Ilona Faustova was elected director of the Institute of Bioengineering

On 4 April, the council of the Institute of Bioengineering elected Associate Professor of Molecular Biology Ilona Faustova as the institute’s director. Her three-year term of office starts on 1 May.

Ilona Faustova believes the greatest asset of the institute is the people who work there. “You cannot do research or achieve great things without people. Behind the ideas, there are always people: professors, researchers, specialists, doctoral students and students. Our institute’s team is highly talented, ambitious and determined – I am honoured to work with such people. I believe that with hard work, motivation, team spirit and a good environment, all our goals can be achieved,” Faustova said.

One of the core values of the Institute of Bioengineering is the academic freedom and freedom of thought of the research groups; hierarchical structure has been deliberately avoided. Instead, the institute functions as a community of organisms in a dynamic ecosystem, where each element plays its role in a creative and mutually supportive environment. The institute comprises five research groups covering a broad spectrum of research fields and studies organisms from viruses and yeasts to plants and carbon-consuming bacteria.

The digitalisation of biology is emerging as a significant development. A major step in this direction is the Centre for Digitalised Bioengineering (the DigiBio project), funded by the Teaming for Excellence funding action under Horizon Europe, the European Commission’s framework programme for research and innovation. It aims to set up a biofoundry – a high-technology platform for automating bioproduction processes to develop new solutions for bioengineering, bioindustry, environmental protection and other fields. “The first steps towards the goal have already been made – we have employed Vallo Varik, Research Fellow in Bioengineering, as the director of the biofoundry. We are building new laboratories in Chemicum and purchasing equipment,” said Faustova.

According to the director of the Institute of Bioengineering, it is essential to give every possible support to researchers who are driven by curiosity and who are passionate about their scientific ideas. “Our goal is to recruit talented young scientists with Estonian roots and high-level work experience abroad,” said Faustova. Strategic expansion and the involvement of new research groups go hand in hand with the construction of the new institute building. “We will create modern laboratory and working facilities for researchers starting work at the institute,” Faustov said. Earlier this year, Associate Professor of Virology Margus Varjak joined the Institute of Bioengineering and Mihkel Örd will return from postdoctoral training next year.

Ilona Faustova graduated from the University of Tartu with a master’s degree in 2006 and earned her doctoral degree in bioorganic chemistry in 2013. In 2008, she joined Professor Mart Loog’s research group, where she was one of the leaders of the laboratory’s research projects. At the end of January this year, she became the leader of the same research team. Faustova was recognised for her contribution to the university’s development with the University of Tartu Badge of Distinction in 2020. She was also a nominee for the 2024 national research awards for her research on protein phosphorylation networks.

In addition to research, Associate Professor Ilona Faustova is actively engaged in teaching. Nearly a decade ago, in cooperation with other institutes, she worked out international bachelor’s and master’s curricula combining biology and engineering, which have attracted students from over 50 countries to the University of Tartu. Faustova is the programme director for both curricula. Her dedicated work in education has been recognised on many occasions. In 2017, Ilona Faustova was awarded the programme director of the year title of the Faculty of Science and Technology. In 2022, she was a nominee for the teaching staff of the year award in the same faculty, and in 2023, students voted her the outstanding teaching staff of the Institute of Technology.

Faustova says she intends to continue developing the curricula and the teaching at the institute. “In autumn 2025, we will launch an Erasmus Mundus master’s programme in cooperation with the universities of Groningen, Heidelberg and Uppsala,” she said.

The three-year term of office of the new director starts on 1 May.