Bernd-Uwe retires - EMBL Grenoble

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Intermedex adjustments, longer postdoccontracts, and some dates for your diaries...Winter Councilmeeting: outcomesPhoto: Marietta SchuppEMBL’s Winter Council meeting tookplace in Rome on 24 November withthe following outcomes.Health insuranceAs of 2010 the ratio of EMBL Health InsuranceScheme contributions will changeto a third for employee and two thirds foremployer – as was the case prior to 2003 –which means that the contribution paid bystaff increases by 0.1% of basic salary and by2.1% for EMBL. Additionally, new provisionson additional reimbursement, physiotherapyand kinesitherapy, and dentalprostheses and dentofacial orthopedic treatmentwill apply on all treatment taken after1 January. All medical bills should be sentdirectly to the patient for authorisation beforepayment by Intermedex.ATC openingThe official opening ceremony for theATC, to which science ministers of theEMBL member states, EU representativesand other stakeholders have been invited,has been scheduled to 9 March.Postdoc contractsEMBL Council decided to increase thestandard initial period of EMBL postdoccontracts from one to two years and to extendthe maximum normal duration of thefellowships from four to five years.EMBL programmeThe production of the new five-yearEMBL Programme 2012-2016 – the documentthat details the plans of all EMBL activities,including research, services,training, outreach, technology transfer, administrationand EMBL’s function in the Europeanresearch landscape – has begun.Based on this document and the correspondingIndicative Scheme, Council will decideon EMBL’s budget for the period in 2011.SAC reviewsThe next SAC reviews are scheduled on30-31 March for the Core Facilities in Heidelberg,5-6 May for Heidelberg’s Structuraland Computational Biology Unit and 7-8May for the review of the EMBL Programme2012-2016. Two new SAC members,Reinhard Jahn and Tom W. Muir, havebeen elected to replace Herbert Jäckle andWerner Kühlbrandt.Other newsThe Genomics Core Facility has permissionto purchase two new generationgenome analyser sequencing systems tomeet the strong demand for this technology.ELIXIR, the project led by EBI DirectorJanet Thornton that aims to develop a pan-European infrastructure for biological information,will be supported by a consortiumof member states. Two have made financialcommitments; the UK awarded £10m, andthe Swedish Research Council will give€1.7m over three years.Babis Savakis (Greece) stepped down asChair of EMBL Council and Eero Vuorio(Finland) was elected as new Chair. AnnemarieFrischauf (Austria) was re-electedas Vice Chair and Reinhard Lührmann(Germany) will replace Juan Modolell(Spain) as second Vice Chair.Collaboration reveals what a self-sufficient cell can’t do withoutLeft: Peer, who recentlyreceived the Royal Societyand Académie des SciencesMicrosoft AwardA collaboration of EMBL scientists past andpresent have produced the first comprehensivepicture of a minimal cell, based on aquantitative study of the bacterium Mycoplasmapneumoniae that causes atypicalpneumonia – and found that even the simplestof cells is more complex than expected.In three papers published back-to-back inScience, research groups from the Structuraland Computational BiologyUnit – including the Russell,Böttcher and Frangakisgroups – in a partnershipwith the Centre de RegulacioGenómica (CRG) in Barcelona, uncoverthe indispensable ingredients required toproduce a cell that can survive on its own.Led by EMBL’s Peer Bork and Anne-Claude Gavin, together with EMBL alumnusand head of the Systems Biology Departmentat CRG Luis Serrano, the groups studiedM. pneumoniae, one of the smallestprokaryotes, complex enough to survive onits own yet simple enough to represent aminimal cell – and to enable a global analysis.“We found features that not even thesimplest organism can do without and thathave remained untouched by millions ofyears of evolution – the bare essentials oflife,” says Anne-Claude.Remarkably, the regulation of this bacterium’stranscriptome is much more similarto that of eukaryotes than previouslythought; and although its genes are arrangedin groups, as is typical of bacteria, M. pneumoniaecan selectively express or repress individualgenes within each group.Additionally, its metabolism doesn’t appearto be geared towards multiplying asquickly as possible, perhaps because of itspathogenic lifestyle; another surprise wasthe fact that, although it has a very smallgenome, the bacterium is incredibly flexibleand readily adjusts its metabolism to drasticchanges in environment. These are featuresit shares with more complex organisms.“Within EMBL’s Structural and ComputationalBiology Unit we have a unique combinationof methods, and we pooled them alltogether for this project,” says Peer.2EMBL&cetera • December 2009
Right: Bernd-Uwe (secondfrom right) and two of hissons and daughters-in-lawenjoying a skiing holidayRetiring administrativedirector Bernd-Uwe Jahntells Lena Raditsch abouthis mixed emotions onleaving EMBL“I enjoyed my time at EMBL enormously”Bernd-Uwe throws open the door andwith a wide, welcoming gesture, invitesme to take a seat. It’s a familiar scene in theDG office: even in frantic times he folds hisarms behind his head, starts with a chat andunhurriedly listens to your questions.“I had quite a good idea what to expectfrom EMBL, and actually that’s why I appliedfor the job in the first place,” he tellsme. Long before coming to EMBL in 2001,Bernd-Uwe began his career in the GermanFederal Ministry for Research and Technology.During this time he served as the Germandelegate not only on EMBL’s councilbut also on the governing boards of CERN,ESO, ILL and ESRF.“Directing the adminstration at EMBL wasa logical step with which to finish my career,and it was also a most enjoyable way to doso.” Although Bernd-Uwe was always proudof being a civil servant in the ministry hegreatly appreciated the working conditionsat EMBL which allowed him to successfullyshape the administration in a positive andconstructive environment. During his time,new personnel and financial systems wereimplemented and processes now run muchmore smoothly, providing useful and valuedservices to the scientists. “Before I came toEMBL I held the same position at the Hahn-Meitner Institute in Berlin,” he says. “Iwouldn’t have wanted to go back to my previousrole in the ministry.”When I ask him what he expects from histime after EMBL and from his retirement,he can’t hide a certain melancholy. “If Ihadn’t reached retirement age maybe I’dhave stayed a little longer.” He mulls it over.“No – it’s better to leave with acceptance.”On the other hand, there are plenty ofthings he’s looking forward to. “For too long,I’ve neglected my health and fitness, and finallyI will have the time to go for walks orgo swimming,” he says. “I love gardening, soby the time I’ve managed to prune my treesand bushes, I’ll be fit anyway!“His professional life often entailed lots oftravelling, staying away from home and hisfamily – and Bernd-Uwe is a real patriarch.“I’ve got three sons and a daughter, and sixgrandchildren with number seven soon toarrive,” he smiles. “I won’t be travelling anymore;I’ll stay at home, and we’ll eventuallyGot some news to convey to the EMBLcommunity?A new section on the intranet portalpage is now being used for internal news(see the ‘News’ section on the left handcolumn on http://intranet.embl.de/index.php). More immediate and flexiblethan the newsletter, it offers a furtheropportunity to present your news to therest of EMBL.As scientific stories are already coveredin the Press Releases section, the types ofarticles covered in News might includeretreat announcements, building inaugurations,awards and achievements,new people at EMBL, or announcementsabout new initiatives or services. Thenews appears on the intranet pages atHeidelberg, Grenoble, Hamburg andMonterotondo, so articles of interest tothe entire EMBL community are ideal.move back to the family home near Bonn. Iwant to spend as much time as I can withmy growing number of grandchildren.”He seems to find his peace of mind enjoyingthe simple things in life. “There are somany beautiful places for excursions nearby,and what I like best is visiting a nice castleafter a long walk and stopping for a bite toeat and a decent glass of wine.” And whowould blame him?Everyone is welcome to attend Bernd-Uwe’s farewell party in the ATC on 8 March.See page 11 for more details.EMBL intranet: we want your news!Each story is flagged on the intranetportal page for a day or two until it is replacedwith a new one, and all storiesend up in an archive page for an at-aglanceround-up of recent events (http://intranet.embl.de/communication_outreach/internal_news/index.html).If you have any news that should beconsidered for the EMBL intranet,please write to info@embl.de.Also required: pictures please!If you have any submissions for the EMBLintranet’s Picture of the Day, please alsosend them to info@embl.de. They need bevaguely EMBL-related and from anyoutstation or EMBL location, andpreferably in landscape format (they’ll be180px x 80px on the web). Perhaps youhave a cool scientific image, or a snapshotof a recent EMBL get-together?No full-frontal nudity please!EMBL&cetera • December 2009 3
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Bernd-Uwe retires - EMBL Grenoble

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