In 2015, the European Commission granted the University of Tartu (UT) 2.5 M€ for hiring a top researcher as ERA Chair of Translational Genomics (TG). After a thorough search Alireza Fazeli, PhD, was selected and started as ERA Chair at UT in the summer of 2016.
In addition to assembling a highly skilled team to engage in cutting edge translational genomic research, the main tasks of the TransGeno ERA Chair are as follows:
- Forge partnerships with leading scientists and institutions to attract top students and researchers from around the world
- Coordinate with other departments to make more efficient and effective use of UT’s research capacity.
- Leverage these partnerships and enhanced research capacity to develop successful bids for international research funding
- Increase the amount of articles published in leading academic journals
- Implementing a PhD curriculum on Translational Genomics – the first one of its kind in Eastern Europe
The ERA Chair will also engage with various stakeholders, including:
- Health sector business clusters to explore ways to exploit research results
- Medical doctors to educate them on how one form of TG information, clinical genomic data, can be useful in everyday practice
- Youth and the general public to popularize genomics and spur young people into STEM sciences
- International researchers by sharing research data and results in as open way as possible, either at ‘green’ or ‘gold’ open access standards.