Academy of Finland grants Biocenter Finland 2,5 M€ for collaboration with the business sector and industry partners
Academy of Finland’s FIRI Calls are the major funding source for nationally important instrument investments to research infrastructures of all scientific and scholarly disciplines. The FIRI2020 Call "Research Infrastructures as Collaborative Platforms" was targeted specifically to strengthen collaboration with the business sector and industry partners.
Biocenter Finland’s proposal of 2,5 M€ was fully funded. Together with the host universities’ share (30%), the total amount available for the investments is 3,5 M€. This resource is targeted to the following Biocenter Finland Competence Centers for Research and Innovation, operating in five of the BF host universities:
- Competence Center for Advanced Single Cell Analytics, University of Helsinki
- HT Flow cytometer and incubator
- 10X Genomics Chromium Connect
- AI-guided autopatcher, CAMI, and manipulator platform
- Profiling Platform for Lipid Metabolites, University of Helsinki and University of Turku
- Ultimate sensitivity LC-MS/MS System
- Triple Quadrupole MS/MS detector, UHPLC-equipment, and a multisampler for automatic sample injection
- Collaborative Industrial Platform for Proteomics, University of Helsinki, University of Turku and Åbo Akademi University
- FAIMS Pro Interface
- ZipChip Interface
- Integrative nano-sensitizer for nanoLC-MS connection
- NanoDroplet sample treatment Assembly
- Ultimate 3000 RSLCnano System
- Orbitrap Exploris MS upgrade
- Viral Vector Production and Testing Services, University of Eastern Finland, University of Helsinki, and Tampere University
- Becton-Dickinson: FACS Melody cell sorter
- Olympus IXplore Live Fluorescent Microscope
- Beckman Cytoflex Table top flow cytometer
The industry and business partners of these Competence Centers amount to 7 international and 14 Finnish companies.
The BF technology services supporting frontier science are available to the entire Finnish research community in the Life Sciences based on an open-access principle.
BF applies FIRI funding for the most needed technologies according to a strategic long-term investment plan. The choice of the equipment to be funded is based on consultation of the scientific community, and informed by assessment of the quality and needs of the Platforms carried out by BF’s international Scientific Advisory Board.