Networking Archives - Bioengineering@TalTech

6th Congress of Baltic Microbiologists

kaisa — Mon, 06 Oct 2025 08:44:22 +0000

Juliano S. D. Biaggi and Alīna Reķēna attended the 6th Congress of Baltic Microbiologists in Riga, Latvia, from October 1st to 3rd.

Alīna made an oral presentation on the topic of Chemostats and Omics: Tools to Improve Lipid-producing Yeasts.

Juliano presented a poster and had a flash talk on the topic of Digitalisation of biology: the dawning of the Taltech Biofoundry.

The conference covered the great scope of microbiology research in the Baltics, from virology to biotechnology. The program was involving and allowed everyone to speak at the main stage. Even though it was centered in the Baltics, the conference also had attendees from Germany, Italy and the USA.

Juliano noted that the 6^th CBM was a great opportunity to present the first steps of the Estonian Biofoundry in Taltech, as one of this project’s goals is to enhance regional development by extending the biosustainable research and industrial practices in the Baltic region. At the same time, it is always good to catch up on what our peers are working on, and to get out of the Biotech bubble to see that we a just part of a bigger research effort to make our world a better place in the long term.

Alīna noted that the Selection of talks highlighted the interdisciplinarity of microbiology research in the Baltic countries. Closer to our expertise, the sessions on microbial diversity and waste valorisation allowed us to learn more about microbes, their origin, and biotechnological applicability. She presented our work at the Metabolic Engineering and Systems Biology session on exploring metabolic mechanisms of lipid-producing yeast Rhodotorula toruloides for industrial applications.

The conference visit was funded from Grant Agreement No. 101060066, ‘Centre for Digitalisation of Biology Towards the Next-Generation of Biosustainable Products (DIGIBIO)’.

Photo credit: Kristaps Neiberts

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Doctoral student Alīna Reķēna presented at 7th Applied Synthetic Biology in Europe

kaisa — Mon, 11 Nov 2024 09:00:57 +0000

On 6-8th November, Bioengineering doctoral student Alīna Reķēna presented her work at 7th Applied Synthetic Biology in Europe in Brno, Czech republic.

She gave a delightful feedback: “I am very satisfied with the participation at ASBE7 conference, where I presented our work with CRISPR to uncover lipid synthesis mechanisms in Rhodotorula toruloides: a nonconventional host for microbial lipids and oleochemicals for circular economy. ASBE7 featured a fantastic venue in Brno Planetarium and Observatory with a great atmosphere. Selection of talks covered topics from microbial and mammalian to cell-free synthesis platforms. Many great talks offered by the generous programme of wide range of topics for everyone to find their favorite. I want to acknowledge the Estonian Doctoral School for the financial support to attend the conference.”

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Bioconnect consortsium meeting

kaisa — Fri, 11 Oct 2024 10:24:30 +0000

Doctoral student Alīna Reķēna and biotechnology specialist Kaisa Orgusaar took part of Bioconnect consortsium meeting in Riga, Latvia. During the day, partners discussed action plan for facilitating Baltic biotech sector. It was also a wonderful opportunity for networking.

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Henrique and Katharina participated at Engineering Living Materials Conference

kaisa — Tue, 24 Sep 2024 07:18:38 +0000

Our doctoral student Henrique and visiting Master´s student Katharina participated in the 4th Engineered Living Materials conference in Saarbrücken, Germany. They presented current work done in the Bioengineering Group on biocontainment and novel matrix formation in hydrogels, respectively. The conference not only dealt with the technical aspects of the discipline, but also had a discussion on public outreach and regulatory hurdles to overcome for further development within the field. Participants got a better understanding of the ongoing research and the bottlenecks we all need to excel to grow our ideas further. In several interesting talks, new advances and inspiring ideas in the highly interdisciplinary field were shared. Some of Katharina´s highlights included alternative textiles from bacterial cellulose, fungi-based and biomineralized building materials and toxin-sensing materials.

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PhD student Alīna Rekēna visits MIT

kaisa — Thu, 08 Aug 2024 09:41:05 +0000

PhD student Alīna Rekēna recently visitied MIT in the USA to meet our collaboration partners at the Voigt Lab and participate in project update meetings. The Bioengineering lab is engaged in an ongoing collaborative project focused on the environmental release of engineered bacteria in Soviet Estonia. The visit facilitated deeper collaboration and explored opportunities for TalTech – MIT student exchanges. Additionally, Alīna had the opportunity to present her own research activities and discuss upcoming project initiatives. The dedication and innovation at MIT are truly inspiring to spark new ideas for future work.

We are now looking forward to the kick-off meeting of the project in Tallinn on 23-24th September at the Estonian Academy of Arts. This gathering will be a valuable contribution to the project, where we aim to explore and integrate diverse perspectives on biotechnology’s role in historical and contemporary contexts.

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