IFCC Executive Board Secretary Honored

Païvi Laitinen

From the left: Heidi Miettinen, LAL Secretary, Jari Lehto, LAL Executive Director and Päivi Hannele Laitinen.

From the left: Gunnel Sievers, Seppo Laitinen (Päivi’s husband), Pirjo Tanner, Jari Lehto

The Finnish Union of Experts in Science has appointed Docent Päivi Hannele Laitinen “The Expert of Science 2009” for her work and merits in developing and advancing clinical chemistry in Finland as well as for her role as an expert and teacher in the field.

LAL, the Finnish Union of Experts in Science, is a union for all professionals who have obtained a higher education degree in science. The Union's aim is to protect and improve the financial, professional and social interests of its members and to promote the employment of its members' professional skills in different social sectors. The Union counts over 7 000 members from different branches of science; chemistry, biochemistry, biology and genetics amongst others.

Docent Päivi Laitinen has worked as a clinical biochemist in the laboratory of Oulu University Hospital since 1991. She has also been a pioneer in making clinical chemistry better recognized in the country. She has lectured clinical chemistry in the university, in the school of polytechnics and she has hosted visits of school children in her laboratory.

Päivi Laitinen received her PhD in biochemistry in1986 and she was appointed a Docent in clinical biochemistry in 2003. She has also a Master’s Degree n Health Care Science, healthcare administration as her major. Päivi Laitinen has over 30 peer-reviewed articles and dozens of abstracts in congresses. Her main interest in science today is prenatal screening. She has also been an invited speaker in several domestic and international congresses and conferences. Since 1999 Päivi Laitinen has been a member of the Finnish nomenclature group for laboratory tests under the Association of Finnish Local and Regional Authorities. This group develops and updates the Finnish nomenclature, which is used in all health care units in the country. In 2008 she was a member of the expert group of prenatal screening of the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health. This group wrote guidelines and instructions for local authorities on how to organize prenatal screening in Finland.

Päivi Laitinen has a long career in the societies of clinical chemistry at the national, Nordic, European and international level. She has been a member of the Board of the Finnish Society of Clinical Chemistry in 1992-1995, Vice-President in 1996-1997 and President in 1998-2002. While President of the Finnish Society she was also a member of the Board of the Nordic Society of Clinical Chemistry. In 2003 Päivi Laitinen was elected a Member-at-Large for the Executive Board of EC4. 2003-2005 she was also a member of the IFCC Awards Committee. Since 2006 Päivi Laitinen has been the Secretary of the IFCC.