This year, EMBL is honoured to benefit from a generous donation from alumna Waltraud Ackermann to sustain the Kafatos Lecture, a flagship event that brings world-class life sciences and scientists to young researchers and the wider public. Her gift will help ensure that this important lecture continues while EMBL seeks a long-term donor to secure its future for years to come.

For Waltraud, this contribution is deeply personal. She served as Personal Assistant to EMBL’s first three Directors General—Sir John Kendrew (1975–1982), Lennart Philipson (1982–1993), and Fotis Kafatos (1993–2005)—during her 24 years at EMBL from 1974 to 1998. As someone who witnessed the Laboratory grow from its earliest days, she speaks of EMBL as a family and of the profound sense of purpose she felt supporting its mission.

Although she retired more than two decades ago, Waltraud remains closely connected to EMBL and its people. The Kafatos Lecture resonated strongly with her, given her longstanding connection to Fotis Kafatos. Supporting a lecture in his name felt, in her words, like a way to “give something back to the community that shaped my life”.

Waltraud, now 85, welcomed the Head of Alumni Relations, Mehrnoosh Rayner, and first EMBL Librarian, Mary Holmes, to her home in the Pfalz in August 2025, where she reflected warmly on her time at EMBL and on the friendships and values that have stayed with her ever since.

Her donation will directly support the organisation of the Kafatos Lecture in the coming years—allowing EMBL to continue engaging the public in cutting-edge life science research—while a dedicated fundraising effort seeks a foundation or individual supporter to carry the lecture forward for the longer term.

Celebrating alumni generosity

Waltraud’s support is a powerful example of how EMBL alumni can help strengthen our community and expand the reach of EMBL’s mission. Whether through mentoring, volunteering, or philanthropic gifts – be it for example an annual donation, a named fund or a legacy, alumni play an essential role in advancing breakthrough research and bringing this to society and in inspiring the next generation.

We are deeply grateful to Waltraud for her generosity, her trust, and her lifelong connection to EMBL.