Setting the Wheels in Motion 26 Young Investigators Elected New

WINTER 2018/2019

ISSUE 40

Research integrity workshops Setting the wheels in motion PAGE 9

Welcome to EMBO! Network continues to grow New members 26 Young Investigators elected meet in Heidelberg PAGES 4 – 5 PAGE 7

Open Access Peer review Lab exchanges EMBO responds to ‘Plan S’ Encouraging transparency in journal Four Short-Term Fellows report publishing on their experiences

PAGE 3 PAGE 8 PAGES 10 – 11

www.embo.org TABLE OF CONTENTS

EMBO news Science Policy © Marietta Schupp, EMBL Photolab Marietta Schupp, © EMBO Press: Peer Review Week 2018 Page 8 EMBO responds to ‘Plan S’ Page 3 Editorial Transparency in peer review Page 8 As this issue of EMBO Encounters goes to print, the British Parliament is preparing for the delayed vote on the Brexit agreement that will determine the future relationship between the UK and the EU. At this point, we cannot be certain what the effect of any of the possible scenarios will be on science in Europe. But it seems highly likely that Brexit will have an impact on UK-European scientific exchange and collaboration. Back in September 2018, we wrote to Meet the new Young Investigators Research integrity workshops: a follow-up Dominic Raab, who at the time was the UK’s Pages 4-5 Page 9 Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, about concerns that Brexit will damage Young Investigators retreat to learn and the scientific ties between the UK and the rest EMBO community of Europe. reflect Page 6 In the letter, which I co-signed with Updates from across Europe EMBO Council Chair Carl-Henrik Heldin and New Members introduced to EMBO Pages 14 – 16 Secretary General Sir Paul Nurse, we made Page 7 the case for international mobility of scientists Awards and publications and called on the UK government to protect Short-Term Fellows tell their stories the freedom of movement for all citizens between the UK and the EU. We also asked for Achievements and papers by members of protection of the UK’s access to the funding the EMBO community Page 17 and transnational networks offered by the EU Framework Programmes. Scientists’ mobility across Europe has been EMBO events central to EMBO and its activities since the organization’s very beginning. This will not Upcoming courses, workshops and change and the UK will remain part of all of conferences Page 18 our programmes and activities. From Stockholm to Singapore EMBO receives its funds from the EMBC, an intergovernmental funding body made up Fresh from EMBO Press of 30 Member States, which include the UK. Pages 10 – 11 This means that we will continue to support Five of EMBO’s latest publications at a scientists coming from and going to the UK. Courses & Workshops: bringing scientists glance Page 19 EMBO Courses & Workshops can continue to take place in the UK, postdoctoral and short- together Page 12 – 13 term fellows can still exchange between the UK and the EU, and EMBO Members based in the UK will remain an integral part of our community.

Maria Leptin Director, EMBO

Open does not equal ‘for free’ EMBO responds to European Open Access mandate ‘Plan S’ © Biozentrum, University of Basel University Biozentrum, ©

On 4 September 2018, a coalition of eleven national research funders, with EMBO’s next steps the support of the European Commission, announced that all scientific EMBO will continue to seek conversations with those who are pushing the development and studies supported by their grants must be published Open Access. implementation of ‘Plan S’ forward. In addition, the organization will analyze what the future in he initiative, referred to as Plan S’, was that a cap on Article Processing Charges (APC) is Open Access publishing might hold and think developed by Science Europe and the not below the cost for assessment and processing about this topic in light of the ‘Plan S’ mandate. TCommission’s Open Access Envoy Robert- per accepted article at quality journals. Otherwise EMBO is also looking to consult with the life Jan Smits. It mandates that from 1 January 2020, there is a risk that openness and quality will be science community about their views and how scientists who receive funding from the European traded off against one another.” they see Open Access and Open Science being Research Council or certain public funders in In the preamble to the announcement, the adopted more widely. “We are always looking to Austria, France, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the coalition also highlighted its commitment to represent the community, acting at the interface Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Slovenia, Sweden changing the way research is assessed and between scientists and policymakers,” explains and the UK, i.e. the members of 'cOAlition S', rewarded. Maria Leptin. “But it is clear to us that there are publish their work in journals or on platforms “We welcome the coalition’s desire to use questions relating to Open Access and the ‘Plan that offer immediate Open Access. Since the the San Francisco Declaration on Research S’ mandate that EMBO cannot simply answer on initial announcement a second Swedish funder, Assessment (DORA) as a starting point to move behalf of scientists.” Finland’s national research funder, the Wellcome away from the journal impact factor as a measure Do scientists value journals that are highly Trust in the UK and the Bill & Melinda Gates of research output. selective or would they be willing to sacrifice Foundation in the USA have joined the initiative. “It is important that changes in scientific selectivity in favour of cutting costs? Would Science Europe announced ‘cOAlition S’ publishing are accompanied by changes in the scientists be put off paying a higher price for alongside the publication of the coalition’s ten- institutional and funding systems such that publishing in a journal that offers additional point ‘Plan S’ that outlines the principles of Open researchers are not judged by the impact factor features? Would authors prefer to pay individual Access publishing supported by the initiative. of the journals in which their work is published.” APCs per article or for their institutes to negotiate deals with publishers? These are the type of EMBO response: quality must not be sacrificed Further developments questions that EMBO would like to look into. If EMBO responded to the publication of ‘Plan S’ The publication of ‘Plan S’ has resulted in you would like to provide feedback, please get in with the following statement by EMBO Director intense debate, particularly over the ban of hybrid touch at [email protected] Maria Leptin. journals (i.e. those journals that charge subscrip- “We welcome the plan, which echoes some of tion fees but also offer Open Access publishing in Further information the recommendations EMBO has made within return for an APC) in ‘Plan S’. Documents and information published by cOAlition S the Commission’s Open Science Policy Platform, On 27 November 2018, cOAlition S published can be found at: scienceeurope.org/coalition-s/ and through individual discussions with Robert- a more detailed guidance document in which the Jan Smits and other European Commission group responded to some of the criticisms of ‘Plan Also of interest: Head of Scientific publications at representatives. S’. According to these guidelines, authors will EMBO, Bernd Pulverer’s, editorial on Open Access “We are pleased that ‘Plan S’ acknowledges the be able to follow one of three Plan-S-compliant and ‘Plan S’ http://emboj.embopress.org/content/ importance of quality in the publication process. publication routes: (1) publication in an Open early/2018/12/03/embj.2018101215 In working towards a complete and immediate Access journal or on an Open Access platform, (2) Open Access goal, we must make sure that we do publication in a subscription journal provided the not sacrifice this quality as a result of equating accepted manuscript is immediately made openly ‘open’ to ‘for free’. available in a repository, (3) published in hybrid “The coalition aims to standardize and cap journals that have signed agreements (by the end publication fees across Europe. It is important of 2021) to change to full Open Access publishing.

Welcome to the EMBO Young Investigators of 2018 26 group leaders to be supported in

establishing their first lab Vaishnavi Thomas Baden Ananthanarayanan Evolution of feature Quantitative biology of the computation in the verte- EMBO has chosen 26 life science cytoskeleton and associ- brate retina researchers within their first four ated proteins Brighton, GB Bangalore, IN years as group leaders to become EMBO Young Investigators. They join an active network of 102 current and 314 past Young Investigators and will gain access to opportunities for funding, training and networking Polly Leilei CHEN Alan Cheung Sebastian Deindl for themselves and their lab Understanding RNA Molecular mechanisms Mechanisms and regulation editing in human cancer: of chromatin coactiva- of protein machines at the members (see box). causes and functional tor complexes single-molecule and atomic consequences, London, GB level “The accepted candidates have all Singapore, SG Uppsala, SE shown outstanding promise in their early careers and impressed our selection committee with both the quality of their current work and their proposals for future research,” said EMBO Nicole Joller Taco Kooij Yanlan Mao Director Maria Leptin. “We look Immune regulation through Malaria parasite biology and Mechanical regulation forward to supporting them in infection history intervention strategies during of tissue growth and Zurich, CH host switching regeneration establishing their own research Nijmegen, NL London, GB groups.”

The 2018 group of Young Investigators comprises scientists based in 11 countries, including two EMBC Associate Member States: India and Singapore.

Andrea Pauli Martin Pilhofer Anthony Roberts Support for the appointed The germline-to-embryo Multiscale models of macro- Building the cilium with transition – from fertiliza- molecular machines mediat- ATP-driven molecular motors scientists lasts for four years tion to embryogenesis ing cell-cell interactions London, GB with financial and practical Vienna, AT Zurich, CH assistance for career development and collaboration during the important early stages of founding an independent research group. ®Institut Pasteur / François Gardy ®Institut Pasteur

Ziv Shulman Manuel Valiente Sven van Teeffelen Cellular dynamics of the anti- Metastatic colonization Physical cell biology of body immune response of the brain bacteria – cell shape, Rehovot, IL Madrid, ES cell size and growth Paris, FR

Emmanuelle Bayer David Bikard Mathieu Brochet Ross Chapman The function of membrane Studying and fighting Signalling in malaria Mechanism and control tethering in plant intercel- pathogenic bacteria with parasites of DNA repair in immu- lular communication the help of CRISPR Geneva, CH nity and oncogenesis Villenave d'Ornon, FR Paris, FR Oxford, GB

The programme at a glance During their four-year tenure, EMBO Young Xiaoqi Feng Meritxell Huch Epigenetic reprogramming in Understanding liver regen- Investigators receive a range of benefits: plant germlines eration and its implication Norwich, GB in liver cancer Support for Young Investigators Cambridge, GB ➔➔ 15,000 euros award ➔➔ Up to 10,000 euros additional funding ➔➔ Childcare support ➔➔ EMBO Research Leadership course

Support for their labs and lab members ➔➔ Young Investigator PhD course and local courses ➔➔ Meeting grants and Nobel laureate meeting ➔➔ Visits to other labs Ivan Matic Hind Medyouf Proteomics and Role of the bone marrow ➔➔ Access to EMBL core facilities ADP-ribosylation signaling microenvironment in hema- Cologne, DE topoietic malignancies ➔➔ Lab retreat and creativity facilitation Frankfurt, DE ➔➔ Listing of job vacancies

Networking opportunities ➔➔ Annual Young Investigator meeting ➔➔ Sectoral meetings ➔➔ Institute visits ➔➔ Support for European networks of junior PIs ➔➔ Joint group meetings

Nathalie Rochefort Peter Sarkies Helping the Young Investigators get noticed Neuronal processing of Transgenerational ➔➔ Lecture grants visual information in the epigenetic inheritance mouse visual cortex and evolution ➔➔ Conference support for organisers Edinburgh, GB London, GB ➔➔ Listing of awards and publications in print and on social media ➔➔ Inclusion in the EMBO directory and an online database ➔➔ EMBO Press publishing fees covered

More information: embo.org/funding-awards/young-investigators

Julie Welburn Hyun Youk Cooperation of microtubule Distinguishing long- motors, cargos and their term dormancy from tracks death: Principles of Edinburgh, GB restarting life Delft, NL

ow do I choose the best people? How do I negotiate a deal with my university? HAnd how do I set a clear vision and goals for my research and prioritize my own and the group’s time? These are just some of the questions that researchers moving into their first group leader position face. And often they have received little to no training during their PhD and postdoc in how to answer them. The list only gets longer as the group grows, including questions about improving the team’s effectiveness and ensuring that multiple projects stay on track and support the lab’s overall goals. The EMBO Young Investigator Programme offers its participants a range of opportunities to develop the skills to address these questions. These include participation in the EMBO Lab Leadership Courses, opportunities for mentoring by an EMBO Member, and exchange with other young group leaders at the annual Young Space for own discussions Investigator Meeting. The retreat also enabled participants to bring their own suggestions for discussion sessions. Several Time away to learn and reflect Young Investigators had previously suggested This year, the programme extended the support on topics they would like to discuss among this offer by introducing a Young Investigator retreat, group. These were integrated into the retreat as which took place in September at Villa Vigoni, a informal evening discussions. The topics includ- centre for promoting scientific exchange funded ed how to hire the best people into a relatively by the German and Italian governments, located new lab, the pros and cons of a using a‘sandpit at Lake Como in Italy. Programme Head Gerlind approach’ to encourage free thinking in order to Wallon explains: “We hear first hand about the generate new scientific ideas, and the usefulness different challenges that scientists face when they of an advances statistics course for PIs. first transition to leading their own group. With One of the hosts of such a session was Ana the retreat we wanted to offer them an opportuni- García-Sáez, a group leader at the University ty to attend a range of soft-skills training courses of Tübingen, Germany, who wished to tap into with the goal of providing a set of knowledge and the expertise and experience of her peers. Her tools to address these questions.” session offered a forum in which she and one “Instead of offering a week-long course, we other participant could practice their European decided to develop a programme that allowed Research Council grant proposal presentations attendees to pick and choose the sessions most and receive feedback from the audience. relevant to them,” continues Wallon. In addition, “I thought it would be useful to rehearse my this meant that the participants could also use presentation in front of people that I am not the retreat to spend time away from the daily joint meals to connect with other young group familiar with,” explains García-Sáez. And the demands of the lab to work on grants or write leaders. session seemed to have hit a nerve. With this manuscripts. He also joined the ‘Applying design princi- being scheduled at the end of the retreat, she did ples to schematic figures’ workshop to get tips not expect many participants. But, she says, most Learnings that apply to everyday scenarios on how to create powerful schematic figures. He Young Investigators joined and “had very good 49 Young Investigators attended sessions during not only enjoyed the workshop, but was also suggestions in terms of format and style, but also

the week-long retreat. The programme included©Piotr Narewski able to immediately put his learnings to use on from the content point of view, which helped me different courses from the EMBO Lab Leadership return to the lab. “I am working on a manuscript make the presentation clearer.” portfolio. In addition, the participants were able for which I needed a schematic to introduce the García-Sáez says she “considered my session to take part in several new courses that were experiments and idea of the study,” says Veening. a success.” Overall feedback from the attendees being piloted, including Portfolio Management, “I made a rough sketch of the main components was very positive. “It was great to hear that the Self-Leadership in a mixed gender group and and wrote the figure legend. Then, as we learned participants felt the retreat was time well spent,” Design Principles. The feedback obtained from in the workshop I let my team come up with says Gerlind Wallon. “We are already thinking the participants will help EMBO to further devel- ideas for the figure in pairs, which we discussed about a repeat event in two year’s time.” op the courses into something that is useful for afterward. Once I showed them my own design, the life science community. we implemented the best concepts.” embo.org/funding-awards/young-investigators Jan-Willem Veening from the University of He adds: “As a team we made a great figure. lab-management.embo.org/ Lausanne, Switzerland, attended the retreat to And we now plan to do this for all our schematic have some time away from the demands of the figures in the future – it is super effective and lab and family life in order to reflect and to use utilises everyone’s creativity.”

Open Access: To be free or not Welcoming new EMBO Members to be?

At the EMBO Members' meeting, Bernd n May last year, 62 life scientists were elected through their international collaborations and Pulverer, Head of Scientific Publishing as EMBO Members or Associate Members, connections. at EMBO, talked about requirements for joining the group of more than 1,800 outstand- The EMBO Members are actively involved I implementing Open Access in publishing ing life scientists. At the annual Members’ meet- in the execution of the organization’s initiatives ing in Heidelberg in October, the new Members by serving onM EMBOem Council,bers Committees’ Meet andin g y 2020, 'Plan S' by the so–called cOAli- were welcomed. “This meeting is packed with Editorial Boards, by evaluating applications for Btion S will mandate free access to science at its best”, EMBO Director Maria Leptin EMBO funding, by mentoring young scientists research published by scientists funded said. EMBO Members are leading scientists workH-eidandelb bye rprovidingg, Germ suggestionsany 24 - 2and6 Ofeedbackctobe ron 2 018 by the European Commission or by the ing across all of the life sciences. They strengthen activities. funders who are signatory to the plan. (see the research community in Europe and beyond page 3) “ ‘Free’ must not be confused with ‘at no cost’, if quality is not to be compro- L. S. SHASHIDHARA EWA PALUCH CSABA PÁL mised”, Pulverer said. “Journals are charg- ing for an important service that ensures New EMBO Associate Member New EMBO Member EMBO Member the selection of reliable research results that are worth sharing.” He provided insight into the cost structure of the five journals published by EMBO Press. Two of them are hybrid journals: The EMBO Journal and EMBO Reports are subscription-based, but offer authors the choice to make their papers fully Open Access (also called ‘Gold OA’) by paying a ingadahalli Subrahmanya he focus for Ewa Paluch is saba Pál’s research targets fee. The other three are fully Open Access: LShashidhara uses Drosophila Tto understand how animal Ccentral issues in evolu- Molecular System Biology, EMBO Molecular as a model system to answer cells control their shape. She tion with medical importance. Medicine and Life Science Alliance. The two fundamental questions: investigates how the mechani- He and his lab develop novel fees charged e.g. by Molecular Systems What is the mechanism by cal properties of the cell cortex methods in microbial genome Biology and EMBO Molecular Medicine for which cells, tissues and organs – a network of actin, myosin engineering with the aim to OA are substantial as the journals select for are positioned in the body? and associated proteins that lies study antibiotic resistance with quality as well as for interest and impor- And how are shape and size of under the plasma membrane unprecedented detail. Another tance of the work. Only 12% of submit- different organs determined? and gives most animal cells their focus of his group is microbial ted papers are published, raising the unit His lab is studying molecular shape – are determined by its evolutionary genomics, study- cost. “To put the cost in perspective, one and morphogenic events down- molecular components and how ing dosage balance hypothesis, also needs to consider the total budget that stream to Hox genes, which play these properties are regulated to compensatory evolution and the underlies the average bioscience research critical roles in the elaboration drive cellular deformations. role of phenotypic heterogeneity. paper,” Pulverer said. The limited data of segmental identities in all Ewa Paluch, of the MRC Csaba Pál heads the Synthethic available suggest that spending on publish- bilaterian animals. Laboratory for Molecular Cell and Systems Biology Unit at ing are in the order of 1-3% of the overall L. S. Shashidhara is heading Biology at University College the Biological Research Centre research spending. the Indian Institute of Science London will be moving her of the Hungarian Academy of He explained that flipping all five EMBO Education & Research (IISER) in laboratory to the Department of Sciences in Szeged. Press journals to Gold OA would require Pune, India. “I am very happy Physiology, Development and “EMBO Membership is an author fees above the cap anticipated from to be one among such accom- Neuroscience at the University amazing opportunity to foster Plan S signatories, “except if the journals plished biologists. I hope to of Cambridge in 2019. new collaborations, to cata- would reduce their selectivity. This is not benefit from interactions with “I look forward to further lyze research opportunities for what we intend to do with our journals”. the EMBO community, particu- promoting interdisciplinary talented students, and to popu- Moreover, publishers will have to be able larly in the domains of science approaches in biology as an larize our achievements to a to provide additional value to journals policy and science management EMBO Member,” she said. broad audience,” he said at the beyond OA in order to make the research practices”, he said. meeting. re-usable and to encourage reproducibility, www.pdn.cam.ac.uk/directory/ Pulverer concluded. www.iiserpune.ac.in/~ls. ewa-paluch group.szbk.u-szeged.hu/sysbiol/ shashidhara/

Peer Review Week 2018 Encouraging diversity and inclusion in the review process

eer review is a crucial component of schol- process on published papers in their area of extends beyond co-refereeing of papers. Life arly publishing to optimize the quality of research. Science Alliance, which EMBO Press publishes in Pthe published research. To recognize and Named co-refereeing not only helps to identify partnership with Rockefeller University Press and celebrate peer review and the scientists acting as and train early-career researchers as reviewers. It Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press, specifically reviewers, a group of organizations introduced also ensures those scientists who did the work focuses on engaging both established and emerg- Peer Review Week in 2015. can receive credit for this crucial contribution ing leaders in their fields as editors, on the edito- Peer Review Week took place once more to the scientific process. Taking this further, we rial board and during peer review. between 10 and 15 September 2018 and focused hope to work directly with funders to ensure that on the topic of ‘Diversity and Inclusion’. Bernd refereeing can be taken into account as a scien- More information: Pulverer, Head of Scientific Publishing at EMBO, tific output in research evaluation. embopress.org/transparent-process took the opportunity to outline some of the initia- Finally, our commitment to involving early- peerreviewweek.wordpress.com tives to increase diversity in peer review at the career researchers in our publishing activities EMBO Press publications.

We ask for referee • enhancing readers’ understanding of the recommendations from Transparent peer review article in the context of the field, and established colleagues and require • a pathway to providing credit for peer review. EMBO Press co-signs open letter The EMBO Journal introduced the publi- that co-referees be identified. to support publication of peer cation of Review Process files, which include review reports the referee comments, authors’ responses and Diversity in peer review is not something that the editorial decision letter, in 2009. The other is always easy to achieve. At the EMBO Press EMBO Press journals, EMBO Reports, EMBO journals, for example, the proportion of authors MBO Press is among more than 20 signa- Molecular Medicine and Molecular Systems from Asia is much larger than that of referees Etories of an open letter that expresses Biology followed suit in 2010, and the publica- from the same continent. Early-career researchers their commitment to the publication of the tion of these files is a central component to also remain underrepresented, while established peer reviews associated with scientific papers. EMBO Press’ transparent process. referees are increasingly overburdened. Those who signed the letter but had not yet Head of Scientific Publishing at EMBO One of the ways in which the editors of The implemented this step pledged to do so. In Press, Bernd Pulverer, says about the letter: “It EMBO Journal, EMBO Reports, EMBO Molecular addition, the goal is to encourage other jour- is great to see that other journals are adopt- Medicine and Molecular Systems Biology are nals and publishers to do the same to estab- ing policies to publish peer review reports, addressing this is by taking into consideration lish the publication of peer reviews as a stand- author rebuttals and editorial decision letters. gender and geographical diversity as well as ard in scholarly publishing. Together with the letter’s signatories, I encour- career stage when inviting scientists to join the The letter is the outcome of a meeting age other publishers to join this initiative so editorial boards of the journals and when select- between editors, publishers, funders, and that it can become a standard in publishing referees. In order to identify a wider range of researchers to discuss innovations in peer ing after a decade of unequivocally positive suitable reviewers, we ask for referee recommen- review that took place at the Howard Hughes experiences with this process at EMBO Press. dations from established colleagues and require Medical Institute in Chevy Chase, USA in Referee cross-commenting, named co-referees, that co-referees be identified. February 2018. It was coordinated by ASAPbio, avoidance of confidential referee comments Another step we take to ensure that we use a community initiative in the biological and transferable referee reports add to make as many different reviewers as possible is to aim sciences that promotes transparency and for a more informed and fair publishing for a combination of scientists who have previ- openness in science communication. A major- process.” ously refereed for our journals and first-time ity of participants at the meeting agreed that reviewers. We also encourage senior scientists publishing all of the content of peer review, Letter and a list of signatories: asapbio.org/ to include postdoctoral fellows as co-referees, whether anonymized or not, and the author letter and to mentor them in refereeing. The EMBO responses would benefit the research commu- Additional information: Nature, doi: 10.1038/ Press transparent process means that referee nity by increasing transparency of the assess- d41586-018-06032-w reports, author responses and editors’ deci- ment process. These benefits include: More information about the transparent sions are all published alongside papers (also • increased reviewer and editorial process at EMBO Press: doi: 10.1038/ see ‘Transparent peer review’ on this page). accountability, emboj.2008.250 and 10.1038/emboj.2010.307 This enables new referees to train themselves • opportunities for learning and self-training, to review optimally by analyzing the editorial

The importance of strong mentorship The second element he stresses is the importance of mentorship to transmit the values of responsible research practices and the knowledge necessary to work responsibly. Following the EMBO workshop, the participants began sharing what they learnt, making others aware of the types of questionable practices that might occasionally be followed but that one is not supposed to use. “That also reflects on the importance of mentorship,” says Sunkel. “It’s important to mentor the mentors, because you have people coming out of a postdoc, starting to run their own lab and they know very little about these things.” Strong mentorship is also something that Claire Hivroz at the Institute Curie considers crucial in establishing responsible research practices at all levels. Together with EMBO Member Geneviève Setting the wheels in motion Almouzni, Hivroz co-organised an EMBO research integrity workshop at the institute in Paris, France Three co-organisers report on the impact of the EMBO research integrity in June 2017. courses at their institute or university “Following on from the workshop and discussions with Michele and Sandra, we have organised four sessions for young PIs this year,” says ’ve been approached by people asking for research could be further increased to ensure the Hivroz. She explains that the sessions were struc- the next steps. There is a call for action.” workshop wasn’t just a one-off event. “After the tured more broadly around wellbeing in a research "I Eirikur Steingrimsson’s testimonial of course we brought together the administrators group but also included research integrity, adding EMBO’s research integrity workshop shows that and people organising the graduate programme that “these things are linked. When people have starting a conversation about the topic of respon- to talk about where the university stands,” he confidence in their supervisor, they also feel much sible conduct of research can result in further- says. “There are things happening: for example, more confident to ask questions and are clear on reaching action. everyone in the graduate programme is required what is expected of them.” In addition to being an EMBO Member, to take a research ethics course since last year. Steingrimsson, of the University of Iceland in But unfortunately I’m not yet aware of anything Finding the best way to train Reykjavik, currently holds the position of vice- similar for more senior scientists.” Another activity put in place at the Institut Curie president of the European Molecular Biology is a three-hour session on research integrity for all Conference (EMBC), EMBO’s intergovernmen- A focus on data management new PhD students. Delivered by two group leaders tal funding body. It was at an EMBC meeting The importance of following up the workshop or a group leader and a postdoc, these workshops that he first heard about the research integrity with concrete steps is something that EMBO give participants the chance to think about the workshops EMBO has been delivering at insti- Member and Council Member Claudio Sunkel subject, to ask questions and to participate by tell- tutes and universities in EMBC Member States. echoes. He co-organised the EMBO research ing their own stories. Feeling that researchers at the University of integrity workshop that took place at the i3S “These sessions are mandatory for all PhD Iceland would also benefit from such a work- Institute in Porto, Portugal, in January 2017. students,” explains Hivroz. “But the real challenge shop, he approached the EMBO Science Policy “The workshop was excellent,” he recalls, is that with 60-70 new students and a participant Programme, which then organised a workshop “people came out with a very clear view on what limit of around 15, we have to organise quite a that took place in Reykjavik in April last year. is proper research conduct and what it is not. few sessions a year.” She says the institute also And because parts of the workshop were open thinks about offering online training in research Raising awareness of the subject to everyone, we were able to bring that message integrity through a massive open online course. EMBO initiated the workshops – initially as a across to lots of people.” However, she says, “some of the feedback from pilot – in 2016 to raise awareness of the impor- The institute already has an ombudsperson to those who already followed such a course has tance of conducting research in a responsible deal with research matters, but, Sunkel says, it been that people end up ‘click-clicking’ without way and to contribute to fostering responsible is also looking to hire someone whose full-time thinking about the subject. So we really need to research practices in Europe. Programme Head position is dedicated to research integrity and find the right mix.” Michele Garfinkel and Programme Officer Sandra ethics. For now the i3S has integrated the topics Listening to all three co-organisers, it becomes Bendiscioli have since visited ten institutes in of research ethics, misconduct and responsible clear there is a need and desire to discuss research nine countries, working with an EMBO Member research data management into the training for integrity issues. The EMBO workshops have had as local co-organiser to deliver tailored work- PhD students and postdocs and has also embed- an impact in raising awareness and triggering addi- shops on research integrity to up to 30 partici- ded research integrity into some of their career tional activities. Yet for many researchers and insti- pants at a time. development courses. tutes the challenge remains how to best and most The feedback from the approximately 25 post- Sunkel explains: “We want to make people efficiently foster responsible research conduct. As docs and young group leaders who participated aware that they need to be very conscious of Steingrimsson puts it: “It’s a live issue that doesn’t in Reykjavik was overwhelmingly positive, says what they do with data and how they manage go away. It needs be kept alive and one of the most Steingrimsson. “They were really happy that the them.” However, he adds, it would be helpful to important questions is ‘how do we do that’?” university was thinking about this subject and to also have something in writing, such as a book- have the opportunity to hear and talk about it.” let summarising the most important points, to embo.org/science-policy/research-integrity In addition to leaving an impression on the distribute to all staff and encourage discussion For more information about the workshops, participants, the workshop led the university to to ensure that everyone at the institute is on the contact [email protected] look at how awareness of responsible conduct of same page.

©2019 EMBO EMBOencounters | WInter 2018/2019 | [email protected] 9 EMBO NEWS Lab exchanges EMBO Short-Term Fellowships fund laboratory visits for up to three months. Here, four recipients talk about how such an exchange influenced them professionally and personally.

By Kathy Weston

arie-Steph Aschtgen, a postdoc in in biofilm conditions, which Birgitta Henriques-Normark’s lab at the we couldn’t do in Sweden”, MKarolinska Institute in Sweden, studies says Aschtgen. But visiting Klebsiella pneumoniae. She works on virulence Singapore was going to be factors, the weaponry that bacteria use to subvert very expensive, she real- or elude host defences. Specifically, she is inter- ised: “I needed to spend at ested in a molecular machine called the type 6 least a month in his lab, so secretion system (T6SS), which forces bacterial I applied for an EMBO Short proteins into neighbouring cells using a phage- Term Fellowship.” Aschtgen like injection system. had the added complication of being a new mother, but Finding a biofilm expert she simply solved that prob- While T6SS has an important function in host- lem by bringing her partner From Stockholm to Singapore pathogen interactions, it’s also a major player in and eight month-old daugh- inter-bacterial relationships. Bacteria normally ter with her. isolated T6SS mutant bugs were indeed miser- live in biofilms that are resistant to stresses ably bad at forming biofilms in monoculture, but such as antibiotics. So Aschtgen was intrigued From one-off project to long-term collaboration when mixed with different types of bacteria, they to discover that one of her clinical isolates of K. Rice’s lab went out of their way to help: “The actually performed better, outcompeting other pneumoniae had a T6SS mutant that prevented lab were really welcoming,” says Aschtgen. “I species of K. pneumoniae. One of Rice’s PhD biofilm formation. However, there was a prob- didn’t expect to be able to get through all the students is now working on the project, too, and lem: her home lab had no expertise in biofilm experiments we’d planned, but Scott assigned a Aschtgen plans to return, helped by further fund- work. PhD student and post-doc to help me, and they ing from EMBO. Fortunately, Henriques-Normark is a visit- were fantastic. I was able to work almost from Aschtgen thinks the short-term fellowship ing professor in Singapore, and put Aschtgen day one.” She also did some networking, setting was a vital component of the project’s success: in touch with Scott Rice at Nanyang Technical up meetings with faculty with complementary “Because of the fellowship, it’s become a real University. His lab is devoted to biofilm develop- interests. collaboration that will continue for a long time. ment, and he was happy to help. “Scott has an As with all good projects, Aschtgen’s lab work I don’t know if that would have been possible awesome microscopy facility and grows bacteria didn’t turn out quite as expected: her clinically otherwise.”

lants are increasingly put under Mutation of the enzyme pectate lyase stress, for example by environ- unexpectedly turned out to have Pmental challenges such as global profound effects on cuticle forma- warming and pollution. Pramod Sivan, tion during cell wall maturation. “I’m a young investigator at the Rubber hoping to return to Umeå to carry on Research Institute of India in Kerala, the collaboration,” says Sivan, “as it’s is interested in the mechanisms by a very interesting idea that pectin and which plant cell walls resist stress. other polymers are so heavily involved in cuticle development.” An intensified working relationship Sivan’s work, on the role of the cell- Experiencing another lab culture wall polymer lignin in conferring As well as a successful scientific mechanical strength and aiding resist- From Kerala to Umeå stay, Sivan had a valuable insight into ance to stress, uses tobacco plants the workings of a different lab. He as a model. Over the years, he has had a lot particularly liked the communality: “People of advice from Ewa Mellerowicz of the Swedish arrived in Sweden. His plane from Stockholm to were trained really well on the equipment, and University of Agricultural Sciences in Umeå. So Umeå had been cancelled, but a friendly local could move freely between different labs to when Mellerowicz suggested he applied for an helped him sort out what to do next. And his access the facilities,” he reflects. The flat hier- EMBO Short-Term Fellowship to come to Umeå flatmates in the apartment he shared were love- archy was also appealing: “Everyone’s opinion for three months, Sivan jumped at the chance. ly: “They found out it was my birthday just after was listened to, and weight was given to knowl- “The Umeå lab has facilities that aren’t available I arrived and surprised me with a nice celebra- edge, not position,” Sivan says. “This visit was in my home institute, and the opportunity to tion,” he says. “I felt like a family member by a great opportunity to learn many things person- learn a whole new set of techniques in such an the time I left.” ally and professionally and it will definitely help environment was irresistible.” Sivan’s project in Umeå used transgenic in making better future plans.” Any apprehension about spending time so far aspen plants to see how changes in cell wall from home vanished almost as soon as Sivan composition affect the biosynthesis of the cuticle.

ietary factors are likely to play a part in of Medicine in Croatia, From Ljubljana to Split the development of bladder cancer, and where the model is in Dthere is mounting evidence that vitamin routine use. A collabora- A, and its metabolite retinoic acid, can decrease tion looking at the role of the cancer risk. However, the mechanism of vitamin A in BBN-induced action is unknown. carcinogenesis, where Daša Zupancˇicˇ is an associate professor at Zupancˇicˇ traded her the Institute of Cell Biology at the University of expertise in microscopy Ljubljana, Slovenia, and has been studying blad- for the Terzicˇ lab’s profi- der cancer for several years using histopathology ciency in molecular biolo- and microscopy. Her institute has an excellent gy seemed a perfect match, track record in microscopy, but Zupancˇicˇ found and EMBO awarded her a that it lacked the capacity for more molecularly- three-month short-term oriented studies. This hampered her ability to fellowship to get the get to grips with the molecular mechanisms of project off the ground. Bringing new ideas back home bladder cancer development and the link with “I didn’t even know that EMBO existed,” Zupancˇicˇ was impressed by the level of collabo- vitamin A. says Zupancˇicˇ, “but Janoš told me about the ration and equipment-sharing between labs in Fellowship Programme. I was very happy to find Split, and hopes to implement something simi- Trading microscopy for molecular biology such a great opportunity!” lar back in Ljubljana. “Money is short, and it Zupancˇicˇ had wanted to take a sabbatical to Jelena Koracˊ Prlicˊ in Terzicˊ’s laboratory makes so much more sense to share resources,” learn some molecular biology for a number of gave Zupancˇicˇ a crash course in RNA purifica- she says. She already agreed a deal with another years, but life outside of work intervened. She tion, cDNA synthesis and PCR, and she set to department, whereby the other researchers can got married and gave birth to four children work preparing and analyzing samples from use her department’s microscopes in exchange during and after her PhD. With her youngest BBN-treated animals fed either a vitamin A-rich, for time on a new scanner for Western blots. child now attending school, and the older three or a control diet. After more than a decade spent The vitamin A project itself had such prom- being able to help at home, she revisited the teaching undergraduates, with only a little time ising results, showing that vitamin A hinders idea. for research, Zupancˇicˇ was in heaven: “Having the development of urothelial dysplasia in One of the most important experimental tools three months’ uninterrupted time in the lab was BBN-treated mice, that Zupancˇicˇ and Koracˊ Prlicˊ for bladder cancer research is the BBN (N-butyl- like being a PhD student again,” she says. For are continuing to collaborate. They are in the N-(4-hydroxybutyl)nitrosamine)-induced mouse the first time in years, she also had some free process of writing up a paper and applying for model of bladder carcinogenesis, and Zupancˇicˇ time, which she used to read and to explore Split further funding. already had a working relationship with the lab and its surroundings with new friends she made of Janoš Terzicˊ at the University of Split School in the lab.

rosophila rely heavily on a From Santiago to Munich and was delighted when she suggested sense of smell to navigate the he could come for a visit. As a source Dworld, but how do they clas- of funding, Grunwald Kadow suggested sify scents into meaningful categories? he applied for an EMBO Short-Term An odour such as carbon dioxide can Fellowship. signal the presence of fermenting fruit (good) or a group of very stressed The beginnings of a postdoctoral fellow fruitflies (bad). And an incom- project? ing fly must choose the appropriate Having arrived in Munich Fuenzalida- behavioural response – feeding or leav- Uribe’s first task was to set up crosses ing the scene as quickly as possible. of the flies he’d need, so that they’d be The answer seems to lie in the appropriately aged towards the end of mushroom body, a higher brain region his three-month visit. He was taught in flies that ‘reads’ the aversive input how to use the two-photon microscope and balances it with a ‘reward’ input by Siju Kunhi Purayil, a postdoc in the from dopaminergic neurons sensing other which like carbon dioxide, is another context- lab, and by the end of his time in Germany, had odours, emitted, in this case, by ‘good’ food dependent feed-or-flee-stimulus. To dissect the successfully shown age-dependent differences in sources. Such contextual modulation of behav- physiology of this behaviour in more detail, he calcium dynamics, which can potentially be used iour has a relevance extending far beyond a decided to use calcium responsiveness, a proxy as physiological markers for the aging process. humble fruitfly’s desire to find rotting fruit; it for neuronal activity, to see if Kenyon cells, the He now hopes to be able to return to Germany as may yield insights into how mammalian brains specialised olfactory neurons in mushroom a postdoc to continue the project. make analogous decisions. bodies, change their neural activity in response In addition to working hard Fuenzalida-Uribe to benzaldehyde as flies age. managed to do a bit of sightseeing: “The lab Taking a chance Unfortunately, the very expensive two-photon organised a trip to the oldest continuously work- Nicolás Fuenzalida-Uribe, a recent PhD gradu- microscope he needed to do this work wasn’t ing brewery in the world,” he says, “and they ate in Jorge Campusano’s lab at the Universidad available in his home lab. Undeterred, Fuenzalida- also helped me test some of the beer in Munich!” Católica de Chile in Santiago, works on a twist Uribe did an internet search for groups with However, his favourite trip was to Prague: “I real- to the Drosophila olfactory story: how ageing the right microscope together with expertise in ly like Franz Kafka, and one of my dreams has affects contextual modulation. During his PhD Drosophila olfactory bulb imaging, and came up always been to visit the place he was from,” he project, Fuenzalida-Uribe showed that older with Ilona Grunwald Kadow’s lab at the Technical says. “That was very special.” flies have an altered response to benzaldehyde, University of Munich, Germany. He emailed her,

Spotlight on EMBO Courses & Workshops

he organizers of EMBO Courses and revealed molecular level insights into axon guid- Kiran Patil from EMBL, one of the organisers, Workshops play an important role in ance systems, adhesion molecules, and ion chan- says that the fieldwork aspect of the course came Tmaking these events successful. Through nels, illustrating how these techniques can be out of discussions between himself and co-organ- their connections and knowledge of the field used to analyze ever more complex and physi- iser Haley Sapers, of the California Institute of they create up-to-date programmes and identify ologically relevant molecular assemblies. Animal Technology and NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, the most suitable speakers – whether the event models, live-cell and super-resolution microscopy USA. “We’d been talking about collecting samples is part of a recurring series or a first in line repre- revealed protein localization properties, recep- from the Ries crater to see if we could identify senting an emerging field. Below, the organizers tor dynamics and a picture of how the nervous of a course and two workshops report on how system works at the molecular, cellular and Text & photo: Edward Dadswell, EMBL their events came about, what made them a tissue levels. Structure-based mutants and genet- success and which topics drew the most intense ics emerged as tools of choice for analyzing how discussions. multifunctional proteins perform their specific roles in tissues, while tomography and advanced A FIRST FOR COMBINING NEUROSCIENCE fluorescence-based methods bring structural biol- AND BIOPHYSICS ogy into the cell. In summary, the meeting highlighted where Between 8 and 12 May 2018, biophysics met and how biophysics and neurobiology are neurobiology at the first EMBO Workshop on converging. It is always difficult to predict where molecular neurobiology that took place on a field is moving, but we asked some of the the island of Crete in Greece. The meeting presenters to reveal their ‘dream experiments’, was designed to foster interaction and discus- outlining scientific and methodological goals. sion between rapidly growing yet traditionally The emerging theme was the ability to visual- distinct fields, with approximately 120 structural ize proteins at high resolution, in action and in biologists, biophysicists, and cellular biologists the context of the entire cell. As EMBO Member Course attendees collecting rock samples at the attending. and meeting attendee Poul Nissen of Aarhus geobiology course. Here, two of the organizers, EMBO Member University, Denmark, put it: “The field is aiming Rob Meijers, EMBL, Hamburg, Germany, and for biophysical models of life." EMBO Young Investigator Elena Seiradake, the microbes there and analyse their DNA, which Oxford University, UK, explain their motivation FIELDWORK COMPLETES MOLECULAR had not been done before, he says. of bringing together scientists from such diverse GEOBIOLOGY COURSE Preparing the course, Sapers came to EMBL fields. and, along with Patil, Sonja Blasche and Yongkyu With technological and methodological Researchers with interests in areas as diverse Kim from Patil’s group, and Vladimir Benes advances, structural biology has evolved into as astrobiology, the origins of life, and the way from EMBL’s Genomics Core Facility, drove to an important contributor in analyzing biological organisms adapt to extreme environments, came the Ries crater to collect some rocks that were molecules in all their complexity. At the same together at the European Molecular Biology formed by the meteorite impact. After some effort time, imaging techniques now make it possible Laboratory (EMBL) in Heidelberg from 26-31 from Blasche and Benes, the group succeeded to follow single molecules in individual cells and August 2018 for the EMBO Practical Course in getting good quality DNA sequences from in tissues. And genetic tools have become so ‘Molecular Geobiology’. these rocks and eventually isolated some of the sophisticated that different developmental stages This was the first EMBO course on geobiology microbes that are likely to be new species – this can be monitored. These parallel developments and the first to involve an element of fieldwork, is, in fact, now an ongoing project. provide unprecedented possibilities to study with participants travelling to the Ries impact Patil explains: “We thought it was an extreme- fundamental problems in neuronal development structure in Bavaria, Germany to take rock ly rewarding and fun exercise and one that other and pathology. samples and test them for the presence of micro- people might benefit from. The subsequent The meeting showcased data acquired by bial species. The Ries impact structure is a crater discussions led to the idea of the course, which different state-of-the art techniques, and present- 24 km in diameter, thought to have been formed we thought would be incomplete without actually ed a ‘hot spot’ for pushing boundaries and forg- by a meteorite impact around 14.5 million years going to the field. Only then can one understand ing cross-disciplinary collaborations. New X-ray ago. the whole picture.” crystallography and electron microscopy data

ANNIVERSARY WORKSHOPS This year’s workshop aimed Several of the EMBO Courses and Workshops are to present and discuss the most long-standing meetings that have been taking recent advances in understand- place for several decades, bringing together scien- ing the nature and interplay of tific communities at regular, usually two-year, the signals that drive lympho- intervals to discuss the latest research in their cyte activation, development respective fields. and differentiation; the outcome The EMBO Workshop on the molecular and of their alterations on immune- developmental biology of Drosophila is one exam- related diseases; and their exploi- ple, having run for over four decades. The meet- tation for creating therapeutics. It ing took place in Crete, Greece for the 21st time combined talks by invited speak- in June this year. Another is the cell signalling ers, selected short talks by young Poster session at the workshop in Siena, Italy workshop in Cavtat, Croatia, which celebrated its participants and a poster session. 20th anniversary this year. “We have always put great Another workshop that celebrated an anniver- emphasis on encouraging interaction between participation and friendliness, which make it sary this year is the EMBO Workshop ‘Lymphocyte all participants,” explains Baldari. “We held the stand out compared to similar initiatives.” She Antigen Receptor Signalling’. Between 25 and 29 poster session in the afternoon of the second highlights that a majority of data presented were August 2018, the conference took place for the day to give it full exposure, and it was very well unpublished and triggered lively discussions; tenth time in Siena, Italy. Organizer and EMBO attended.” In addition, she says, the fact that and points out that the conference has helped Member Cosima Tatiana Baldari says: “This all participants stay on site and share extensive to propel the field forward. “The format of the conference continues to be extremely popular. coffee breaks and all meals at the venue in the conference truly supports the formation of collab- This year we had nearly 500 applications for just Tuscan hills favours discussions and interactions. orations. And over the course of two decades I over 100 places, and we had a unanimous request Baldari continues: “The conference was a have seen it help the scientific development of to organize it again in two years' time in the same success, both in terms of its superb scientific many young scientists who have now become location.” standards and for its unique features of liveliness, leaders in the field.”

Responding to community needs ast year, 250 organizers of EMBO Courses On funds and registration funding body, the EMBC, and they expect that and Workshops offered feedback through EMBO funds more than half of the applications scientific meetings remain affordable.” La survey. How did their responses influ- it receives. One purpose of the survey was to ence the programme? find out whether the organizers’ whose appli- Working with and for the community Scientific meetings are central to the sharing cations EMBO rejected found alternative means Eight of ten organizers said that they made use and discussing of scientific knowledge. As the to fund their meetings. “We were positively of EMBO’s offering of website and registration largest funder of scientific meetings in Europe, surprised that more than 70% of workshops system support, and of those that did, 96% the organization supports over 90 practical still took place,” says Wallon, “but it was a very were satisfied with the support they received. courses and workshops, which are proposed by different picture for practical courses, where One of the items that organizers commented on researchers. Reflecting the needs of the scientif- only 38% took place without EMBO funding.” was the lack of a payment tool that was directly ic community, these events bring together more At present, a maximum of 38,000 euros core integrated into the website. “Nearly two thirds than 11,000 participants from a diverse range of funding are available per event. Nearly half of of organizers said they were willing to pay a fields in the life sciences each year. the organizers felt that this was not sufficient supplier to provide this,” says Wallon. “And In addition to funding, EMBO provides to fund a workshop without additional fund- they now have the option to install a payment organizers with administrative and communica- ing, although of these more than three quarters system via the website.” tions support, such as the provision of a website were able to source such support through other In response to the survey EMBO also made with registration system and the creation of an means. The core funding had been increased in some adjustments to the application proce- event poster. The scientific programme, invita- 2017 to the current level from 30,000 euros. dure. Wallon explains: “Overall the feedback tion of speakers, selection of participants and “There are many different factors that deter- we received was that the application proce- event organization, however, remain entirely in mine the final cost of a scientific meeting,” dure is straightforward, and we want to make the hands of the organizers. explains Wallon. “Considering, for example, sure we maintain the balance between ease of In order to ensure that the support EMBO that most organizers fully cover speaker costs application and the information needed by the provides meets the needs of the life science and that it is difficult to predict how many committee to make an informed decision. It is community, EMBO asked those scientists participants a meeting will attract, i.e. how something we continue to work on with the who had applied to the Courses & Workshops much income is generated via registration fees, committee. And we will of course continue to Programme during the last three years to the funds might not always be sufficient.” use the feedback we receive from our commu- provide feedback through a survey. EMBO caps the registration fees at its work- nity – through the survey and otherwise – to “We were pleased that, on the whole, the shops. Nearly 40% of survey respondents felt ensure the programme meets scientists’ needs.” feedback was very positive,” says Courses & these were too low. “It is interesting to hear that Workshops Programme Head Gerlind Wallon. such a large proportion of organizers would More information: embo.org/funding/ “But of course it is the comments on where we favour higher registration fees. However, this is courses-workshops could improve that will help us better tailor not something that we are likely to change. The the programme’s offering to the community’s money for the EMBO Workshops comes from the Application deadlines: 1 March and 1 August needs.” 30 Member States of EMBO’s intergovernmental

ifeTime is a pan-European initiative that aims to improve healthcare by tracking Land understanding human cells during disease. The consortium, lead by EMBO Members Nikolaus Rajewsky at the Max Delbrück Center in Berlin, Germany, and Geneviève Almouzni at the Institut Curie in Paris, France, has successfully applied for a Coordination and Support Action (CSA) published by the EU Horizon 2020 Future and Emerging Technologies (FET) Flagship programme. The CSA is scheduled to start in May

2019 and will run for one year. It will deliver the Spencer Phillips, EMBL-EBI © blueprint for the proposed large scale research initiative. A scientific conference, planned to take place between 5 and 7 May 2019 in Berlin, will diagnose a disease and effectively intercept its on bringing individual expertise together. For mark the start of the CSA. progression. example, single-cell genomics will be integrated LifeTime’s goal is to quantify, model and The project is driven by 65 founding members with smart imaging to deliver clinical-grade predict cell trajectories in tissues and whole from across Europe, 34 of which are also part single-cell pathology with high spatial resolution. organisms. In the long term, the initiative wants of the EMBO Membership. As leaders in a Other approaches will include the combination of to provide tools to medical doctors to assess the wide range of fields such as single-cell biology, computational models with artificial intelligence molecular history and current state of a patient’s computer science, mathematics, pathology, imag- analyses of gene function, or profiling organoid tissues in real time, making it easier for them to ing and physics, LifeTime members will focus technologies at single-cell resolution.

Australia’s Walter and Eliza Hall Institute focuses on ubiquitin

n November 2018, EMBO Member David the institute’s multidisciplinary research exper- progress new therapies for cancer, immune Komander joined the Walter and Eliza Hall tise offers an ideal environment to progress disorders such as arthritis and inflammatory IInstitute in Melbourne, Australia, where his work in understanding how proteins can bowel disease, and malaria,” Komander adds. he will head a new research division focusing distinguish between and respond to different “I’m excited to be joining the institute where broadly on ubiquitin biology. forms of ubiquitin modifications in the cell. there is the opportunity to progress, and even- The institute wishes to broaden its research “The Walter and Eliza Hall Institute has tually translate, our research into the links into healthy ageing and development to successfully shown it has the capability to between ubiquitin signalling, inflammation supplement the current research on cancer, applying expertise in structural biology, medic- and neurodegenerative disorders.” immunity and infection. Komander says that inal chemistry and clinical translation to

Agricultural information for Africa

MBO Member and former EMBO Council B4FA has provided training to more than information specifically for and about sub-Saha- Chair Chris Leaver, Emeritus Professor at 160 print and broadcast journalists in Ghana, ran Africa. “The importance of spreading this Ethe University of Oxford, UK, is among a Nigeria, Tanzania and Uganda to increase their information was brought home to me recently at group of scientists, educators and communicators understanding of biosciences and modern plant an Alexander von Humboldt Foundation confer- that run Biosciences for Farming in Africa (B4FA). breeding techniques. Leaver says: “Growing out ence in Akure, Nigeria,” adds Leaver. “I gave a The independent not-for-profit initiative provides of these and other concerns expressed to us by lecture on unlocking agricultural potential to balanced, scientifically-based information on scientists and journalists alike, we saw a need for achieve food security and sustainability for 9.7 best practice, innovation and entrepreneurship to an on-going, accurate, unbiased and up-to-date billion and learned how relatively isolated many support African farmers. source of information for all those working to scientists and researchers in Africa felt from “The need to encourage African farmers to improve African agriculture and food security.” developments across their continent.” embrace modern agricultural developments in This has led to the B4FA Newswire: through order to provide food security is clearly recog- social media, a weekly newsletter and a website More information: nized”, explains Leaver and emphasizes the updated daily, B4FA reaches more than 10,000 b4fa.org importance of good communications between policymakers, scientists, journalists, educa- twitter.com/B4FA scientists, farmers and decision makers to achieve tors, students, and farmers each month. It is the this goal. only medium that consolidates and amplifies

he establishment of a new interdisci- The FCI’s vision is a close plinary cancer institute in Frankfurt, connection between bench TGermany, has been announced. The focus and bedside. Clinicians and of the Frankfurt Cancer Institute (FCI) will be on scientists aim to mechanisti- the molecular mechanisms underlying tumour cally understand why some development and therapy resistance with the aim patients respond to exist- to, ultimately, develop new diagnostics and thera- ing therapies and others do pies that can be directly and quickly translated not. Tumour material of Hubert Serve, Florian Greten and Ivan Dikic (left to right)] into clinical applications. patients will be analyzed EMBO Member Ivan Dikic, Goethe University using a range of approaches Frankfurt, serves on the leadership team togeth- including molecular profiling, organoid models available by the German and Hessian govern- er with Florian Greten, Georg-Speyer-Haus and and drug screening to test for new therapeutic ments, the German cancer charity ‘Deutsche Goethe University Frankfurt, and Hubert Serve, approaches. It is hoped that the close collabora- Krebshilfe’ and other cooperation partners. In University Clinic Frankfurt. Representing, respec- tion between doctors and researchers will result addition the German federal state of Hesse has tively, basic research, preclinical research and in bringing new drugs to the market more quickly. committed 23,6 million euros for four years with- clinical application, they will drive the transla- Construction of the building are estimated to in its LOEWE programme to carry scientific and tional focus of the work at the FCI. cost 73,4 million euros. Funds have been made administrative costs.

Warsaw to BOOK REVIEW host Centre of Introducing stem cell biology Excellence for In The Science of Stem Cells EMBO Member Neural Plasticity Jonathan Slack, University of Bath, UK, provides those interested in studying stem MBO Member Leszek Kaczmarek and cells with the cell and developmental biologi- Ewelina Knapska from the Nencki Institute cal concepts that inform the field. Eof Experimental Biology, Warsaw, Poland The book is for advanced undergradu- have received funding to establish ‘BRAINCITY’, ate and graduate students studying stem cell a new Polish Centre of Excellence in Neural biology, regenerative medicine and tissue Plasticity and Brain Disorders. engineering. In eleven chapters, Slack covers The focus of the centre, which will be located topics ranging from an introduction to what at the Nencki Institute of the Polish Academy stem cells are and how they can be iden- of Sciences in Warsaw, will be on studying the tified to their roles in development, body complex mechanisms of brain plasticity. “Our plan formation, organogenesis, regeneration, knowledge of neurobiology, brain functions and wound healing and cancer. dysfunctions has increased exponentially in the “The central message of the book is that recent years. This is largely due to the break- there is nothing magic about stem cells. In fact, throughs currently being observed in experi- it turns out that stem cell behavior is more mental techniques and research methods,” says important than the stem cells themselves,” Kaczmarek. “All these substantial technologi- says Slack. Explaining his motivation to write cal and methodological achievements will be the book, he adds: “In the long term, stem cell utilised in BRAINCITY, and the overriding goal biology does have huge potential for generat- The Science of Stem Cells of our activities will be to develop new solutions ing novel therapies. This will be realized most Jonathan M.W. Slack improving the prevention, diagnostics, monitor- easily when all students and practitioners can Wiley Blackwell | November 2017 ing and treatment of diseases and pathologies become masters of the science of stem cells.” onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/ related to neuroplasticity. The book contains numerous illustrations, book/10.1002/9781119235293 As part of BRAINCITY, The Nencki Institute including a 16-page insert of coloured photos Doi:10.1002/9781119235293 plans to establish six scientific laboratories. The and illustrations. These and additional supple- project’s international strategic partner, the mentary material can be downloaded from the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL), accompanying website (www.wiley.com/go/ will support the selection of the principal investi- slack/thescienceofstemcells). gators of these research groups. With the involve- ment of partners from EMBL, BRAINCITY will also gain access to state-of-the-art genetic engineering technologies, genome-editing technologies, and bioinformatics databases relating to diseases linked to human-genetic variation.

Transforming Josef Penninger and colleagues

Osteoclast differentiation factor RANKL controls science into art development of progestin-driven mammary cancer ooking Glass – Photographic Essays on the (Schramek et al., 2010, Nature) Mechanisms of Life (De Gruyter (Edition RANKL/RANK control Brca1 mutation-driven mammary LAngewandte), 2018) is a publication tumors (Sigl et al., 2016, Cell Research) that resulted from a collaboration between the Institute of Molecular Biotechnology (IMBA) and the University of Applied Arts in Vienna, Austria. EMBO Member Josef Penninger and the univer- Jürgen Knoblich and sity’s Gerald Bast are the two chief editors. colleagues Describing the idea behind the project, Penninger says: „For me the process of creating

© Nadia Morozewicz, Looking Glass, De Gruyter 2018 Nadia Morozewicz, © Cerebral organoids something new in science and in art is very simi- model human brain lar. One has to have the courage to get oneself development and lost in a dark forest – like Dante in the Divine microcephaly (Lancaster Comedy – a forest that can be very dark and scary, et al, 2013, Nature) and then you find a guiding spirit to find your way out." For the book IMBA scientists, including the labs of EMBO Members Josef Penninger, Jürgen Knoblich, Daniel Gerlich, Julius Brennecke, © Marlene Mautner, Looking Glass, De Gruyter 2018 Marlene Mautner, © Kikue Tachibana and EMBO Young Investigator Stefan Ameres, paired up with artists. Their exchange and dialogue formed the basis for the Kikue Tachibana and colleagues artistic representation of molecular mechanisms using applied photography. The result is a collec- A Surveillance Mechanism Ensures Repair of DNA tion of photo galleries visualizing the findings in Lesions during Zygotic Reprogramming 15 IMBA publications. In the book, the photos are (Ladstätter et al., 2016, Cell) presented together with the scientific abstracts and lay summaries of the papers, bringing art and science even closer together. Looking Glass, De Gruyter 2018 Bencicova, Evelyn ©

BOOK REVIEW Poster Prizes Through our journals, we sponsor a number of poster prizes at various conferences. The A microbiology revolution recipients include: Sebastian Bänfer How have the developments in molecular Philipps-Universität Marburg, Germany Recruitment of galectin-3 into multivesicular and cell biology, genomics and bioinformatics bodies for polarized exosomal secretion influenced the study of microbes and micro- Presented at the EMBO Workshop “Transducing glycan information into function: Lessons from galectins” biology? In her book, The New Microbiology: Mandelieu-la-Napoule, France, From Microbiomes to CRISPR, EMBO Member 27 November – 1 December 2016 Pascale Cossart, Institut Pasteur, France, provides an overview of how the field has Agathe Dubuisson INSERM, Paris, France changed. New development of anticancer monoclonal Cossart describes the objective of the book antibodies targeting death receptors Presented at the European Association for Cancer Research “to illustrate that very important discoveries Conference “A Matter of Life or Death” and new concepts have come to light in the Amsterdam, 1-3 February 2018 last few decades. The field of microbiology has undergone a bona fide revolution and that Irene Fernandez-Duran MRC Institute of Genetics & Molecular the amazing renaissance that is taking place Medicine, Edinburgh, UK can have wide-ranging consequences.” Investigating the activation of the Beginning with a short history of the study The New Microbiology: From Microbiomes non-canonical inflammasome in senescence Presented at the European Association for Cancer Research of infectious diseases and the first descrip- to CRISPR Conference “A Matter of Life or Death” tions of bacteria, Cossart takes readers on a Pascale Cossart Amsterdam, 1-3 February 2018 tour through bacteriology. Virology, parasitol- American Society for Microbiology | 2018 ogy and mycology are also mentioned, but are www.asmscience.org/content/ Esther N. Arwert Francis Crick Institute, London, UK not the main focus of the book. The book is book/10.1128/9781683670117 Heterotypic Interactions Between Cancer divided into four parts: new concepts, soci- Doi: 10.1128/9781683670117 Cells and Fibroblasts Modulate Immune omicrobiology, the biology of infections and ISBN: 978-1478918806 Recruitment and Oncolytic Virus Efficacy Presented at the EMBO Workshop “Perspectives on skin cancer bacteria as tools. prevention” Les Diablerets, 8-11 April 2018

Awards of Excellence EMBO MEMBERS

Breakthrough Prize in Life recognizes microbiological work Tang Prize for received the honour for his Canada Gairdner International Sciences that helps to address today’s Biopharmaceutical Science research on morphogenesis and Award pattern formation. Shankar Associate Members Angelika societal problems. The Tang Prize for Pharmaceutical Azim Surani of the Gurdon Balasubramanian shares the Amon, Massachusetts Institute Science was awarded to EMBO Institute, Cambridge, UK, received Sir Hans Krebs Medal and award with David Klenerman of Technology and Howard Associate Member Tony Hunter, the 2018 Canada Gairdner Thomson Medal Award (both University of Cambridge, Hughes Medical Institute, USA, Salk Institute, La Jolla, USA, UK) for their co-development International Award together with and Xiaowei Zhuang, Harvard Albert Heck, Utrecht University, together with Brian Druker, of DNA sequencing techniques Davor Solter of the Max Planck University and Howard Hughes The Netherlands, received two Oregon Health Sciences University transforming biology and genomic Institute of Immunobiology and Medical Institute, USA, are two honours for his work analyzing Knight Cancer Institute, USA, and medicine. Epigenetics, Freiburg, Germany. of the five recipients of the protein interactions with mass John Mendelsohn, MD Anderson They receive the award, which 2019 Breakthrough Prize in Life spectrometry. The Federation of Cancer Center, USA. They receive Croonian Medal recognises seminal discoveries Sciences. Amon receives the prize European Biochemical Societies the prize for the discovery of The Royal Society awarded its or contributions to biomedical for determining the conse- awarded Heck the Sir Hans Krebs protein tyrosine phosphorylation Croonian Medal and Lecture science, for their discovery of quences of aneuploidy. Zhuang is Medal, a prize that is awarded and tyrosine kinases as oncogenes. 2019 to Kay Davies, University of mammalian genomic imprint- honoured for discovering hidden for outstanding achievements in The prize is endowed with 50 Oxford, UK, for her achievements ing that causes parent-of-origin structures in cells by developing biochemistry, molecular biology million Taiwanese dollars. in developing a prenatal test for specific gene expression and its super-resolution imaging using consequences for development or related sciences. Heck also Cloëtta Prize Duchenne muscular dystrophy stochastic optical reconstruc- receives the British Institute of and her work on characterizing and disease. tion microscopy (STORM). Each Physics’ Thomson Medal and Johanna Joyce from the Ludwig dystrophin related proteins. She receives a prize of three million Institute for Cancer Research EMBO YOUNG INVESTIGATORS Prize, which recognizes research will receive a medal and a gift of US dollars and the Lausanne University, in atomic or molecular physics. 10,000 pounds Sterling. AstraZeneca Young Researchers Switzerland received the 2018 FEMS-Lwoff Award and Heinrich Award Balzan Prize Cloëtta Prize. The 50,000-Swiss- Buchanan Medal Wieland Prize francs-prize is awarded by the Adrian Bird received the Royal Guadalupe Sabio from Eva Kondorosi, Hungarian Pascale Cossart, Institut Pasteur, Swiss Cloëtta Foundation to Society’s Buchanan Medal for the National Center for Academy of Sciences, Szeged, Paris, France, received the 2018 researchers who have distin- his discovery that the MeCP2 Cardiovascular Research in Hungary, was awarded the Balzan Heinrich Wieland Prize. It honours guished themselves medical protein silences transcription of Madrid, Spain, won the Astra outstanding research in chemistry, Prize for Chemical Ecology for her research fields. methylated DNA and can reverse Zeneca Young Researchers Awards biochemistry and physiology contributions to chemical ecology. established Rett Syndrome in in the Type II Diabetes and Royal Medals and is endowed with 100,000 The prize, which is endowed with MeCP2 deficiency, demonstrating Obesity category for her work on euros. In addition, the Federation 750,000 Swiss francs, recognizes Two of the three Royal Society’s that such neurodevelopmental the role of p38MAPK in the devel- of European Microbiological Kondorosi’s work on the symbiosis Royal Medals were awarded to diseases are curable. The award opment of obesity and associated Societies awarded Cossart the between legume plants and EMBO Members. Lewis Wolpert, is endowed with a prize of 2,000 diseases. She received 20,000 FEMS-Lwoff Award. The award nitrogen-fixing bacteria. University College London, UK, pounds Sterling. euros to develop her research.

Good Read – Publications from the EMBO community Bacteria in the ageing gut: did Global maps of ProQ binding in Epigenetic Control of Secretory Vesicle Polar Sorting, A mutant p53-dependent the taming of fire promote a vivo reveal target recognition Expression Homeostasis during Endosome Recycling and embryonic stem cell gene long human lifespan? via RNA structure and stability Replication Is Stabilized by the Cytoskeleton Organization signature is associated with Antoine Danchin (EMBO control at mRNA 3' ends Replication Checkpoint Require the AP-1 Complex in augmented tumorigenesis of Member) Jörg Vogel (EMBO member) and Naama Barkai (EMBO Member) Aspergillus nidulans stem cells Environmental Microbiology | 4 May 2018 colleagues and colleagues George Diallinas (EMBO Varda Rotter (EMBO Member) Doi: 10.1111/1462-2920.14255 Molecular Cell | 24 May 2018 Molecular Cell 14 Jun 2018 Member) and colleagues and colleagues Doi: 10.1016/j.molcel.2018.04.017 Doi: 10.1016/j.molcel.2018.05.015 Genetics | 1 August 2018 Cancer Research | 28 August 2018 Feedback inhibition of actin on Doi: 10.1534/genetics Doi: 10.1158/0008-5472.CAN-18-0805 Rho mediates content release Identification of MOSPD2, a Photochemistry beyond the from large secretory vesicles novel scaffold for endoplasmic red limit in chlorophyll f– Quiescin sulfhydryl oxidase 1 Cells alter their tRNA Benny Shilo (EMBO Member) reticulum membrane contact containing photosystems (QSOX1) glycosite mutation abundance to selectively and colleagues sites Bill Rutherford (EMBO Member) perturbs secretion but not regulate protein synthesis Journal of Cell Biology | 7 May 7 2018 Bruno Klaholz (former EMBO and colleagues Golgi localization during stress conditions Doi: 10.1083/jcb.201711006 Installation Grantee) Science | 15 June 2018 Deborah Fass (EMBO Member) Madan Babu (EMBO Member) EMBO Reports | 1 June 2018 Doi: 10.1126/science.aar8313 and colleagues and colleagues The Microglial Innate Immune Doi: 10.15252/embr.201745453 Glycobiology | 1 August 2018 Science Signaling | 4 September 2018 Receptor TREM2 Is Required Bacterial Adaptation to Doi: 10.1093/glycob/cwy044 Doi: 10.1126/scisignal.aat6409 for Synapse Elimination and Altered p53 functionality in the Host's Diet Is a Key Normal Brain Connectivity cancer-associated fibroblasts Evolutionary Force Shaping Heteromeric RNP assembly Post-Antibiotic Gut Mucosal Michela Matteoli (EMBO contributes to their cancer- Drosophila-Lactobacillus at LINEs controls lineage- Microbiome Reconstitution Member) and colleagues supporting features Symbiosis specific RNA processing Is Impaired by Probiotics and Immunity | 15 May 2018 Yosef Yarden, Benjamin Geiger, Francois Leulier (EMBO Young Jernej Ule (EMBO Member) and Improved by Autologous FMT Doi: 10.1016/j.immuni.2018.04.016 Moshe Oren (EMBO Members) Investigator) and colleagues colleagues Eran Elinav and Eran Segal and colleagues Cell Host & Microbe | 28 June 28 Cell | 2 August 2018 (EMBO Members) and Codon usage of highly Proceedings of the National Academy of Doi: 10.1016/j.chom.2018.06.001 Doi: 10.1016/j.cell.2018.07.001 colleagues expressed genes affects Sciences | 4 June 2018 Cell | 6 September 2018 proteome-wide translation Doi: 10.1073/pnas.1719076115 Single-cell mapping of the Target-Based Discovery of an Doi: 10.1016/j.cell.2018.08.047 efficiency thymic stroma identifies IL-25- Inhibitor of the Regulatory Yitzhak Pilpel (EMBO Member) A Bacterial Growth Law out of producing tuft epithelial cells Phosphatase PP1R15B Neutralizing Gatad2a- and colleagues Steady State Ido Amit (EMBO Member) and Anne Bertolotti (EMBO Member) Chd4-Mbd3/NuRD Complex PNAS | 22 May 2018 Uri Alon (EMBO Member) and colleagues and colleagues Facilitates Deterministic Doi: 10.1073/pnas.1719375115 colleagues Nature | 18 July 2018 Cell | 23 August 2018 Induction of Naive Cell Reports | 5 June 2018 Doi: 10.1038/s41586-018-0346-1 Doi: 10.1126/science.aar8313 Pluripotency HotSpot Wizard 3.0: Web Doi: 10.1016/j.celrep.2018.05.007 Jacob Hanna (EMBO Member) Server for Automated Design of Structural Lipids Enable the Genetics of hearing loss in the and colleagues Mutations and Smart Libraries Safety and efficacy of human Formation of Functional Arab population of northern embryonic stem cell-derived Cell Stem Cell | 6 September 2018 Based on Sequence Input Oligomers ofthe Eukaryotic Israel Doi: 10.1016/j.stem.2018.07.004 Information astrocytes following Purine Symporter UapA Karen Avraham (EMBO Member) Jiri Damborsky (former EMBO intrathecal transplantation George Diallinas (EMBO and colleagues Small RNA sequences derived Installation Grantee) and in SOD1G93A and NSG animal Member) and colleagues European Journal of Human Genetics | 23 from pre-microrNAs in the colleagues models Cell Chemical Biology | 19 July 2018 Aug 2018 supraspliceosome Doi.org/10.1038/s41431-018-0218-z Nucleic Acids Research | 23 May 2018 Michel Revel (EMBO Member) Doi: 10.1016/j.chembiol.2018.03.011 Ruth Sperling (EMBO Member) Doi: 10.1093/nar/gky417 and colleagues and colleagues Stem Cell Research & Therapy | 6 June 2018 Nucleic Acids Research | 8 September 2018 Doi: 10.1186/s13287-018-0890-5 Doi: 10.1093/nar/gky791

Practical Courses Workshops Chromosome segregation and DE-Heidelberg | 3–6 July 2019 | F. aneuploidy Schnorrer DE-Dresden | 5–13 February 2019 | A. CL-San Pedro de Atacama | 10–12 Mechanical forces in development Hyman January 2019 | M. Allende FR-Le Pouliguen | 12–16 May 2019 | Methods for studying phase Exploring genomic landscapes C. Lamaze DE-Heidelberg | 10–13 July 2019 | A. separation in biology Caveolae and nanodomains: Typas IN-Bangalore | 4–7 February 2019 | Translating structural principles and New approaches and concepts in DE-Heidelberg | 25–29 March 2019 | H. Ghosh dynamics into function microbiology S. De Renzis Molecular neuroscience: From genes Optogenetics: From design to cell to circuits in health and disease CZ-Prague | 15–18 May 2019 | P. India | EMBO Symposia signalling to tissue morphogenesis Svoboda ES-Salamanca | 8–11 March 2019 | A. Awakening of the genome: The IN-Chennai | 10–13 March 2019 | R. IT-Procida | 30 March–6 April 2019 | Borkhardt maternal-to-zygotic transition Siddharthan V. Colonna B-cell development and leukemia Regulatory epigenomics: From large Population genomics: Background, GR-Athens | 19–23 May 2019 | G. data to useful models tools and programming DE-Heidelberg | 13–15 March 2019 | S. Kollias O'Donoghue Mesenchymal cells in inflammation, IN-New Delhi | 15–17 April 2019 | A. DE-Heidelberg | 7–12 April 2019 | M. Visualizing biological data (VIZBI immunity and cancer Pareek Schorb 2019) Sensing and signalling in plant stress High-accuracy CLEM: Applications at IL-Rehovot | 19–24 May 2019 | J. response room temperature and in cryo ES-Sant Feliu de Guixols | 23–27 March Abramson 2019 | R. Erdmann ThymE: T cell and thymus biology IN-Kalyani | 9–12 November 2019 | S. ES-Barcelona | 7–13 April 2019 | M. Current advances in protein Mukherjee Lluch Senar translocation across membranes JP-Tokyo | 20–22 May 2019 | P. Carninci Human microbiome: Resistance and The 2019 whole-cell modeling Single cell biology disease summer school UK-Oxford | 1–5 April 2019 | J. Rehwinkel GR-Kyllini | 20–24 May 2019 | A. TR-Izmir | 8–12 April 2019 | E. Karaca Pathogen immunity and signalling Papantonis Research to service: Planning and The genome in three dimensions Lecture Courses running a bioinformatics core facility CL-Santiago | 2–5 April 2019 | M. IT-Baveno | 25–28 May 2019 | L. Concha EMBO | FEBS Lecture Course Tamagnone DK-Odense | 2–10 May 2019 | M.R. Bridging cell and tissue mechanics to GR-Spetses Island | 23–31 May 2019 | Neural guidance molecules in Larsen fate specification in development S. Rose-John development and disease Characterisation of post-translational Molecular mechanisms of tissue IL-Herzliya | 7–11 April 2019 | Y. Shiloh modifications in cellular signalling injury, repair and fibrosisGlobal Genome dynamics in neuroscience ES-Sant Feliu de Guixols | 26–31 May Exchange Lecture Course DE-Heidelberg | 5–10 May 2019 | J. and aging 2019 | S. Iden Cell polarity and membrane dynamics Krijgsveld EMBO | FEBS Lecture Course ES-Chiclana de la Frontera | 8–11 April Quantitative proteomics: Strategies IT-Venice | 26–30 August 2019 | J. 2019 | G. Sabio FR-Paris | 30 May–2 June 2019 | A. and tools to probe biology Johannes Organ crosstalk in energy balance Hosmalin Venice summer school 2019: DE-Heidelberg | 12–18 May 2019 | and metabolic disease Antigen processing and presentation Mechanism in development and Q. Deng 10 (APP 10) evolution Single cell omics CN-Xiu Ning | 11–14 April 2019 | J. Hu Membrane shaping and remodeling SE-Lund | 9–12 June 2019 | T. Den Global Exchange Lecture Courses JP-Nagoya | 21–30 May 2019 | A. by proteins Blaauwen CL-Las Cruces | 5–13 April 2019 | J. Maizel Bacterial cell division: Closing the gap Sierralta Functional live imaging of plants CL-Villarrica | 14–18 April 2019 | C. Gonzalez-Billault CZ-Nové Hrady | 23–28 June 2019 | Small brains, big ideas DE-Heidelberg | 2–7 June 2019 | A. Emerging concepts of the neuronal J. Carey Hendrix cytoskeleton Synergy of experiment and Extracellular vesicles: From biology to computation in quantitative systems biomedical applications UK-Windsor | 15–17 April 2019 | S. biology Helaine UK-Didcot | 10–19 June 2019 | N. Toxin-antitoxin systems in bacteria ES-Barcelona | 2–5 July 2019 | J. Sharpe Burgess-Brown Limb development and regeneration: For a complete and up-to-date CL-Santiago | 22–25 April 2019 | E. New tools for classic model system High-throughput protein production list of EMBO events please go to and crystallization Schirmer UK-Norwich | 14–18 July 2019 | T. Mock Integrative biology: From molecules events.embo.org CZ-České Budějovice | 10–20 June 2019 to ecosystems in extreme The molecular life of diatoms | J. Nebesarova environments ES-Barcelona | 14–19 July 2019 | J. Ayte Advanced methods of electron Fission yeast microscopy in cell biology ES-Costa de la Calma | 28 April–3 May 2019 | B. Bukau GR-Chania | 22–26 July 2019 | G. DE-Heidelberg | 12–19 June 2019 | J.E. Protein quality control: From Christophides Next issue González-Pastor mechanisms to disease Molecular and population biology of Microbial metagenomics: A 360º The next issue of EMBO mosquitoes and other disease vectors approach DE-Heidelberg | 1–4 May 2019 | A. Encounters issue will be Akhtar dispatched in April 2019. Please IT-San Michele all'Adige | 16–30 June Chromatin and epigenetics 2019 | C. Donati send your suggestions, contri- Bioinformatics and genome analyses GR-Heraklion | 7–10 May 2019 | F. Symposia butions and news to commu- Bradke [email protected] by 22 NL-Wageningen | 1–5 July 2019 | C. Cell biology of the neuron: Polarity, EMBO | EMBL Symposia February 2019. Welte plasticity and regeneration Breathless microbes: Techniques and DE-Heidelberg | 17–20 March 2019 | theory in anaerobic microbiology PT-Cascais | 11–15 May 2019 | L. S. De Renzis Jansen Synthetic morphogenesis: From gene UK-London | 7–20 July 2019 | C. Kiecker circuits to tissue architecture UPCOMING DEADLINES Developmental neurobiology: From worms to mammals DE-Heidelberg | 31 March–3 April 2019 | J. Krause India | EMBO Symposia FR-Paris | 8–13 July 2019 | M. Nilges Reconstructing the human past: 15 February Integrative and cellular structural Editorial Using ancient and modern genomics biology DE-Heidelberg | 10–13 April 2019 | L. Courses, Workshops and Global DE-Garching | 26 July–2 August 2019 | Coordinating editor Rondi-Reig Exchange Lecture Courses M. Sattler Annika Grandison Probing neural dynamics with 1 March Structure, dynamics and function of behavioural genetics Text Annika Grandison, Stephen biological macromolecules by NMR Short-Term Fellowships Pewter, Tilmann Kiessling, Katrin DE-Heidelberg | 15–18 May 2019 | H. Weigmann, Kathy Weston Kaessmann throughout the year The identity and evolution of cell Print & web layout types Igor Jukic

18 EMBOencounters | Winter 2018/2019 | [email protected] ©2019 EMBO FRESH FROM EMBO PRESS Targeting senescent cells EMBO Molecular Medicine Senescent cells are not dead, but irreversibly stop divid- activity. To specifically target drugs to senescent cells, ing to restrict the propagation of cellular defects, while the researchers encapsulate them with galacto‐oligosac- still secreting cytokines and growth factors that activate charides, so-called GalNP beads. The beads are taken up the immune system to induce repair. Although this is, by cells within the diseased tissue, but only senescent generally speaking, a good strategy, senescence under- cells with high β-galactosidase activity can digest the lies ageing and several diseases, leading to chronic coating on the beads, allowing the drug to be released inflammation and fibrosis. Eliminating senescent cells is into the cell. As a proof-of-principle, the researchers therefore regarded as a promising therapeutic approach. demonstrated the therapeutic efficacy of their system in Daniel Muñoz-Espín, EMBO Member Daniel Serrano mouse models of pulmonary fibrosis and cancer. and their colleagues have now developed a strategy A versatile drug delivery system targeting senescent cells to specifically deliver drugs to senescent cells. Their Daniel Muñoz-Espín et al. approach takes advantage of the fact that senescent Read the paper: embomolmed.embopress.org/content/10/9/e9355

cells have high levels of lysosomal β-galactosidase

THE EMBO JOURNAL

A gene behind addiction Binding disordered domains Rhythm without clocks Starving resistant cancers

Cocaine can have a devastating Many eukaryotic proteins A number of biological processes, Cisplatin is a common therapeutic effect on people. It directly contain so-called intrinsically such as sleep patterns in animals, drug with a 40-year history in stimulates the brain’s reward disordered regions that do not follow a daily cycle. Circadian treating numerous human cancers. center, and can induce long-term adopt defined structures, but clocks are biochemical processes However, tumour cells often addictive behaviors. De Backer et are nonetheless functionally that coordinate such cyclic develop resistance against the drug, al. have now uncovered that a gene important. While function, in behaviors with the earth’s which ultimately triggers a relapse. called Maged1 plays a crucial role general, can be deducted from the solar day. According to current Florine Obrist et al. have now in controlling these pathological three-dimensional structure of a models, circadian rhythms are discovered potential co-treatments changes. This finding opens the protein, understanding the role of driven by feedback loops, where that may prevent relapse. door to further investigate the these disordered regions has been so-called clock genes inhibit their The researchers around EMBO molecular mechanisms underlying challenging. own transcription to drive the Member Guido Kroemer first addiction-associated adaptations in oscillation of the biological clock. Post-translational modifications, on determined that cisplatin-resistant the brain. In Drosophila melanogaster, the of which is arginine methylation, clock genes period and timeless tumor cells are highly sensitive De Backer et al. observed that cluster within intrinsically have been regarded as the major to nutrient depletion when they mice lacking Maged1 did not show disordered regions. Using a pacemakers. Guilleaume Rey et al. discovered that the cells died when any response to cocaine, such systems approach, Woodsmith et have now uncovered that there are cultured in nutrient-free medium. as addictive behavior or drug al. found clustered methyl-arginine circadian oscillations in Drosophila Moreover, mice with cisplatin- sensitization. In normal brains, arrays within disordered protein cells that are not driven by clock resistant cancers survived longer cocaine leads to a dopamine sequences of many proteins genes. when they fasted periodically, surge that over-activates the and examined the potential suggesting that fasting-cycles could reward circuitry and induces role of such arrays using one The researchers used Drosophila help to prevent relapse in humans, long-lasting changes in the brain, candidate, a heterogeneous nuclear Schneider (S2) cells, a cell line that as well. eventually leading to addiction. A ribonucleoprotein family member does not express circadian clock Next, the researchers investigated closer look at the role of Maged1 called SYNCRIP. genes and have thus far have been the nutrient sensitivity of cisplatin- in the brain revealed that it is viewed as ‘non-rhythmic’. After Specifically, the researchers resistant tumors in more detail, and required in the prefrontal cortex synchronizing S2 cells with daily generated a large set of SYNCRIP found that the effect of fasting is for the development of cocaine temperature cycles for a week, mutants and investigated how mediated by glutamine. Glutamine sensitization and dopamine release. they sampled cells at three-hour well they associated with two intervals in constant conditions, is involved in a number of cellular Only very few mutations are different partners that bind and analyzed the samples using processes, but in cisplatin-resistant known to induce a complete lack unmethylated and methylated a multi-omics approach. They tumors it is mostly required for of behavioral response to cocaine. arginine, respectively. The revealed that hundreds of genes nucleotide biosynthesis. Other members of this small researchers observed that in both and proteins oscillate in a 24-hour Accordingly, the researchers tested group, in contrast to Maged1, are cases, binding increased with cycle, among them, most notably, agents that target nucleotide established components of the arginine content in the disordered components of core metabolic synthesis pathways, such as reward system. Maged1 thus serves region. However, while unmodified pathways. The results suggest a 5-fluorouracil or clofarabine, and as a promising new entry point into arginines are preferred in continual reconsideration of existing models showed that cisplatin-resistant the analysis of the mechanisms stretches, their methylated of the clockwork in Drosophila and tumor cells were particularly underlying drug addiction. counterparts function in concert other eukaryotic systems. sensitive to these substances. These irrespective of their position within Deletion of Maged1 in mice abolishes Metabolic oscillations on the circadian drugs might therefore be potential the structurally disordered array. locomotor and reinforcing effects of time scale in Drosophila cells lacking candidates for co-treatment with cocaine Interaction modulation through arrays clock genes Jean François De Backer et al. cisplatin. ‐ of clustered methyl-arginine protein Guilleaume Rey et al. Read the paper: embor.embopress.org/ modifications Read the paper: msb.embopress.org/ Metabolic vulnerability of cisplatin‐ content/19/9/e45089 Jonathan Woodsmith et al. content/14/8/e8376 resistant cancers Read the paper: life-science-alliance.org/ Florine Obrist et al. content/1/5/e201800178 Read the paper: emboj.embopress.org/ content/37/14/e98597

CY CMY The Life Science Alliance team I like very much that the original K “made publishing seamless and “review is taken as basis for fur- painless! The process felt like a ther decision making, this really collaboration rather than a battle. helps to make the whole publica- Maria Kavallaris ” tion process more efﬁcient. UNSW Sydney, Australia Bart de Strooper ” VIB-KU Leuven, Belgium; UCL London, UK

www.lsajournal.org

Life Science Alliance offers portable peer review & portable submission by collaborating with nine sister journals:

Life Science Alliance is published jointly by: