Riin Tamm

Early life and education Tamm was born in Tartu and grew up in the village of Peri, near Põlva. She is the daughter of two doctors. She attended Miina Härma Gymnasium in Tartu between 1997 and 2000. From 2001 to 2005, she was an undergraduate at the University of Tartu studying molecular diagnosis, and from 2005 to 2007 studied for her master's degree, which she obtained in 2007. Her master's thesis, prepared under the supervision of Andres Metspalu and Kersti Oselin, was entitled Human thiopurine methyltransferase pharmacogenetics: genotype-phenotype correlation and haplotype analysis in the Estonian population. Following this, she began her PhD studies in human genetics.

Tamm has said that doctors are conservative and still have relatively little interest in using genetic information to improve treatment. In a June 2012 interview she said that more work is needed to map out the human genetic structure, but much has been accomplished already. Genetic information may help to determine the risk of certain diseases and may be useful in determining appropriate drug treatments.

Professional service Tamm is a board member of the Estonian Society of Human Genetics and the Estonian Association of Gerontology and Geriatrics, and is Chair of the Scientific Program Committee of the Annual International Gene Forum conference organized by the Estonian Genome Foundation. In 2011 she was chosen as one of 26 scientists to travel around Estonia and take part in events at schools and academic institutions as part of an initiative by the Archimedes Foundation and the Ministry of Education and Research.