Talking Heads As Conference Season Gets in Full Swing, Get the Lowdown on Some Very Special Events Involving Researchers from EMBL

The Newsletter of the European Molecular Biology Laboratory

EMBL Issue 77 • October 2013 • www.embl.org/newsletter etcetera Talking heads As conference season gets in full swing, get the lowdown on some very special events involving researchers from EMBL

Guess who? Researchers in the Carlomagno group at EMBL Heidelberg have taken a step closer to being the first group to solve the Northern lights, page 3 structure of an RNA-protein complex using solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance. They devised a new technique that allowed them to identify the nature of different atoms in the complex by asking a series of intelligent questions relating to the signals detected. While solid-state NMR is emerging as the technique of choice for studying membrane proteins, it has rarely been used to look at the RNA part of an RNA-protein Life science and lasers, page 2 Science meets policy, page 4 complex – which carries out a variety of tasks within the cell. See page 6 EMBL’s PhD Programme turns 30 From professors, to editors, to research scientists: meet the class of ‘83

Since its inception three decades ago, EMBL’s International PhD Programme has provided an exceptional platform for young researchers to launch careers in the life sciences. Its core characteristics – internationality, mentoring and independence – remain, and today it is one of the most competitive programmes of its kind in the world. The Alumni Relations Office catches up with Stella Hurtley, now an Editor of Science magazine, and takes a look at the year book from when it all began. Find out more on page 8

Hats off to new CERN for The language Don’t trust honorary doctor molecular of science your instincts! 16 5 biology? 10 12 The future’s bright EMBL-organised event connects life science with synchrotron and laser sources More than 300 structural biologists and co-scientific organiser alongside Matthias gained an understanding of future opportuni- technology developers gathered in Hamburg Wilmanns, Head of EMBL Hamburg. The ties: this framed the importance of this event from 8–11 September for the 11th Interna- programme covered ongoing developments and the BSR conference series overall.” tional Conference on Biology and Synchro- in established methods and new emerging During the meeting, more than half the tron Radiation (BSR). Organised by EMBL, it trends, including a special session dedicated conference participants took up the chance was the first time that this triennial event has to hybrid structural biology applications that to tour the integrated ‘bench to beamline’ been hosted by an international laboratory exploit complementary techniques. “The facilities operated by EMBL Hamburg at dedicated to research in the life sciences. “Hamburg’s scientific the high brilliance PETRA III synchrotron The principle aim of the BSR conference ring. “Hamburg’s scientific environment is a environment is a unique and series is to bring biologists together with unique and remarkable constellation,” says scientists involved in the development of remarkable constellation.” speaker and chair, Keith Hodgson of the synchrotron and laser sources and infrastruc- – Keith Hodgson Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Laboratory, tures. “Reflecting the spirit of our labora- “Nowhere else is a collection of technologies tory, we expanded the scientific scope of the programme was broad, but this didn’t diffuse aligned so well.” the focus,” observes speaker and participant, conference to include both methodological The conference was a true cross-EMBL Bente Vestergaard of University of Copenha- developments and exciting biological applica- effort, with the scientific organisers ably as- gen. “As well as the historical perspective, we tions,” says senior scientist Dmitri Svergun, sisted by a team led by Margret Fischer, senior administrative officer at EMBL Hamburg, and Diah Yulanti, conference organiser at EMBL Honouring the career of Fotis Kafatos Heidelberg. During the event it was agreed that the next BSR meeting would take place in Council), Jules Hoffmann (Strasbourg Friends and colleagues past and present Stanford, USA, in 2016. convened together with former EMBL Institute for Advanced Studies), and Iain Director General Fotis Kafatos in June for Mattaj (EMBL). They explored his role a symposium honoring his diverse and in the development of numerous depart- Sex in science distinguished career. ments, institutions and partnerships, while Yes, the name is designed to get your atten- There was laughter, celebrations and also leading his own research group studying the mosquito Anopheles gambiae. tion! Internationally, female scientists are even tears at the event at Imperial College, represented in diminishing proportions Fotis is renowned for working vora- London, as participants reflected on the sci- as career levels progress – and significant ciously towards three goals during his entific achievements and on personal mem- numbers of women leave science altogether. years at EMBL (1993–2005): excellence, ories of a man who has had a significant But the issues that cause this well-recognised inclusiveness and cooperation. It was a influence on the advancement of molecular “leaky pipeline” now affect both men and progressive time, with the establishment of biology both sides of the Atlantic. women in science. Fotis’ rare ability to bring together people, the Developmental Biology Unit at EMBL Heidelberg and the Mouse Biology Unit in This October, EMBL-EBI and the Wellcome ideas and disciplines was highlighted Trust Sanger Institute, an EMBL partner, in four distinct talks by Harold Varmus Monterotondo, as well as the conversion of the Data Library into EMBL-EBI. He was launched a new website for their Sex in (National Cancer Institute, USA), Helga Science programme. The programme offers Nowotny (President, European Research also a driving force behind the development of core services, industry collabora- more than just a series of talks: its purpose is tions, training, outreach, and pan-European to drive policy and practice changes to redress research initiatives. issues traditionally facing women in science. “Fotis made a significant contribution www.sanger.ac.uk/workstudy/sexinscience to EMBL, establishing two new units, expanding PhD training and introducing the partnership scheme – but he is also very approachable,” says Iain Mattaj. “The human aspect is very important to him and in this spirit it was striking to feel the warmth that came across during the event and im- pressive to see the collection of prominent attendees with whom he has interacted.”

2 EMBL&cetera issue 77 • October 2013 Up North! Image courtesy of Johannes Landskron Image courtesy of Johannes Landskron (NCMM/BiO/UiO) and Jean S. Lorentzen

EMBL’s Nordic partners gather to communicate, collaborate and connect Three steps forward Representatives from EMBL and its four The three-day programme featured 35 It is emerging as a formidable force Nordic partners met at the Oslo Science presentations, covering a spectrum of topics for European science: ELIXIR, the Park from 17 to 19 September, for the an- that reflected the complementary research European Life Science Infrastructure for nual meeting of the Nordic EMBL Partner- being undertaken at the partner institutes. Biological Information, added the sig- ship for Molecular Medicine. Hosted by the EMBL’s Stephen Cusack and Jan Korbel were natures of the UK research community Partnership’s Norwegian node, the Centre both keynote speakers, while EMBL-EBI’s and Sweden to its consortium agreement for Molecular Medicine Norway (NCMM), Julio Saez-Rodriguez presented in a ses- to move two steps closer to becoming the event brought together 150 participants, sion that examined tools for the molecular officially established. ranging from predocs to PIs, to exchange understanding of disease. On 4 September, the Biotechnol- knowledge and expertise. The Nordic EMBL Partnership for ogy and Biological Sciences Research Greeting attendees in the opening ad- Molecular Medicine was established in Council (BBSRC) signed the agreement dress, EMBL Director General Iain Mattaj 2007 between EMBL and the universities on behalf of the UK bioscience research extended a particularly warm welcome of Oslo, Umeå and Helsinki, with nodes at community. Then, on 24 September, to representatives of the Danish Research the NCMM, the Laboratory for Molecular Sweden, who will also host a national Institute of Translational Neuroscience Infection Medicine Sweden (MIMS) and the node of ELIXIR, became the second na- (DANDRITE), the Partnership’s new Danish Institute for Molecular Medicine Finland tion to ratify the agreement, which will node at Aarhus University. Inaugurated in (FIMM). In March 2013 the Partnership make ELIXIR a formal legal entity when March this year, DANDRITE focuses on celebrated its expansion with a Danish node another three countries sign. conducting state-of-the-art research in the and the renewal of its agreement for an The infrastructure has a shared hub field of neuroscience. extended period of 10 years. based at EMBL-EBI, and will link up centres of excellence across Europe. ELIXIR will support European science Centre of attention by connecting and opening up access On 4 September, the ground-breaking cer- to biological data, analytical tools and emony for the Centre for Structural Systems scientific literature. Biology (CSSB) took place on the Deutsches “Through this agreement, BBSRC is Elektronen-Synchrotron (DESY) campus, showing its commitment to a success- just a stone’s throw from EMBL Hamburg. ful response to the informatics oppor- The idea behind the creation of the CSSB is tunities that are available, in order to to complement the already world-leading achieve maximum scientific impact for synchrotron and forthcoming free electron the benefit of us all,” says Douglas Kell, laser infrastructures on the DESY campus BBSRC Chief Executive. with broad, top-notch research activities “The need for data storage and for ex- focusing on structural biology in connection pertise in bioinformation science is ex- with infection biology and emerging system pected to increase even more, and this in biology approaches. As one of the nine part- turn requires good research infrastruc- ners who joined together to set up the Centre, ture in order to avoid bottleneck effects EMBL will continue to have close ties to the – European researchers must cooperate new institute, not least through the creation of to be able to handle the increased data a joint CSSB-EMBL research group. volumes,” explains Juni Palmgren, of the The development of new facilities at the Swedish Research Council. CSSB along with the proximity of the existing / On 18 October, France became the facilities on the DESY campus will enable sci- latest country to commit to the entists there to use a variety of interdisciplin- first formal, but non-binding steps ary techniques to analyse biological samples. During a visit to mark the first step in the towards the implementation of As well as housing new research groups dedicated to the growing fields of Structural construction of the CSSB, German Federal ELIXIR by signing a Memorandum Minister for Research, Johanna Wanka – joined by and Systems Biology, the CSSB building will of Understanding. Sixteen countries senior representatives from local government and have now signed the MoU. offer significant lab space to external visitors, academia (top) – met beamline scientist, Michele a lecture hall and seminar rooms. Cianci at the EMBL@PETRA3 facilities (bottom)

EMBL&cetera issue 77 • October 2013 3 Faculty of ideas Setting the perfect scene for networking and idea sharing, around 120 faculty members, staff scientists and support service staff from across EMBL gathered in Hamburg for this year’s faculty retreat, which took place 13–14 September.

In addition to talks by established scientists, ing the expertise of Hamburg and Grenoble three new group leaders detailed their proj- scientists, while Andrew McCarthy provided ects. EMBL-EBI’s Sarah Teichmann gave an a sneak-peek of the developments expected overview of how genetic regulation influences on beamlines jointly managed by EMBL and T-cell differentiation, while Pedro Beltrão, ESRF in Grenoble. who has also recently joined the outstation, Iain Mattaj presented ongoing efforts to looked at how genetic variations can give implement a professional research informa- rise to new protein interactions and pheno- tion system to efficiently and accurately list types during evolution. EMBL Heidelberg publications by EMBL scientists, the plans for newcomer Yannick Schwab, who heads up the EMBL to become an early-adopter of ORCID Electron Microscopy Core Facility, described – which provides each researcher with a how his research team use correlative light unique digital identifier – as well as new time- and electron microscopy to study how tu- keeping requirements from funding agencies. mour cells invade blood vessels. Iain also unveiled exciting plans for upcoming On the services front, EMBL Grenoble’s José celebrations in 2014 – a year of milestones: Marquez presented the new beamline instru- EMBL-EBI’s 20th Anniversary, EMBL’s 40th mentation equipment developed by combin- Anniversary and EMBO’s 50th Anniversary.

EMBO Meeting: broad exposure to big ideas The EMBO Meeting 2013 took place in the Anne Glover, Chief Scientific Advisor to lively and lovely city of Amsterdam, with the President of the European Commission, more than 1000 participants, 600 posters, spoke with EMBO Science Policy Programme and almost 100 speakers spanning all areas Manager Michele Garfinkel about the role of of the life sciences. The buzzing ‘marketplace’ science in policy making. “The main chal- of posters and exhibitors featured interactive lenge is getting the evidence that we generate sessions (such as an EMBO’s ideas competi- to have an impact on citizens,” she said, ap- tion for the scientific paper of the future) pealing to scientists for their help. and the lure of enticing freebies (such as Thijn Brummelkamp, a young researcher at Olympus’ handmade sushi on the spot!). the Netherlands Cancer Institute in Amster- The conference kicked off with a keynote dam itself, was presented with the EMBO lecture from EMBL veteran Kai Simons Gold Medal by none other than Nobel Laure- (group leader for 25 years in Cell Biology & ate Sir Paul Nurse. The award was given in Biophysics, Head of Unit from 1982-8), who recognition of his achievements in accelerat- looked back on his career in science – “Ev- ing the genetic analysis of human disease, erything keeps getting bigger,” he marvelled including the development of a widely used – and presented his research on lipid rafts method for the permanent inactivation of in cell membranes. Other talk highlights large numbers of genes in mammalian cells. included NASA astrobiologist Chris McKay, Stefano Bertuzzi, Executive Director of the who gave an update on the search for extra- American Society for Cell Biology, led an terrestrial life – “The public already knows engaging session about postdoc positions, there’s other life in the universe – science arguing that they function more as ‘holding just needs to catch up” – and discussed tanks’. His suggestion that the ‘postdoc track’ NASA’s plans to grow Arabidopsis plants on could benefit from more rigorous criteria, Top: A large number of delegates took time to the moon. EMBL Heidelberg’s Peer Bork such as admissions committees, sparked an speak with EMBL representatives at the lab’s presented his group’s latest research on the animated debate. stand. Bottom: Anne Glover discusses the human gut microbiome. – Raeka Aiyar interplay of science and policy

4 EMBL&cetera issue 77 • October 2013 blogroll CERN for molecular biology? Ewan Birney, Joint Associate Director of EMBL-EBI, examines the similarities and differences between EMBL and CERN

This September I visited CERN again, this other areas of science, and I think they were time with a technical delegation from the EBI quietly impressed with the way we are still to meet with their ‘big physics data’ counter- able to make good use of archived experi- parts. Our generous hosts, Ian Bird, Bob Jones mental data from the 1970s and 1980s. In and several experimental scientists showed us molecular biology, I think this on-going use of a great day, and gave us an extended opportu- data is something to be proud of. nity to understand their data flow in detail. Engaging further with our counterparts in CERN is a marvellous place, and the HEP is something I am really looking forward experiments conducted there share some to. It will be great to see Ian, Bob and the team similarities with large-scale biology projects: at EMBL-EBI next year. CERN is a leader in the large-scale data flow, the many stages of data-intensive science, but each data-intensive analysis, and the need for solid metadata. But science will need to adopt, adapt and some- the differences between high-energy physics times create its own custom solutions. The Compact Muon Sole]noid at the Large (HEP) at CERN and molecular biology at / For a longer version of this article, visit Hadron Collider. CERN produces enough EMBL are considerable. For example, the data in a year to fill CDs stacked several Ewan’s blog, ‘Bioinformatician at large’: times the height of Mount Everest LHC data is about one order of magnitude bit.ly/1akFbRR larger than molecular biology data – though our data doubling time (~1 year) is shorter than their basic data doubling time (~2 years). In the presence of greatness “Each data-intensive science It began with great expectations, and just a (computer science), with more than 200 will need to adopt, adapt and sprinkling of nerves. Inspired by the Lindau talented young researchers from across the sometimes create its own Nobel Laureate Meeting, the first ever globe. The aim was to emulate for maths Heidelberg Laureate Forum had set the and computer science what the Lindau custom solutions.” bar high, aiming to bring together young meeting achieves for physics, chemistry and – Ewan Birney researchers in maths and computer science the life sciences, in providing a platform Another difference is that HEP data flow with some of the superstars of the fields – for dialogue between different scientific is more ‘starburst’ in shape, emanating from and, on 27 September, EMBL Heidelberg generations. A number of participants also a few central sites to progressively broader hosted the closing day of what was widely took the chance to tour the lab and find out groups. Molecular biology data has a more hailed as a fascinating week. more about EMBL researchers working in ‘uneven bow-tie’ topology, with thousands of Amidst the spectacle of clicking cameras, computer science. data-producing sites feeding a small number lively discussions, and rows of personal “Many young researchers I spoke with are of global archive sites, which distribute to chauffeurs waiting outside, talks placed shifting to look at problems that lie at tra- 100 000s of researchers worldwide. strong emphasis on the role that interdis- ditional disciplinary boundaries,” explains Although HEP is not uniform – the results ciplinary research could play in the future Amanda Randels, a fellow at Lawrence for each experiment are different – there is of computing, and many laureates detailed Livermore National Library. “The begin- a far more limited repertoire of types-of- work that applied mathematical and com- ning and ending of the forum’s scientific things one might want to catch. In molecular putational approaches to biology. programme were absolutely perfect – from biology, the incredible heterogeneity of life The forum, which took place at institu- Raj Reddy’s talk about who invented is simply awe-inspiring. So in addition to tions across the city, brought together 40 computing, to John Hopecroft’s reflections data-volume tasks in molecular biology, we recipients of the Abel Prize and Fields Med- on the future,” adds Dana Mackenzie, a US- also have fundamental, large-scale data- al (mathematics) and the Turing Award based science writer. structuring tasks. What we can learn from CERN There is a lot more we can learn in biology from HEP than one might expect. Some relates to pragmatic information engineering and some to deeper scientific aspects. There is certainly much to learn from how the LHC handles its data storage, but we should also look carefully at how they have created portable computer schemes. There is a lot of knowledge we can share as well, for example in ontology engineering. The Experimental Factor Ontology’s ability to deal with hundreds of component ontologies Turing Award Winner in 2003, Alan Kay, shares insights with the next generation of number crunchers without exploding, could well be translated to

EMBL&cetera issue 77 • October 2013 5 Left to right: Bernd Simon (NMR Facility Targeting cystic fibrosis Manager), Teresa Carlomagno and Alexander Marchanka Thanks to a screening technique developed by the Pepperkok team, EMBL scientists and collaborators have discovered a promising potential drug target for cystic fibrosis. Cystic fibrosis is a hereditary disease caused by mutations in a single gene called CFTR. The only drug currently available that directly counteracts a cystic fibrosis-related mutation, only works on the three percent of patients that carry one specific mutation, out of the almost 2000 CFTR muta- Ask the right questions tions scientists have found so far. But, regardless of which mutation a patient Scientists at EMBL Heidelberg have moved a step closer to becoming the first carries, in cystic fibrosis CFTR loses group to solve a structure of an RNA-protein complex using solid-state NMR. the ability to control the so-called epithelial sodium channel (ENaC): The team in the Carlomagno group used a structure. “This is the first step,” explains Teresa therapies that might act upon ENaC new technique to identify individual atoms Carlomagno. “If – and hopefully when – Alex instead of trying to correct the multi- in the complex that has intriguing parallels solves the structure it will be a major break- tude of CFTR mutations could seem to the popular children’s game ‘Guess Who?’. through. While there have been many studies like a good option. But unfortunately, In the game, players ask a series of intelligent of membrane proteins by solid-state NMR, no the drugs that inhibit ENaC, mostly questions until they finally reveal the identity one has ever solved the structure of an RNA developed to treat hypertension, don’t of their opponent’s character. However, the bound to a protein using this technology.” transfer well to cystic fibrosis. scientists used the method not to identify The work, published in Angewandte Chemie During their time as visitors in Rainer’s bearded men or bespectacled ladies, but to in September, has made use of a new NMR team, Margarida Amaral, from the answer a whole different set of questions more spectrometer installed in the lab in 2011 University of Lisbon, and PhD student relevant to atoms that have enabled them to thanks to generous funding to Teresa from the Joana Almaça, used a high throughput, pinpoint their nature depending on the signals German Federal Ministry for Education and image-based screen developed by the detected using solid-state nuclear magnetic Research (BMBF). After becoming notorious Pepperkok group to look for a better resonance spectroscopy (NMR). for setting off a fire alarm while its magnet was alternative. They found a gene called The technique, developed by postdoc Alex- charging, the machine – which enables scien- DGKi, which in subsequent tests on pa- ander Marchanka, allows the group to now tists to study very large particles in their solid- tient material appears to be a promising look at the distances between, and the where- state and therefore holds potential for studying drug target. The work, which was a col- abouts of, different atoms in the complex: RNA-protein complexes – is now making a laboration with scientists at Regensburg identify these, and they will be able to solve its name for itself for all the right reasons. University, was published in Cell.

Going incognito

For James Bond, Jack Bauer and Nikita depending on a molecule’s age. Taylor, it is standard practice: cover your Until now, scientists had assumed the tracks. Cells in a zebrafish embryo do cells followed a one-way trail: a gradient the same, researchers at EMBL Heidel- where cells moved from less- to more- berg have discovered, not in the name of concentrated chemokine. But the EMBL espionage, but in order to determine which scientists have now found that, rather direction they move. than being produced outside them, this gradient is actually generated by the cells “We found that the cells at the rear of themselves. “We found that the cells at the the group have a ‘vacuum cleaner’” rear of the group have a ‘vacuum cleaner’,” – Erika Donà says Erika. “They suck up the chemokine A mass of migrating cells in the zebrafish embryo at the back, but at the front there’s still a lot keep to one direction by ‘vacuuming’ up the path To investigate how a group of cells, of chemokine to follow, so the cells move behind them known as the lateral line primordium, find forward.” Joseph Barry in the Huber group their way in a developing zebrafish embryo, helped develop and apply data analysis by Erika and colleagues are known to play predoc Erika Donà and group leader methods for this work. important roles in different tumours’ ability Darren Gilmour used a tag developed by The study, published in Nature, could to metastasise – to spread from one place Anton Khmelinskii in the group of EMBL also be relevant to another, seemingly very to another in the body. These findings hint alumnus Michael Knop (now at the DKFZ- different type of moving cells: those in meat what those roles might be, and conse- ZMBH Alliance), which changes colour tastasising cancers. The molecules studied quently, at possible ways to block them.

6 EMBL&cetera issue 77 • October 2013 Rupert Lück, Michael Wahlers, Andrés Lindau, Tobias Rausch, Vladimír Beneš, Jonathon Blake and Markus Fritz who worked on the project

High performance computing for your NGS data

Since earlier this year, the expanded EMBL use of these resources. “The continuous High Performance Computing (HPC) increase of our facility’s NGS platform data Research highlights cluster – a group of linked nodes processing output meant we effectively needed to put biological data in parallel – provides access more machines and much more memory What makes you, you? to more than 3500 CPU cores and 32 TB of for our high throughput bioinformatics A study, conducted by scientists from nine total memory. Supported by LSF, a new job pipelines on the job,” says Jonathon Blake, institutes, including EMBL-EBI, presented a scheduling system, it enables more efficient a bioinformatician in the facility. “Migrat- map that points to the genetic causes of dif- processing of the many computing requests ing workloads to the upgraded cluster has ferences between people. Published in Nature the infrastructure receives every day. The allowed us to clear bottlenecks produc- and Nature Biotechnology, the work offers the infrastructure, developed by IT Services, ing a threefold increase in our processing largest ever dataset linking human genomes to benefits more than 100 users of the HPC throughput,” adds Vladimír Beneš, head of gene activity at the level of RNA. facility. Recently, a big effort was made to GeneCore. Through the noise improve the overall speed in processing the “It has produced a threefold increase Scientists in the Huber group at EMBL large amounts of next generation sequenc- Heidelberg have pinpointed key activities in ing data produced by EMBL’s Genomic Core in our processing throughput” the human genome that are important for Facility (GeneCore). – Vladimír Beneš the understanding of health and disease. The It is a growing problem in sequencing “By working together with GeneCore staff, findings, published in PNAS in September, facilities around the world: how do you including bioinformaticians Tobias Rausch highlight finely tuned, crucial events within a keep pace with the computing burden and Markus Fritz, as well as computational seemingly chaotic landscape. arising from the huge expansion in genetic experts from many other groups, we have sequencing? Next generation sequencing delivered an infrastructure that works: (NGS) does not produce a complete genome ultimately scientists are able to build upon a that researchers can read like a book; rather much more reliable HPC infrastructure to it generates something more reminiscent of deliver fast, reliable results in a way that is a pile of shredded documents without any highly conducive to successful science – at organisation of the fragments. At GeneCore least until the next generation of sequencing one solution has come from a combination machines comes along!” says Rupert Lück, of more powerful computers and smarter head of IT Services.

The 99.9 per cent The knight in shining armour and the can be explained by evolution. Since plants their wild counterparts”. In her opinion, evil dragon are ancient human constructs evolve slowly, it will be hard for them to this technique could enable crops to thrive that have permeated our consciousness adapt to comparatively fast changes in their in harsh environments, and is unlikely to for a long time. All too often, we take this environment. Viruses, on the other hand, affect crop yields in a negative way. dichotomous view and apply it to the world evolve much faster and “can provide new It is unlikely that farmers will be buying around us. This might explain why viruses genetic information for them to draw on”. ‘good virus’ strains to inoculate their crops are often seen as evil elements of our exis- Research suggests growing crops as in the near future. However, as we under- tence. Marilyn Roossinck, Professor of Plant sterile as possible seems to be as damag- stand more and more about this previously Pathology and Environmental Microbiol- ing as living in sterile environments. As unexplored biodiversity, we cannot escape ogy at Pennsylvania State University, would our understanding of the importance of the conclusion that interaction with the like for this view to change into something “Most viruses really rock!” microbial world is of great importance. closer to “most viruses really rock!”. Cleaner is not necessarily better! – Marilyn Roossinck Marilyn’s recent work unveiled a plethora – Paul Costea of viruses that have been ignored to date, bacteria and fungi in our environment mostly because they are not involved in increases, so should our view on viruses. causing disease. These viruses are persistent, Roossinck points out that “wild plants are meaning that they are passed from genera- full of microbes: bacteria, fungi and viruses, tion to generation through the seeds of the while crops do not have any”. This seems plants and rarely cause adverse symptoms. to confer an advantage to the wild plants, Even more striking is the fact that some of which thrive under the local environment, them may confer an advantage to the plant and is in contrast to crops, which fare they ‘infect’, such as resistance to drought. poorly. Considering this, she proposes that A keynote speaker at this year’s EMBL PhD a way to “ensure a better adaptation of crops Symposium, 21–23 November, Roossinck to the local conditions is to inoculate them believes that these mutualistic interactions with the microbes found living alongside

EMBL&cetera issue 77 • October 2013 7 www.embl.org/alumni 30 years of the EMBL PhD programme Predoc class of ‘83 Since the inception of the EMBL International PhD Programme (EIPP) in 1983, some 600 predocs have jump-started their careers at the lab

‘Nowhere I’ve worked Stella today, and as an since has been so exciting’ EMBL predoc (inset)

Stella Hurtley, Editor of Science magazine and one of the EMBL PhD class of ‘83, talks about Bénédicte Dargent, Ernst Stelzer, now what attracted her to the programme and how now Senior Research Professor, Goethe her stay at EMBL impacted her career. Scientist, CNRS University, Frankfurt “I read about the EMBL PhD course on a noticeboard in the Cambridge Biochemistry Department. The offer of a trip to Heidelberg seemed too good to miss. When I got there, I realised EMBL was a place where some of some of my class of ‘83 over the years, and on the best science in the world was under way. occasion handled their papers! I had already developed a keen interest in cell “My job now provides me with all the Horst Mölders, now Jim Murray, now biology, particularly in membrane traffic, and intellectual stimulation I loved about being fell in intellectual love with Graham Warren Senior Director, Roche Professor, Cardiff School at EMBL, without the technical frustrations. Professional Diagnostics of Biosciences, Wales (group leader in the Cell Biology and Bio- There are other frustrations though, like physics Unit between 1977 and 1985). having to reject more than 90 per cent of the “Nowhere I’ve worked since has been as papers I handle. However, the ability to con- integrated and exciting, and so dedicated to tribute in some small way to the advancement every one doing their best in science with no of science in so many fields is a real honour significant worries about funding. The excite- and a pleasure every day. ment and commitment of the group leaders “My advice to new PhD students is to follow and postdocs was inspiring, the number of your passions – science is too difficult to do Margit Burmeister, now Michael Hortsch, now international visitors wonderful, and the stuff you don’t find truly interesting!” courses great! Professor, University Associate Professor, of Michigan University of Michigan “Finally, through EMBL alumna Carol / “This extraordinary legacy provides Featherstone, I took a sideways step to be- an infinite source of inspiration as we come an Editor for Science magazine, having strive to ensure that current and future pursued my career behind the bench at Yale, generations of PhD students can produc- Philadelphia and Edinburgh post EMBL. tively explore and contribute to scientific “I still interact regularly with many of the research, and build their own careers on people I met at and through EMBL, via a head start at EMBL,” says Helke Hil- EMBL&cetera and at meetings. I’ve also seen lebrand, Dean of Graduate Studies, EIPP. Robert Weinzierl, now Fritz von Weizsäcker, Group Leader, Imperial now Chief Physician, Engineering interns become enthusiastic alumni College, London Schlosspark-Klinik Since 2009, Ciaran Behan, EMBL Senior tions from top tier students this year and Technology Development Specialist, has filled all three intern positions for 2014.” Mark your diaries established and maintained an annual in- The future looks good, too, as UCC 21 November EMBL-EBI take of engineering interns from University faculty and staff, as well as EMBL alumni Alumni Association Board Meeting College Cork (UCC) for the Core Facilities. are interested in developing further the He returned to UCC on 22 October to connections between the institutes. Next followed by staff/alumni event – interview the next batch of top engineering year’s interns will be hosted by the Merten Reception at new EMBL-EBI South and computer science students, and to host Group, the Genome Biology Computa- Building hosting ELIXIR hub, 6–8pm. a small gathering of new intern alumni. tional Support group and IT Services. 18–19 July EMBL Heidelberg “I’m delighted to see this gain traction,” Already seven enthusiastic alumni have EMBL 40th Anniversary Reunion says Ciaran, “Considering that UCC is a been released back into the wild, and at the for all – EMBL, EMBO, EMBLEM and partner university, and that the interna- mini alumni gathering after the interviews, tional experience gained at EMBL can be a fond memories of EMBL poured out and EMBL Ventures staff and alumni: great career-enhancing opportunity.” settled like those perfect pints at The Oval www.embl.org/alumni/anniversary. “It is clear that returning alumni are do- Bar in the heart of Cork city. For further details of events and ing a great job communicating the benefits of internships at EMBL,” Ciaran adds. extended versions of these stories, “Fueled by their enthusiasm and grass please visit www.embl.org/alumni. roots marketing, we again received applica-

8 EMBL&cetera issue 77 • October 2013 EMBL exports to the Netherlands The EMBL Alumni Relations office held its sixth annual reception at The EMBO Meet- Gerrit van Meer right mix of top science and informal but ing on 23 September. More than 30 local Now: Professor and Dean, Faculty of respectful relations. People are dedicated alumni, as well as EMBL and EMBO staff Science, Utrecht University; EMBO to their work yet the atmosphere is relaxed. and alumni attending the Meeting, gathered Member; EMBL Council delegate “My attitude towards science and for what has become a much-anticipated Was: Staff Scientist, 1981–7, Simons scientists was greatly influenced by my and enjoyed tradition. Group, EMBL Heidelberg mentor and other exemplary scientists With the largest clusters of Netherlands- and colleagues at EMBL, where I met based alumni working in Amsterdam and “Since EMBL, I have essentially spent 20 some of my best friends! I also chaired the Utrecht, it was little surprise to have a good years on research in lipid cell biology in the Staff Association, which has been useful turn-out from these cities, with a few travel- Netherlands. For me, the country offers the experience in keeping people in line in my lers from the northern outreaches of the present job as Dean. country. It was a diverse group in terms of “It was great to meet former colleagues nationality, staff category, EMBL sites and at the EMBL alumni get-together. My generations. The group included two former stay at EMBL greatly contributed to Chairs of the EMBL Staff Association and shaping my scientific network, and each two current EMBL Council delegates, as meeting with EMBLers past and present well as many alumni now at the Netherlands reinforces this network – the feeling of be- Cancer Institute (NKI), where the largest ing part of an extended EMBL ‘family’ is numbers of alumni in Amsterdam work. an added bonus!”

Here, a few alumni share their thoughts on Gerrit with Jop Kind (a postdoc at NKI in their time at EMBL and what drew them to Amsterdam) at the alumni reception the Netherlands...

Magali Michaut Now: Postdoc, NKI, Amsterdam Was: Predoc, 2007, Proteomics Group, EMBL-EBI

“I went to EMBL-EBI thanks to a Marie Curie fellowship for six months during my PhD, which A giant art installation at I was doing in France. My stay was a real push The EMBO Meeting venue for my scientific life: the highly interactive and welcomes attendees to the city dynamic nature of EMBL-EBI was motivating and inspiring. Anastassis (Tassos) Perrakis “At the alumni reception I met several interesting people and even had conversations with NKI Now: Group Leader, NKI, Amsterdam colleagues, which was good, since I don’t always Was: Predoc, 1992–5, Wilson Group, take the time to connect with my colleagues, EMBL Hamburg; Staff Scientist despite meeting in the elevator daily!” and Team Leader, 1997–2000, Cusack Group, EMBL Grenoble

“I worked at the NKI between my Mervi Lampinen stays at EMBL Grenoble and EMBL Now: IT Director, Eenrum Hamburg. When I was asked to Tassos, far left, with his group at the NKI Was: Technical Team Leader, return as group leader, I didn’t have 1994–8, EMBL Core to think twice. There’s a lot of exciting “In my first weeks at EMBL Hamburg, Facilities and Services biology here, giving me the opportu- I despaired that I would never learn nity to focus on the ‘why’ instead of all the things taken for granted there. “Since EMBL I’ve been working in multiple the ‘how’, which was the case at the This turned to positive motivation and international companies in senior IT and synchrotron. resulted in a work frenzy. In Heidelberg, e-commerce positions. Being a female leader in “We use a strange blend of phys- you could learn more things from one a very male oriented area (IT) – especially in the ics, maths and chemistry to answer day in the cafeteria than ten hours in the Netherlands – has been a challenge. biological questions. I like to work library – I miss that too! For me, EMBL “The people at EMBL taught me a passion for on diverse systems, and collaborate is all about the people, and remains food and life in general. Although I was there closely with people that know the unique in bringing together so many for a relatively short time, I still feel welcome in field in terms of biology, as is the motivating, inspiring and enthusiastic most parts of the world, with alumni located in case at the NKI. people in a small space.” every corner.”

EMBL&cetera issue 77 • October 2013 9 ‘No innovation without basic research’ Awareness-raising campaign aims to highlight value of EMBL science

In the early 1970s, travel grants from the Volks- wagen Foundation helped bring together the people behind the establishment of EMBL. Fast-forward four decades, and across the lab grants, donations and support from private Astrid heads up the Resource Development team, which is responsible for establishing benefactors continue to play an important relationships with donors and coordinating the lab’s flourishing Corporate Partnership Programme role in projects that go beyond regular funding streams. With EMBL’s 40th Anniversary around the world. My team are here to serve ested in supporting ‘blue skies’ research. ahead of us, Director, Matthias Hentze and all of EMBL – there are tremendous scientific The aim is to match individual interests Head of Resource Development, Astrid von strengths across all sites and units that provide and research goals in a way that is mutually Soosten are launching a campaign to further great opportunities for us to rally local troops beneficial. This involves putting the sup- this impact, starting with a simple, yet power- and encourage them to open their rolodexes porter’s intention at the centre and exploring ful message: there is no innovation without on our behalf.” areas of shared interest. When we engage in basic research. conversations and give people the chance Spreading the word “Prominence and relevance attract to say what matters to them, we can almost “We want to communicate the value of funda- philanthropic support” always engage them on our behalf: be it in mental research, which is the bedrock of clini- – Astrid von Soosten the form of advice, networking support or cal research,” Astrid explains. “Our aim is to actual donations. build closer ties with executives, corporations, To realise this, it’s important to get personal. ‘A participation sport’ trusts, foundations, interested philanthropists Astrid sees the lab’s cross-site anniversary “Donors are exceptional people. More often and the wider public. Benefits flowing from celebrations, which will include a broad pro- than not there is a story behind their gen- basic research play a cruical role in the success gramme of exhibitions, reunions, symposia erosity – they are also thoughtful and very of our societies and economies. EMBL – and matinees, as a springboard to connect capable of understanding the significance Europe’s only intergovernmental laboratory with policy makers, business people and of the work going on here,” Astrid adds. in the life sciences – is an important part of an interested members of the public. endeavour that is laying the knowledge and “People frequently base their decisions to “Prominence and relevance attract phil- innovation foundations for tomorrow.” make a gift on personal experiences. So, it anthropic support – if more people know is my job to identify or match the projects But simply rattling a tin isn’t enough. “We about what we do, support in its various that will be suitable for a given donor. Phi- are trying to build a strategic force and forms will naturally become an increasingly lanthropy is the result of mutual trust and network of friends,” Astrid explains. “We are rewarding activity,” Astrid explains. “Next respect and like all good friendships it grows asking our supporters for strategic advice to the highly competitive area of cancer because of the effort we put into making and aim to forge long-term relationships research, other topics of our time: aging, our friends feel appreciated. So, as Matthias with newcomers to our network. Because of biodiversity, neurobiology and rare diseases, once phrased it, ‘building a philanthropic EMBL’s enormous reach and impact, we can for instance, might strike a personal chord programme is a participation sport and expect to find friends, both close to home and with some. Others might be simply inter- whole team effort’.”

The language of science For the first time, a British Sign Language stand that clear communication is vital to (BSL) interpreter joined the instructors successful learning, so we ensure that the at EMBL-EBI to give an in-house course, appropriate support is arranged and pro- ‘Browsing the Genome with Ensembl’. vided according to each learner’s individual Alasdair Grant, a policy advisor at the UK needs,” says Cheryl Cullen, the company’s Department for Environment, Food and Managing Director. Rural Affairs, has a passion to learn bioinfor- Interpreter Ali Gordon quickly signed matics. He contacted the course organisers terms for splice variants, SNPs, and regula- with the request to arrange a BSL interpreter, tory regions so Alasdair could receive the as he is profoundly deaf. The EBI was happy same information that hearing students to help. “I was very impressed by the support learned from the presenters. offered by EMBL-EBI,” says Alasdair, “The “We were thrilled to be able to support tutors looked after me extremely well.” the first BSL interpreter at the EBI, and The challenge was to find an interpreter help Alasdair on the road to becoming one who wouldn’t be daunted by all the technical of the first profoundly deaf bioinformati- British sign language interpreter Ali Gordon relays an Ensembl terms. Clarion Interpreting, a UK-based cians,” says Giulietta Spudich, Ensembl course presentation to participant Alasdair Grant company, was delighted to help.“We under- outreach project leader.

10 EMBL&cetera issue 77 • October 2013 careers A new UX-perience Pinned to a wall of an office at EMBL-EBI is a drawing of a speedboat, some anchors, and lots of sticky notes. Look around and you might find other sketches, flow charts, user profiles, or design ideas. But this is not the studio of a bioinformatician-turned-artist now more interested in the Turner Prize than a Nobel. They are tools that the EBI’s user experience (UX) experts use to help software developers build services – with the aim of making them more usable, findable, Sangya, Francis and Jenny are user experience experts at EMBL-EBI attractive, and cost effective. your own work, as was the case for me early people. My work also draws on my technical “Analysing how users respond to a website in my career,” says Sangya. background – so I believe that scientific or product involves getting people to give knowledge can be helpful in capturing the you feedback through exercises or activities. UX analysts have been described as requirements of the end user.” By doing this you can observe how success- coaches, coordinators and chameleons, teas- ful they are at using the product, make sense ing out ideas, bringing together concepts, For some, integrating concepts such as of the data, and identify what can be im- and adapting tools in order to realise goals. ‘user research’, ‘game storming’ and ‘perso- proved,” explains Sangya Pundir, UX analyst “Bioinformatics resources often suffer from nas’ into the design process is something for UniProt, a freely accessible resource of usability problems – as an advocate of the that can take some getting used to. But protein sequence and functional informa- more and more people are turning to UX tion. “If you have evidence, video clips, “We are bringing ideas from the design as a way of enhancing the outcome numbers, and analytics, it takes the conflict outside and seeing how they can be of their projects. “Because it is new, it is out of the decision making process.” adapted to suit the lab’s needs” exciting,” explains Francis Rowland, a UX designer who works on interaction design Cue sketches, storyboards, user surveys, – Francis Rowland and implementation, “We are bringing ideas focus groups, and other creative tools that user, we want to channel what we learn from the outside and seeing how they can aim to guide planning, idea generation, about the users to address these problems,” be adapted to suit the lab’s needs. You need design, development and implementation. explains Jenny Cham, UX analyst for the to be comfortable perhaps being the only “Concepts in UX design may come from web development team, who have recently UX representative on a project, and to learn fields as broad as psychology, business completed an overhaul of the EBI’s website. when to hold your ground. In many respects management and computer science, but “Since the role involves interaction with we are consultants for people to come to for unless you are doing pure scientific research, scientists and software developers, it is advice and guidance for their services. For the chances are that you are applying UX in important to really enjoy working with me, it is a very rewarding career.” toptips Run your own course Identify a need – A course can provide intense training in a short period of time, Interactive, challenging, rewarding and demonstrating methods or introducing concepts that participants can go away and fun: for many EMBL scientists, sharing explore on their own. In fast moving and interdisciplinary research, they can provide expertise through courses is an important very effective ways of honing skills and demonstrating new concepts. way of keeping up with the latest developments in science and technology. EMBL 1 Find great speakers – Create networking space – Heidelberg’s Holger Dinkel and Frank Harness the expertise and Networking opportunities are Thommen are amongst a number of EMBL specialisms around you and one of the hidden benefits of staff that organise courses in their own where possible draw on skills courses: new connections can time – here, they give their top tips to those of other leading figures at the give people contact with others thinking about starting their own course. forefront of the field. who may be able to help them out in the future. Prepare material – It is essential to Holger Dinkel (left) 2 Work in a team – and Frank Thommen provide resources such as handouts that people can use as a reference in the future.3 Courses run on a voluntary basis can be a 4 particular challenge as Expect the unexpected – It is rare organisers already have that everything will run as smoothly busy and demanding as anticipated! Seek advice from jobs: organisation and others who have experience. teamwork are crucial. 6Get feedback – Gathering responses from people can provide useful information for guiding the structure and content of future courses. It can let you know what went 7 wrong and right, so you can make the next course5 even more effective. EMBL&cetera issue 77 • October 2013 11 Think big! Big data, big challenges: this was the gauntlet thrown down to 50 school students visiting EMBL Heidelberg, 7–8 October, for a work- shop to apply design thinking to scientific problems. The outcome? Some big ideas. Under the careful guidance of experts from EMBL and software company SAP, participants from across Baden-Württem- berg set about devising ways that technology could help people to learn about, under- The event, co-organised by EMBL’s Learning stand and engage with scientific research. Laboratory for the Life Sciences (ELLS) and SAP, aimed to encourage participants to take Their challenge was to inject design think- concepts from business and design and bring ing into science education. Commonly used them back to how people learn about science in the design and planning fields, design thinking aims to match the needs of people to the analysis of big data on users’ mobile “It was great to see the teamwork and with technological innovations and potential phones. When developing their ideas, collaboration, not only within but between business strategies.“They coped well under students had to think about issues such as groups,” adds Rosalie Schwartz a student at pressure, and have come up with ideas that, learning methodology, sponsorship, data Helmholtz-Gymnasium in Heidelberg. if developed further, could have real value security, target audiences, while focusing on “We will now select the best project idea for users,” explains Carsten Becker, of SAP’s their group’s specific challenge. and develop it into a real application that Global Universities Alliance. “I enjoy biology a lot – through our project can be used by students and teachers across Final concepts included mobile learning we got to speak with researchers and apply Europe”, says Philipp Gebhardt who initiated applications, serious games and even a ‘sci- our ideas to interesting design challenges,” the project as part of ELLS’ efforts to engage ence in your pockets’ project that was aimed explains Jonas Steves, who worked on a in the development of innovative science at applying a voluntary computing scenario concept for a mobile app. teaching resources. science&society Don’t always trust your instincts Philosopher Daniel Kelly, who researches the nature and moral significance of disgust, tells postdoc José Viosca why…

You may disagree with the headline above. what is seen as disgusting – take for instance Indeed, you could feel well advised in steering how a meat eater and vegetarian might regard clear of the rancid milk in your refrigerator a bloody steak. Moreover, it can give rise to or of the man sneezing next to you in the false-positives: a chocolate cookie in the shape bus queue. But while disgust initially helped of excrement is not dangerous at all. to alert us to potentially dangerous situa- Can our interpretations be dangerous? tions, this powerful emotional warning sign When you feel extremely disgusted by some- has since been hijacked and is used in social one, this can lead to feelings that dehumanise contexts to sustain norms and delimit groups. that person – it becomes easier to treat them In a lecture at EMBL Monterotondo on 4 badly, or to take away their rights. On one October, Kelly argued that disgust is not a reli- hand, this may seem justified for people that able indicator of moral wrongness, not least have carried out actions that are morally because what is seen as ‘disgusting’ can vary deplorable today, such as sex offenders or enormously between people and cultures. child molesters. But on the other, there are of yuck that makes us believe that it must What is disgust? many contemporary and historical examples be right. However, by understanding its Disgust is a human emotion that is made of a very different kind: people disgusted by evolutionary roots and its physiological and up of two components that evolved to help the idea of members of different races drink- psychological mechanisms, it becomes easier us avoid poisons and infectious agents. It is ing from the same drinking fountain, or of to withdraw our credence from our gut reac- triggered by stimuli that are perceived to be women in positions of power or behind the tions. Our brains are wired to respond sharply dirty, is characterised by flashes of nausea, and wheel of a car. I think such examples show to dangerous stimuli, and it makes evolution- is recognisable by the ‘icky’ facial expres- that we should not afford disgust any sort of ary sense that the response itself makes us be- sions that the person experiencing it typi- moral authority. lieve there is something genuinely bad about cally shows. However, the emotion has been what is disgusting us. But it is well known that recruited in the social domain where it plays What can we gain from learning about it? occasionally the brain produces artifacts, such a powerful and sometimes subliminal role Biology and evolution illuminates why the as sensory and cognitive illusions. Therefore, influencing moral social judgements. There is emotion is so powerful: from a first person we should carefully interpret our subjective significant cultural and individual variation in point of view, it is precisely the intensity intuitions, especially those based on disgust.

12 EMBL&cetera issue 77 • October 2013 Getting personal ‘Knowledge speaks, Not many medical roles require you to be re- Research institutions such as EMBL are in a searcher, policy advisor, administrator and edu- great position to drive this agenda forward. but wisdom listens’ cator at the same time. But Liselotte Højgaard is Secondly, clinicians have an important role in To celebrate the French science festival no ordinary doctor. Ahead of her keynote talk communicating questions that matter most to (Fête de la Science), EMBL Grenoble and at this year’s Science and Society conference, patients – this can influence how government neighbouring institutes UVHCI, ESRF Højgaard reflects on issues affecting the devel- and industry react. Thirdly, patients today are and ILL, held an open campus weekend opment and implementation of personalised better informed than in the past and will put 12–13 October. medicine in Europe. increasing pressure on doctors to deliver. Nineteen EMBL and UVHCI staff What do you see as the main challenges? What are your hopes for the conference? volunteered to welcome more than 600 Personalised medicine presents us with the It provides a rare opportunity to take a ‘helicop- visitors, eager to get a glimpse of science opportunity to deliver healthcare that is more ter view’ and potentially move the field in a bet- behind-the-scene. “It was really motivat- proactive, pre-emptive and preventative. Al- ter direction. My experience from working on ing to see that so many visitors were ready, there are examples, particularly in cancer projects such as the Innovative Medicine Initia- interested in what I was showing them, therapy, where detailed information about the tive – which aims to speed up the development even at the end of a two and a half hours biological and environmental differences of of better and safer medicines – is that bringing tour of the campus!” says Juan Reguera, individuals has been used to guide the most ap- key stakeholders together can help you to be a research scientist in the Cusack group, propriate treatment. Some have argued that we proactive, creative and push forward research in who opened his lab to talk about his cannot afford to fund personalised medicine, a way that better meets the needs of society. research on Bunyaviruses. “Explaining but there are significant potential cost savings what I do to people from all walks of life, / in terms of reducing the risks and expenditure The 14th EMBO | EMBL Science and Soci- each with their own perspective on sci- in treating patients, by getting it right first ety Conference: Public and Private Health ence was also an interesting experience.” time. If we can present these data clearly, I – Genomics, Medicine and Society, takes “Giving non-scientists a sense of believe that it will be easier for people to make place 7–8 November. what our science can do was a fantastic decisions. Other major challenges are ethical, experience and listening to people’s legal and societal, relating to issues such as data questions, their curiosity was humbling,” collection, handling and sharing. However, an adds Philippe Mas, a scientist in the Hart overarching strategy for Europe is lacking, not team. “It reminded me of something least because of a complex mix of national and Jimi Hendrix said about how knowledge continental policy frameworks. Højgaard is Head of Department at speaks, but wisdom listens”. How might this change? Rigshospitalet, Three important drivers are institutions, clini- Professor at cians and patients. One challenge is to better the University of Copenhagen and the understand complex biomedical datasets in Technical University of the context of lifestyle and the environment: Denmark, and Chair here, there is a need for more links between of the Danish National basic research and university medical centres. Research Foundation

New structural biology showcase in Grenoble

As part of the French national Fête de la sci- As part of this development, EMBL Grenoble ence, the European Synchrotron Radiation Fa- helped design a large exhibit dedicated to struc- cility (ESRF) inaugurated its new visitor centre, tural biology. “Designing this brand new space a 200 m2 modular space, designed to welcome was hard work,” says Dominique Cornuéjols of more than 3000 visitors each year, host func- the ESRF communication Unit. “But the result tions and showcase the use of synchrotron is worth all the effort: the feedback we’ve had radiation in science. from the public has been amazing. We’re grate- ful to EMBL Grenoble staff for their willingness to help, and their patience during filming.” It took six months of planning, scouting, writing, designing and filming, to tell the story of how crystallography is helping design new drugs against flu. The result is a 2x3 m curved wall, complete with explanatory panels, hands- on exhibits, and short movies about protein expression and crystallisation, starring EMBL staff. “This project is a good illustration of the integrated way in which we work with our campus partner institutes, and I really enjoyed Top: Frederic Garzoni of the Berger group seeing my work presented in such a sleek, shows the lab to Fête de la Science visitors accessible way,” says Head of EMBL Grenoble Bottom: Volunteers at the Open Campus

Image courtesy of C Jarnias (ESRF) Stephen Cusack.

EMBL&cetera issue 77 • October 2013 13 question&answer Nobel legacy

How did the work of the winners of this year’s Nobel Prize for medicine or physiology – James Rothman, Randy Schekman, and Thomas Südhof – pave the way for what you do today?

Mum now appreciates what I do When I heard, I was really excited: after Palade in 1974, another Nobel Prize for research looking at the secretory pathway. Wow! After so many years trying in vain to explain to my family what I am working on, I finally managed to impress them when I proudly announced: “Mum, I had dinner with two Nobel prize winners in July!” COPII proteins identified by Schekman are the building blocks of COPII vesicles and I use them as controls in virtually every experiment. These proteins are essential for secretion of newly synthesised proteins from the endoplasmic reticulum, but even today we still don’t know how they are regulated in phases of development, cell differentiation or how they react to extracellular stimuli. I hope to contribute a little bit of knowledge to this field, too. Fatima Verissimo, research associate, Pepperkok team

Many more questions revealed This year’s prize for physiology or medicine recognised the discovery of the basic principles of cell logistics and understanding in detail how cells organise their transport systems in space and time. While at first it may seem that vesicular transport is very well understood, when one question gets answered many more appear. Some of the most interesting from my point of view studying the structure of vesicles are: how are vesicles built at the molecular level? What changes do proteins undergo to form the vesicle coat? Which principles are fundamental to the vesicle architecture and which are variable to meet the particular requirements of individual cells? Svetlana Dodonova, predoc, Briggs group

Standing on the shoulders of giants I met Rothman and Schekman at a Gordon Research Conference. Together with Südhof they have laid the foundation of our current understanding of how cells uptake, transport and secrete molecules. Their work inspired me to study the cellular mechanisms that control the dynamics of membrane composition, structure and function. Anyone who studies membranes today still contemplates questions framed by these giants. While imaging techniques are increasing annually in resolution and speed, automation permits high throughput analysis. Together these tools will likely reveal the spatial and temporal organisation of individual components along the secretory pathway as well as the relationship between protein function and membrane curvature in vivo. Ori Avinoam, postdoc, Kaksonen and Briggs groups mycity

Kolkata (formerly Calcutta), also known as the ‘City of Joy’, is my hometown. As it just hosted the famous ‘Durga Puja’ festival this autumn, I thought of giving you all a glimpse of my city. Even with its imperfec- tions, it is truly, for me, the city of joy. Menorca Chaturvedi, Diploma Student, Genome Biology Computational Support

Clockwise from top left: Performances based Kolkata, India on the songs (called ‘Rabindra Sangeet’) of Rabindranath Tagore – a great poet, author, freedom fighter and Nobel Laureate who is fondly remembered by the city – are an integral part of all cultural events; Howrah Bridge is a famous symbol of Kolkata and has featured in several movies; the city’s biggest annual festival is Durga Puja – people go ‘Pandal’ hopping during the four main days of the celebration, visiting the many spectacular decorative tents (pictured bottom right) that house idols (pictured bottom middle) of Goddess Durga and her family; a sunset on the banks of the river Hooghly, captured by a friend

14 EMBL&cetera issue 77 • October 2013 EMBLinpictures

The Staff Association hands over a 5300 Pablo Joubert, Andrew McCarthy, Jelger MEP Franziska Katharina Brantner, pictured Euro cheque to the Wald Piraten Camp Lycklama and Catarina Silva: Staff with Director of International Relations Silke raised during this year’s Summer Party Association reps at EMBL Grenoble Schumacher, on a visit to EMBL Heidelberg

More than 50 EMBL Grenoble staff and Staff at EMBL Heidelberg during the lab’s families enjoyed a ‘day out at the park’, which Oktoberfest celebrations on 19 October Participants from the ChEMBL group at included a BBQ and football tournament EMBL-EBI, ahead of London’s Big Fun Run, running in aid of Cancer Research UK newsinbrief

outstation. Organised by Carmen Vela, to attend a drinks reception at the new the Spanish Secretary of State for Re- EMBL-EBI South Building, home of the search, Development and Innovation, ELIXIR Hub, at 6pm on 21 November. the meeting brought together policy If you would like to attend please email makers and representatives from CRG [email protected]. and EMBL. The proposed outstation / Every year, EMBL-EBI groups are would look to capitalise on existing ex- invited to present talks and posters to pertise, skills and technology platforms their colleagues. This year’s EBI Day was developed in the current EMBL-CRG / Member of the European Parliament beautiful: the sun was shining, the talks partnership unit in areas such as novel Vicky Ford visited EMBL-EBI in Sep- engaging and the posters real conver- 3D imaging and modelling of multicel- tember to learn more about the work of sation-starters. Speaker topics ranged lular systems. the outstation. Pictured above: Louisa from how bioinformatics is transform- Bellis, ChEMBL group; Janet Thornton, / EMBL-EBI staff and UK-resident alum- ing the medical domain (Ewan Birney, EMBL-EBI Director; Vicky Ford, MEP; ni gathered in Cambridge in September Associate Director) to what EMBL is Ewan Birney, Associate Director; Paul to reprise a successful reconnection doing to recruit and retain excellent fe- Kersey, group leader; Niklas Blomberg, event first held last year. Alumni from male scientists (Sue Lee, head of Human ELIXIR Director. Heidelberg, Hinxton, Grenoble and Resources at EMBL-EBI). New research / Delegates from EMBL Council visited Monterotondo were present, with Alan group leaders Pedro Beltrao and Oliver the Centre for Genomic Regulation Sawyer holding the record for his length Stegle gave an overview of their work, (CRG) in Barcelona on 11 October, of service over two sites. EMBL-EBI while others reviewed EMBL-EBI’s vari- to get a first hand impression of the will host this year’s Alumni Association ous services, how they are used and how location of the future Spanish EMBL Board meeting, and alumni are invited they can be improved.

EMBL&cetera issue 77 • October 2013 15 events@EMBL people@EMBL

3–5 November EMBL Heidelberg Rebecca Greenhaff has joined EMBL-EBI as an event organiser. Rebecca, whose EMBL Conference: Cancer Genomics responsibilities include managing the logistics and administration for a variety of events, has worked in various event management positions, including eight years 5 November EMBL Grenoble at the Institute for Manufacturing at the University of Cambridge. When not Distinguished Visitor Lecture: Katharina organising conferences, seminars, dinners or workshops she also enjoys painting Strub, University of Geneva, Switzerland – a style that has recently evolved to pirates and superheroes to keep pace with 7 November EMBL-EBI her young son. EMBL-EBI Open Day EMBL’s European Learning Laboratory for the Life Sciences (ELLS) has a new 7–8 November EMBL Heidelberg education officer, Eva Haas. Originally from Heidelberg, Eva joins the lab follow- 14th EMBO | EMBL Science and Society ing positions working in science communication and public engagement in the Conference: Public and Private Health – UK. Eva has a PhD in Microbiology from the University of Manchester, and will Genomics, Medicine and Society support teacher training in areas including learning labs, webinars and lecture 8 November EMBL Monterotondo series. She might even give EMBL’s merchandise a run for its money: one of her Distinguished Visitor Lecture: The hobbies is knitting! regulation of stem cell self-renewal, Sean Morrison, University of Texas Image competition 11–15 November EMBL-EBI To mark EMBL’s 40th anniversary, the Joint Wellcome Trust/EMBL-EBI Office of Information and Public Affairs Course: Proteomics Bioinformatics (OIPA) is creating a 2014 calendar featur- 19 November EMBL Heidelberg ing some of the most striking scientific Distinguished Visitor Lecture: Control images from across the lab. This is your of plant stem cell fate by a peptide, Hiroo chance to showcase your vision, creativity to: [email protected] (get in touch for Fukuma, University of Tokyo and passion for science by sending us a the terms and conditions). A judging panel research-related picture produced at EMBL will decide on the top 20 and then we will 21–23 November EMBL Heidelberg that inspires, informs or intrigues. ask our Facebook followers to vote for the The 15th EMBL PhD Symposium: best 12 to be featured in the calendar. Competition in Biology: The Race for The deadline for submissions is Thursday, Survival, from Molecules to Systems 7 November 2013. Please send entries by This edition’s cover features some stunning email with the subject ‘photo competition’ submissions from postdoc Stefan Günther 26 November Im Neuenheimer Feld 440 12th public MMPU Research Day 29 November EMBL Monterotondo awards&honours Distinguished Visitor Lecture: Circuits Hats on! for Motor Control, Thomas Jessell, Columbia University In a dazzling autumn ceremony on 19 Octo- ber, the University of Umeå awarded EMBL 2 December EMBL Heidelberg Director General Iain Mattaj an honorary Distinguished Visitor Lecture: Evan doctorate. The degree honoris causa recog- Eichler, Department of Genome Sciences, nises Iain’s research achievements and his role Howard Hughes Medical Institute in establishing and developing the Molecular 2–6 December EMBL Heidelberg Infection Medicine Sweden (MIMS), one of EMBL Master Course: Chemical four nodes of the Nordic EMBL Partnership University of Umeå Dean Anders Berg (left) Biology Screening for Molecular Medicine, which seeks to com- confers an honorary doctorate on Iain Mattaj bine complementary expertise in biomedicine 14 January EMBL Heidelberg and foster industry collaborations. such as neurobiology, medical genetics, infec- Distinguished Visitor Lecture: Bas van tion medicine and cancer,” says Iain. “MIMS Steensel, Netherlands Cancer Institute The annual celebration, which this year created eight honorary doctors, included three continues to enable young researchers to 17 January EMBL Monterotondo days of popular science lectures covering explore important new research avenues that Distinguished Visitor Lecture: topics as diverse as environmental science, could have important implications for our Wolf Reik, The Babraham Institute, history, anthropology and molecular biology. understanding of health and disease. I am Cambridge, UK “The Nordic EMBL Partnership presents very pleased to receive this award.” For more details about these events and significant opportunities to combine expertise / For more on the Nordic EMBL Partner- more, visit www.embl.org/events. and strengths to address challenges in areas ship, see page 3.

EMBL&cetera issue 77, October 2013. Published by EMBL’s Office of Information and Public Affairs, Meyerhofstraße 1, 69117 Heidelberg. email: [email protected]. Available online: www.embl.org/newsletter. Editors: Chloë Cross, Adam Gristwood. Editorial support: Manuela Beck, Lena Raditsch, Petra Riedinger, Silke Schumacher. Contributors: Emmanuelle Bensaude, Joanna Kirkpatrick, Michael Müller, Sonia Furtado Neves, Katrina Pavelin, Mehrnoosh Rayner, Giulietta Spudich, Mary Todd Bergman. Photo support: EMBL Photolab. Printed by ColorDruck, Leimen.