1. Current Status, Position

Prof Marja Airaksinen is Head of Clinical Pharmacy Group at the Faculty of Pharmacy of University of Helsinki, Finland. She is also responsible Professor of the National Specialization Program for Community and Hospital Pharmacists.

2. Education

Prof Marja Airaksinen earned her MSc (Pharm) and PhD degrees at the University of Kuopio, Finland (currently University of Eastern Finland), both in social pharmacy. She had her postdoctoral training at the United States Pharmacopoiea USP as a scholar-in-residence from 1996 to 1997, in Maryland, USA. Her PhD and postdoctoral research were focused on consumer medicines information needs and developing medicines information services to meet these needs. Since then, her research has extended and focused on medication safety as part of patient safety from systems approach.    

3. Research Area

Professor Airaksinen’s scientific work has mainly focused on medication management service, processes and competencies required in these processes. She has led a researcher community on medication safety at the University of Helsinki since 2004. She has been involved in several medicines information and medication safety development programs nationally and internationally, e.g., at the United States Pharmacopeia USP, WHO, European Union, Council of Europe, International Pharmaceutical Federation FIP.

4. Conflict of interest: none