Toomas Asser

Toomas Asser is the Rector of the University of Tartu since 2018 and a distinguished Professor of Neurosurgery. He has held multiple leadership roles, including Dean of the Faculty of Medicine (2000–2009) and Head of the Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery (1996–2016). His career spans clinical practice as a neurosurgeon at Tartu University Hospital (1979–2018) and academic contributions to journals like Eesti Arst and Acta Neurochirurgica.

• Education: Candidate of Sciences (PhD) in Medicine (1987), University of Tartu (1979), Nõo Secondary School (1973)

Research focuses on cerebrovascular diseases, deep brain stimulation, brain tumor pathomorphology, and functional MRI. He has authored 200+ publications and supervised 11 doctoral theses and one Master’s thesis.

• Key administrative roles: President of CELSA (2022–2023), Board member of Guild of European Research Universities, and Vice President of European Association of Neurosurgical Societies (2011–2015)

Scientific awards include the University of Tartu Grand Medal (2014), Latvian Cross of Recognition (2019), and international honors like the Tohoku University Medal (1997).