Meet Our Speakers

Ahmed Hussein MD PhD, is a Neurosurgery Consultant with 20 years of experience in the field, Special expert at the Microsurgery Center of Eastern Finland. He gained global experience in the neurosurgical practice by training in 4 different continents (USA, Europe, Asia and Africa). Hussein is the founder and Chairman of the board of SURGERIX OY, A company developing innovative software for surgical microscopes.

The diversity in his educational background motivated him to dedicate part of his time to contribute in the establishment and managing the Microsurgical Center of Eastern Finland, a surgical training center with passion in developing medicine and support medical industry. Ahmed’s main goal was to involve the state-of-art updated medical technology to provide best solutions in health care education and services. He worked as surgical advisor for many innovative projects and startups over the past decade as well as participating and collaborating in funding application for different medical Innovation projects. As a personal interest, Dr.Hussein is managing international projects for medical technology development and educational exchange. He believes that improving health care services is based on improving the educational tools for health care personnel.

Hussein has completed his medical degree at Assiut University/Egypt. Neurosurgical fellowships in Hospital Kuala Lumpur/Malysia, Allegheny General Hospital/Pittsburgh/PA/USA, Kuopio University Hospital/Kuopio/Finland. Lately, his research focus was about image processing in surgical application and objective evaluation of surgical skills. He got his first PhD in minimally invasive approaches in brain surgery from Assiut University and the second ongoing PhD about objective evaluation of surgical skills in University of Eastern Finland.

With a Bachelors in Management Specializing in Entrepreneurship, Innovation and Strategy from the University of Manchester, Alexandru Paraschiv is a successful Entrepreneur and investor in multiple successful MedTech Startups being a Co-Founder of MLA Medtech, an international hub for financing, mentoring and supporting startups, and due to his expertise in the Medical Industry.

As a COO for the last 4 years in GMS, the Oficial Samsung Healthcare distributor in Romania and the Republic of Moldova he has supervised day to day operations and sales of 50+ Milion euros in the last years, making him an expert in Go-To-Market strategies and in advising Startups with their technological development, accreditation paths and market penetration.

Anastasiya Markvarde is a women’s health and health innovation expert with a track record in top pharma and startup advisory. Anastasiya is women’s health thought leader, an author of Women’s Health Digest and is representing Finland in the global femtech ecosystems association Femtech Across Borders.

She is working as an advisor to governments, life science organizations and startups, aiming to advance women’s health. She regularly contributes to international panels, conferences and research papers shaping the future of women’s health innovation.

Anastasiya focuses on embedding women’s health into national innovation agendas and public health strategies.As part of her work, Anastasiya is advising the Women’s Health Hub Finland which is on its way of becoming a national center of women’s health competence and innovation.

Katri Mäkeläinen has a background in Industrial Engineering and Management and Biomedical Devices and Systems, combining business thinking with health‑technology insight.

Currently, she works at Nuanic, a startup developing a smart ring that detects cognitive and emotional load and helps users understand when and why stress occurs and what to change in their behavior. At Nuanic, she works e.g. on growth and communication, helping turn scientific insights on stress and recovery into accessible content and product concepts.

Katri has also been actively involved in building startup communities and early‑stage ventures: Last year she served as Chairperson of Tampere Entrepreneurship Society, a student‑run organization strengthening the local startup ecosystem through events, programs, and entrepreneurial initiatives.

She also co-founded a stealth‑mode startup, which the team ultimately decided to close after early validation showed insufficient customer demand. This experience deepened her interest in evidence‑based product development.

Jenni Hyysalo is a Finnish physician (MD, PhD) and a leading voice at the intersection of women’s health, femtech, and preventive medicine. She specializes in hormonal health, perimenopause, and midlife physiology, with a strong focus on translating medical science into scalable, technology-enabled care models for women.

With a background in clinical medicine and medical research, Jenni combines evidence-based healthcare with data-driven insights, digital diagnostics, and personalized interventions. She is the founder of Viven, a digital health platform for women, where she has developed the 360 Health Analysis – a comprehensive health and hormone assessment integrating biomarker data, symptom profiling, and clinical interpretation to deliver actionable, individualized care. 

Jenni is particularly passionate about closing the gender health gap by bringing rigor, regulation-ready clinical models, and scientific depth into femtech. Personally navigating perimenopause herself, she advocates for earlier detection of hormonal imbalance, proactive care, and a new standard for midlife women’s health—one that is measurable, personalized, and medically grounded.

Malina Turcut is an international entrepreneur, investor, and healthcare innovation strategist dedicated to transforming MedTech across Europe and beyond. As Co-Founder of MLA Medtech Hub, she leads initiatives to guide early-stage medtech startups through critical growth phases—product development, funding strategy, and regulatory readiness.

She works closely with Samsung Medical Division, building bridges between innovative startups and global healthcare ecosystems, and creating pathways for new technologies to reach clinics and hospitals worldwide. With nearly two decades of experience in entrepreneurship, finance, and health technology, Malina combines hands-on operational insight with a deep understanding of the investor landscape.

She is an Expert under the European Innovation Council (EIC), underscoring her proficiency in scaling projects from lab to market. Over the years, she has actively invested in ventures at the intersection of health, AI, and digital innovation, mentoring founders and shaping sustainable growth trajectories.

In her moderation role, Malina brings a unique lens—bridging founders’ perspectives with investor expectations, especially in MedTech and biopharma. Her passion lies in unlocking capital, accelerating innovation, and facilitating strategic connections that push the boundaries of healthcare impact.

Manlio Fusciello, PhD, is a biomedical scientist and biotech entrepreneur based in Helsinki, Finland. He completed his doctorate at the University of Helsinki under the supervision of Professor Vincenzo Cerullo leader of the ImmunoViroTherapy Lab , focusing on cancer vaccines and immunotherapy.

His research explored strategies to harness antiviral immune responses against tumor-associated antigens, contributing to the development of innovative therapeutic vaccine approaches, some of which have advanced toward clinical translation. His work has been published in leading international journals, including Nature Communications, and he was awarded the Best PhD Thesis Award in 2024.

Beyond academia, Manlio is the founder of GlobeVAC Oy, a biotechnology company developing next-generation thermostable vaccine formulation technologies designed to eliminate cold-chain dependency for both human and animal vaccines. His work bridges immunology, materials science, and global health logistics, aiming to improve vaccine accessibility and sustainability worldwide.

In parallel, he is completing an MBA at Aalto Business School, integrating strategic leadership and entrepreneurial skills with deep scientific expertise to translate breakthrough research into scalable global impact.

Maria Sipilä, M.Sc. (Econ.) is a Vice Chair and Board Director of

European Women on Boards and a CEO of a Finland based

boutique growth consulting company Sipila Consulting.

She is a jury member at the European Commission European

Innovation Council. She is specialized in scaling and funding of

deeptech healthtech companies.

Sipila Consulting is a boutique growth consulting company

specialized in sustainable international growth and commercialization. The

company serves customers in expansion to European Union

countries, UK, US, APAC, Japan and India.

He was a member of the management committee (representative of Finland) in COST projects, member of European Connected Health Alliance (Medical Optimization Working Group), Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine, European Orthopaedic Research Society (EORS) and others.

He is the developer of new in vitro testing methods, an owner of LinkedIn group ‘Advanced Testing of Biomaterials’, an inventor of model-free assessment of biomaterials and medical devices, and new patented protocols.

The company (www.seqvera.com) is doing research to develop and to commercialize inventions in biomaterials, medical devices, ATMP and combined products evaluation, testing and development compliant to regulations. His activities especially related to regulatory science and opportunities on the new solutions implementation.

I work as a data-analyst and AI officer in Avaintec Ltd, an AI company developing ML-based prediction systems for health and social care use. My responsibilities as AI officer include assuring our company conforms to AI legislation and standards, and provides fair and reliable results to be used in health and social care decision making.

My educational background is in biophysics and biomedical engineering, which is why I’m particularly interested in all matters of AI in health care and the medical field, from machine vision used in imaging to AI agents helping clinicians summarize the patients’ care history. I

believe communication is key in AI development. There is a lot of hype surrounding AI, and it is important that us developers are open about the capabilities and risks of AI systems, and educate on what AI and ML really mean, and include clinicians in the development process as much as possible.

Orily is an expert business professional committed to guiding brands towards excellence, leveraging long-standing experience and a passion for innovation to create successful commercial strategies and nurture businesses that aim to make a tangible impact in their industries.

Orily’s extensive expertise was acquired through leading high-impact roles and advising international clients across the healthcare, MedTech, Agrifood, and ESG sectors, specialising in business and commercial strategy, branding and global marketing, investor readiness, and growth strategies, thereby guiding innovative brands towards market excellence.

Paolo is part of Eversana Health Innovation team, where he founded and is the Managing Partner of VITA Accelerator, the Digital Health Accelerator of the CDP Accelerator Network. At VITA he has fundraised and brought on board several Corporate Partners like Angelini, Zambon Group, SIFI and Petrone Group, and deployed capital to 16 promising Digital Health Startups.

Paolo has a long international experience in corporate innovation, startup creation and acceleration. He has shaped and run several global and regional accelerator programs for healthtech, foodtech, energy and mobile apps. He has screened +7000 startups to identify the future success stories, and deployed +20M€ in +300 cases.

Paolo is an active Board Member, Advisor and Angel Investor and has co-written a few papers on innovation & ecosystem development with key innovators like Imperial College, and enjoys moderating panels at Startup events.

An ex-triathlete with a passion for outdoor sports, travelling, good food & wine in great company, Paolo had a degree in Management and Production Engineering from Politecnico di Milano and has kept himself constantly updated on AI and other key technology trends.

Dr Petri Huhtinen has been involved in various screening projects for more than 20 years. The focus of the programs has varied between eye disease, cancer and various congenital disease. Geographical distribution has been wide, ranging from South-East Asia to Americas, and from Sub-Saharan Africa to the Nordic Counties. During the 20+ years with screening Huhtinen has become a big fan of preventive healthcare where successful and cost-efficient screening plays a key role.

Currently Petri is working closely with Optomed’s AI collaborators in initiatives where AI is used to screen for diabetic eye disease, and other vision threatening disorders. He sees AI as a great tool to further enhance the prediction and prevention. Furthermore, recent advancements in the field of oculomics, the study of ocular biomarkers of systemic disease using retinal images and AI, are also under his radar screen.

Petri holds PhD in in vitro diagnostics, MSc in biochemistry and BBA in information systems science.

Dr. Samu Lehtonen M.D. is a visionary medical professional with a unique blend of expertise in medicine, engineering and technology. His journey in innovative healthcare has been marked by pioneering research, groundbreaking advancements, and a passion for improving patient outcomes.

Dr. Lehtonen’s research focused on investigating microsurgical technology and its seamless integration into medical practice at the Microsurgery Centre of Eastern Finland, culminating in the founding of Marginum. As an inventor and published author in peer-reviewed journals, Dr. Lehtonen pioneered Marginum’s core technology. Serving as CEO and co-founder, he has a demonstrated track record of fundraising, establishing partnerships, achieving key business KPIs and managing stakeholders. Marginum is a Finnish medical technology company founded in 2020 and a leading innovator in fluorescence-guided oncological surgery, developing optical tissue monitoring systems.

The CE-marked HIVEN® by Marginum enables safe and efficient monitoring of tumour tissues during cancer surgery by seamlessly integrating into existing surgical workflows. Marginum’s vision is to enable surgeons worldwide to perform safer, more precise operations, ultimately improving patient survival and quality of life.

An established life science law expert with a strategic focus on artificial intelligence, health data governance, genomics, and regulated health technologies. Extensive experience advising industry, legislators, and policy makers, and translating complex compliance challenges into clear, actionable strategies.

Trusted by boards, industry, startups, and public institutions alike, particularly where legal foresight, ethical oversight, and competitive regulatory positioning are critical to business success in the health sector.

Professional experience 
Laissa Ltd, Legal Advisor (current)
Healthtech Finland, Senior Legal Specialist (past); Member of the Board of Directors (current)
Ministry of Social Affairs and Health, Senior Specialist, Management Support Unit, Strategy Group (past)
National Supervisory Authority for Welfare and Health, Legal affairs and supervision of the Finnish biobanking field (past)

Related Experience
Innovestor Life Science Fund, Chair, Ethics Advisory Board (current)
EU 1 Million Genomes Initiative, Industry Group Lead
National Genome Strategy work of Finland, Legal Specialist
Helsinki University Hospital (HUS), Member, Research Ethics Committee, 
SGS Finland (Notified Body, MDR/IVDR), Member, Supervisory Board
Eurofins (E&E) Finland (Notified Body, MDR/IVDR), Member, Supervisory Board
Valpas Certifications, Chair, Impartiality Committee
Finnish Medical Law & Ethics Association, Chair 
University of Helsinki, Member, Review Board in the Humanities and Social and Behavioral Sciences
Seasoned Academic Writer

Tristen Hewitt is a grant-funded postdoctoral researcher in Jari Koistinaho’s lab in the Neuroscience Center unit of the Helsinki Institute of Life Science (HiLIFE). He earned a PhD in Molecular and Cellular Biology in 2022 from the University of Guelph (Canada) studying neurodevelopment defects in stem cells from bipolar disorder patients. Since 2022 he has been studying the interaction of genetics and early life stress in pathology of neurodevelopmental disorders such as schizophrenia.

Tristen is chair of the Neuroscience Center PhD and Postdoc Council, the Neuroscience Center representative in the HiLIFE Postdoc Council, and a member of the University of Helsinki Postdoc Cross Campus Initiative. In these roles he promotes professional and community development through the organization of symposiums, workshops, and networking events.

His experience hosting includes the HiLIFE Science Days 2025 conference (Helsinki, Finland) and the Health and Pharma Pitching Competition in the Slush signature side event Y Science.