Contacts
Academician Sirpa Jalkanen, Director of the Turku Immunology Centre
Email: sirjal(at)utu.fi
Tel. +358 40 566 9611
Antti Hurme, Clinical Director of the Turku Immunology Centre
Email: antti.hurme(at)varha.fi
Antti Hurme (MD, PhD) started as Clinical Director of the Turku Immunology Centre in February 2026. He completed specialist training in internal medicine in autumn 2025 and is currently training in rheumatology at Turku University Hospital (TYKS). He is particularly interested in bringing clinical immunology methods and emerging applications into everyday patient care.
During his medical studies, Hurme worked on T cell differentiation in Riitta Lahesmaa’s group. In his doctoral research in Ilkka Julkunen’s group, he studied immune responses to SARS-CoV-2 infection and vaccination. His current interests include advancing clinical immunology research and applications, such as more personalized diagnostics, immunopeptidomics, and cell-based therapies. He will visit Osaka University in Shimon Sakaguchi’s group in 2026, focusing on (CAR)-iTreg cell function, with the goal of continuing this line of research within the InFLAMES Flagship.
Clinically, he works in the rheumatology unit at TYKS, focusing on the diagnosis and treatment of inflammatory diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis and vasculitis. During his internal medicine training, he also established collaborations with the hematology department. The TYKS stem cell transplantation unit operates under international JACIE/EBMT quality standards (accredited and regularly audited since 2006), providing a strong clinical platform for developing adoptive immunotherapies.
As Clinical Director, his goal is to strengthen two-way collaboration between the clinic and basic research so that new methods translate into patient care and research priorities are shaped by clinical needs.
