Finnish and international analysis gives high marks to THL researchers
According to a citation analysis on Microsoft's Research.com website, Professor Jaakko Tuomilehto is Finland's most frequently cited medical researcher. In worldwide statistics he is among the 25 most cited researchers, and in a European comparison he ranks among the top 3. Tuomilehto's publications have been cited more than 225,000 times.
Citation analysis is based on examining how frequently a researcher's publications have been cited by other researchers. The gauge reflects how much attention each researcher’s work has received and tells about the significance of the publications and the worldwide appreciation that they enjoy.
Many other researchers who work or have worked at THL were on the Finnish list of the 50 most cited scientists. THL researchers were especially successful in epidemiological and public health research.
Persevering research on public health – part of Finnish success story
Jaakko Tuomilehto began his career as a researcher in the North Karelia Project in the early 1970s and was later the project's head researcher. The project examined the risk factors for cardiovascular diseases among the population in East Karelia and the prevention of these diseases. A follow-up study was implemented in 1977 after which a population study was carried out at five-year intervals as the research area grew. The scope of the study was expanded from cardiovascular diseases to other non-transmissible diseases and to the prevalence of their risk and protective factors in the Finnish population.
After data was collected for the most recent FINRISK study, the monitoring of those in the study will continue using health care registers. This kind of systematic health monitoring of the population has been implemented only in a few countries in the world.
Tuomilehto has worked as a researcher and research professor at THL's predecessor, the National Public Health Institute of Finland. He has also worked at the World Health Organisation (WHO), as a professor at the University of Kuopio, and as a professor of public health science at the University of Helsinki. In 2000–2005 he served as an Academy Professor at the Academy of Finland. During his career Tuomilehto has also served as a visiting professor in Austria, Saudi Arabia, and Spain.
- My research work has mainly been with THL. I have been able to concentrate on scientific research, even though the funding of the research has largely been from outside the institute. I am concerned that scientific research funding in our country has constantly been decreasing, Tuomilehto says.
Tuomilehto believes that Finland's high-quality health registers, the positive attitude of the people and the health care system toward health research, and numerous persevering research projects in public health are also factors that contribute to his own success.
- Collaboration with other researchers and research institutes both in Finland and internationally has been very important. It is wonderful to be part in building Finland's success story in public health research. This Finnish know-how is appreciated around the world. One example of this is the outcome of this citation analysis, Tuomilehto observes.
In public health research it is important to recognise which problems are critical for the population at each different time, as the array of illnesses and the factors behind them change constantly. This makes it possible to produce the needed research data for the prevention, early diagnosis, and effective treatment of diseases. Research requires resources, but it can provide a basis for significant savings in health care and improve people's quality of life. Tuomilehto is nevertheless concerned that some new items of legislation and regulations have brought complications to public health research, to the point of creating impediments to conducting effective research.
Jaakko Tuomilehto has produced more than 1800 international peer-reviewed scientific publications on a wide variety of illnesses and the factors affecting them. In addition to cardiovascular diseases, diabetes has been one of the key topics of his research. The Finnish Diabetes Prevention Study (DPS) led by Tuomilehto on the prevention of type 2 diabetes is a key milestone in the prevention of diabetes globally, and with nearly 6,000 citations, the main publication reporting on its results in 2001 is the most cited medical study ever conducted by Finns.
More than 130 doctoral students have either had their dissertations supervised by Tuomilehto or have used his research projects in their theses. He has received more than 30 international science awards, including the Claude Bernard Award (European Association for the Study of Diabetes, 2018), which is the world's most valued award for diabetes research. Tuomilehto has also been nominated for a Nobel prize for his research into the prevention of diabetes.
Jaakko Tuomilehto is now retired, but he is continuing his active research, including serving as professor emeritus at the University of Helsinki and THL.
Research needs cooperation and networking
The success of THL researchers and the extensive use of research material collected by the Institute in studies by other internationally successful researchers underscore the role of THL in the Finnish and international field of research.
- If Finnish health and medical research is to flourish, the preconditions of our research activities must be secured, and strengthened in the future. THL's high-quality population research data and the comprehensive monitoring of their registers are of special value. We cooperate extensively with universities and other research institutes in Finland and around the world, notes research professor Pekka Jousilahti, the current head researcher of FINRISK research.
