Martin Laasmaa

The research infrastructure on experimental studies and applications of cellular processes aims at gathering national know-how in the field of cell and molecular biology, and aims at setting up an instrumental capability to develop competence and services in the fields of microbial and mammalian cell processes and their applications. The infrastructure will be built up jointly by the University of Tartu, Tallinn University of Technology, Tallinn University, Estonian University of Life Sciences and the Institute of Chemical Physics and Biophysics. The vision is to become a know-how and service centre to partner health, biotechnology and environment-focused public sector organisations, medical institutions, biotechnology and pharmacological companies. The focus will be on acquiring and setting up relevant instrumental complexes, development and offering of services, popularisation and dissemination of the field in order to ensure sustainability of researchers and future activities.

Estonian aquaculture faces hidden biological losses that reduce production predictability and added value. Early decisions on stock origin and feed are made under uncertainty, while consequences emerge only later under fast growth or stress. The heart is a key mechanistic bottleneck: cardiac abnormalities are common in farmed salmonids, and reduced cardiac reserve may remain silent until fish encounter warming, hypoxia, or handling. This project determines how genotype, feed, and age shape cardiac development and robustness in farmed rainbow trout, identifies early warning signs of hidden vulnerability, and develops the Trout Robustness Assessment Protocol (TRAP) — a standardised, farm-linked decision-support tool. Controlled genotype-by-feed experiments combined with farm cohort validation connect cardiac physiology to real production outcomes. The project builds applied competence, trains doctoral researchers, and targets uptake in Estonian and Nordic trout farming.