Marja Makarow is Director of Biocenter Finland. She is former Vice-President of the Finnish Research Council - Academy of Finland, Chief Executive of the European Science Foundation ESF and Vice-Rector and Professor of Applied Biochemistry and Molecular Biology of the University of Helsinki. She is member of the Governing Board of the European Institute for Innovation and Technology EIT, the Pilot Advisory Group of the European Innovation Council EIC, the Strategic Board of the University of Geneva and the Board of the University of the Arts Finland. She chairs Technology Academy Finland that awards the global Millennium Technology Prize for ground-breaking innovations. She was Vice-Chair of the Founding Board of the Aalto University and chaired the Founding Board of Tampere University. She has carried out evaluations of Principal Investigator grants (e.g. ERC panel chair), Centers of Excellence, research, innovation and infrastructure programmes, and universities’ research quality. She has assessed the performance of research funding organisations and national research and innovation systems. Her research domain is molecular cell biology. She supervised 19 PhD candidates to degree and supported many more as director and founding board chair of the Viikki Graduate School in Molecular Biosciences. Marja Makarow is member of Academia Europaea and the Finnish Academy of Science and Letters. She has been decorated in Finland (Commander of the Order of the White Lion) and France (Chevalier de l’Ordre de Legion d’Honneur) for her achievements in science, science policy and international research collaboration. She is Doctor of Technology Honoris Causa of Tampere University and Aalto University.