Science at TIGEM has two “souls”: one that is discovery-oriented and the other that is therapy-oriented. This condition is reflected in the Institute’s current research programmes.

Since its creation TIGEM’s research goals have progressively moved from focusing mainly on the identification of genes responsible for genetic diseases to the study of gene function and disease mechanisms. The Institute is now making a significant move towards clinical applications through the development of gene therapy approaches for inherited eye diseases and inborn errors of metabolism.

Research at TIGEM currently focuses on the following four programmes:
Developmental Disorders (DD)
Inherited Eye Diseases (IED)
Inborn Errors of Metabolism (IEM)
Functional Genomics and Systems Biology (FGSB)

The first three programmes (DD, IED, IEM) focus on research areas for which the Institute has a long-standing interest. In these fields TIGEM researchers have developed an extensive expertise, research tools (e.g. human biological samples and animal models), critical mass and both local and international collaborations with clinicians and scientists.
The last programme (FGSB), which is more “technology” based, is horizontal to all research programmes and the technologies developed can permeate among research projects.