The mission of the Institute of Genomics is to be a centre of excellence for internationally competitive research in high-tech demanding fields of natural sciences and medicine, focusing on interdisciplinary genomic research with the aim of finding and explaining the causes and associations of genetic variability through basic and applied research. The institute's mission is to provide competence in these given fields in Estonia, to gather the population’s health data and hereditary information, conduct interdisciplinary genetic studies, apply the results of genetic research for the improvement of public health, and to be the main force in the development of personalised medicine in Estonia.
Researchers at the Estonian Genome Centre are studying mainly functional genomics or the effect of DNA sequence variants on quantitative trait variability and disease risk expression in the population. As new fields of research, the Estonian Genome Centre has successfully launched systems biology, microbiome and pharmacogenetics.
The main focus of research in Estonian Biocentre is on the studies of human genetic diversity and the evolutionary factors and events that have had a major impact on this.
The Centre for Genomics, Evolution and Medicine (cGEM) aims to apply advancements in genomic medicine in an evolutionarily aware framework to account for different evolutionary pathways of populations which have led to differences in susceptibility to common diseases. This requires knowledge about the genetic risk factors for diverse ethnic groups and the tools to highlight the underlying genetic predisposition to diseases in complex human populations.
In addition, the Institute of Genomics is the responsible operator and developer of the Estonian Biobank. As Estonia's largest and one of Europe's most successful population-based biobanks, the Estonian Biobank is a welcome partner in international research projects around the world.