New heads of units for EMBL Heidelberg Council ... - EMBL Grenoble

EMBL&cetera • August 2007 • page 424-hour party peopleScorching temperatures didn’t keep more than1,000 guests away from this year’s StaffAssociation Summer Party at EMBLHeidelberg. Bouncy castles, puppet shows, facepainting and pony rides were just some of theattractions for the children. The Walldorfyouth orchestra played while everyone enjoyedthe wonderful food prepared by ClausHimburg and his team – and the iced cocktailswent down a treat again this year. Eveningentertainment came from the Alptraumboys(above right) and “Robbie Williams” (right),and DJ Fay kept the disco going for hardcorepartiers. Best of all, an incredible €3,276 wasraised for the Waldpiraten camp from thisyear’s tombola! Waldpiraten is located nearEMBL Heidelberg and holds summer campsand year-round seminars for children withcancer and their families.The Staff Association would like to thank allthe many volunteers who helped make theparty such a success. Next year’s is planned for21 June, so make a note in your diaries!Keep up-to-date with these and many moretopics at the Staff Association website:www.embl-heidelberg.de/~staff/. (Site forEMBL pensioners: www.embl-heidelberg.de/~staff/pensioners/).– Catherine FloydPhotos: Thomas HeinzmannSay hello to the new Szilárd librariansThe Szilárd Library at EMBL Heidelberg hastwo new custodians since the departure ofDavid Westley and Regina Herhoff in June.First on the scene was Anne Barkworth, aCanadian who has been in Europe since 1993.After working as a librarian and archivist atinstitutes such as the National Library/Archives of Canada, Anne’s first post when shemoved to Europe was at theLandbouwuniversiteit Wageningen in theNetherlands. She has since held similar posts,mainly in Holland, at such diverse places as theRijksmuseum Amsterdam, the Ministry ofForeign Affairs, the World Bank, theInternational Court of Justice and even theRoyal Geological Survey of Morocco.Left: Tobias gets to grips with thelibrary website; right, Anne amongthe journals“I’ve wanted to be a librarian since I waseight years old, and apart from a brief spell asan archaeologist, that’s what I’ve been,” shesays. “I’ve been a little bookworm all my life!”She moved to Heidelberg to take up herEMBL position and so far is very impressed bywhat she sees. “It’s great to be back in a scientificenvironment and one that is so young andinternational,” she says. “It’s so alive here – it’slovely that everyone is on first-name terms.”The second newcomer is Tobias Sack, whoreturns to Germany after eight years inLondon. As a student of History and PoliticalScience, he began working in the library whilewriting up his dissertation, and has stayed inthat line of work ever since. He completed amasters in library and information studies andhas worked in the British Medical Associationand the London School of Hygiene andTropical Medicine (LSHTM) libraries.“I’m used to being in an academic environmentlike EMBL, and it’s very positive to beamong such a lot of individually motivated people,”he says. He’s also enjoying his new surroundings.“The quality of life here is so muchbetter than London. Heidelberg is a beautiful,relaxed place, and I’m looking forward toexploring the local area with my family.”What are their plans for the Szilárd Library?“The first challenge is to make sure the libraryruns as smoothly and successfully as it didunder Regina and David,” Anne says. “We’llalso be concentrating a lot on the pendingmove into the new ATC and trying to makethat as painless as possible.“We’ll also be expanding more into e-books,which will go a long way to improve our serviceto the outstations. Technological advancesare a real priority as the lion's share of ourbudget is spent on electronic resources.”So thank you to Regina and David and bestwishes for the future, and a warm EMBL welcometo Tobias and Anne!

EMBL&cetera • August 2007 • page 7“ReinforcingEMBL’s footprint onthe chemicalbiology map”Researchers at EMBL have just started thefirst phase of a three-year initiative aimedat translating basic research into new anti-cancerdrugs and transferring technology fromEMBL into a new start-up company.A Go-Bio/BioChance Plus award of €3.4mfrom the BMBF will focus on translationalresearch and is coordinated by Joe Lewis, headof the Chemical Biology Core Facility, who issupported by George Reid of the FrankGannon Group in Heidelberg. This grantenables basic biologists, medicinal chemistsand computational chemists to pursue leadsthat have promise as anti-cancer drugs and toenhance the expertise that is currently inhouse.The most promising series of small moleculeswill be tested for efficacy in vivo usingmodels of different tumours, such asleukeamias, lung cancer and breast cancer.This project-driven research will integratechemistry into biology and raise the profile ofEMBL in its chemical biology efforts.The project depends on industry experiencedtalent; Jochen Ammen has just beenhired from a large pharmaceutical company tolead a team of medicinal chemists who areworking in labs temporarily rented from BASFin Ludwigshafen. They have just started tosynthesise the first variations of compoundsidentified in the EMBL Chemical Biology CoreFacility from screens inspired by the basicresearch of the Gannon and Conti laboratories.The Go-Bio project pursues two differentavenues: one is to inhibit Aurora kinases, a keyplayer in many tumours, through a novelallosteric binding site. The details of this siteOne of EMBL’s current aims is to expandfurther into the growing field of chemicalbiology. Here’s how we’re doing it...were uncovered by Elena Conti’s group andIsabelle Vernos’ group at EMBL Heidelberg.The other projects under development arisefrom ground-breaking discoveries by theGannon group in transcriptional cycling. Thecomplexity of these events suggested that it maybe possible to modulate estrogen signalling, akey factor in the development of breast cancer,not only with small molecules that directly interactwith ER-α, but also with small moleculesthat target other processes involved in transcription.Not all of this project will be done at EMBL:after an initial period of one year, part of theBMBF funding and the staff will be transferredto ELARA Pharmaceutical GmbH, a start-upcompany that was founded by Joe, George,Frank Gannon and others last year, for furtherdevelopment.EMBL Heidelberg will eventually have a dedicatedchemistry infrastructure to reflect thegrowing importance of the field in molecularbiology.“Small molecule screening has lately movedaway from pharma and industry into academiclabs,” explains Joe. “Its methods are becomingmore amenable to basic research groups, and sochemical biology is becoming increasinglyimportant to the work done at EMBL. With this,the Go-Bio project will be a great demonstrationthat basic research can address the expectationof society that new medicines can and will bedeveloped from basic biology.”“Through creating a project-led, seamlessflow from basic research through preclinicaldevelopment, we will increase the opportunitiesfor drugable targets and offer greater prospectsfor the treatment of cancer,” says George.New participant in joint chemical biology core facilityHeidelberg University is set to join theDKFZ/EMBL Chemical Biology CoreFacility, resulting in an even better serviceto help scientists develop new researchtools.The three-and-a-half-year old facility,based at EMBL, offers researchers the abilityto screen small molecules and identifybiological inhibitors and drug precursors.The new set-up will pay off not only by providingexcellent research possibilities butalso by benefitting each of the three institutesby attracting scientists and improvingexternal funding for medicinal chemistry.“It adds significant value by creating possibilitiesfor successful technology transfer orfor our spin-off companies such as ElaraPharmaceuticals,” commented MartinRaditsch of EMBLEM, the commercial armof EMBL.Planting the seedSynergy is a word often misused in biology.The 20-22 June EMBO workshop at EMBLHamburg, “Integrated Approaches inStructural Enzymology: The Chemistryand Biochemistry of Catalysis byBiological Systems”, was excellent proofthat true synergy is to be obtained at theinterfaces between scientific disciplines.The workshop, which aimed to give anoverall perspective on current concepts onthe chemistry and biology of enzyme function,brought together about 100 crystallographers,NMR specialists, enzymologists,biochemists and computational biologistsfor sessions on drug design, molecularmotors, new technologies, the origin of thecatalytic power of active sites and the designof new biocatalysts. One highlight amongthe exceptional presentations by high-rankingspeakers was Vern Schramm (AlbertEinstein College, NY), who mapped indetail the transition-state structure of smallmolecule substrates in enzymatic reactionssuch as for the enzyme purine nucleosidephosphorylase. This provides powerfulmechanistic insights into enzymology thatcan be used to aid rational design of substratecompetitive inhibitors with very highpotencies. Using this approach, his lab hasdeveloped a new class of inhibitors that arecurrently being tested in clinical trialsagainst T-cell malignancies.The response from the participants wasvery positive. Extensive discussions andextremely productive poster sessions complementedthe lectures. The idea of integratedmultidisciplinary approaches for anin-depth investigation of enzymes washighly appreciated by the audience.Specific emphasis was given to the applicationand the use of information for the elucidationof structure function relationships.There was general agreement from thecurrent participants that having such aworkshop on a yearly basis could provide aplatform for fruitful discussions, networkingand future collaborations and reinforceEMBL’s footprint on the chemical biologymap.Organising committee:Andrea Schmidt and Victor Lamzin(EMBL Hamburg), Joe Lewis (EMBLHeidelberg), Rikkert Wierenga (Uni. ofOulu), Andrea Mattevi (Uni. of Pavia),Hartmuth Oschkinat (FMP Berlin)

EMBL&cetera • August 2007 • page 8Paul goes back to the classroomAn EBI staff member is making an unusualcareer move; after five years as the coordinatorof the institute’s industry support programme,Paul Matthews is taking what heknows back to the young and impressionableby becoming a science teacher.On a scheme called the Graduate TeacherProgramme, Paul will go straight into twoschools for one academic year, by the end ofwhich he will be expected to have passed all thestandards to become a qualified teacher. It’sdesigned to encourage professional peoplewith financial commitments, and scientists inparticular, to enter teaching and fill the shortageof science teachers.“I feel really lucky to have got on thisscheme; in my area it involves academic helpfrom Cambridge University, some very goodlocal schools in the partnership and the localauthority,” explains Paul. During his 13 yearsin bioinformatics in industry and institutessuch as Sanger and Glaxo as well as the EBI,he’s had a lot of experience in teaching, but ashe says, “so far it has always been adults, andthey were always already interested in science!”In his new job, Paul will be teachingchildren from age 11-16 biology, physics andchemistry, and 16 to 18-year-olds his specialistsubjects, biology and human biology, for A-level and the international baccalaureate.So what made him want to face classroomsfull of potentially disinterested teenagers? Lastyear, Paul underwent major surgery for a congenitalheart problem, and the three months’convalescence gave him a lot of time to reflecton his future. “I’d recommend open heart surgeryto anyone who needs to work out what todo with their life!” he laughs. “I love the EBI, thescience&society“I’d recommend openheart surgery to anyonewho needs to work outwhat to do with their life!”– Paul Matthewscampus and especially the people, but I think tobe able to switch kids on to science – to findways to engage them and make science relevantfor them – will be a really rewarding challenge.”Communicating the value of communicationThe first ever EMBL Science and SocietySymposium organised with the EBI,Biology and Language, brought linguists andscientists together for some unusual andthought-provoking talks.Beginning the afternoon-long symposiumheld at Robertson College in Cambridge on 21July, Svante Pääbo of the MPI in Leipzig talkedabout the FOXP2 gene, mutations of whichcauses severe language and speech problems inhumans, and demonstrated its effect by playingback recordings of the squeaks of mice.Faraneh Vargha-Khadem of the UCLInstitute of Child Health in London went intomore detail about the identification of FOXP2following research into three generations ofthe “KE” family, half of whose members wereaffected with a speech and language disorder,inherited simply as the result of a defect in thatsingle gene.Finally, W. Tecumseh Fitch of the School ofPsychology, University of St Andrews, discussedthe potential to discover more keygenes by pinpointing mechanisms involvedin language and searching for analogues inanimal behaviour.Feedback on the symposium, most ofwhich came from postgraduate biologists,overwhelmingly voted the event “excellent”and praised, in particular, the way two disciplineswere presented coherently to a mixedaudience of scientists and non-scientists.Paul has young children of his own, and thisalso helped him make his decision. “I wantthem to be educated well by good teachers. Butthere’s a serious shortage of science teachers,and if science isn’t taught in a way that kids canrelate to then they very quickly dismiss it. If thepeople who are teaching it aren’t interestedbecause they’re covering for someone or supplyteachers, they can’t convey excitement for thesubject. I thought why shouldn’t someone likeme, with real experience in the field, teach?“It’s not going to be easy – I don’t assume tothink that everyone wants to learn science –but the challenge is to get the ones that thinkthey don’t like science to see that it’s relevantfor them.”He’s already done some weeks’ placementsin his host schools. “One day was a taster dayfor 10-year-olds having their first science lesson,learning how to light a Bunsen burner anddoing flame tests,” he says. “Looking at theirfaces, not one of them was bored. Not everyscience lesson is that much fun, but if you seethe light switch on in someone’s face as theysee something or understand something forthe first time, it gives you a real buzz.“To get the first PhD thesis sent to me by aformer student will be fantastic!”The EBI’s industry support programme willbe handled by consultant Dominic Clark untila new appointment is made, but Paul will stillmaintain ties with the institute. “The EBI feelslike my home. There are more than 1,000 peopleon the whole campus now, and many aregood friends. But I’ll be persuading them tocome to school and give talks. They’re notgoing to escape me!”W. Tecumseh Fitch addresses thequestion of what makes us human

EMBL&cetera • August 2007 • page 9EMBO welcomesHermann BujardthecornerNew Executive Director helped bring EMBOand EMBL to HeidelbergHermann Bujard is EMBO’s new ExecutiveDirector, following Frank Gannon’s move toScience Foundation Ireland (SFI) at the end ofJune. The German-born molecular biologisthas had long-standing links to EMBO, havingbeen a member since 1976 and EMBO Councilmember from 1989-1995. He will lead theorganisation until the next Executive Directoris appointed.Hermann’s association with EMBO datesback to 1970. After hearing that EMBO wasmoving to Germany, he got together with thelate Peter von Sengbusch and EMBO MemberKen Holmes to spearhead the drive to bringEMBO to Heidelberg. Although Munich wasthe favoured location at the time, Heidelbergeventually won out thanks to the group’s persuasivearguments and the support ofHeidelberg’s mayor and local physicists, aswell as a number of other factors.“The physics connection was an importantHermann Bujardone,” explains Hermann. “There were verystrong links between biology and physics inthose days. Heidelberg-based physicists likeWolfgang Gentner and Nobel Laureate HansJensen had the vision to see the opportunitiesthat biology presented and were determined tobring a base for modern biology toHeidelberg.” In the early seventies, Hermannalso served on the EMBO LaboratoryCommittee, laying the foundations for theestablishment of EMBL, which was one of thefounding goals of EMBO. He also co-organisedsome of the early EMBO scientific meetings.In addition to an obvious affection forEMBO and a belief in its role in European science,Hermann brings a wealth of experiencefrom research, industry and politics. He currentlyleads a research laboratory atHeidelberg’s Center for Molecular Biology(ZMBH), which he helped to establish in themid-eighties as its first Director. For sometime, Hermann’s research focused largely onmechanisms of gene regulation. A well-knownby-product was the tetracycline-dependenttranscription control system, widely usedtoday in the study of gene function.Today Hermann’s research focuses exclusivelyon developing vaccines against malaria.His strong biological and humanitarian interestin the disease explains his long-term commitmentto its research. While working atEMBO, he will continue his malaria project.His future plans include returning to Africa tocontinue his studies in the countries mostaffected by the disease.On an academic level, Hermann has publishedover 140 peer-reviewed articles andholds 25 international patents. Amongst astring of honours, including his EMBO membership,he is a member of the Max PlanckInstitute for Medical Research and holds anhonorary doctorate from the University ofWürzburg. The Karl Heinz Beckurts Prize, theCurie Institute’s Yvette Mayent Prize forCancer Research and the 2005 Medal of Meritfrom the German state of Baden-Württembergrepresent some of the awards he has receivedin his still active career.“My first introduction to EMBO and EMBLover three decades ago was the beginning of avery rewarding relationship with both organisations,”recalls Hermann. “I look forward tothe challenge this new role brings and to beable to contribute actively towards EMBO’sfurther development.”– Anne Seller & Lindsay Johnson“O, ye’ll tak’ the high road and I’ll tak’ the low road......an’ I’ll be in Scotland afore ye!” Two ofMonterotondo’s familiar faces are leaving theoutstation to try their hand at a different sortof lifestyle – running an inn in the Scottishcountryside.Rosie Maccagnano, Administration LiaisonOfficer and Nadia Rosenthal’s PA, and herhusband, General Maintenance Assistant AlexRegan, are returning to native pastures at theend of their contracts. While Rosie will take upa similar position at Edinburgh University asGraduate Organisation Manager, in her sparetime she’ll help Alex run their new village innand restaurant.“We’ve been looking for a suitable spot andhave narrowed it down to two or three placeswithin easy reach of Edinburgh,” says Rosie.“It’s going to be an exciting challenge. In fact,the idea to set up a traditional inn came fromAlex’s tradition of organising the Friday nightbeer sessions here at Monterotondo.”Photo: Alex ReganFor visitors and staff alike, Rosie has alwaysbeen a cheery, helpful first port-of-call atMonterotondo, and though she’ll be sorelymissed she’s sure it’s time to return home. “I’vereally loved my job here – it’s the kind of jobwhere you never stand still – and I’ll misseveryone,” she says. “But I’m really lookingfoward to going back to Scotland. Having saidthat, the weather will take a bit of getting usedto, after Italy.”Rosie’s PA duties will be taken over byAlexandra Moreira, and her administrative jobswill be shared between Pascale Beudin, SilviaRossetti, Flavio Zizzo and Tanja Rimbach.Money made easyThere’s a handy new SAP interface onWebBudget View. It makes it easier forbudget holders to see at a glance thebreakdown of their expenditure, and alsoallows Heads of Units to get an overviewof external and internal grant division intheir groups. Best of all, it allows immediateexport of a page to Excel or as a pdf.Go to www.embl.org/staffonly/financematters/sap/index.html for more.

EMBL&cetera • August 2007 • page 10News from the Alumni AssociationThe double life of Silke PichlerFormer EMBL predoc Silke Pichler does ajuggling act with her roles as full-timecadre athlete in the Austrian national team,employee of the Austrian TriathlonFederation and Research Associate in theDepartment of Genetics at CambridgeUniversity, UK.Silke, who studied in the Cell BiologyUnit at EMBL Heidelberg from 1997-2001,points out that “athletics at this level needsabsolute commitment, a professional coach,sponsorship, good training partners, andthe moral support of family and friends”.These components have all been there forSilke: from Tim Williams, her trainer at theCambridge triathlon club, to her sponsorsMike’s Bike in Cambridge and Orca, a wetsuitcompany in New Zealand, to name afew. She is particularly grateful for theencouragement and understanding of hersupervisor, Prof. David Glover, for makingher double life as scientist and athlete possible.In turn, she feels that her scientific workhas benefited from the endurance trainingand racing (ironman, for instance, constitutesover nine hours of 3.8k swimming,112k cycling and 42k running) which havegiven her the mental stamina to compete inscience at a very high level, to change herresearch field twice, and to keep publishing.In 2006 she competed in both the IronmanTriathlon Worldchampionships in Hawaii inOctober and the Ironman 70.3 TriathlonWorldchampionships in Florida inNovember. The latter qualified her for a professionaltriathlon licence and since then shehas completed her first pro race in IronmanAustria 2007 as 11th pro woman. She hopesto match this achievement scientifically bycompleting her article on nuclear tracking inthe syncytial blastoderm of Drosophila in thecoming months.Silke will then return to Austria and is currentlyinvestigating of postdoctoral fellow-Alumni facts...55% of EMBL’s 46alumni in Austriahold senior or facultypositionsships and grants for group leaders. This meansthat she can stay involved with the local chaptermeetings there. Watch this space for newsof future meetings, and let us know if you orsomeone you know would like to help organisethem.– Mehrnoosh RaynerWe want to hear from you! Tell us about yourpersonal or scientific achievements, an interestingevent in which you are involved or giveus feedback on alumni matters atalumni@embl.de.First meeting for alumni in GermanyEMBL alumni in Germany, from former predocsto Unit Coordinators, met in Heidelbergduring the Summer Party on 14 July to discusstheir science and career paths after leavingEMBL. This, the first German Local ChapterMeeting, provided staff and alumni theopportunity to share tips on life after EMBLand find out about potential collaborations.The meeting, which began with a welcomeby Iain Mattaj, was a great success, with stimulatingtalks by Christoph Niehrs, GaiaTavosanis, Marek Cyrklaff and Ralf Jansen, acolourful EMBL update by Matthias Hentzeand a creative discussion on what should beoffered at future meetings, led by ClaudiaKoch-Brandt and Freddy Frischknecht.Microarray just a click awaySick of using Excel spreadsheets to organiseyour microarray data? Help is at hand withemBASE, a microarray storage and analysisdatabase which, as well as providing a completeresource and place to keep your data wellorganised, allows the annotation of uploadeddata in compliance with all the standards.The database, which is available to allEMBL groups, supports both commercialand home-made microarray platforms, and isusable without special bioinformatics skills.emBASE will store your highthroughputresults safely and privately until you chooseto make them public and allows easy submissionto EBI’s ArrayExpress repository, soOne issue which emerged was the unanimouswish to involve more EMBL staff whowould benefit from an awareness of the scienceundertaken by EMBL alumni inGermany and the issues they encounter afterleaving. To this end, a popular suggestion wasto hold these meetings during working hours,or in the winter to coincide with the EMBLBurns’ Night party. Finally, the event wasrounded off nicely with one of ClausHimburg’s famous giant strawberry cakes!For programme details and the participantslist visit www.embl.org/aboutus/alumni/chapters/germany.html.– Mehrnoosh Raynerthere’s no more going over old ground whenpublication time arrives. In addition, as youenter data you can also do analysis, and if youfeel like it’s not enough, data export in variousformats is available.“With emBASE, you can manage all aspectsof your experiments, from chip production toArrayExpress publication,” says developerCharles Girardot from the Furlong and Boulingroups at EMBL Heidelberg, who has beenworking on the database with the help ofSajoscha Sauer and Julien Gagneur (HTFGCenter). For more see http://embase.embl.de/base/ or contact Charles at girardot@embl.de.Please mark your diaries with the followingalumni events and opportunities:• EMBL Alumni at the 2007 ELSOMeeting, Dresden, 2 September.Talks by Daniel Louvard, MatthiasHentze and Kai Simons begin at18:45. See www.elso.org, and contactalumni@embl.de for your freeentrance pass.• The 3rd Local Chapter Meeting inSpain will be held on 7 September atthe CIC bioGUNE near Bilbao. IainMattaj will present what’s new atEMBL, and as well as the standardprogramme there’ll be a visit to theGuggenheim. Contact María(mdmvivanco@cicbiogune.es) or visitwww.embl.org/aboutus/alumni/chapters/spain_portugal.html• 14 September is the application deadlinefor the John Kendrew YoungScientist Award. Nominate a formerEMBL pre- or postdoc for the awardof €1000 or apply directly atwww.embl.org/aboutus/alumni/careers_awards/index.html#kendrew.• To celebrate the opening of the newEast Wing, the EBI invites all EMBLalumni to an Alumni Day on 24October. See www.embl.org/aboutus/alumni/news/oct07.html formore details.

EMBL&cetera • August 2007 • page 11Spending quality time in ViennaEMBL presented its research profile to theinternational gathering of scientists, policymakers, journalists and members of thepublic at the 32nd annual Federation ofEuropean Biochemical Societies (FEBS)congress, held in Vienna on 7-12 July.FEBS, which has more than 46,000 membersthroughout Europe, promotes biochemistry,molecular biology and biophysics.This year’s congress was centred on“Molecular Machines and their Dynamics inFundamental Cellular Functions”. In aninteractive exhibition and countless lecturesand workshops, more than 2,200 visitorslearned about the importance of molecularmachines in the coordination of cellularprocesses like cell division or movement, aswell as the development of diseases resultingfrom the impairment of these molecularmachines. EMBL’s DG Iain Mattaj, Head ofEMBL Hamburg Matthias Wilmanns andgroup leaders Rob Russell, Elena Conti,Darren Gilmour and Elisa Izaurralde contributedas speakers.Apart from scientific exchange, FEBS2007stressed the need for communicating scienceto the public. In collaboration with EMBO,dialoggentechnik and the APA-OTSbookreview“Won for All” reviewed by Mark GreenMichael Ashburner has provided insiderinsight into the history of the Drosophilagenome and how it was sequenced. I know hewas there, as I processed the more extreme ofhis travel bills; such are the joys of being aninstitutional bureaucrat.Why is this story important? Craig Venter,ex-Californian beach bum and Vietnam Vet, isgunning to sequence the human genome andmake a fortune by selling it. SequencingDrosophila will be his proof of concept thatthis can be done quickly, cheaply, privately.The sense of panic in the scientists engaged onthe publicly funded, and of economic necessitymuch more leisurely sequencing ofDrosophila, is palpable. The story Michael tellsis not just of heroes and anti-heroes, but of aclash of cultures. If this was science fiction, itwould be the Empire against theRebelAlliance. But this is science and the storyis more complex, fascinating and the stakes arefar higher. Michael leaves nothing out of thewarts-and-all view apart from sex (which, ifone imagines Drosophila biologists doing it insequence, on the fly or in base pairs, is anentirely commendable decision).We are accustomed to watching scientificpresentations that are thoroughly professional,Originaltext-Service GmbH, several Scienceand Society workshops and lectures encouragedresearchers to improve their communicationskills and gave the public an opportunityto discuss scientific hot topics and theirimpact on society. In addition, FEBS2007engaged school children in popular scientifictopics with the Kids Congress, a collaborationbetween KinderuniWien andKinderbüro, University of Vienna. Strategiesto facilitate careers for women were also aparticular focus, with a FEBS/EMBO workshop,“Women in Science”.Scientists from Europe, the US and Asiastopped by at the EMBL stand to find outmore about research, recruitment, scientifictraining possibilities, services and the visitorsprogramme. The FEBS congress was agreat opportunity to deepen the knowledgeof congress visitors about EMBL, to recruitnew scientists and to seek new collaborations.Ten days later, the EMBL standreturned to Vienna to exhibit with the EBI atanother conference, the joint 15th AnnualInternational Conference on IntelligentSystems for Molecular Biology (ISMB) and6th European Conference on ComputationalBiology (ECCB). – Sabrina Grasswell-ordered and given in a calm and methodicalmanner. However, we just know that it willhave been put together under pressure on theplane coming over, and that the final touchesto the slides will have been made in the taxifrom the airport. This book deals with prepresentation,with the effort, agony, turmoiland high energy that resulted in Drosophilabeing sequenced and kept in the publicdomain. It is very much the story of scientists,and of science on planes, in taxis, as much as inlabs themselves.What are the reasons for buying the book?It is short, funny, the prose breathless, thestory fast-paced, the use of footnotes bothextensive and imaginative.Michael writes withoutfear or favour – and wasfortunate to find an editorwho allowed full rein tohis recollections. It is thehistory of scientificendeavour as it is lived.“Won for All: How theDrosophila Genome WasSequenced”, Michael Ashburner,Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press, 2006,107 pp. ISBN 0-87969-802-0.newsinbrief❏ A delegation headed by the vice-chancellorof research from Monash University,Australia, visited EMBL Heidelberg on 23-24July to look around and discuss Australia’snew associate membership status.❏ Strategy developers from top institutesJanelia Farm and The Pasteur Insititutehave both visited EMBL Heidelberg over thesummer to see how it runs and use it as abenchmark for their own organisations.❏ For the second year running, a group of 30North American undergraduate biologystudents visited EMBL Heidelberg as part ofthe RISE (Research Internship for Scienceand Engineering) programme funded bythe DAAD (German Academic ExchangeService), in which scientists-to-be get toknow some of the most interesting researchplaces in Europe.❏ Applications are open for EMBL’s newInterdisciplinary Postdoc (EIPOD) positions,aimed at promoting interdisciplinaryresearch, until 31 August. Visitwww.embl.org/training/eipod for details.❏ Free courses in the new EMBL Non-Scientific Training and Development programmefor the autumn includeInterviewing Skills, Minute Taking withConfidence, Presentation Skills, StrategicThinking, Project Management forResearch Group Leaders and a variety ofInformation Technology tutorials. Visit thewebsite at www.embl.org/staffonly/ personnel/training_dev/index.htmlfor more.❏ The winner of this year’s EMBO goldmedal is Jan Löwe of the Medical ResearchCouncil’s Laboratory of Molecular Biology(MRC-LMB) Cambridge, UK, who wasselected in recognition of his landmarkwork on the structure and function of proteinsinvolved in bacterial cell division.❏ Ludwig-Maximilian’s Universität (LMU)Munich has now joined as EMBL’s secondGerman partner university for joint PhDdegrees. The LMU was one of only 3German universities which won in the“Exzellenzinitiative” last year.❏ The Thalia EMBL Theatre Club performedtheir own adaptation of “The Three LittlePigs” for the Kindergarten kids on 24 July.This was a result of a suggestion by theKindergarten teachers that the club visitonce a week and, together with the olderkids, make the props for the play. It was a lotof fun for everyone, and the club hopes tomake it an annual event. For more detailsabout the theatre club and other things toget involved in, see www.emblheidelberg.de/~staff/clubs.htm.

people@EMBLawards&honoursNew Gene Expression group leader Christian Haering is from nearMunich and studied biochemistry at the University of Regensburg,Germany. During his undergraduate study he joined Tom Cech’s labat the University of Colorado, Boulder, USA, and completed his diplomathesis there. He then did his PhD in Kim Nasmyth’s lab at the IMPin Vienna and was a postdoc at Oxford University, UK. His group willuse yeast to study chromosome dynamics during mitosis, with anemphasis of the mechanism of two SMC protein complexes, cohesinand condensin, using biochemistry, cell and structural biology.Grenoble’s newest group leader Daniel Panne grew up in Freiburg,Germany and did his PhD in Basel, Switzerland and his postdoctoralresearch at Harvard University in Boston. His lab will focus on theswitching mechanisms that underlie transcriptional regulation ineukaryotes, with a special interest on cooperative assembly of “generic”transcription factors into specific superstructures (sometimes alsocalled “enhanceosomes”). They will continue to focus on the structuralanalysis of these complex transcriptional assemblies, with anemphasis on systems that are important in the immune system.Tanja Rimbach’s position at EMBL Monterotondo designates 50% ofher time to support users’ IT needs and 50% to support the outstation’sadministration. Her IT responsibilities will establish a muchneededon-site computer support service in Monterotondo, mainly inthe area of desktop support. When she has completed a four-monthtraining period at EMBL Heidelberg, she’ll be off to join her colleaguesin Italy. Originally from Wanne-Eickel in the Ruhr area,Tanja has lived in Rome for six years working on major IT consultingprojects.Lars Hufnagel will join EMBL Heidelberg as group leader on 1 September. He will start in theCell Biology and Biophysics Unit with a joint appointment in Developmental Biology.Yann Chabod will start as new Head of Personnel on 1 September.The Lautenschläger Research Prize 2007 goes to Matthias Hentze and the University ofHeidelberg’s Andreas Kulozik for the successful cooperation of basic research and clinical applicationin their Molecular Medicine Partnership Unit. The prize, donated by ManfredLautenschläger, founder of the MLP AG financial services company, is Germany’s most generouslyendowed research prize donated by a private individual, and is awarded to scientists of theUniversity of Heidelberg and to those from elsewhere with close research links to the university.Postdoc Jan Medenbach has been awarded two prizes by his former institute, the University ofGiessen. He won the Promotionspreis, awarded every year for the best PhD thesis, and a brandnew award, the Fachbereich Biologie und Chemie, from his old department. Jan, who is inMatthias Hentze’s lab, will be awarded the Promotionspreis in a ceremony in November.Former EMBL PhD student Andreas Lingel from Elisa Izaurralde’s lab has been awarded theETH medal for an outstanding thesis by ETH Zurich in Switzerland. The award comprises a silvermedal and 1500 CHF. It’s the second time Andreas has received a medal from ETH, the firstbeing for his diploma thesis in 2002.EMBL Heidelberg postdoc Stephen Rea from the Akhtar lab isone of this year’s winners of the prestigious President of IrelandYoung Researcher Award (PIYRA) awarded by the ScienceFoundation Ireland. The five-year award will help Stephen starthis own lab at the University of Galway, where he will continueto study epigenetic mechanisms and their role in cancer.Right: Irish President Mary McAleese congratulates Stephen.events@EMBL22-31 August EMBL HeidelbergEMBO Practical Course on Methods in CellBiology: Exploring the Dynamics of CellularOrganisation2-8 Sept EMBL HeidelbergEMBO Practical Course on ChromatinImmunoprecipitation and related techniques3-4 Sept EMBL HeidelbergConference: 4th PARP Regio Meeting “NADMetabolites in Genome Regulation”12-16 Sept EMBL HeidelbergConference: EMBO Conference on ProteinSynthesis and Translational Control (inpartnership with Cold Spring HarborLaboratories)17 Sept EMBL HeidelbergScience and Society: UnconceivedAlternatives and the Funding of ScientificResearch. P. Kyle Stanford, Department ofLogic and Philosophy of Science, Universityof California17-19 Sept EMBL HeidelbergJoint EMBL/Affymetrix Exon ArraysWorkshop: From Experiment to BiologicalUnderstanding18-19 Sept EMBL MonterotondoHeads of Units Meeting/Senior ScientistsMeeting/Faculty Retreat25 Sept EMBL HeidelbergEMBL Distinguished Visitor Lecture:Barbara J. Meyer, Univ. of California,Berkeley, Department of Molecular & CellBiology2-5 Oct EMBL HeidelbergCourse: A joint EMBL/Agilent TechnologiesPractical Course on MicroRNA profilingusing in situ synthesised oligonucleotideMicroarrays3-5 Oct EMBL HeidelbergConference: EMBO Workshop: CommonRegulatory Mechanisms in Haemopoiesisand Neurogenesis8 Oct EMBL HeidelbergEMBL Distinguished Visitor Lecture:Margaret Buckingham, Institut Pasteur25-27 Oct EMBL HeidelbergConference: 9th International PhD StudentSymposium. Patterns in Biology:Organisation of Life in Space and Time2-3 Nov EMBL Heidelberg8th EMBL/EMBO Joint Conference 2007on Science and Society: The Future of ourSpecies – Evolution, Disease and SustainableDevelopmentFor more events, visit www.embl.org/eventsEMBL&cetera 40, August 2007. EMBL&cetera is published by EMBL’s Office of Information and Public Affairs, Meyerhofstrasse 1, D-69117 Heidelberg,e-mail: info@embl.de. Online version available at www.embl.org/aboutus/news/publications/newsletter. Editor: Vienna Leigh. Contributors: George Reid,,Lena Raditsch, Silke Schumacher, Anna-Lynn Wegener, Catherine Floyd, Louisa Wright, Vicky Schneider, Andreea Gruia. Photographic support: EMBLPhotolab. Printed by ColorDruckLeimen.