Maaret Castren is Professor of Emergency Medicine and Head of the Department of Emergency Medicine and Services at Helsinki University Hospital, Finland. Maaret has a very strong international reputation in emergency medicine and has made substantial contributions to emergency medicine science and education at national and international levels. In more recent years, Maaret has focused increasingly on resuscitation science – she was a founding member and Vice President of the Finnish Resuscitation Council from 2000–2007 and became Vice-Chair of the European Resuscitation Council (ERC) in 2010 and Chair from 2012 to 2016. Maaret has been the Honorary Secretary for the International Liaison Committee on Resuscitation (ILCOR) since 2017 and makes a substantial commitment to the day-to-day activities of the ILCOR Board.
Maaret has extensive expertise in basic and advanced life support, dispatch and many other aspects of resuscitation and emergency medicine. Maaret has made many valuable contributions to ILCOR over many years. She has been a member of the ALS, BLS and EIT ILCOR Task Forces and has considerable experience with evidence-based medicine; she completed several reviews as part of the 2010 and 2015 ILCOR process. Maaret was Co-Chair of the ILCOR Consensus on CPR Science meeting in 2015 and her contribution was key to the success of that meeting.
Maaret has contributed not just to the review of resuscitation science but has also published over 200 peer-reviewed papers and over 25 books for doctors, nurses and laypeople in emergency and disaster medicine. She is a member of the Editorial Board for Resuscitation, Urgentní medicína journal and for the Canadian Journal of Emergency Medicine. Maaret is in strong demand as an international lecturer and has accumulated almost 40 years of lecturing in first aid, CPR and emergency medicine. She is a regular reviewer for multiple high-impact journals.
Maaret has considerable expertise in EMS dispatch and has undertaken several primary research studies and systematic reviews in this field. Maaret has been undertaking science reviews for ILCOR for many years and has been a co-investigator for several highly innovative interventions in emergency medicine, including prehospital exenatide in hyperglycemic stroke, wrist band photoplethysmography for the detection of atrial fibrillation
Maaret has a substantial interest and experience in medical education and obtained a Masters in Medical Education with which she underpinned contributions to many education programs in emergency medicine. Maaret has made valuable contributions to the ERC Resuscitation Academy.
As ERC Chair, Maaret demonstrated extremely strong leadership, communication and project management skills. Her approach to multidisciplinary working has been outstanding. She serves as the ultimate role for women who wish to pursue a career in academic medicine. Maaret has supervised PhD students in Sweden, Finland, Norway, South-Africa, Canada, Belgium, Qatar and Iran. She was a Board Member of the Falck Foundation for 7 years.
Having been a registered nurse before undertaking her medical training at Helsinki University, Maaret has a very special insight into the considerable benefits to come from multidisciplinary team working in healthcare. Maaret is one of the strongest promoters of diversity in the world of academic medicine. She is a world leading advocate for women in medicine and takes every opportunity to mentor and support nurses and paramedics enabling them to maximize their potential in a highly competitive field.