20 May 2022 – When Sebastian Glatt arrived in Kraków in 2015 to lead a Max Planck Research Group, he immediately set about building his team – underpinned by an installation grant. “The EMBO Installation Grant was very supportive financially and brought amazing networking opportunities,” explains Glatt, an Austrian-born structural biologist whose team has grown to nearly 30 members. “I had constant exchanges with top research groups all over Poland and the rest of the world. This network will benefit me for the rest of my career.”
Glatt’s group studies the mechanisms that enable cells to produce certain proteins on cue, which allow them to reproduce, adapt, or differentiate into specialized types. “Oftentimes we don’t know what is happening at the fundamental level. It’s crucial to understand it to learn how mutations might lead to disease,” says Glatt, whose team has expertise in biophysics, genetics, and cell biology. “We ultimately hope to develop diagnostic and therapeutic tools for diseases that are currently incurable.”
“Our group’s success is largely a result of how the institute is organized: inspired by a culture of openness, sharing, and co-operation,” says Glatt. “Ultimately it is about teamwork: it’s an incredible feeling when you understand something from a different perspective and share that. Kraków is an academic powerhouse. There are lots of excellent scientists with the same spirit of being connected and working together in Poland. It’s great to be here.”
