22 June 2018 – The event brings together postdoctoral researchers to talk about science and their research experiences, and to hear from external speakers about topics relevant to working in the life sciences. During the four days, each of the EMBO Fellows presented their work in a short talk or a poster. The scientific programme also included a keynote lecture by EMBO Member Laurent Keller, University of Lausanne, Switzerland, on “Sex, sociality and supergenes”.
Communication, careers and more
In addition to the scientific talks, the fellows heard from a range of invited speakers. Celine Carret, Senior Editor at EMBO Molecular Medicine talked about scientific publishing and research integrity. Head of the EMBO Science Policy Programme Michele Garfinkel discussed award selection mechanisms at the limits of peer review. And Thomas Schwarz-Romond, former editor at The EMBO Journal and now Director of Operations at the Helmholtz Pioneer Campus in Neuherberg, Germany, and former EMBO Fellow Silvia Portugal, University Clinic Heidelberg, Germany talked about their career decisions.
Sam Krahl, Project Coordinator of the EMBO Lab Leadership Courses, shared insights about science communication in a half-day workshop, whereas Bernd Klaus from the European Molecular Biology Laboratory in Heidelberg, Germany, talked the participants through essential statistics for modern biology.
Making connections
A central aspect of the meeting is to enable the participants to develop their personal networks in addition to talking about science. Kathrin Leppek (@KatLeppek) from Stanford University, USA, described the meeting as “four days of great people/science at the #EMBOFellowsmtg18. It’s been a great group and an amazing opportunity to (re)connect.” on Twitter.
Sara Alvira-de-Celis (@alvipur) from the University of Bristol added: “such a fantastic week … Glad and proud [to] have been part of the @EMBO community.” In her Twitter post Ewa Chrostek (@EwaChrostek), University of Liverpool, UK summarizes the positive feedback, saying it was a “great meeting, great people & groundbreaking science at the #EMBOFellowsmtg18!”
