The achievements of the institute in 2024

The year 2024 was very successful for The Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology (IMCB). The Institute conducts research in molecular life sciences and provides "white biology" education at the bachelor's, master's, and doctoral levels.

During the year, our researchers won several national awards. At the start of the year, Viljar Jaks, Associate Professor in Cell Biology, received the national research award in chemistry and molecular biology for his works on the topic "Tissue regeneration and the extracellular matrix". Around the Estonian Independence day, Sulev Kuuse was awarded the Order of the White Star, 5th Class by the President of the Republic of Estonia. President Alar Karis presented the national orders of merit on February 21st at the Estonian National Museum. During National Mother Tongue Day celebrations, the national and University of Tartu’s language awards for 2023 were both given to Cell Biology textbook “Rakubioloogia”.

In May, we celebrated that Hedvig Tamman, Associate Professor in Genetics, was given The Young Scientist Award by the Cultural Foundation of the President of Estonia. At the end of the year, Toivo Maimets, Professor of Cell Biology at the University of Tartu was granted the Tiiu Sild memorial lifetime achievement award for long-standing and systematic popularization of science and technology.

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In 2024, researchers of IMCB published a total of 61 research articles. During the year, 8 new projects were launched and work continued on 24 ongoing projects. A total of 8 articles popularizing our science in media were published in Estonian publications, along a total of 11 television and radio appearances. The IMCB blog continues to be active, with 10 feature stories published during the year.

In addition to research, teaching continues to play an important role at IMCB - last year, 7 doctorates defended their thesis and we had a large number of both BSc and MSc graduates. Our students also help to popularize life sciences among schoolchildren through the Mobile Bioclass and the Genetics Workshops.

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Compared to past years, we highlighted even more the collaboration between the Institute's researchers and teachers in general education schools. In the autumn of 2024, together with other University of Tartu's Institutes under the faculty of Science and Technology, we organized the first Teachers' Science Day for science and natural science teachers. At the conference, we discussed the integration of teaching and science, and the challenges facing science and science teachers in Estonia and Finland.

Schoolchildren had another chance to see the research being made in the institute on Researchers' Night. In 2024, the Institute's researchers again conducted the final round of the Estonian Biology Olympiad and instructed the country's best students in the international competition. Throughout the year, our researchers and students gave lectures in schools and organized workshops and tours around the institute's premises for groups of students.

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