{"id":5872,"date":"2021-08-05T09:03:32","date_gmt":"2021-08-05T09:03:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/about\/info\/alumni\/?page_id=5872"},"modified":"2023-05-08T14:29:12","modified_gmt":"2023-05-08T14:29:12","slug":"embl-in-portugal-2013","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/about\/info\/alumni\/embl-in-events\/embl-in-portugal\/embl-in-portugal-2013\/","title":{"rendered":"EMBL in… Portugal 2013"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Margarida Amaral, Ivo Telley, Erin Tranfield – EMBL exports to Portugal<\/h3>\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n
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Margarida Amaral
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On 18 July, the Faculty of Sciences at the University of Lisbon and EMBL organised an event dedicated to molecular biology in Portugal and at EMBL \u2013 local alumni were involved as co-organisers, speakers and participants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We spoke to co-organiser and EMBL alumna Margarida Amaral, now Head of the Center for Biodiversity, Functional & Integrative Genomics (BioFIG)\u00a0at the University of Lisbon\u2019s Faculty of Science (FCUL) about the event and her research.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

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We also spoke with two recent postdocs, and newlyweds, now working at the Instituto Gulbenkian de Ci\u00eancia (IGC) as group leader, Ivo Telley, and Electron Microscopy Facility Head, Erin Tranfield, who joined other alumni at a roundtable lunch with EMBL Director General Iain Mattaj.<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

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Ivo Telley and Erin Tranfield
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Interview with Ivo Telley and Erin Tranfield<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

What did you gain from this event?<\/strong>
Ivo<\/strong>: I looked forward to learning about the research experiences of other alumni, and their transition to institutes in Portugal. I also valued Iain\u2019s message to the Portuguese research community: in short, opportunities are there but you have to be proactive.
Erin<\/strong>: I enjoyed the discussion with Iain, and the chance to meet other alumni, some of whom I hope to work with in the future.<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

What drew you to Portugal and the IGC?<\/strong>
Ivo<\/strong>: The IGC is well funded through the Calouste Gulbenkian foundation, and teaching is optional so group leaders can concentrate on their research. Groups are small, most facilities are shared, and interaction between researchers, and therefore collaboration, is very high. Moreover, Erin and I were both offered good positions.
Erin<\/strong>: I was attracted by the enthusiasm of scientists for electron microscopy, the endless opportunities for collaboration, and the opportunity to build an Electron Microscopy Facility to help address their research questions. It\u2019s an added bonus that the IGC is located in such a lovely country as Portugal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tell us about your work and future plans.<\/strong>
Ivo<\/strong>: My research background and interest is in physics and the mechanical aspects of cellular processes. I focus on the mechanical characterisation of mitosis, investigating this process in fruit fly embryo, more precisely in the extract of individual embryos, using an assay I developed at EMBL. The plan is to apply the methods to different insects and investigate if there are conserved mechanisms. A long-term goal is to develop tools to decipher the mechanics of chromosome segregation and the accompanying change of the cytoskeleton.
Erin<\/strong>: I\u2019m centralising the institute\u2019s existing electron microscopy infrastructure, and am about to implement a high pressure freezer that will allow us to improve sample preservation and the quality of our ultra-structural investigations \u2013 this will increase our research capabilities. I have big dreams to expand the capabilities of our current electron microscopy to include higher resolution transmission and the introduction of scanning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As well as moving to Portugal, setting up their labs and facilities, Erin and Ivo married in Switzerland on 4 August \u2013 congratulations!<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

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