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Alumni Relations

Connecting, engaging and nurturing EMBL’s global community of current and former scientists, technicians, communicators and administrators

EMBL Alumni Awards 2025

On Friday 11 July 2025, as part of EMBL Lab Day, the annual EMBL Alumni Award ceremony will provide a platform to celebrate this year’s EMBL Alumni Award recipients and the major impact they have made in their fields.

Join us as we honour, and learn more, about their remarkable contributions to genome engineering and structural biology instrumentation.

The ceremony is free to join, and open to all EMBL staff and alumni.

Whether you’re joining us online or in Heidelberg, this is your chance to learn, reflect, and celebrate the power of science and the EMBL community members driving it!

Register Now (alumni only; current EMBL staff do not need to register)

Friday 11 July 2025

17:30-18:30 CEST (TBC)
EMBL Alumni Awards Ceremony (online and in-person in ATC Klaus Tschira Auditorium)

About the Alumni Award recipients

Irma Querques

EMBL Heidelberg predoc from 2014 to 2018
Assistant Professor & Group Leader, University of Vienna & Max Perutz Labs
Recipient of the 2025 John Kendrew Award, presented by University of Geneva Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology Professor, Orsolya Barabas.

Irma Querques is a genome engineer whose groundbreaking research on CRISPR-associated transposons is paving the way for new, precise gene-editing technologies with broad potential in medicine and biotechnology. A former EMBL Heidelberg predoc (2014–2018), she combines scientific innovation with public engagement, sharing her passion for science through TED talks, festivals, and even hip-hop dance. Querques is also a Branco Weiss Fellow, ERC Starting Grantee, and Vallee Scholar. Find out more

Florent Cipriani

Former Head of Instrumentation, EMBL Grenoble
Recipient of the 2025 Lennart Philipson Award, presented by Head of EMBL Grenoble, Kristina Djinovic Carugo.

Florent Cipriani has made transformative contributions to structural biology through his development of advanced instrumentation for macromolecular crystallography. As Head of EMBL Grenoble’s Instrumentation Team (2003–2020), he led the creation of over 30 innovations — including micro-diffractometers and the CrystalDirect Harvester — now widely used at synchrotron facilities worldwide. His work has enabled thousands of experiments, advancing global biomedical research. Find out more

Why attend?

  • Be inspired by cutting-edge research in genome engineering and structural biology instrumentation.
  • Celebrate the achievements of EMBL alumni whose work is advancing science globally.
  • Connect with the wider EMBL community.

Lab Day is a celebration of EMBL-wide science and, this year, will give us an opportunity to say farewell to our former Director General Edith Heard. Click here to learn more (internal only).

17:15 CEST onwards: speed networking, drinks, dinner and music (in person)

Let’s celebrate together with in-person dinner, drinks and a DJ!

Watch previous EMBL Alumni Award recipients’ talks

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