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Thinking Differently the 2017 HFSP Nakasone Award Thinking differently institute's director. He told me that that define the experiments that are necessary by Geoff Richards was unthinkable for a junior French to test it. There is little importance as Director of Research Grants, HFSPO scientist. Similarly, in my time at HFSP, I to whether the model is correct. If the have learned from Californian PIs that it experimental data is in accord with the took a while for them to understand that model they will refine it, if not they will some of their post-docs could not say think again and propose a new model. 'no' to an instruction, but rather used 'yes' Traditional biologists have a distinct on a scale of 1 to 10, so that things they approach. They will gather a maximum thought had been agreed were still not of information and then ask a 'modeller' done a month or more later. to design a 'bag' which will contain all the known values, adjusting the 'model' if However, beyond these interactions, new data lies outside of the initial 'bag'. there are fundamental differences in With time HFSP has encouraged teams thinking, even for scientists in the same to involve the computational biologist discipline. I remember the case of a in the initial design of the experiment Japanese post-doc working on a very so that the 'wet lab' results can be delicate purification of components of tested in terms of a model rather than a transcription complex. One Friday he constructing a strange 'bag' post-hoc that demonstrated that he had succeeded in includes most of the data collected. This isolating the sought-after activity. His difference was brought home to me after Since its beginnings, the HFSP grant group leader said that the following I had written a deliberately speculative program has supported international week they would need to scale up the review of how nuclear receptor isoforms collaborations, which encourage purification 50 fold so as to move to the (shown to change following hormonal scientists from different countries next step of the isolation. The following induction) might interact during a time to think about problems as a team. Monday, he was surprised to find the job course following a hormonal stimulus. A Simple as this may seem, there was an done. The post-doc had reasoned that senior colleague said, 'yes, I saw that, but underlying benefit, which also became he was totally reliable in his techniques I would have done all the experiments evident in the fellowship program. and had simply run 50 'mini-preps' in first.' In fact, each region or country has parallel over the weekend and pooled the very different traditions in training its products, something that no-one else in A more general feature of these research scientists which is seen both the team would have contemplated! collaborations is that members of in their behaviour and their way of interdisciplinary teams have to learn to thinking. Some systems are traditionally If HFSP helped to encourage these move from ‘talking at’ the other team hierarchical, others more liberal. During frontier confrontations in its first decade, members when they present in the jargon my doctoral studies at Cambridge, I was thereafter it emphasized a more general of their discipline to ‘talking to’ the expected to discuss ideas with my senior source of differences in thinking, that others by making the concepts clear and colleagues on an equal footing. When comes from scientists trained in different available for discussion. It is to HFSP's after a junior faculty position in the same disciplines. A good example can be found credit that it encourages and supports department, I joined one of France's most in 'modelling' a biological situation, the interaction of these differences in dynamic molecular biology laboratories. which gave rise to an informative the ways of thinking (both cultural and I continued to behave as I had been discussion at the HFSP Awardees discipline related) as they are healthy for trained and remember shocking a friend meeting in Berlin in 2008. Physical creating frontier breakthroughs. As our (since then a Nobelist) by the casual, scientists, notably biophysicists, will French hosts here in Strasbourg are wont but polite, way I exchanged with the construct a theoretical model and then to say 'Vive la différence'. The 2017 HFSP Nakasone Award David Julius of the Department of Physiology at the University of California, San Francisco was awarded the 2017 HFSP Nakasone Award for his 'discovery of the molecular mechanism of thermal sensing in animals' because it defined a field of sensory reception. Dr Julius will deliver the Nakasone lecture at the 2017 HFSP Awardees Meeting in Lisbon. You can read more here: http://www.hfsp.org/awardees/hfsp-nakasone-award/2017-award Issue N° 7 | December 2016 Meet HFSPO's new Director of Fellowships In this issue In September, HFSPO welcomed a new Director of Fellowships, Barbara Pauly, to the team. In the following article she writes about her first impressions of life in the HFSPO Secretariat in Strasbourg. Thinking differently .......................... 1 The 2017 HFSP Nakasone Award ..... 1 Sometime in August 2016, I packed the Research Grants, lies in the fact that up my belongings and moved from HFSP is willing to sponsor high-risk HFSPO's Director of Fellowships ..... 2 Heidelberg, Germany, to Strasbourg, and out-of-the-box-thinking projects Champalimaud Centre, Lisbon, to France, to take up the position of that would often not be funded by host two HFSP meetings in 2017 ...... 3 Director of Fellowships at HFSPO. national funding bodies. Unfortunately, HFSP fellowship that sowed the seeds for obvious economic reasons, HFSPO In Heidelberg, I had been a scientific cannot fund all applications and for PROTAC drug development ....... 4 editor at EMBO thus we, like Greasing up ferroptotic cell death ..... 6 reports, one of other funding A tryst with the sky for a peek into the four journals organizations, published on rely on the help of the sea ................................................ 8 behalf of EMBO, active scientists Matchmaking sciences & arts ........... 10 for eight years. to participate HFSP Science Meeting, Beijing ....... 12 I was responsible in our various Meet & Greet .................................... 12 for overseeing the committees assessment and to select the The 16th HFSP Awardees Meeting ... 13 review process most promising Prizes & Awards ................................ 14 of scientific applications. Awardees' Articles ............................ 14 manuscripts Prior to starting in the areas of my position at Impressum stem cells, cell HFSPO, I had the death, molecular chance to attend The HFSP Newsletter is issued evolution Barbara Pauly the grant selection on behalf of the Human Frontier and ecology, committee Science Program by the International genomics, and meeting in July Human Frontier Science Program systems and computational biology. I when the members came together to Organization. It contains announcements of HFSP-related enjoyed the diversity of these areas and discuss the submitted letters of intent. matters and other information of the job of an editor very much, as I have I was amazed at how enthusiastic and interest to the support of young always been interested in many different engaged the committee members were. scientists and to interdisciplinary fields of the life sciences. This was also After all, they are all active scientists research in general. Please tell your the reason why, after obtaining my PhD with labs to run, grant applications friends, colleagues, students, etc. about in Germany and a postdoc in the USA, I to write and students to supervise... this mailing list. They can subscribe had decided to leave the lab and become Nevertheless, they actually all seemed via a link on the HFSP home page. an editor. to enjoy meeting in Strasbourg to discuss science with colleagues and Please address any suggestions or But then it was time for a change friends from diverse fields and this comments to: [email protected] and I was very lucky to get the cannot only be attributed to the – chance of transferring to HFSPO, undoubtedly – great food and wine one this unique funding organization that can enjoy in Strasbourg! Maybe it is the suits my interests in diversity and open-mindedness of HFSP towards the HFSP Matters Issue N° 7 interdisciplinary research so well. kind of research it funds that attracts December 2016 Since September, I am overseeing the such open-minded and enthusiastic applications for Long-Term and Cross- review committee members – or the The International Human Frontier Disciplinary Fellowships, as well as other way around. Science Program Organization for the Career Development Awards. (HFSPO) I was lucky enough to join the team, I am very excited about my move to 12 Quai St Jean - BP 10034 not only of very experienced, but also HFSPO and the beautiful Alsace region 67080 Strasbourg CEDEX extremely friendly and helpful members and I would like to take this opportunity France of the HFSPO Secretariat who made my to thank all members of the HFSPO transition very smooth and easy, both office for their incredibly warm and Email: [email protected] professionally and personally. After friendly welcome. I am looking forward Website: www.hfsp.org only a month, I already feel at home to working with them and the scientists Japanese website: http://jhfsp.jsf.or.jp in the job and in the beautiful city of from around the world, be it applicants Strasbourg. or reviewers, in selecting great scientific projects at the frontier of the life HFSP at your fingertips The uniqueness of the HFSP programs, sciences. Quick link to both the Postdoctoral Fellowships and www.hfsp.org 2 2 HFSP Matters Issue N° 7 | December 2016 Champalimaud Centre, Lisbon, to host two HFSP meetings in 2017 The HFSP Awardees Meetings have become an annual event in our calendar, providing a unique environment for scientific exchange.
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