Seppo Kalevi Meri

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The University of Tartu has conferred the degree of Honorary Doctor on Professor emeritus Seppo Kalevi Meri for his outstanding work in advancing the field of immunology and for fostering international cooperation and the next generation of researchers at the University of Tartu Faculty of Medicine.

Seppo Kalevi Meri was born in Kerimäki, Finland, on 1 July 1957. Having graduated from the University of Helsinki as a physician in 1984, he defended his doctoral thesis at the same university in 1987. He completed postdoctoral research at the University of Texas (1988) and worked as a research fellow of the European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO) at the University of Cambridge (1989–1990). After returning to Finland in 1991, he worked as an associate professor. In 1996, he qualified as a specialist in clinical microbiology. In 2003, Seppo Kalevi Meri was elected professor of immunology at the University of Helsinki. His responsibilities have been highly diverse: among other positions, he served as director of the Haartman Institute at the University of Helsinki (2004–2012), head of the Department of Bacteriology and Immunology (2013–2025), and chief physician of the diagnostic centre at Helsinki University Hospital (2003–2025).

Special mention should be made of Professor Meri’s extensive international engagement. He is a highly regarded evaluator for European research funding organisations and charitable foundations, and has held leading positions in several international professional societies. From 1999 to 2007, he served as president of the Scandinavian Society for Immunology. From 2004 to 2016, he was a member of the Executive Committee of the International Union of Immunological Societies (IUIS) and, from 2010 to 2016, its Secretary-General. In recognition of his notable professional and public service, he has received a number of prestigious honours (including the Knight First Class of the Order of the White Rose of Finland and the European Complement Network Medal for lifetime achievement).

Throughout his scientific career at the University of Helsinki, Professor Meri has focused on research into innate immunity – he is regarded as one of the world’s leading researchers of the blood complement system. Through sustained investigation into the role of blood proteins in protecting the body against harmful external factors and cancer, he has enriched both theoretical and applied immunology with knowledge that can now be used to treat diseases caused by immune system disorders. In addition to his in-depth research on complement factor H, Professor Meri has identified several immune response mechanisms, paving the way for new and more effective treatments for immune-mediated diseases.

As a medical scholar, Professor Meri has always been distinguished by his openness to new ideas and innovative approach. These qualities have made him a highly valued collaborator and leader in major international research networks. He has a natural ability to generate new ideas, find collaboration partners, and lead joint initiatives.

Professor Meri’s collaboration with the University of Tartu began in the early 2000s, when he served on an expert panel evaluating the Faculty of Medicine here. In 2005, he was invited, along with other European researchers, to assess Estonia’s centres of excellence in research. Since then, the University of Tartu medical researchers have maintained close professional ties with Professor Meri. He has visited Tartu regularly and, in 2009, served as an opponent for a doctoral thesis at the university. Professor Meri deserves particular recognition for his steadfast support for organising courses and summer schools for early-career researchers – an initiative launched by the University of Tartu and Estonian immunologists that both the European Federation of Immunological Societies (EFIS) and the IUIS have since joined.