EMBL alumnus Jaak Vilo has been elected Head of the Institute of Computer Science at the University of Tartu. The appointment was confirmed by the institute’s council on 28 November, with his new term beginning on 1 January 2026.

Jaak previously led the institute from 2011 to 2022 and has been Professor of Bioinformatics at the University of Tartu since 2007. He currently heads the Data Science Chair, where his work spans health data analytics, bioinformatics, algorithms and artificial intelligence.

Jaak served as a Staff Scientist in EMBL-EBI’s Brazma Group from 1999-2002.

He stressed, that “Computer science has had a huge impact on all scientific disciplines, and vice versa. Problems rooting from biology have impacted computational approaches, data science and AI. Tartu University values the interdisciplinary opportunities related to computational approaches, and is actively pursuing international collaborations as well as mutually valuable interactions with industry.”

In addition to his role at the university, Jaak is a member of the Estonian Academy of Sciences and was elected its Vice President in 2025. In his address following the appointment, he highlighted the growing importance of computer science within the university, particularly in the context of rapid developments in artificial intelligence, and emphasised the value of interdisciplinary collaboration across academia, industry, and the public sector.

Jaak’s election reflects the continued leadership and influence of EMBL alumni across Europe’s research and higher education landscape.