On Friday, 27 September, Kristaps Jaudzems, Doctor of Chemistry, leading researcher at OSI, and head of the Structural Biology and Drug Design Laboratory, was appointed Dean of the Faculty of Medicine and Life Sciences at the University of Latvia (LU).
The LU consolidation model plans to reduce the number of faculties from thirteen to six. The new Faculty of Medicine and Life Sciences will encompass the current Faculty of Biology, Faculty of Chemistry, Faculty of Medicine, the Institute of Microbiology and Biotechnology, the Institute of Biology, the Institute of Clinical and Preventive Medicine, and the Institute of Cardiology and Regenerative Medicine.
“In my view, this optimisation is a very valuable and well-considered step, which will allow for the consolidation of resources and result in significant advancements in these scientific fields,” predicted the new dean.
The extensive responsibilities of the role mean a pause in Jaudzems’ scientific career and research activities. He will also no longer lead the OSI laboratory.
“I will devote most of my time and energy to establishing a strong Faculty of Medicine and Life Sciences. This work will provide opportunities for many new Latvian scientists, who may one day astonish the world with their discoveries,” said Jaudzems.
Since 2018, Jaudzems has been a Professor at the LU Faculty of Chemistry, a full member of the Latvian Academy of Sciences, and is active in the Latvian Association of Young Scientists.
He has gained experience at the Scripps Research Institute (USA), the High Magnetic Field Centre in Lyon (France), and the Australian National University. Using nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, the scientist has so far investigated the mechanisms of action of potential drug compounds and the structure-function-property relationships of spider silk proteins, with the aim of discovering new drug candidates or novel biomaterials.
Photo: Evija Trifanova/LETA