OREANDA-NEWS. July 27, 2011. According to the ISI Web of Knowledge ESI database, Tartu is among the world's top 1 percent in biology and biochemistry, reported the press-centre of University of Tartu.

According to Toivo Maimets, a professor at the Molecular and Cellular Biology Institute at Tartu, said the news was gratifying but not unexpected, noting that Tartu had invested heavily into infrastructure, curricula and human resources.

"Retaining our position will depend on how much we are able to invest in people and keep their confidence high so that Tartu will continue to be a place for top-caliber research," Maimets said.

ESI (Essential Science Indicators) database accounts for the number of articles and references when calculating the institutions influence ranking. University of Tartu has belonged to the best 1% of the world in the following fields: chemistry, clinical medicine, botany and animal sciences, environmental sciences and ecology, general social sciences; materials science and life sciences.