Projects

Cellulose is the most common biopolymer in the world, which can replace fossil-based plastics and fibers. However, cellulose-based plastics only account for 0.2% and man-made fibers for 1% of the world's production of plastics and non-natural textile fibers. Cellulose needs chemical modification to make these products. Until now, industry has been limited by environmental impact and cost of the process. Cellulose is also the most important biomaterial for Estonia, but industrial cellulose chemistry is limited here. At the same time, this industry gives the highest added value to cellulose. As the biorefineries, output of which is cellulose, are vigorously developing in Estonia, this project develops technology of reactive extrusion, with which cellulose can be valorized in a sustainable manner using residues from production of vegetable oils. The project strengthens cooperation between companies and academy, increases competence in the field, and contributes to academic succession.

Sustainable aviation fuels (SAF) are the only short-term alternative to fossil fuels in aviation. Considering the increased number of passengers forecasted in the near future, a massive increased in SAF production has been estimated in the years to come. To fulfill this increase in demand, the combination of existing and new renewable production chains is needed. Current SAF-producing pathways are at different levels of maturity, implementation or even commercialization. However, lowering the cost and supply chain development are key challenges for commercial-scale SAF deployment. Using biowastes as feedstock for SAF is challenging but necessary to make SAF competitive with fossil fuels. In this context, yeasts may be key players to generate economically-viable SAF intermediates (terpenes or fatty acids (FA)) in an environmentally-friendly way from biowaste. This SAF production by biological means is very new and presents a lot of remaining challenges and training gaps that have to be addressed. YAF research programme aims at; i) producing carbon sources from biowastes, ii) developing new yeast cell factories to produce SAF, iii) designing new bifunctional catalysts, iv) achieving efficient strategies for FA/terpenes extraction, and v) creating robust framework tailored to the scaling-up methodologies and life-cycle sustainability assessment of different SAF producing routes, which will support decisionmaking. To achieve this, the right integration of biology, biotechnology, chemical engineering and environmental sciences will be required. Thus, the prime training/networking aim of YAF is to train the next generation of researchers in a highly interdisciplinary and intersectorial research environment such that they can soundly address upcoming challenges concerning production yeastbased SAF. YAF has been designed to strengthen European research and innovation, enhancing research visibility and generating a critical mass to address European (and global) challenges

Asymmetric catalysis plays one of the most important roles in the modern organic chemistry providing methods for the synthesis biologically active compounds and pharmaceuticals. Merging well-developed organocatalysis with electrochemistry opens new horizons for asymmetric transformation beyond the classical thermochemical activation. This approach is sustainable, since it employs harmless organocatalysts to induce chirality and electrons as traceless and green reagents to generate highly reactive radical species under mild reaction conditions avoiding the utilization of highly toxic and expensive RedOx chemicals. The efficiency and reliability of such transformations can be enhanced by performing the reaction in continuous-flow mode. The project is an example of cutting-edge science combining different research areas of organic synthesis and chemical engineering that can be potentially applied for discovery of new and potent life-saving drugs.

We shall custom-engineer MAS and metabolomics NMR and apply it on selected problems, notably Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, COVID, diabetes and cardiovascular conditions, fluor ion batteries, wood chemistry, also universal AI-assisted diagnostics and monitoring. We shall in particular focus on phytochemicals as the fastest and least harmful option to address acute health issues like SARS infection and neurodegenerative diseases. New hardware, based on fast mechanical spinning up to 15 Million RPM, electron spin polarization transfer (DNP), a sophisticated multi-axes sample rotation (DOR) and also 1.2GHz NMR magnets are expected to provide an unprecedented resolution and sensitivity in NMR, rendering it principally more helpful for a significantly wider range of material sciences and biomedical topics. In complex functional cases, the NMR will be arguably more informative and convenient than presently popular methods of plasmon resonance, CryoEM, X-ray or MS.

In heart muscle cells, calcium regulates cells' contraction and mitochondria energy production needed to perform mechanical work and maintain ion balance. The primary calcium source in adult mammalian cells is the sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR). Recently, it has been shown that SR and mitochondria are physically linked and regulate mitochondrial respiration. The precise interaction between them is essential for maintaining energy balance in the heart, yet many aspects of this regulatory pathway are still poorly understood. This project aims to unravel mechanistic aspects of SR-mitochondria interaction by taking advantage of structural and functional changes in heart muscle cells during development and in disease. We expect this knowledge to be applicable at the other end of the heart physiology spectrum – disease, as failing hearts resemble in many ways the hearts from early stages of development.

Around 13% of the adult population suffers some form of kidney damage, and the death rate of complications related to chronic kidney disease (CKD) is very high. The primary cause of death in CKD patients is cardiovascular disease. Vascular calcification (VC), one of the cardiovascular complications, is prevailing in CKD. One of the causes of VC in CKD is the disbalance between VC inhibitors and inducers due to failed kidney function. During the dialysis therapy for end-stage renal disease (ESRD) patients, inducers and also inhibitors are removed from the patients’ blood. This project (VasCalDi) aims to develop unique optical methods to estimate VC and monitor VC inhibitors removal during dialysis in patients with ESRD. The project's goal is to make the work of hospitals and physicians more efficient and improve the life quality and survival of ESRD patients by monitoring disturbances in VC inhibitor balance and vasculature allowing timely interventions.

MARTA addresses agronomically and economically important traits in plant breeding to support sustainable and self-sufficient food production in Estonia. We will create novel breeding knowledge together with a toolbox of modern breeding tools (including novel genetic markers, genomic selection and genome editing). Target traits for breeding include climate-resilience, disease resistance, product quality, production sustainability and high yield. We have chosen 7 strategically important crop species for Estonia as prime targets for application of modern breeding tools. Wheat, barley and potato are important in ensuring energy and protein supply as food crops. Nitrogen fixing capability and high protein content (29% of seed dry matter) of faba bean make it a strategically important crop in Estonia’s protein self-sufficiency. Apple and blackcurrant are important horticultural crops ensuring a healthy diet and providing a local supply of vitamin- and antioxidant-rich resources for the industry. Bridging the gap between fundamental and applied plant biology will allow faster translation of research results into breeding. The research questions (Q) addressed in the project range from broad phenotypic and genotypic screening to application of precision breeding and creation of novel genetic markers. The establishment of a pipeline for using genomics and transcriptomics results will speed up and create new possibilities for breeding climate-resilient future crops. Q1 aims to create specific scientific knowledge, data and results for input to Q2 and Q3, which serve to develop modern tools for breeding (e.g. novel genetic markers for disease resistance, pre-breeding material from precision breeding). MARTA will generate and validate a modern breeding toolbox for flexible and sustainable plant breeding in Estonia to ensure food security.

Neuronal plasticity, the ability of the nervous system to adapt to internal or external stimuli, is a fundamental property that underlies brain development, learning, memory, and resilience to neurodegenerative disorders. At the molecular level, neuronal plasticity depends on the activation of neuronal activity-regulated genes (nARGs), a process tightly controlled by enhancer regions—short regulatory DNA sequences. Recent findings reveal that active enhancers produce enhancer-derived RNAs (eRNAs), which may play crucial roles in gene regulation through complex interactions with DNA, RNA, and proteins. Despite their potential significance, the function of eRNAs in neuronal activity remains poorly understood due to their transient nature and technical challenges in studying them. This project aims to develop innovative experimental approaches to unravel the role of eRNAs in nARG activation. Using rodent primary neuronal culture —a well-established model for studying neuronal plasticity—the project will systematically analyze eRNA responses to external stimuli with high temporal resolution. Comprehensive sequencing technologies will be combined to characterize the molecular features of eRNAs. These data will be complemented by epigenomic profiling to correlate enhancer activity with transcriptional dynamics. The project will also investigate potential links between eRNA features and neurodegenerative disease-associated mutations, providing insights into how brief stimuli-related gene activation may contribute to disease phenotypes. Together, these studies will create a framework for understanding the regulatory roles of eRNAs in neuronal plasticity and their broader implications for brain development and disorders.

Building on TalTech’s expertise in the field of computer engineering and its high-level capacity in the domain of diagnostics and testing of nanoelectronic systems, this project aims at establishing in TalTech, with the strong support of the Advanced Partners, the capacity to R&D&I a complete customised AI-chip design flow. The research ambition of the TAICHIP (TalTech AI-chip) action is a leading-edge forward-thinking R&D framework for reliable and resource-efficient custom AI-chips based on open HW architectures (e.g., RISC-V, NVDLA), open EDA (Electronic Design Automation) tools, methodologies and implementation technologies satisfying the requirements of AI applications of tomorrow. TAICHIP project also allows building at TalTech the necessary scientific knowledge, research skills, administrative and management skills, as well as strengthening its advanced training and education capacity. Evenly related to the central goal are the additional measures that focus on building the supporting capacities, as well as dissemination, exploitation and communication, and public policy focused activities.

There has been a fast development of new technological devices to monitor glucose levels, matching the ubiquitous dissemination of digital connectivity and social networking. The increase in social, educational, and age disparities among patients, more information on the web and social networks, and the development of better technological devices created a new environment characterized by several challenges. Unfortunately, the ecosystem for treating patients within this new reality has not changed, and there is a need to develop a better understanding of the real value generated by technologies in terms of the patient's behaviors and their decision processes to achieve higher levels of patient empowerment for Type1 and Type 2 diabetes prevention since they have related to different methods of risk perception. These challenges highlight the need to estimate the value offered to each patient by technology to achieve patient empowerment for more efficient prevention. NEODIPPE is born to pursue a crystal clear mission: to explore and identify the best use of technological developments to empower patients to prevent and treat diabetes, which implies innovating the traditional paradigms of health services from occasional appointments to networking monitoring and empowerment, supporting the processes of decision making and proposing new approaches to clinical practices, health organizations, and public financing in terms of the latest needs, resources, and preferences of the patients.