Estonia's leading research institution, the University of Tartu is prevented from reaching the next level of scientific excellence and international competitiveness due to its inability to attract and retain top level researchers which limits its competitiveness in international research funding. TransGeno will address this by significantly increasing the research excellence of UT in the fields of translational genomics and personalized medicine. It will do so by recruiting an expert to serve as the ERA Chair for Translational Genomics and Personalized Medicine, who will initiate needed structural changes and create a top level research team. By doing so, we will improve the research and innovation performance of UT and pursue cutting edge research that would create direct and significant benefits for our institution, Estonia and Europe. In addition to the national impact the project will have, the related fields of translational genomics and personalized medicine can have a significant impact on European and global society. Translational genomics research combines genetics data with diagnostics, prognostics and therapies for cancer, neurological disorders, diabetes and other complex diseases. It can enable scientists to understand the genetic components of common and complex diseases, which could lead to a shift in clinical practice from treatment based on symptoms to treatment based on the underlying causes of disease. Through translational genomics, researchers are able to analyze variations in human genes to discover the underlying cause of disease progression and resistance to therapy, as well as to understand why some individuals encounter debilitating diseases while others live healthy lives. Translational genomics research in turn can lead to the development of personalized medicine, which is the tailoring of medical treatment to patients by classifying them into subpopulations based upon their susceptibility to a disease or a response to a specific treatment. Personalized medicine reaches beyond a core of targeted therapeutics and diagnostics to encompass personal health record management, disease management, wellness and nutrition. Translational genomics and personalized medicine can lead to the early treatment of diseases and in the most ideal scenarios, would enable medical providers to treat patients before the onset of the disease.
Specific objectives include:
-To initiate the structural changes required to establish the ERA Chair within the University
-To recruit and hire a high level researcher who will recruit a team of researchers with expertise needed to conduct top level research.
-To increase the number of successful research applications for funding in translational genomics and related fields of clinical genomics and personalized medicine;
-To increase the number of peer-reviewed articles in translational genomics and related fields in which UT staff serve as lead authors/investigators;
-To produce knowledge and tools that could potentially be used to develop a wide range of (commercial) products such as databases and integrative analytical platforms that link genomic transcriptomic and metabolomics data from human and animal samples
-To raise awareness and support for translational genomics and personal medicine in the general public, the business sector and among policy-makers.
