Annela Avarlaid

To sustain life and its quality on Earth, the EU has established several initiatives for the implementation of the Green Deal: Zero Pollution Action Plan, Farm to Fork and Green Deal Industrial Plan, among many others. All of these require significant innovation, based on new knowledge and skills – research, training and education – coupled with industry adaptation, civil society engagement and smart regulation, which is a challenge globally. More importantly, we need significantly more people who can carry out this innovation. The main objective of “Innovative Chemistry and Biotechnology for a Sustainable Future” (INNOCHEMBIO) is to train future experts of sustainable chemistry and biotechnology, helping Europe to take the next steps in the green transition. The solutions and trained experts can reduce the environmental impact of the chemical and agricultural industries, offer eco-friendly analytical techniques, and assess the safety of new materials. This will be achieved through interdisciplinary research projects in an international research environment, collaboration with the industry, the public sector and the civil society, via a comprehensive quadruple-helix based training programme. As a result, our graduates will not only become experts in their respective fields, but leaders and spokespersons. Eventually, through dedicated career planning, we provide skilled workforce to all 4 sectors of the helix. INNOCHEMBIO is an international consortium led by TalTech, with over 100 years of experience in chemistry and biotechnology research and training. INNOCHEMBIO will achieve its objectives by recruiting 15 PhD candidates in up to two calls offering fellowships for 48 months. During this period, the candidates will receive discipline specific training both in Estonia and abroad by working on their research project; broader training through courses offered at TalTech and by our partners; and experience working in the private sector.

Neural plasticity is the ability of nervous system to change its activity in response to stimuli by reorganizing its structure, functions, or connections and this is the main cellular basis for memory. Activity-regulated genes play crucial roles in the formation of neuronal plasticity, and dysregulation of this process gives rise to various nervous system disorders. The neurotrophin BDNF is among the best-studied activity-regulated genes, and its polymorphisms are associated with impairments in human cognition. Our results also place the basic helix-loop-helix transcription factor TCF4, that is implicated in a variety of psychiatric and autism spectrum disorders, to the group of activity-regulated transcription factors. The aim of this project is to study gene regulation in intellectual disability and autism spectrum disorders with emphasis on disease-associated transcription factors TCF4, SATB2, FOXP1, and neurotrophin BDNF for finding new drug targets.

Formation of new synapses, and alteration of the strength and stability of existing synapses are regarded as the main cellular basis for memory and long-term behavioral adaptations. Neuronal activity-regulated gene expression plays a crucial role in synaptic development and function, and its deregulation gives rise to various nervous system disorders. Knowledge about the regulatory mechanisms of activity-dependent gene expression is important both for understanding of nervous system function and for finding new drug targets. The aim of this project is to study the molecular mechanisms of neuronal activity-regulated gene expression, including transcription, translation and posttranslational modifications, in the nervous system health and disease. The studies are focused on two genes, the neurotrophin BDNF and the basic helix-loop-helix transcription factor TCF4.