NEWs FROM THE EMBO cOMMUNITy Young Scientists’ Forum 2012 held in Istanbul Eleven Turkish EMBO Installation grantees spoke at the fifth EMBO Young Scientists’ Forum hosted by Ertuğrul Kılıç at Yeditepe University in Istanbul last June. More than four hundred students and post- docs registered to hear about the grantees’ research as well as talks from nine EMBO Young Investigators and a keynote lecture from EMBO Member, Mehmet Özturk. The final day of the three-day conference offered workshops in scientific presentations and other career-related skills. Earlier this year, Mehmet Özturk and four Turkish EMBO Installation grantees also joined forces to set up the Turkish Molecular Biology Association (see info box). The Young Scientists’ Forum is organized annually since 2007 with the venue rotating through the five countries that participate in EMBO Installation grants: Czech Republic, Estonia, Poland, Portugal and Turkey. It provides Ph.D. students and postdocs with the opportunity to interact with Europe’s most promising young group leaders – members of the EMBO Young Investigator Programme. INFO BOx | TURKISH MOLECULAR BIOLOGY ASSOCIATION “We are concerned about the relatively low contribution of Turkish molecular biologists to global scientific efforts,” said Uygar Tazebay from Bilkent University in Ankara, President of the Turkish Molecular Biology Association. The institution was established earlier this year by a group of scientists including four EMBO Installation Grantees and one EMBO Member. They believe that the existing potential of Turkish scientists and molecular research institutes is strong enough to be more effective globally. To achieve this, the founding members focus on three issues: 1Finding a common voice to communicate their sugges- tions for better quality national scientific output with global impact to policy makers, grant agencies and other science insti- tutes in Turkey. 2Regularly organizing meet- ings to present unpublished papers and discuss research ideas. One of the immediate aims is to establish a joint forum of interaction for all molecular biologists working in Turkey. 3Finding common ground with other molecular biology organizations, associations and societies to minimize the disad- vantages of doing molecular research in a peripheral country. The Turkish Molecular Biology Association organizes its first conference from 23 – 24 November at Bo ̆gaziçi University Campus in Istanbul. For more information visit www.molbiyokon2012.org EMBO Poster Prize winners Congratulations to the following winners of competitions held at recent events The 2012 FEBs | EMBO Women in science Award The 2012 FEBS | EMBO Women in Science Award of 10,000 euros was presented to Susan Gasser on 7 September at the 37th FEBS Congress in Sevilla, Spain. “She clearly represents a role model for female scientists in Europe and beyond,” said laudator Erich Nigg, Director of Biozentrum, University of Basel. The award winner held a plenary lecture on The formation and sequestration of heterochromatin during development at the congress. Sara Oliveira Chronic Diseases Research Center, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Portugal Carbon monoxide as an anti- apoptotic agent against cerebral ischemia Presented at the 20th Euroconference on Apoptosis Rome, Italy 16 – 20 September 2012 Caroline Medioni Institute of Biology Valrose, Nice, France Drosophila ZBP1 controls axon growth and branching by regulating profilin mRNA in vivo Presented at The EMBO Meeting 2012 Nice, France 22 – 25 September 2012 Anja Zeigerer Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics, Dresden, Germany Multi-scale analysis of endosome biogenesis, hepatocellular polar- ity and metabolism in mouse liver Presented at The EMBO Meeting 2012 Nice, France 22 – 25 September 2012 Daniel Ibrahim Berlin-Brandenburg Center for Regenerative Therapies, Germany Functional characterisation of transcription factor mutations using ChIP-seq Presented at The EMBO Meeting 2012 Nice, France 22 – 25 September 2012 Elisa Dultz University of California, Berkeley, USA Global chromatin reorganization in response to changes in gene expression programs Presented at The EMBO Meeting 2012 Nice, France 22 – 25 September 2012 18 EMBOencounters | Autumn 2012 | communications@embo.org ©2012 EMBO © John Eriksson © Ertug ̆rul Kılıç