A drinks reception was followed by dinner at Cielo\u2019s restaurant in the lively environment of Birmingham\u2019s Brindley Place. \u201cHolding our reception at The EMBO Meeting \u2013 and its predecessor the ELSO Meeting \u2013 has been a priority for us since 2005, benefitting from an event that generally attracts the EMBL\/EMBO community at large,\u201d says Matthias Hentze, EMBL Director. We catch up with two members of the community attending the event.<\/p>\n
![\"Genevieve](\"http:\/\/news.embl.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/Genevievex150.jpg\")
<\/h3>\nNow: <\/strong>Director of the Research Centre, Institut Curie, Paris, 2013-current At EMBL Heidelberg:<\/strong> 2005\u20132010, Scientific Advisory Committee member<\/p>\n Relationship with EMBL… <\/strong>I learnt about EMBL\u2019s role and exceptional science while serving as a member of the EMBL Scientific Advisory Council. This has been a reference point for me ever since. I really enjoy interacting with groups at EMBL and feel I have been adopted into the community. So much happens all the time at the Lab that, as a scientist, you want to keep in touch with this . As a director, you want to foster exchange at many levels to develop your own approach.<\/p>\n Defining qualities of the IC\u2026<\/strong>My predecessor at the Institut Curie (IC), Daniel Louvard, was an EMBL alumnus, who headed the organisation for two decades. Under his leadership, cell biology and developmental biology have really taken off, along with the interface between physics and cell biology. Already at this time, great efforts were made to promote young investigators: I am living proof as the first junior group beginning at the institute \u2013 how time flies! My vision is to build on these areas and assets and take them much further with a spirit that I call Curi(e)osity. The challenges ahead are to ensure an exciting environment in which collaborative and collective efforts are rewarded, and the IC presents some unique opportunities to do this. With its four broad programmes focusing on the biology and chemistry of radiations, cell signalling and cancer; development, cancer, genetics and epigenetics; integrative tumour biology, immunology and environment; and multi-scale physics-biology-chemistry and cancer, IC merges both multidisciplinary and international research. We also have connections to the hospital, which we would like to further develop to establish our position as an internationally top ranked centre of research in cancer biology.<\/p>\n Researcher vs Director\u2026 <\/strong>Clearly important are networking events, such as this one, which present great opportunities to exchange ideas \u2013 it can also lead to great collaborations, something that is key to balancing scientific activities with that of Director!<\/p>\n Now:<\/strong> Group Leader, Babraham Institute, Cambridge<\/span><\/p>\n At EMBL:<\/strong> 2003\u201312, Group Leader<\/span><\/p>\n Research focus\u2026<\/strong> I organised a special interest symposium around this year\u2019s EMBO Meeting themed on the systems biology of epigenetics and cell fate. We wanted to showcase success stories of interdisciplinary research featuring computational and experimental work. An interdisciplinary approach is very much a part of my own research: since leaving EMBL-EBI and joining the Babraham Institute three years ago, I have expanded the type of bioinformatics that I do besides computational modelling, for example in the direction of lipidomics and gene expression. I find the domains of stem cells and epigenetics hugely exciting: linking cellular signalling, metabolism and epigenetics is crucial for understanding cellular reprogramming, or the basis of longevity and healthy ageing. These questions are not just biological and as a modeller they present some exciting challenges. Currently, there are many modelling approaches on many different levels and ultimately we want to integrate this information in multi-scale models to develop a global understanding of cell response to the environment.<\/p>\n Life at the Babraham\u2026<\/strong> The Babraham Institute is small but prestigious. Historical discoveries made here include the liposome, IP3 and PIP3 signalling and maternal imprinting by DNA methylation, and this excellence continues today. Like at EMBL, there is also a vibrant seminar series and social events that enable people to stay updated on the latest science at the institute. I did not cut all bridges with EMBL-EBI though. When I left, part of my group responsible for developing resources for computational systems biology such as BioModels, stayed behind in Henning Hermjakob\u2019s team and we maintain strong collaborations to this day.<\/p>\n Memories\u2026<\/strong> I nevertheless miss the family spirit of EMBL \u2013 during nine years at EMBL-EBI, I felt my office was part of my home and my co-workers were my friends. I also miss the group leader retreats \u2013 especially the discussions, the post-it note activities, and walks along the beach. Who would have thought I would ever say that?!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Genevieve Almouzni and Nicolas Le Nov\u00e8re share their insights at alumni chapter meeting hosted in the UK.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":5892,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,17595],"tags":[80,287,92,25],"embl_taxonomy":[],"class_list":["post-5890","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-alumni","category-connections","tag-alumni","tag-chapter-meeting-2015","tag-event","tag-partnerships"],"acf":{"article_intro":" Staff and alumni had the opportunity to catch up over drinks, exchange information, reconnect with former colleagues and make new contacts at The EMBO Meeting on 7 September 2015.<\/p>\n","related_links":[{"link_description":" Read further information, including an interview with Mark Marsh and the image gallery of the UK chapter meeting","link_url":"http:\/\/www.embl.de\/aboutus\/alumni\/news\/news_2015\/20150907_embo_birmingham\/index.html"},{"link_description":"EMBL Alumni Relations","link_url":"http:\/\/www.embl.de\/aboutus\/alumni\/index.html"},{"link_description":"The EMBO Meeting","link_url":"http:\/\/www.the-embo-meeting.org\/"},{"link_description":"Genevieve Almouzni, Institut Curie","link_url":"http:\/\/umr3664.curie.fr\/en\/profil\/GenevieveAlmouzni"},{"link_description":"Nicolas Le Nov\u00e8re, Babraham Institute","link_url":"http:\/\/www.babraham.ac.uk\/our-research\/signalling\/nicolas-le-novere"}],"article_sources":false,"vf_locked":false,"featured":false,"color":"#007B53"},"embl_taxonomy_terms":[],"yoast_head":"\n
\nCNRS Research director, Chromatin Dynamics Team, 1996-current<\/p>\n
\nIntegrating information<\/h2>\n
![\"Nicolas](\"http:\/\/news.embl.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/LE-NOVEREx150.jpg\")
Nicolas Le Nov\u00e8re
\n<\/span><\/h3>\n