Member Marja Makarow
Professor Dr. Marja Makarow is President of Academia Europaea – The European Academy. She did her PhD in glycobiology in the University of Helsinki and her post-doctoral studies in cell biology at the EMBL in Heidelberg. She is former Director of Biocenter Finland, Vice-President of the Finnish Research Council - Academy of Finland, Chief Executive of the European Science Foundation ESF in Strasbourg France and Vice-Rector for Research and Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology of the University of Helsinki.
Marja Makarow is Board member of the European Innovation Council EIC, former member of the Governing Board of the European Institute for Innovation and Technology EIT and panel chair of the European Research Council ERC. She chaired Technology Academy Finland that awards one of the world’s most prestigious innovation prizes, the Millennium Technology Prize. She chaired the founding board of Tampere University launched in 2019, a merger of two universities, and was vice-chair of the founding board of Aalto University launched in 2010, a merger of three universities. She is member of the boards of the universities of Geneva and Tartu, and former board member of the University of the Arts Finland.
Marja Makarow has carried out evaluations at all levels of research-related activities from Principal Investigator grants to Centers of Excellence, research and innovation programmes, research assessments of universities and research institutes, and evaluations of the performance of funding organisations and national research & innovation systems. Marja Makarow has advised the European Commission as vice-chair of the European Research Area Board ERAB and the Finnish government in the Prime Ministers’ Research and Innovation Council. She is member of the Finnish Academy of Science and Letters and Finnish Academy of Technology, Commander of the Order of the White Lion, Finland, and Chevalier de l’Ordre de Légion d’Honneur, France. She holds two doctor honoris causa distinctions.
She has been a member of Heidelberg University’s Academic Advisory Council since 2008.
