Health and wellness through knowledge

Peeter Padrik, MD, PhD

Founder & CEO

As one of the leading cancer specialists in Estonia, doctor Peeter Padrik has more than 25 years of experience as a clinician, researcher, leader, and healthcare manager at Tartu University Hospital. In addition to the therapy of malignant tumors, doctor Padrik is one of the pioneers in the implementation of innovative genetic information into healthcare.

Berit Kolk, MSc

Chief Operating Officer

Berit Kolk is the chief operating officer and runs the daily operations of Antegenes. She has worked in contract research organizations MedFiles and IQVIA and in the Estonian Genome Center at the University of Tartu. Her previous work on human genetics has made her an expert in the analysis of biomedical data, genotyping and sequencing, and communication of genetic feedback. Berit has also completed additional training at the University of Lausanne, Center for Integrative Genomics in Switzerland.

Neeme Tõnisson, MD, PhD

Medical Geneticist

Neeme Tõnisson is Antegenes’ team medical geneticist and laboratory physician. Neeme has defended his PhD in molecular diagnostics in 2003 and has completed additional training at the German Cancer Research Center in Heidelberg, Germany. In 2019, he was elected as the President of the Estonian Society of Human Genetics and he takes part in different other professional associations.

Siim Sõber, PhD

Chief Product Officer

Siim Sõber is the chief product officer at Antegenes. His academic work has focused on human blood pressure genetics and molecular biology of gene expression in the placenta. More recently, Siim has directed his efforts towards improving the availability of genetic analysis tools to patients and clinicians. At Antegenes, he applies experience from working at public, private and academic institutions to improving all aspects of our product portfolio.

Anna Padrik, BA

Marketing Manager

Anna is our marketing manager, who oversees all our marketing and communication activities. She has a strong background in communications and social media marketing, working with media, tech and consumer brands in Estonia and London. Anna has a degree in Journalism and Communication from the University of Tartu.

Regina Saar, MSc

Bioinformatician / On parental leave

Regina is our bioinformatician. She has a degree in genetic engineering and advanced training in information technology. Regina has worked previously in a medical laboratory as a laboratory analyst and as a software developer in the private sector.

Krista Kruuv-Käo, MD

Business Development Manager

Krista’s responsibility is the business development of Antegenes. Starting from the successful establishment and management of the population-based Estonian Biobank, she has been involved in the development of personalized medicine for 20 years. The latest project she directed was the “Clinical pilot projects of personalized medicine in the precise prevention of breast cancer and cardiovascular diseases” carried out in 2018-2021. Up to the present, this was the largest personalized medicine implementation study performed in the Estonian healthcare system. Krista has graduated from the University of Tartu as a medical doctor.

Jana Jõgi, MSc

Quality Manager / On parental leave

Jana Jõgi is the Quality Manager of Antegenes. Her main task is to ensure that Antegenes products and services are with the highest quality and compliant to valid regulations and standards. She has a strong background working in analytical laboratory and in quality control/assurance including as a qualified person in API production under GMP requirements. She has a degree in Science (Chemistry, Bio-and Molecular Technology).

Anette Paas, RN

Nurse

Anette is our registered nurse. She acquired her nursing degree at the Tallinn Healthcare College, and has previously worked with various oncological patients and diseases at Tartu University Hospital and East-Tallinn Central Hospital. At Antegenes she offers genetic consultations, conducts international clinical studies and is responsible for making sure that our tests reach customers and get back to the lab.

Roman Zahharov, MA

Chief Financial Officer

Roman holds a Master's degree in Corporate Finance and has 20 years of experience in financial management. He is an alumni of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants and was a certified public auditor in BIG4/KPMG. He has taught managerial and financial accounting at the Estonian Business School, and has been responsible for financial management in several international corporations

Robert Koesters, PhD

Country Manager, Germany, Switzerland and Austria

Robert Koesters is a German Molecular Oncologist and Personal Genomics Specialist with an international career record. He held various leading scientific positions at the Children’s Hospital of Zurich, the German Cancer Research Center in Heidelberg, and the University Pierre et Marie Curie in Paris where he was appointed as Professor for “Renal Cancer Genetics”. Robert has experience as Scientific Director at Megeno, where he was responsible for collaboration and networking in the medical and bioethical field with institutions across Europe. At Antegenes Robert is the Country Manager for Germany, Switzerland and Austria.

Jagnar Pindmaa

Chief Technology Officer

Jagnar is the chief technology officer at Antegenes. He is hugely passionate about technology, innovation and security. Jagnar is constantly on the lookout for the latest trends in the tech industry to apply best practices to Antegenes. With more than 10 years in IT, he has been mostly a results-driven, customer-focused software engineer.

Olar Teder, MBA

Sales Director

Olar Teder is the sales director at Antegenes with sales experience in various countries, companies and positions for over 20 years. At Antegenes, he is responsible for everything related to sales. He obtained his Master's degree in Business Administration from Tallinn University of Technology.

Tõnis Tasa, PhD

Consultant, Bioinformatics

Tõnis Tasa is our bioinformatician. His previous work in analyzing collections of biomedical data led to numerous publications in genetics, pharmacology, and bioinformatics. In Antegenes, he is in charge of combining patient information with genetics and translating these into meaningful health recommendations.

Mikk Puustusmaa, PhD

Consultant, Bioinformatics

Mikk is our bioinformatician. Mikk has published several papers in the field of bioinformatics and he has a Ph.D. degree from the University of Tartu. In addition to scientific research, Mikk also has extensive experience as a front end web developer in the private sector.

Akshay Mody, MD

Akshay Mody has spent over 20 years in the healthcare industry. His most recent experience is in overseeing the rapid growth of the medical organisation Viiv Healthcare as Chief of Staff, which successfully concluded 7 Phase 3 trials (resulting in 4 NDAs) and established a portfolio of Discovery and Early Development products in just 5 years. He has also led global and European launches for assets at GSK and has launched specialist drugs in multiple therapy areas as a Regional and Country General Manager (at Roche, Novartis and Ciba-Geigy).

Gareth Evans, MB, BS, MD, FRCP, FLSW, FRCOG, ad eundem

A Consultant at Manchester University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and The Christie NHS Foundation Trust, Professor Evans has established a national and international reputation in clinical and research aspects of cancer genetics, particularly in neurofibromatosis and breast cancer. Professor Evans is a chair of medical genetics and cancer epidemiology at the University of Manchester. He has published 940 peer reviewed research publications, 330 as first or senior author. In the last seven years he has raised over £45 million in grants for multicentre and local studies. He is Chief Investigator on two NIHR program grants on breast cancer risk prediction and also has an NIHR RfPB grant as CI (2011). He has led a successful bid for a Nationally funded NF2 service (£7.5 million pa) that started in 2010 and is involved in the national complex NF1 service. He is the cancer prevention early detection theme leader on the NIHR Manchester Biomedical Research Centre. Professor Evans is also lead clinician on the NICE Familial Breast Cancer Guideline Group and is a trustee of BCN and the Neuro Foundation.

James Mackay, MD

Dr James Mackay has been practicing as a Consultant Genetic Oncologist for over 25 years within the NHS and private sector in the UK, advising cancer patients and their families on genetic testing. Dr Mackay was one of the first accredited Consultant Clinical Genetic Oncologists with a special interest in cancer genetics in the UK and is an honorary senior lecturer in the Research Department of Oncology, the Cancer Institute, University College London. He has been involved in clinical academic projects throughout his career. Having worked with several commercial genetic testing companies over the last years, he now acts as Everything Genetic’s UK and International Medical Director. Dr Mackay trained as a consultant medical oncologist with a special interest in cancer genetics at Trinity College Cambridge and the University of Edinburgh Medical School.