Kalle Saksela

Kalle M. Saksela (born 10 September 1962) is a Finnish virologist. He has been a professor at University of Helsinki since 2005, where he leads the virology department.

Early life and education Saksela was born on 10 September 1962 in Philadelphia. In 1989 Saksela obtained his MD and PhD from the University of Helsinki under the supervision of Kari Alitalo.

COVID-19-related research Saksela and coworkers developed during the spring of 2020 a patent-free COVID-19 vaccine, which uses an adenovirus as a delivery system for genetic information to trigger the production of the spike protein of SARS-CoV-2. While being successful in animal trials the project could not secure funding for large human trials. Later in the year Saksela co-founded Rokote Laboratories with researchers from the University of Eastern Finland to develop a nasal spray that could be used to administer the COVID-19 vaccine.

Recognition In 2002 Saksela was awarded the Anders Jahre Prize for Young Scientists by the University of Oslo for his research on Aids. In 2003 he became a member of the Finnish Academy of Science and Letters.