Mari Moora and Jaak Vilo elected as members of Academica Europaea

The Academy of Europe, Academia Europaea, has elected the University of Tartu Professor in Community Ecology and Vice Rector for Research, Mari Moora, and Professor of Bioinformatics at the Institute of Computer Science, Jaak Vilo, as new members.

Moora has joined Academia Europaea’s Ecology and Evolution section, while Vilo is a member of the Biochemistry and Molecular Biology section, and additionally, the Informatics section.

Founded in 1988 by the Royal Society in London, Academia Europaea is a pan‑European academy that brings together leading scientists. Among other activities, it provides advice on research policy to governments and international institutions, promotes interdisciplinary cooperation, reviews scientific issues important to Europe, and proposes opportunities to study them.

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Mari Moora has been a Professor in Community Ecology at the University of Tartu since 2020. She is among the 1% most highly cited researchers in the fields of environment and ecology, as well as plant and animal science. Moora has received the national research award twice and, last year, was awarded the Order of the White Star, Fourth Class.

Moora sees her election to Academia Europaea as an acknowledgement of the entire field of ecological and biodiversity research in Estonia and of wider collaboration with many outstanding colleagues worldwide. “As a member of the academy, I can take a more active role in European research policy discussions and raise the visibility of ecology and biodiversity issues. I want to support early‑career researchers, promote interdisciplinary cooperation and ensure that cutting-edge ecological knowledge is more strongly incorporated in public decision‑making,” said Moora.

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Jaak Vilo has been Professor of Bioinformatics at the University of Tartu since 2007. He is among the 1% most highly cited researchers worldwide in biology and biochemistry. In 2012, he became a member of the Estonian Academy of Sciences and in 2025, its Vice President. Vilo has been awarded the Order of the White Star, Third Class, the Medal and the Grand Medal of the University of Tartu, and has received recognition for promoting ICT education and business cooperation.

As Vice Rector for Research, Moora said she was pleased that the number of University of Tartu researchers in Academia Europaea is increasing. Most of the 26 members elected from Estonia work at the University of Tartu. According to Moora, this is recognition of the University of Tartu’s academic staff and their excellent international research.

A nomination for new members must be made by two Academia Europaea members who come from different countries. The primary criterion for evaluating candidates is sustained excellence in research. The academy members include more than 5,500 scholars from across Europe.

See the profile pages of Mari Moora and Jaak Vilo on the Academica Europaea website.