Keynote speakers

Mikael Ekblad

Mikael Ekblad is specialist doctor in General Practice. His doctoral thesis dealt with smoking during pregnancy and fetal brain development. Since then, he has continued studying the effects of prenatal smoking exposure on child health. He is currently working as a Visiting Scholar in the Department of Human Development and Family Studies at Purdue University in Indiana, USA.

His current research focuses on (1) disentangling the effects of prenatal smoking exposure on child neurocognitive outcomes from genetic and environmental factors and (2) examining the effects of prenatal smoking exposure on epigenetic signatures. He has also established in central Satakunta in Finland a maternity and child health clinic study (KESALATU), which is an ongoing prospective follow-up study. He is a member of the Scientific Committee of the Tobacco-Free Finland 2030 and the Society for Nicotine & Tobacco Research.

Ruth Kalda

Ruth Kalda is Professor of family medicine and head of the Institute of Family Medicine and Public Health in University of Tartu. She also still works as part time family doctor.

Her field of scientific activity includes prevention, risk factors of chronic diseases, risk prediction, patient empowerment, primary health care quality. She is author of more than 150 scientific and professional papers among them more than 50 in international peer-review journals.

Her activities include being scientific editor of the journal “Eesti Arst” (Estonian Physician”), board member of the Estonian Society of Family Doctors, executive Board Member of the EURACT (European Academy of the Teachers in Family Medicine/General Practice), member of the MINT (Motivational Interviewing Trainers’ Network).  She has coordinated several national and international projects in the field of family medicine and participated as an expert in several countries in counselling of primary health care and education reforms: Moldova, Ukraine, Greece.

Satu Lahti

Satu Lahti is Professor of Community Dentistry in the University of Turku, Finland. One of her main areas of research is oral health-related quality of life. The studies have involved theoretical concepts and social gradient of oral-health related quality of life as well as its association with different aspects of oral health, dental fear and anxiety and use of oral health services.

Tuula Vainikainen

M.A. Tuula Vainikainen is a free medical journalist and science writer.
She has worked as Head of PR- and Communication Unit both in University of Turku and Turku University Hospital.

Sari Stenholm

Sari Stenholm is Professor of public health and epidemiology in the University of Turku. Her research topics are linked with life mode factors and their significance as indicators of healthy and functional ageing. At the moment she is working actively as the leader of Finnish Retirement and Aging Study (FIREA). Main focus of this study is to enlighten changes in lifestyle, health and activity behavior during retirement transition and to study factors that affect this period of life.