Professor Maris Laan received prestigious international science award

On 13 May, the reputable Baltic Awards 2026 ceremony took place in Riga to recognise outstanding representatives of science, culture, the arts and public life from Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. The award for significant contribution to science was presented to Vice Dean for Research at the University of Tartu Faculty of Medicine, academician and Professor of Human Genetics Maris Laan.

Professor Laan said that the recognition came as a great surprise. “It is a great honour that our team’s decades-long research has been noticed and acknowledged. The importance of research results can often only be assessed in hindsight, so bystanders do not usually have the immediate ‘aha’ moment so common in sport or cultural events. Perhaps this is why we rather rarely notice and recognise our colleagues’ achievements,” she said.

Maris Laan has worked as Professor of Human Genetics at the Institute of Biomedicine and Translational Medicine, University of Tartu, since 2016. In 2021, she was elected a member of the Estonian Academy of Sciences.

Her main field of research is genetics related to reproductive medicine, including the genetic causes of infertility and pregnancy complications. Professor Laan has published more than 130 scientific papers, supervised 13 doctoral theses, and is a co-author of two patented inventions.

Among other distinctions, she has previously received the Estonian National Research Award (2010), the University of Tartu Badge of Distinction (2018), and the Medal of the Baltic Academies of Sciences (2019).

The recipients of this year’s Baltic Awards lifetime achievement awards were President Toomas Hendrik Ilves for increasing the international visibility and impact of the Baltic states, and Anne Kahru, Leading Researcher at the National Institute of Chemical Physics and Biophysics, for establishing an internationally recognised research field in environmental toxicology.

The Baltic Awards are given to honour outstanding achievements by researchers and cultural figures across the Baltic states in advancing the European research and cultural space. Candidates are nominated by leading research and cultural institutions in the Baltics.

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