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Ivy Kupec

12 February 2024 Female scientist stands in front of white shelves filled with vials of fruit flies

What I’ve learned: Anne Ephrussi

Lab Matters After 32 years at EMBL – leading a developmental biology research group and later simultaneously serving as EMBL’s Dean for its PhD programme, Anne Ephrussi has retired, ready to start her life’s next chapter.

2024

lab-matters

15 November 2023

Why time is of the essence in development

EMBLetc EMBL developmental biologists – with help from other disciplines – pursue the significance of time, timing, and transitions in organisms during their development

2023

27 September 2023 A female scientist with shoulder-length hair and black shirt listens to a male scientist in burgundy shirt and white beard, seated to the right.

Five decades of EMBL visits

Lab Matters Structural biologist Shlomo Trachtenberg has made research trips to EMBL from Israel since the late 1970s and reflects on the boost EMBL’s technology provided his research, the ingredients for an ideal research institution, and his ongoing fascination with microscopes.

2023

lab-matters

24 August 2023 Set against a blue background, an illustration of a small paper shredder seemingly works at shredding mRNA, often in the form of origami shapes that float nearby.

Deciding when to destroy mRNA

Alumni Elena Conti will discuss how cells control the life and death of mRNA molecules at the next annual Kafatos Lecture on 20 October in Munich.

2023

alumni

18 August 2023 On green-hued multi-coloured background are four circle photographs of scientists working with high-tech equipment

Bringing scientific services together ‘2RISE’

Events An upcoming EMBL-led infrastructure management training will help formalise information exchange in the Rhine-Neckar region to widen access to technology and scientific services for members of the Health + Life Science Alliance.

2023

events

4 July 2023 EMBL logo amended to note its upcoming 50th anniversary

Save the date: 4-5 July 2024!

Events EMBL will celebrate its 50th anniversary in 2024 with a dynamic scientific symposium. The event will share fundamental research that continues to open the way to scientific discoveries.

2023

events

28 June 2023 Female scientist in white lab coat enjoying camaraderie of colleagues.

After EMBL: Urtė Neniškytė

Alumni EMBL Rome alumna Urtė Neniškytė returned to her native Lithuania, helping establish the Vilnius University-EMBL Partnership Institute and advance genome-editing technologies there.

2023

alumni

22 June 2023 Woman stands in front of railing.

Welcome: Sihem Bennour

Lab Matters Sihem Bennour, new head of HR, foresees a deeper culture of information sharing, listening, and problem solving with EMBL staff.

2023

lab-matters

25 May 2023 Close-up photo of a mother and father with their two young daughters

After EMBL: Heiko Runz and Laurence Ettwiller

Alumni From biking together while at EMBL to assistant professorships at Heidelberg University, two academics soon formed a union that took them to the United States., into various industry positions, and now to a life with two young children.

2023

alumni

28 April 2023 two students wear virtual reality headsets

Building a broader European science community

Lab Matters Croatian scientists and students from the Ruđer Bošković Institute and University of Zagreb visited EMBL to exchange ideas with researchers and public outreach experts on ways to increase interest, awareness, and involvement in science.

2023

lab-matters

17 April 2023 Photo of EMBL alumni in current lab in Spain

After EMBL: Thomas Graf

Alumni Alumnus Thomas Graf reflects on his time at EMBL, offering an update on his whereabouts and advice for young scientists.

2023

alumni

4 April 2023 Title slide for the conference, The organism and its environment

Life in context

Events Upcoming EMBO/EMBL symposium provides a forum to explore how organisms function together, and how they react or adapt to changes at different molecular levels.

2023

events

3 April 2023 Two male scientists with safety glasses at EMBL Imaging Centre

Dispensing microscopy expertise

Lab Matters Home to some of Europe’s most cutting-edge tools in molecular biology, EMBL has long shared its expertise and access to these tools through an extensive repertoire of courses, conferences, seminars, and other training. And now included in this mix is a job shadowing programme at EMBL Imaging…

2023

lab-matters

22 March 2023 Artistic representation that features a long, winding helix joining together a doughnut-figure to a small shaggy ball to indicate the connections long-read sequencing can make about DNA mutations.

The ‘long read’ for cancer

Science Using Oxford Nanopore long-read sequencing, EMBL scientists sequenced a primary childhood brain tumour known as a medulloblastoma, uncovering a novel complex mutation pattern.

2023

science

13 February 2023 Female scientist stands in front of lab bench

Welcome: Hanh Vu

Lab Matters Group Leader Hanh Vu studies ‘immortal’ flatworms that can grow and de-grow to understand better factors that determine organisms’ sizes.

2023

lab-matters

21 November 2022 male scientist in green shirt and dark pants stands outside in front of tree

Welcome Jordi van Gestel

Lab Matters Looking to understand microbial predator-prey relationships, EMBL’s newest group leader tackles a molecular ‘arms race’ in his lab.

2022

lab-matters

16 November 2022

The power of a pesticide library

EMBLetc EMBL research groups apply molecular biology and its research tools to better understand agricultural pesticides

2022

31 October 2022 Two photos of a cell nucleus with blue, bandage-like objects wrapped around a roundish nucleus. The photos show before and after a parasitic invasion, so few chromosomes remain afterwards.

Plankton zombies for Halloween!

Science Plankton parasites provide a zombie story perfect for Halloween. While invading single-celled plankton, these parasites devour the cell’s nucleus and hijack metabolism while the organism remains alive.

2022

science

21 October 2022 A female scientist in a blue dress stands in front of blurred woodsy background

Welcome: Flora Vincent

Lab Matters After a postdoc at Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel, Flora Vincent has joined EMBL’s Developmental Biology unit to further explore the world of phytoplankton.

2022

lab-matters

29 September 2022 young girl in lab coat

Tools for teachers

Lab Matters EMBL reminds teachers of freely available educational resources and workshops just in time for school.

2022

lab-matters

9 September 2022 A female career advisor at computer participates in webinar

Insights into scientific careers

Events As the career landscape continues to change for PhDs and postdocs, the EMBL Fellows’ Career Service offers webinars that present professional options in and beyond academia.

2022

events

7 September 2022 Female scientist stands in laboratory setting

Augmenting science

Lab Matters The Scientific Visitor Programme shares EMBL tools and talent with outside researchers in collaborative, multidisciplinary environments.

2022

lab-matters

4 August 2022 An illustration provides representation of fingers hovering over a cell phone

Zooming in to get the full picture

Science EMBL and UW researchers plus additional collaborators have constructed a complete map of fruit fly embryonic development using machine learning. This research is foundational to better understanding overall embryo development in other species, including humans.

2022

science

20 July 2022 A woman stands in front of shelving filled with notebook binders.

Welcome: Maria Papanikolaou

Lab Matters EMBL’s new archive and records manager, Maria Papanikolaou, explains the dual role she and an additional colleague will have in the Office of Science Information Management.

2022

lab-matters

18 July 2022 Large, elongated purple molecule has an on/off switch on it pointed to on.

The retron switch

Science EMBL researchers now understand the function of an elusive small DNA in bacteria and have developed a tool that can be used to better understand what might ‘switch on’ bacterial immune defences.

2022

science

2 June 2022 BII and EMBL logos are on a white band set against a wavy green background

Teamed up to innovate

Lab Matters A new formal collaboration agreement enables will help smooth the transition from fundamental science to innovation.

2022

lab-matters

5 May 2022 Colourful vertical panels each show different microscopic images possible with the high-tech tools in EMBL's Imaging Centre

Enabling imaging across scales

Events EMBL’s first Imaging Centre Symposium will occur onsite at EMBL and include tours of the new Imaging Centre on 31 May, introducing participants to the facility and its staff and featuring talks on the rapid developments in imaging technologies that have led to notable biological and medical…

2022

events

23 February 2022 A male scientist in a white shirt stands at a walkway railing.

Welcome: Michael Dorrity

Lab Matters Michael Dorrity, one of EMBL’s newest group leaders, is studying how the environment influences early life stages in zebrafish.

2022

lab-matters

9 December 2021 Colourful interwoven coils are displayed against a grid of small black and white photographic images.

A gallery of human RNA polymerases

Science New structural biology research provides fundamental information critical to understanding enzyme mutations connected to rare diseases and cancers.

2021

science

29 November 2021 Male scientist in front of blurred woodland background

Welcome: Niccolò Banterle

Lab Matters Using gene editing and three types of microscopy, one of EMBL’s newest group leaders is deciphering the functions of one of the smallest molecules involved in cell division, motility, and signalling, known as a centriole.

2021

lab-matters

25 November 2021 Female scientist in front of a background of green plants

Welcome: Maria Zimmermann-Kogadeeva

Lab Matters Maria Zimmermann-Kogadeeva is one of EMBL’s newest group leaders and a computational biologist whose research group applies computational modelling to better understand the metabolism of gut bacteria and their potential to have far-reaching impacts on other organs.

2021

lab-matters

9 November 2021 students looking a computer monitor and microscope

New horizons for the EIPP

Lab Matters EMBL's PhD and postdoc programmes evolve to the more multidisciplinary way of doing great molecular biology research.

2021

lab-matters

28 October 2021 female scientist sits in front of building

Welcome: Svetlana Dodonova

Lab Matters Svetlana Dodonova is one of EMBL's newest group leaders, leading a team of researchers who will study how genetic material is organised inside cells using structural biology approaches.

2021

lab-matters

22 October 2021 Oblong shape with two holes and coloured dots inside, representing phytoplankton cells and nitrogen-fixing bacteria

Analysis and sorting with flow cytometry

Lab Matters A technology around since the ‘60s, flow cytometry has increasing applications. New leadership at EMBL’s flow cytometry facilities is looking to ease use, expand training, and encourage more collaboration.

2021

lab-matters

7 October 2021 SARS-CoV-2 and planet Earth are merged together in this illustration

Six Ways to Protect the Planet Against Pandemics*

Events EMBL will host a conference to look at the state of the pandemic, lessons learned, and ways to improve pandemic preparedness. Here’s a sneak peek into what promises to be another interesting and informative EMBL conference.

2021

events

15 September 2021 A dark blue classic star map view is overlaid upon scientific data

Charting a multi-omic universe

Science A research collaboration used machine learning to map tumour molecular make-up, potentially paving way to more customised cancer treatment.

2021

science

9 July 2021 Melissa Graewert stands in front of steely machine

From antibodies to nanoplastics

Science EMBL’s Melissa Graewert and colleagues are taking a structural biologist’s approach to better understanding nanoplastic particles.

2021

science

22 June 2021 Woman stands at brown railing in front of trees

Welcome: Anna Erzberger

Lab Matters Anna Erzberger, one of EMBL’s newest group leaders, will provide unique perspective as a theoretical biological physicist.

2021

lab-matters

5 May 2021 Woman sits at desk in office setting

After the lecture: Zehra Sayers

Alumni Zehra Sayers explains what makes the SESAME synchrotron special, why we should not fear failure, and why curiosity is her biggest driver.

2021

alumni

26 February 2021 Woman with long brown hair stands in front of snow scene with arms crossed in front of her.

Welcome: Sinem Saka

Lab Matters As one of EMBL’s newest group leaders, Sinem Saka will combine multiple technologies, such as microscopy and single-cell omics, to solve biological puzzles.

2021

lab-matters

11 February 2021 Maria-Theresa Licka holding a smartphone displaying an app she developed. Vineyards, houses and hills in the background.

Coding between the vines

Lab Matters EMBL Teen Maria-Theresa Licka shares how female scientists guided & inspired her to develop an app to ID vine disease.

2021

lab-matters

18 January 2021 man wearing sweater and glasses stands in front of snow and glassy building

Welcome: Timo Zimmermann

Lab Matters The EMBL Imaging Centre is scheduled to open in 2021 with Timo Zimmermann as Team Leader for advanced light microscopy technology development and service provision.

2021

lab-matters

15 January 2021 young man with beard and mustache stands in front of window with blurry background

Welcome: Olivier Duss

Lab Matters One of EMBL’s newest group leaders, Olivier Duss, will explore how RNA folds into functional structures and how it works with proteins to control a diverse range of activities in the cell.

2021

lab-matters

7 December 2020 Female scientist stands in front of electron microscope that is taller than she is

Seeing deeper inside cells

Science While cryo-electron tomography (cryo-ET) was first envisioned in 1968, the advances the Mahamid group are bringing to this 3D method for studying molecules directly inside cells are new, and are likely to greatly expand its use.

2020

science

24 November 2020 Red loops on a black background are dotted with bright red flecks and pale blue ovals as part of a confocal microscope image of bone marrow cells.

A loopy baseline

Picture of the week Studying cancers means also knowing what healthy cells look like. In this case, mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) from healthy bone marrow are a bit ‘loopy’.

2020

picture-of-the-week

27 October 2020 Microscopic image of a cell, nucleus visible in bright green, cell membrane stained with a purple dye against black background.

Party at the nucleus?

Picture of the week The nucleus of this cell fluoresces in bright green thanks to GFP-labelled nucleoporin proteins. EMBL scientists use engineered nucleoporins as 3D reference standards to improve super-resolution microscopy.

2020

picture-of-the-week

16 October 2020 Abstract graphic with big waves of black, white and grey somewhat like yin and yang, with two brain-shaped leaves in the upper right and lower left quadrants, one of which is green and more leafy-looking.

Taking charge by seeking ways to achieve gender balance

Events A three-day virtual conference, ‘Gender Roles and their Impact in Academia’, explored how biology, social structures, and unconscious bias shape gender roles, and discussed ways to achieve equal opportunities for men and women in academia.

2020

events

6 October 2020 A series of images demonstrates the cell cycle trajectory, the first frame in each row shows a cell’s nucleus in grey. As it moves through its life cycle and enters new phases, markers change colour from red to green to pinpoint progression.

Deep learning captures cell cycle

Science Members of an EMBL-led research group with collaborators in Estonia and Russia have built and trained a deep learning model to better understand how cells grow and divide.

2020

science

22 September 2020 Black and white electron microscope image of Anopheles mosquito gametes, looking much like feathery fern leaf stencils

A bloom of crystals

Picture of the week How does your crystal garden grow? EMBL's Electron Microscopy Core Facility was able to capture this garden of blooming crystals as they studied mosquito reproductive cells.

2020

picture-of-the-week

17 September 2020 Colorful illustration conveys the balancing act women in science face, going between family and work responsibilities and wanting to succeed in both roles.

Indirect impacts of a pandemic on women in science

Events The EMBL conference that explored direct and indirect impacts from the current pandemic on women in science allowed for information and story sharing both in the form of lectures but also via online platforms like Slack and social media that included Twitter.

2020

events

10 September 2020 Two researchers at EMBL's state-of-the-art Electron Microscopy Core Facility (EMCF). A female scientist is using a binocular microscope, a male scientist is standing next to her.

Level up!

Lab Matters ARISE fellowships to offer first-ever comprehensive training for bioscience infrastructure operations

2020

lab-matters

8 September 2020 A network of tubes and cells in red and blue.

Not a galaxy far, far away

Picture of the week While this may seem like a nebula made up of interstellar clouds of dust and ionised gases, this image isn’t of a galaxy beyond the Milky Way.

2020

picture-of-the-week

7 September 2020 science diplomacy

Looking forward

Lab Matters Two EMBL speakers gave presentations that looked toward the future and at ways to trailblaze on the endless frontier of science.

2020

lab-matters

31 August 2020 3D image of plant cells. The ones identified by the algorithm are brightly coloured.

Intelligent software tackles plant cell jigsaw

Science Starting with computer code and moving on to a more user-friendly graphical interface called PlantSeg, the Kreshuk Group at EMBL and collaborators built a simple open-access method to provide the most accurate and versatile analysis of plant tissue development to date.

2020

science

26 August 2020 Colorful illustration conveys the balancing act women in science face, going between family and work responsibilities and wanting to succeed in both roles.

COVID-19’s indirect attack on women

Events More than 500 people have registered for an EMBL conference, "The impact of the COVID-19 crisis on women in science: Challenges and solutions." Scheduled for 9 September, the conference is free and open to all. Pre-registration is still available and required to attend.

2020

events

18 August 2020 Three cells, each looking like a face.

Three little ghosts

Picture of the week Despite their ghostly appearance, these are very real cell nuclei infected with Influenza A virus – the only influenza virus known to cause pandemics.

2020

picture-of-the-week

21 July 2020 Top row: The evolution of tumour cells (green) within a normal organoid (grey) shown in three panels. Lower row: Surface rendition of tumour cells and labels new cells that arise from a single cell in the same colour.

A tool to improve cancer research

Science EMBL scientists have created a new, realistic 3D testbed that could help achieve the goal of stopping cancers before they start by studying cancer cells as they first form.

2020

science

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