Stina Syrjänen

Stina Syrjänen (née Blomster, b. 1950) was appointed Professor of Oral Pathology at the University of Turku in 1997. She served as Associate Professor of Oral Pathology and Forensic Dentistry in 1990–1997 and as Director of the Institute of Dentistry from 1996 to 1998. In 1983, Syrjänen’s research group was the first in the world to report on the connection between the human papillomavirus (HPV) and oropharyngeal cancers.

Syrjänen’s portrait was completed in 2010 by contemporary artist Kaari Hilkka Könönen (b. 1952), who has painted several portraits in the University’s art collection, including that of Olli Rönning, Professor of Dentistry (1998). The portrait of Syrjänen exemplifies Könönen’s distinctive style, in which determined brushstrokes and careful use of colour create a dignified yet approachable impression of the sitter. Könönen studied at the Turku Drawing School and the University of Helsinki in the 1970s and has worked as a teacher and as Rector of the Turku Drawing School (later known as the Degree Programme in Fine Arts at the Turku University of Applied Sciences / Arts Academy).

Emma Vuolaslempi 2024