Orion Research Foundation supports young researchers with over €1.1 million

The Orion Research Foundation awarded a total of €1,108,000 in grants for 2026 to support research in domestic medicine, pharmacy, veterinary medicine, and related natural sciences. A total of 106 young researchers across Finland received funding.

The Board of the Orion Research Foundation sr has announced the grant decisions for 2026. The Foundation has awarded grants up to €50,000 to 18 recently graduated PhD researchers to continue their research work. In addition, 88 doctoral students received grants of €6,000 for doctoral dissertation work.

By the application deadline, the Foundation received 734 applications. Most applications were for doctoral research: 603 applicants sought funding for their PhD studies, while 131 applied for postdoctoral research support. The largest number of applications came from the fields of biomedicine, biochemistry, cell and molecular biology, and oncology.

“Supporting research is an investment in the future. We want to enable the professional growth of young researchers and support high-quality Finnish research,” says Antti Rannikko, Chair of the Foundation’s Board.

The Orion Research Foundation awards grants annually, funded by investment returns and donations from Orion Corporation. The support is directed to medicine, veterinary medicine, pharmacy, and related natural sciences such as chemistry and physics.

In recent years, the Foundation has awarded grants totaling about one million euros annually, and its role as a supporter of young researchers has become an established part of the Finnish scientific community.

Explore the list of grant recipients and their research topics on the Orion Research Foundation’s website.

The Orion Research Foundation is a non-profit foundation established in 1957 by Orion Corporation and its holding company Regulus Oy. The Foundation fulfills its purpose by awarding grants for research in accordance with its rules: promoting research in Finnish medicine, pharmacy, veterinary medicine, and related natural sciences such as chemistry and physics. The Foundation especially supports researchers at the early stages of their academic careers. Orion Corporation does not influence the Foundation’s grant decisions.