Kari Alitalo

Kari Kustaa Alitalo (born 21 May 1952 in Kuopio[1]) is a Finnish MD and a medical researcher.

He is a foreign associated member of the National Academy of Sciences of the US.

[2] He became famous for his discoveries of several receptor tyrosine kinases (RTKs)[3][4][5] and the first growth factor capable of inducing lymphangiogenesis: vascular endothelial growth factor C (VEGF-C).

[6] In the years 1996–2007 he was Europe's second most cited author in the field of cell biology.

[10] He also received the 2005 Eric Fernström Foundation's Nordic Prize[11] and the 2009 In-Bev Baillet Latour Health Prize.