centre. Nine years later she was invited to become Head of Human Genetics at the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, Europe’s leading genome research centre. She continued to work at the Sanger Institute in the UK for as long as her health permitted. In addition to her work there, Professor Peltonen-Palotie was Research Director at the Institute for Molecular Medicine Finland (FIMM) and at the National Institute for Health and Welfare, as well as Visiting Professor at Broad Institute, Boston. She was also a member of the Scientific Council of the European Research Council (ERC) and a member of the US National Academy of Sciences, Institute of Medicine.

"Academician Leena Peltonen- Palotie has been a role model both to scientists around the world and individuals who hope to embark on careers in research. She has left a void in the Finnish scientific community that will be impossible to fill," says Markku Mattila President of the Academy of Finland.

In lieu of floral tributes, donations may be made to the Leena Palotie memorial fund. For information, visit the Academy of Finland website. To post online tributes and messages: http://www.fimm.fi/en/condolences/