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On 5 December the Government of Estonia held its special session at the University of Tartu to mark the 100th anniversary of Estonia’s national university. During the meeting the university leaders gave an overview to the government members of the University of Tartu’s development plans and of the solutions the university could offer to help the country achieve its long-term goals.

BBMRI.ee: Estonian Biobank has now recruited over 200,000 biobank participants and all will be genotyped by June 2020

Our health depends on our genes, lifestyles and environment. Yet, for the most part, healthcare systems still treat us with a one-size-fits-all approach. But large-scale genomic research now promises to enable healthcare providers to personalise prevention plans and treatments.

Commissioner for Research, Science and Innovation, Carlos Moedas announced the names of the experts who have been selected as members* of the mission boards to work on five major European research and innovation missions. The missions will be part of Horizon Europe, the next EU research and innovation programme (2021-2027). Head of Estonian Biobank, Andres Metspalu was selected as a member of the Mission board for Cancer.

Research Professor of Evolutionary Genomics
Deadline: 16.09.2019

Research Professor of Human Genomics
Deadline: 16.09.2019 

The outstanding research results from the Institute of Genomics at the University of Tartu are yet another example of how to have a global grip, while also focusing on the improvement of the homeland. Research in Estonia got an insight from the institute by its director Mait Metspalu and Vice Director Kristiina Tambets.

Click here to read the full interview. 

At the Estonian Genome Centre, the geneticist and her team are investigating the impact of genetic variations on drug metabolism and adherence to prescriptions.

Imagine a country where citizens will have their genetic profiles integrated into the digital health system with individual risk scores and pharmacogenomic information, so when they go to the doctor, they will get fully personalized, genetic risk-based diagnosis, medication, and preventive measures. That’s where healthcare in Estonia will arrive soon. They started to build their digital health system 20 years ago, and within the next years, the Baltic country will start to reap the benefits of a transparent, blockchain-based, digital health system hooked on genetic data.…

From genetics to nanomaterials, these researchers are making big leaps in the biomedical sciences.

Top nine authors all published more than 50 articles between 2015 and 2017 in the biomedical sciences in the Nature Index. Andres Metspalu, a geneticist, biotechnologist at University of Tartu Director of the Estonian Genome Center at the University of Tartu, focuses on the genetic basis of complex diseases, the application of the precision medicine in healthcare, and the advance of DNA chip technology.

When I got home after work I was surprised to find my husband and three children sitting by the television and watching the news. They had just learned that the direct to consumer genetic testing company 23andMe was now offering a report that assessed the customers’ risk of developing Type 2 diabetes. “Is it true?” my husband asked. “Can they now study my genes and predict whether I will get Type 2 diabetes?”

The next Guest Seminar of the CoE for Genomics and Translational Medicine will be held on February 14th, 2019 at 11:00 (Omicum building, room 105) by Prof. Augustine Kong (University of Oxford, UK).

Biography: Prior to his career at the University of Oxford, Prof. Kong led deCODE’s statistics team. Prior to joining deCODE, he served on the faculty of the University of Chicago. Prof. Kong received his Ph.D. in statistics from Harvard University in 1986.

Title of the talk: "GENETIC NURTURE AND FAMILY DATA”

In January 2019, Forbes Magazine contributor Yiannis Mouratidis visited the Institute of Genomics to learn more about the biobank hosted by the Estonian Genome Center. During his visit, Mr.

The opening assembly of the University of Tartu of the Republic of Estonia on 1 December 1919 marked the establishment of an Estonian-language university that was above all designed for Estonian students and to serve Estonian society. The centenary of the national university is celebrated throughout the year with a nation-wide cultural programme, an opinion festival and the largest gathering of alumni to date. The anniversary year draws to a close in December.

Dr. Tõnu Esko is Deputy Director of Research at the Estonian Biobank of the University of Tartu. He joins Illumina Genomics Podcast to talk about the Estonian Biobank and to explain how Estonia aims to create a national system to enable precision healthcare through genomic profiling.

Listen to the podcast here.

Estonian Genome Centre director Andres Metspalu has been working for years to enable the use of genetic data in medicine. Today the centre is at the stage where 52,000 gene donors will soon have their whole genome sequenced.

The Estonian state plans to accelerate the development of personalized medicine and use genetic information as a part of clinical medicine. The first gene donors in Estonia provided samples in 2002. In 2005, there were already more than 10,000 gene donors. By the end of 2011, yet another 40,000 donors had accrued. Five years ago, when Genome Centre director Andres Metspalu presented his vision of personalized medicine and talked about how genetic data could be used in people’s own interests, it still struck many as a futuristic idea.

Emerging personalised medicine initiatives have the perspective to cut healthcare costs and improve the overall health of the population. Taking into account the individual's molecular characteristics complemented by environmental and lifestyle factors, will allow to develop more precise and improved disease prevention and treatment programs compared to conventional methods. As an example of potential for personalised medicine, an estimated 90% of drugs are effective in only 30-50% of the population, which means that more than a third of all money spent on drugs has been ineffective.

On 21 December, the Institute of Genomics announced that the first part of the Estonian goverment-backed project -- to collect the DNA samples from 100,000 Estonians -- is accomplished. On the same day, the goverment said it had allocated an additional €2.3 millions, helping the project continue in 2019, with an aim to give another 50,000 people a chance to give their DNA samples.