Marie Curie Actions: Inspiring Researchers - Imdea

Mighty Mini-MBABut Biomem also stepped outside of the traditional trainingroutine, introducing the innovative ‘Mini-MBA – from Scienceto Business’, which offered Fellows high-level exposure tocommercial issues. Held at Donau University and taught bycompany executives, the course covered the skills needed tocommercialise a scientifi c idea. Topics covered included scientifi cwriting, project design, team construction and management,intellectual property issues and fi nancial planning. Now opento any applicant, it continues as an annual exercise, makingthe Mini-MBA one of Biomem’s lasting legacies.Breaking through barriersThe Fellows and their science have advanced tremendouslyover the course of the programme. Their projects were allat the cutting edge of membrane research and led to newknowledge on topics such as the structural and functionalcharacterisation of new receptors through to protein-lipidinteractions (infl uence of membrane proteins on the lipidphysical state or vice versa) and the structural propertiesof well-known ones. New methodologies have also beendeveloped as well as novel reagents such as the detergentlike‘amphipols’.In general, the signifi cance of these studies is that theycharacterise natural biological processes in ways that enhanceour understanding of systems involved in human health. Bydirectly targeting particular proteins and infl uencing humanbehaviour, our society is better equipped to combat diseaseand dysfunction.Even before the four-year programme had ended, many papershad been published and several PhD degrees awarded. InNature Reviews on Microbiology, particular emphasis wasplaced on the crystal structure of the OppA structure. Manymore papers are due to be published in the coming monthsand years.Finally, a common stake in the progress of the Fellows hasintensifi ed collaboration between several of the participatinglaboratories and is continuing beyond the end of theprogramme – to the benefi t of the structure and effi cacy ofEuropean science.66