The aim of the PEPPI (placental growth factor in prediction of placental insufficiency) study is to improve early identification of women at risk of preeclampsia. About 2-5% of all pregnant women develop preeclampsia and it is one of the most significant causes of morbidity and mortality among pregnant women and unborn children worldwide, thus being a significant cause of healthcare costs. The PEPPI study uses risk calculation program that is estimated to improve the identification of preeclampsia risk from current 40% to 60%. Efficient screening is important as aspirin treatment significantly reduces the risk of developing preeclampsia. 3000 mother-child-father trios will be recruited into the study in Oulu region. The research material includes blood tests, surveys, doctors examinations and ultrasound examinations. More information: www.peppitutkimus.fi.

Among women with gestational diabetes, up to two third later develop type 2 diabetes or cardiovascular disease. By identifying womens risk level, it could be possible to target prevention and regular testing to high-risk women and reduce or avoid unnecessary testing. In this research we are developing modern tools to estimate the individual risk levels of pregnant women. Genetic information will be combined with known risk factors based on medical history. We use two multicentre study groups collected to evaluate gestational diabetes and hypertension in pregnancy. A total of 2,279 pregnant women gave blood samples for DNA analyses. Delivery data and health information were collected from medical records and questionnaires in 2008-2012. Womens case histories will be followed through Finnish national registers for 9-13 years. The study will be carried out at the Oulu University Hospital, University of Oulu and the National Institute for Health and Welfare in 2020-2024.

From Big data to new science and practical solutions (Data4Healthcare) is a novel postdoctoral programme hosted at an international and multidisciplinary research environment of University of Oulu (UOULU), Finland. The Data4Healthcare addresses the great demand for specialists in all fields who are capable of working with different types of massive datasets, understand different datasources and legislation related to the demand of turning them into useful information for decision making in healthcare. This is achieved by tackling some of the most important scientific problems by collaborating intensely with experts from different disciplines and stakeholders and educating well-qualified postdoctoral researchers to meet the requirements of the 21st century. Data4Healthcare trains 25 postdoctoral researchers to better exploit and develop the possibilities of big data in the EU and globally. The aim of the Data4Healthcare programme is to offer cutting-edge research, research training and career development for experienced researchers of any nationality in fields associated with big data, data analytics, machine vision and artificial intelligence. The Oulu ecosystem with world’s smartest hospital, strong background in eHealth and ICT (for example 6GFlagship as world’s first 6G research programme to develop the future of wireless communication technologies), research teams utilizing large molecular data, expertise in artificial intelligence and several companies locally and in collaboration offers unprecedented surroundings for the programme. The identified primary/focus themes of research in the programme in UOULU are: - Data as new resources in the society - Health data management practices in RDI collaboration - Technical tools in data management and processing

I4WORLD - Imaging and Characterization for a Sustainable World - is a novel international, interdisciplinary and intersectoral doctoral programme for 25 ESRs hosted at the University of Oulu. The programme trains future research and innovation leaders for the global challenges of sustainability transition in UN Sustainable Development Goals topics: Good Health and Wellbeing, Affordable and Clean Energy, Sustainable Industries and Production and Clean Water, Biodiversity, and Environment. I4WORLD is based on full exploitation of the possibilities of modern imaging and characterisation methods in multidisciplinary research. The Programme combines six faculties and 24 research units of UOULU and is driven together with 18 international academic partners, 9 private companies, five research organizations, two public sector organisations and an industrial association. I4WORLD brings together the complementary expertise of world-class researchers in training ESRs with interdisciplinary visions in highly relevant UN SDGs research areas. The programme will provide ESRs comprehensive understanding on aspects of the sustainability and first-hand understanding on how research develops from science findings to interdisciplinary innovations and commercially valuable applications. Equality and diversity are inbuild values of the Programme in its training actions as well as in dissemination and communication. I4WORLD provides structured doctoral training responding to the need to train skilled next-generation ESRs to European job markets in industry, public sector and academia. Programme exploits local, national and international strengths of the network partners having excellence in research, cutting-edge infrastructures, and collaboration networks. I4WORLD builds upon a critical mass of expertise and provides a unique combination of complementary methodological approaches for high-quality training that would not be possible to implement at any site or organisation alone.