Heikki Hyöty is working as the full-time professor of virology at the Tampere University, Finland. He has graduated in medicine and made his PhD in virology. His principal research interest is the role of microbes in immune-mediated diseases, particularly type 1 diabetes. His scientific contributions include the first prospective studies evaluating viral etiology of type 1 diabetes and leading to the identification of the association between enterovirus infections and initiation of the beta-cell damaging process. He has contributed to the development of innovative research strategies, including prospective birth cohort studies, the collection of pancreas tissues from cadaveric organ donors with type 1 diabetes and studies in unique ecological settings in populations that share the same ancestry but live in contrasting environments in different countries. Heikki Hyöty has coordinated several EU projects, led other research consortia and has had an active role in international studies addressing the etiopathogenesis of type 1 diabetes. He is one principal investigator of the Finnish DIPP study. He has also contributed to the development of new technologies and therapies, including antiviral drugs and novel vaccines, and has had a leading role in the first effort to develop human vaccines against diabetes-associated enteroviruses. He has been acknowledged by several awards for his scientific work.