Bioinformatics in Lithuania – My first experience in data science at a biotechnical university: The Van Andel institute in Grand Rapids, Michigan
One of the other things that attracted me to Lithuania is its history, and the infrastructure that has been implemented since its independence from the Soviet Union in 1990. It is more open and less weighed down by the old systems that are there in Europe and the US. For example, the idea for the Life Science Center, in which I now work, came about in 2010, and it now offers a world class facility for around 1,000 students, including more than 110 PhD students, alongside some 200 researchers. There is an opportunity to work for the students at the biotech companies that are close to Vilnius.
I was born nine years afterLithuania gained independence from the Soviet Union. I was part of the first generation that did not have compulsory Russian lessons at school. I finished my masters degree in computer science at the Free University of Bozen–Bolzano in Italy, and then stayed there for my PhD while I worked at the former online-news-aggregation company. The news service worked out the most important events in a given time period, and the mathematics and algorithms that it used turned out to be very relevant in bioinformatics.
One evening, I was out drinking beer with some other Lithuanians in Toronto, Canada, where Thoora was based. One of them was Arturas Petronis at the University of Toronto, who studies genetics. I explained that I was really into computer science, but that I didn’t want to work for Google or the like. Instead, I wanted to do something that contributes to human health (my older brother and sister are both physicians). He said to try it.
During my time at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health in Toronto, I became interested in health. I traveled between Canada andLithuania for years as a data-science consultant, and also worked at the University of Vilnius as a researcher. I was working all day and night.
The Van Andel Institute, an independent research institute in Grand Rapids, Michigan hired me as a bioinformatics scientist in 2019. The bioinformatician’s work is limited in academia. Universities have lots of people who do the experiments and typically hire only one bioinformatician. You have to do all of the things in the lab, like running the server that does computation, managing the data and writing the code. Every project becomes very lengthy. It will take a long time to arrive at a result that is publishable. You feel lonely after a while, but it is fascinating in the beginning. I thought it would be more efficient to have a team of people working with me.
Having a base in the United States made it possible for the institutes that I was working with to have a contract with Vugene. I certainly didn’t have to explain where Lithuania is — it was a gate opener.
I decided to return to his home country ofLithuania with my wife and build a company there after the COVID-19 flu hit. I was doing everything by myself.
Why one scientist home to Lithuania came to work with Vugene: working part-time at a bioinformatics company in Vilnius, studying Parkinson’s disease
Our clients include research laboratories looking at the origins, causes, treatments and diagnostics of various complex disorders, such as cancers or neurodegenerative diseases. Vugene manages large data sets, performs quality control, processes raw data and does statistical analysis.
The first hire was a big step. I am very lucky with the people who joined me. Milda Milčiūtė, then a third-year genetics student at Vilnius, came first, in 2021. My supervisor and I worked on her thesis on the expression of retroviruses in Parkinson’s disease. She worked part-time for Vugene, programming and building models. While working here, she is doing her master’s.
Working at a company while studying happens in Lithuania a lot. Three undergraduates and one doing a PhD are the students that I have taken on. This is in addition to two postdocs, and a chief executive and a designer.
Source: How bioinformatics led one scientist home to Lithuania
A life-science experience in Lithuania: from molecular biology to mRNA vaccine development and production at a biotechnology site and a healthcare centre
We have good health care, free education, and fast Internet, which makes us good to live here. On top of that, many people have a strong desire to do good things. The country is changing fast and it feels good to be here.
Sailing is a popular sport inLithuania. It’s a good antidote to my work. In a race, I have to concentrate and stay alert for an extended period of time under extreme physical stress — it takes 100% of my mental capacity, there’s no time for anything else.
Before the COVID-19 pandemic, when I was an undergraduate molecular-biology student at Vilnius University in Lithuania, I loved laboratory work. But when labs closed during the pandemic, I lost my motivation and it never returned.
I was working to help senior product managers with requests from companies for a lot of different things, including the development and production of mRNA vaccines. I received my master’s degree in biology from Vilnius University, where I worked at Thermo. Many people have master’s and PhDs on the business side.
In 2010 the company acquired a Lithuanian company for US$ 260 million. The site in Vilnius manufactures products for the life-science market. The research and development centre is located there.
Caszyme: a new CRISPR and licence-based company in the veterinary bioinformatics and diagnostics sectors
It is common for science students to work during their studies and this gave me a chance to see what life sciences are like and learn more about other areas of study besides the lab.
The company discovers and develops different types of tools. It has 17 scientists and is growing all the time. In January, we moved premises to a larger building opposite the Vilnius site of the firm Northway Biotech, and close to Vilnius University Hospital.
I applied for a business-development manager role there and started work in March 2022, while doing my master’s degree, which I completed last year. My job involves relationship building and representing the company abroad.
Currently, Caszyme focuses on three elements. The first is research: finding new CRISPR–Cas nucleases for companies that are looking for specific characteristics. Second is licences: the company has a platform of nucleases that it has already identified, and it offers licences for further development. And third is analysis: Caszyme helps companies with expression, purification and biochemical analysis of Cas nucleases.
Currently, the firm has a handful of active collaborations in the therapeutics and diagnostics fields, including in infectious diseases and agriculture.
Lithuania: a great place to study physics and business in a country with great universities and many opportunities for research – a highlight of my life
I think there are many aspects of academia and industry that set Lithuania apart from other countries. Great universities prepare scientists well for the future. Scientists leave with not only theoretical knowledge, but also research experience working in a lab.
Second is that the ecosystem is not a big one. It is easy to get to know most people and that makes it easier to work with them.
My proudest achievement is probably my personal growth. I can really see a difference between now and when I started working — I’ve gained knowledge and experience, and matured as a person. Last June, aged 25, I was promoted to head of business development.
There is an old town in Kaunas, the second largest city in Lithuania, which is known for its art Deco architecture. It is easy to get to the office when I need to, because we have three international airports and there is only one road to go by. I just returned from a technology summit in San Francisco California and am currently in Rome, where I have been for some time.
I want to work outside the country on a short term basis. Lithuania has wonderful countryside and is full of culture, too. Every year, in March we have an international film festival, which I have worked for as a volunteer in the past.
How do you find a job outside the lab? The case of Vilnius: applying to the European Research Council starting grant (ERC Starting Grant)
If you find you don’t like working in a lab, like me, my advice would be to find a job outside the lab and see if it fits. If it doesn’t, try something else and talk to people who have different positions in life sciences. Explore the opportunities.
I talk to lots of people at events and many of them have PhDs or have worked as postdocs but have decided that they don’t want to be scientists. There is no shame in that. People who have a scientific degree and work in business development or operations are essential.
It was attractive for two reasons. It was an area of excellence in my field; and a new institute. The thing I noticed during my training is that most of the time it is hard to implement best practices if you have remnants of previous administrations.
At Vilnius, I would be working with other new group leaders — six in total — so we would be able to shape the institute. It also meant we were all taking our steps to independence together, I was not the only new person here. Eva and I arrived in July 2021, along with our dog.
We received assistance with visas and permits, transportation, and even shopping when we arrived, as well as financial support for relocating and city tours of the beautiful Old Town of Vilnius. As part of the EMBL partnership, I was given assistance with purchasing equipment and consumables, bringing students and employees on to my team, and navigating the research ecosystem I was now part of.
An association was established to support other people coming from abroad, providing mentors and acting as a liaison to help with administration. The association also coordinates social events and language classes. I was one of the people that advocated for having language classes at the Life Sciences Center. There are now two a week.
Once I arrived, I thought, ‘Okay, I’ve got one more year that I’m eligible for this European Research Council (ERC) Starting Grant.’ I got it on the first try, which is good, because that’s the only try I had. I was given an award of 1.2 million. It was the first grant granted by the ERC.
I can tell my team members how to use the current tool sets in a safer and better way if I get this grant. I won another grant from the European life-sciences organization EMBO in January. The only one awarded this year in the country is it. I need a new student with the grant.
International research team: Students and researchers from all over the world come to study at a university in Lithuania, and how to get involved in research
I have six undergrad students, six graduate students, and three post-doc students. It is an international team. Until February, we had a master’s student from Lagos on the team. A PhD student from Pakistan, as well as a remote summer intern at the University of California, San Diego, are in my group. There are also Lithuanian-born scientists who have studied elsewhere and come back, as well as others who have never left the country.
The undergraduates spend 10–15 hours a week in the lab as part of their theses, doing primary research. It’s one of the things I love about Lithuania: students here start their research careers much earlier than they do in the United States.
You should learn about research as quickly as possible so that you have the right career path. Students get involved in the research at this place, they understand what it takes, the ups and downs, and strategies in general.
Source: How I’m supporting other researchers who have moved to Lithuania
Where are we going? Where do I go? Where am I? Where are I going? What do I do? What can I learn from living in the USA?
I was in the United States for two weeks last year and I was excited to see my family and friends. But I’m not certain I’ll go back permanently. We bought a flat here. In my spare time, I’m recording a soul pop album with Eva. The band I was in was called the Bone Pilots. I still enjoy performing and writing music. I do acro yoga with my friends.