Miscellaneous scientific news/publications

3 December 2024 – EMBO announces the selection of 27 life scientists as the newest members of the EMBO Young Investigator Programme. The programme supports young group leaders in Europe and beyond. The new young investigators will start in January, be active members of the programme for four years, and become part of an international network of nearly 800 current and former EMBO Young Investigators, Installation Grantees and Global Investigators. They carry out research across a wide range of life sciences topics from cell and computational biology to immunology and neuroscience.
"EMBO welcomes the new young investigators, a group of exceptional scientists who represent innovation and excellence in their fields. The multidisciplinary EMBO Young Investigator Network that they will join generates many opportunities for forming connections. We are delighted to support this next generation of scientific leaders and the collaborations they will form,” says EMBO Director Fiona Watt.
Networking opportunities for EMBO Young Investigators and their lab members are central to the programme. The young investigators, who receive an award of 15,000 euros, also benefit from training in laboratory leadership and responsible conduct of research, access to core facilities at EMBL in Heidelberg, Germany, and mentoring by EMBO Members. They can apply for additional grants, for example for organizing or travelling to conferences.
Of the 27 new EMBO Young Investigators, 14 are female (52%) and 13 are male (48%). They are based in 10 member states of the EMBC, the intergovernmental organization that funds the EMBO Programmes, and Japan. In total, the programme received 207 eligible applications, and the success rate was 13%. In the framework of the memorandum of cooperation between EMBO and the Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST), scientists funded by certain programmes of JST were eligible apply to the EMBO Young Investigator Programme for the first time in 2024.
The next deadline for applications is 1 April 2025. More information about the programme, including eligibility criteria and the application process, is available online.

New EMBO Young Investigators
Name Research project Affiliation Location
Ilary Allodi Understanding the role of neural circuit dysfunctions in ALS-FTD pathophysiology University of St Andrews St Andrews, UK
Benedetta Artegiani Enlightening brain and liver biology and disease with novel human-based models Princess Máxima Center for Pediatric Oncology Utrecht, NL
Thibaut Brunet Evolutionary origin of animal morphogenesis Institut Pasteur Paris, FR
Johan Decelle Structural and metabolic connection in planktonic cell-cell symbioses Université Grenoble Alpes Grenoble, FR
Gautam Dey Evolutionary cell biology of mitosis and nuclear remodelling EMBL Heidelberg Heidelberg, DE
Basil Greber Structure and function of DNA repair assemblies and cyclin-dependent kinases The Institute of Cancer Research London, UK
Itamar Harel Experimental biology of vertebrate aging and age-related diseases The Alexander Silberman Institute of Life Sciences Jerusalem, IL
Katharina Höfer Bacterial epitranscriptomics Max Planck Institute for Terrestrial Microbiology Marburg, DE
Momoko Ikeuchi Self-organization of plant cells during organ regeneration Nara Institute of Science and Technology Nara, JP
Claudia Keller Valsecchi Gene dosage and sex differences Institute of Molecular Biology Mainz, DE
Charlotte Kirchhelle From edge to organ: how plants shape organs National Research Institute for Agriculture, Food and Environment Lyon, FR
Eva Kummer Mitochondrial genome maintenance and gene expression University of Copenhagen Copenhagen, DK
Felix Leroy Neuronal circuits supporting cognition and social interactions in the mouse Instituto de Neurociencias San Juan de Alicante, ES
Gabriel Neurohr Cell size and crowding homeostasis ETH Zurich Zurich, CH
Mor Nitzan Representation, inference and design of multicellular systems Hebrew University Jerusalem, IL
Sylvie Noordermeer DNA double-strand break repair pathways in health and disease Leiden University Medical Center Leiden, NL
Tomáš Pluskal Decoding the chemical universe of plants Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry Prague, CZ
Lucia Prieto-Godino Mechanisms of neural circuit evolution: from molecules to networks The Francis Crick Institute London, UK
Julia Qüesta Epigenetic mechanisms underlying plant developmental transitions Centre for Research in Agricultural Genomics Barcelona, ES
Johannes Rebelein Microbial metalloenzymes: characterizing and engineering microbial nitrogenases Max Planck Institute for Terrestrial Microbiology Marburg, DE
Erdinc Sezgin Restoring immune fitness through biophysical manipulations Karolinska Institutet Solna, SE
Marta Shahbazi Alonso Mechanisms of self-organization in the early mammalian embryo MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology Cambridge, UK
Ralph Stadhouders Molecular mechanisms underlying lymphocyte memory and dysfunction Erasmus University Medical Center Rotterdam, NL
Teresa Thurston Host pathogen interactions and innate immune signaling University of Oxford Oxford, UK
Agnes Toth-Petroczy Protein plasticity and evolution Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics Dresden, DE
Florian Wilfling Deciphering autophagosome assembly and cargo selection using correlative cryo-ET Max Planck Institute of Biophysics Frankfurt, DE
Simone Zaccaria Investigating metastatic cancer evolution at single-cell whole-genome resolution University College London London, UK

About EMBO
EMBO is an organization of more than 2,100 leading researchers that promotes excellence in the life sciences in Europe and beyond. The major goals of the organization are to support talented researchers at all stages of their careers, stimulate the exchange of scientific information, and help build a research environment where scientists can achieve their best work.
EMBO helps young scientists to advance their research, promote their international reputations and ensure their mobility. Courses, workshops, lectures and EMBO Press publications disseminate the latest research and offer training in techniques to maintain high standards of excellence in research practice. EMBO helps to shape science policy by seeking input and feedback from our communities and by following closely the trends in science. For more information: www.embo.org