Kaur Alasoo, Associate Professor of Bioinformatics at the Institute of Computer Science, University of Tartu, has combined computer science and molecular biology in his research to find new ways of predicting the effects of genetic variants and to better understand rare diseases. He was interviewed by Professor Jaak Vilo, Head of the Chair of Data […]

Djeane Debora Onthoni has joined the Health Data and AI research group at the University of Tartu’s Institute of Computer Science, bringing international expertise in applying AI to health data analysis and precision medicine. He was interviewed by professor Jaak Vilo, Head of the Chair of Data Science. You recently came to Estonia to the […]

Imagine a room with millions of mysterious switches and hundreds of ceiling lamps. You don’t know which switch does what, but you’re curious. As you experiment with different combinations, the lamps’ brightness varies. This scene is a simple metaphor for the complex challenge of genomics research – understanding how different genetic ‘switches’ affect our health. […]

Introduction: Privacy-preserving computation is a crucial discipline that protects the privacy of confidential data while facilitating secure analysis. In graph problems, secure multiparty computation (SMC) presents a promising approach to performing these functionalities. This article delves into the notable advancements in privacy-preserving parallel algorithms recently introduced in a Ph.D. thesis. By integrating graph algorithms with […]

Jaak Vilo, Kallol Roy Algorithmics (MTAT.03.238) is an obligatory course in the Computer Science MSc curriculum. As such it is intended to remind everyone of the foundations of algorithms and data structures but also to go beyond and teach some more advanced concepts (like succinct data structures, for example).  The course aims at linking different […]

On the 13th of December Lidia Feklistova defended her PhD thesis on „Learners of an introductory programming MOOC: background variables, engagement patterns and performance” We constantly improve our knowledge and skills to be successful. Participation in massive open online courses (MOOCs) supports ongoing professional development and lifelong learning. Keeping in mind the huge number of participants in […]

The cornerstone of democracy is the right for voters to participate in free and fair elections. However, securing elections is a non-trivial task due to the conflicting security requirements.  On the one hand, to provide the freedom to vote, it should not be possible to coerce voters into voting for a specific candidate. Therefore, the […]

The article was initially published in Ekspress by Greete Lehepuu. The app works like Google Maps: given genetic coordinates associated with a disease it finds which gene is likely to cause the disease and in which tissue. Imagine that the only way to find your way in an unknown city is to buy the map […]

By Dmytro Fishman, Junior Lecturer of Data Science The human organism is a profoundly complex mechanism, consisting of trillions of cells, each powered by about 42 million protein molecules that interact with one another in a gazillion of ways. Recently, scientists developed technologies (i.e. high-throughput screening) that enable us to listen and record data from […]

On June 28, Dmytro Fishman defended his PhD thesis on “Developing a data analysis pipeline for automated protein profiling in immunology”. In this work, Dmytro and his collaborators explored the dynamics of autoimmune diseases as well as developed a software tool that simplifies similar research in the future. Proteins are essential elements of all living […]

On June 21, Liis Kolberg defended her PhD thesis on “Developing and applying bioinformatics tools for gene expression data interpretation” which provides convenient tools that simplify the work of biologists and saves their time.  Modern technologies enable researchers to simultaneously measure the expression levels of all genes under different conditions and in different groups of […]

Estonia does not have many natural minerals or a significant population like many wealthy countries, but it has the most unicorns per capita globally. As most unicorns use technology to offer solutions for solving problems, we need more IT practitioners who can use computation power to solve various algorithmic issues.  “Thinking computationally is not anymore […]