The Board of Paulo Foundation in 2021:

Chairman Pekka Puustinen, CEO, DSc at Pohjola Insurance Ltd. Helsinki

Jyrki Wallenius, Professor at Aalto University

Harri Mäki, Professor at Akademy of Music

Matti Rautalahti, MD, secretary general at Duodecim

Sanna Lehtonen, Professor at Helsinki University, department for medicine

The Paulo Foundation, established in 1966, is a non-profit foundation.

The Paulo Foundation is based upon the last will and testament of Reko Paulo's wife, Hulda, and their daughter Marja. Reko and Hulda Paulo were restaurateurs. They founded the Russian-style restaurant Bellevue that still exists in Katajanokka, Helsinki. Grigori Pawlow, who later changed his name to Reko Paulo, was born in 1891 in the village of Tedre in Estonia. The substantial estate left behind by the Paulo family, which included an entire building and several apartments in Helsinki, was a testimony to their hard work. Reko and Hulda Paulo had two children. Their son Teppo fell in the last days of the Finnish-Russian war on the eastern front in July 1944 and their daughter Marja never married.

In terms of the regulations governing the Paulo Foundation it awards grants to artists and researchers who are either Finnish citizens or permanent residents in Finland. The grants are awarded in the fields of medical and economic research as well as in fine arts and music.

After 1966 the Paulo Foundation has received the following donations to supplement its initial capital.

The Daisy and Yrjö Eskola trust fund was established in 1978 and it has awarded grants for post-graduate medical studies and research. Daisy and Yrjö Eskola were childless professionals who left their estate to the Paulo Foundation.

Sigurd and Liisa Wikström were also a childless couple. Sigurd Wikström made his fortune as the proprietor of a coach company and in other related businesses. The couple set up a trust fund in their name in 1989. After their deaths in the 1990s their estate was left to the trust.

The Kalle and Märtha Ebb trust fund that was established in 1994 awards grants to the promotion of Finnish alpine skiing and to alpine skiers competing at junior level in Finland and abroad. Kalle, born Karl A. Ebb in 1896 and the proprietor of a textile factory, was a keen sportsman. He was 5th in the hurdles event at the Paris Olympics in 1924. In addition to being an enthusiastic racing car driver, Kalle Ebb was also a pioneer of Finnish alpine skiing in the 1930s. Kalle's only child Heimo, a son born during his first marriage, was killed in the war in July 1944 just ten days after Teppo Paulo.

The Paulo Foundation also governs the following trusts:

The Eino Hirvonen trust supports post-graduate studies in the field of export,

the Veikko Palotie trust supports post-graduate studies and research in the field of business law,

the Jorma Pätiälä trust supports research into lung diseases as well as into war and other similar injuries,

the Tapani Tammisto trust supports research in the field of anaesthesia,

the Ahti Tarkkanen trust supports research in opthalmology, and

the Trust for Maxillofacial Surgery supports research work in this field.

In 2010 The Leena Peltonen-Palotie Memorial Fund was established. Symposium Honoring Academician of Science, Professor Leena Peltonen-Palotie was arranged 18-19 May 2011 in Helsinki. Leena's life work can be supported by donations to bank account FI91 1562 3000 1320 29, Swift: NDEAFIHH.

• The first Leena Peltonen Prize for Excellence in Human Genetics awarded to Dr. Cecilia Lindgren

• The recipient of the second prize is Dr. Benjamin Neale

• Tuuli Lappalainen receives the third Leena Peltonen Prize for Excellence in Human Genetics

• Gosia Trynka receives the fourth Leena Peltonen Prize for Excellence in Human Genetics

Thus, grants are awarded for medical and economic research as well as for the development of fine arts and music. Annually, the Paulo Foundation distributes from its total grant allocation 50% to medical science, 25% to economical science and the remaining 25% is equally divided between fine arts and music. The Paulo Foundation also supports young artists by purchasing their works for its own art collection. Additionally, the individual trust funds award grants.

Since 1977 Paulo Foundation and Sapporo Medical University have had an extremely fruitful Researcher Exchange Programme. Every year a medical researcher from Sapporo visits a Finnish medical university, and vice versa. These visits last between one to two months. SapMed

­The PAULO international medical symposium.

Every second year, The Paulo Foundation awards a grant for the organization of a top-level international medical symposium in Finland. These symposia last between two and three days, cater to experts of the topics covered, and are designed to benefit Finnish researchers. Between ten and 15 experts from abroad have taken part in each symposium.

SYMPOSIA

1. Anaesthesia Symposium, 1983, professor Tapani Tammisto, HUCH, Department of Anaesthesiology
2. Pathology of Intraocular Lens Implantation, 1984, professor Ahti Tarkkanen, HUCH, Department of Ophthalmology
3. Surgical drainage of the middle ear, 1985, professor Tauno Palva, HUCH, Department of Otolaryngology
4. Recombinant DNA in Clinical Medicine, 1986, professor Leena Palotie, the University of Helsinki Recombinant DNA Laboratory
5. Pathobiology on Alzheimer's Disease, 1988, docent Matti Haltia, the University of Helsinki Department of Pathology
6. Symposium of Sudden Cardiac Death, 1989, professor Jorma Hirvonen, the University of Oulu Department of Forensic Medicine
7. Genetic and dietary regulation of postprandial lipoprotein metabolism; relation to atherosclerosis, 1991, professor Tatu Miettinen, HUCH, II Faculty of Internal Medicine
8. Growth factors, proteolytic enzymes, adhesive proteins and angiogenic factors in ocular wound healing, 1991, docent Timo Tervo, HUCH, Department of Ophthalmology
9. Modern Trends in Postoperative Pain Control, 1994, assistant professor Per Rosenberg, HYKS, Department of Anaesthesiology
10. Molecular and Cellular Biology of Plasminogen Activation, 1995, professor Antti Vaheri, the University of Helsinki Department of Virology
11. Prevention of type I diabetes: Strategies based on new findings on molecular pathogenesis, 1996, professor Hans Åkerblom, HUCH Department of Pediatrics
12. The Society for Natural Immunity (SNI) / meeting, 1997, professor Eero Saksela, the University of Helsinki, Haartman Institute, Department of Pathology
13. Chlamydia pneumoniae and associated diseases, 1998, professor Pekka Saikku, National Public Health Institute, Oulu
14. Common types of human cancer: Current views on Prevention, Causes, Diagnosis and Treatment of Breast Cancer and Prostate Cancer, 1999, professor Yrjö Collan, the University of Turku, Institute of Clinical-Theoretical Medicine
15. Bacterial Meningitis - Where Do We Stand in 2000, professor Heikki Peltola, HUCH Children's Hospital
16. Treatment of Schizophrenia and its Effectiveness, 2001, professor Ranan Rimón, HUCH Department of Psychiatry
17. Growth factors and gene transfer in vascular biology and therapeutics, 2002, Academy professor Kari Alitalo, professor Seppo Ylä-Herttuala, the University of Helsinki, Haartman Institute, Molecular and Cancer Biology
18. Symposium on Musicians' Medicine, 2003, doctor of medical sciences Miikka Peltomaa, docent Martti Vastamäki, the Finnish Musicians' Medicine Association
19. Effectiveness research in clinical psychiatry, 2004, Professor Jari Tiihonen, acting professor Kristian Wahlbeck, the University of Helsinki Department of Psychiatry
20. Multifaceted TGF-beta family of growth and differentiation factors: tissue-specific targeting and mode of action, 2005, professor Jorma Keski-Oja, the University of Helsinki, Biomedicum, the departments of Virology and Pathology
21. Second International Symposium on Osteoporosis At the UKK Institute, Tampere, 2006, docent Teppo Järvinen
22. INPEC 2008, Naantali, 12.6 - 15.6.2008, Professor Adrian Goldman
23. EBMT/PDWP, 2010, Helsinki, 2. - 4.6.2010, Matti Korhonen, MD
24. Schizophrenia - Epidemiology and Biology symposium 2012, docent Jouko Miettunen, Erika Jääskeläinen, MD, The Oulu Psychiatric Epidemiology Society (OPES)

    http://kotu.oulu.fi/projektit/pims2012/ 

25. Neuroplasticity in Medicine. 2014, professor Hasse Karlsson, the University of Turku
26. 2015, "From atomic structures to disease machanims", Sarah Butcher, Ph.D., Institute of Biotechnology, Helsinki University

    http://www.biocenter.helsinki.fi/atoms2disease/
    https://scholar.google.fi/scholar?q=paulo+foundation+symposium+from+atomic+structures+to+disease+mechanisms&hl=f  

27. 2016, "Storage and break down of fatty acids", Elina Itkonen, M.D., Ph.D., Academy Professor, Institute of Biomedicine, Anatomy, Helsinki University

    http://blogs.helsinki.fi/paulosymposium2016/

28. The 10th International Symposium on Memory and Awareness in Anaesthesia, MAA10.
    www.maa10.com

29. 2018 Too much medicine Chair Professor Teppo Järvinen, Helsinki University, Too much medicine.

30. 2020  Interaction now - cerebral small vessel disease and Alzheimer disease, 2020, Associate professor, clinical director Susanna Melkas, Helsingin yliopisto

Paulo Foundation is the main sponsor for The International Paulo Cello Competition, which was launched and held for the first time in Helsinki 4-14 November 1991.

The second Competition was held 3-15 November 1996, the fifth in spring 2013. The aim is to arrange these events every fifth year. The next competition was held in October 2018.

The artistic director of the International Paulo Cello Competition is Professor Arto Noras.

For more information about the International Paulo Cello Competition,click here.