The EMBO podcast https://www.embo.org/series/the-embo-podcast/ A podcast about the life sciences and science policy produced by EMBO. Mon, 20 Apr 2026 12:04:27 +0000 en-GB © 2022 EMBO A podcast about the life sciences and science policy produced by EMBO EMBO episodic A podcast about the life sciences and science policy produced by EMBO. EMBO communications@embo.org false https://www.embo.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/the_embo_podcast_dark_v1_square_high_res.png The EMBO podcast https://www.embo.org/series/the-embo-podcast/ communications@embo.org A podcast about the life sciences and science policy produced by EMBO. No b16ad10a-49f5-5996-b555-68b64339d876 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.9.4 The band and the rhythm https://www.embo.org/podcasts/the-band-and-the-rhythm/ Fri, 01 Dec 2023 12:30:00 +0000 https://www.embo.org/?p=24211 1 December 2023 - Cells use a transcriptional-translational regulatory loop to maintain circadian rhythms. But John O’Neill and collaborators have shown that a cell can lose its nucleus and still keep time. O’Neill and his postdoc Andrew Beale talked to us about how investigating a mysterious band on a western blot led to a new understanding of the red blood cell’s clockwork mechanism. Their preprint was reviewed through Review Commons and published this year in The EMBO Journal. We also speak with Karin Dumstrei, who handled the manuscript at Review Commons, about the editor’s role in managing the peer review process. It is the story of a weird band on a western blot, pandemic disruptions, and the importance of tone in peer review.

]]> full 2 1 December 2023 - Cells use a transcriptional-translational regulatory loop to maintain circadian rhythms. But John O’Neill and collaborators have shown that a cell can lose its nucleus and still keep time. O’Neill and his postdoc Andrew Beale talked to us about how investigating a mysterious band on a western blot led to a new understanding of the red blood cell’s clockwork mechanism. Their preprint was reviewed through Review Commons and published this year in The EMBO Journal. We also speak with Karin Dumstrei, who handled the manuscript at Review Commons, about the editor’s role in managing the peer review process. It is the story of a weird band on a western blot, pandemic disruptions, and the importance of tone in peer review.

]]> https://www.embo.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/the_embo_podcast_dark_v1_square_high_res.png The band and the rhythm false no 47:51 No no It’s viruses all the way down: a conversation with Hsiao-Han Chang, Gytis Dudas, and Hedvig Tamman https://www.embo.org/podcasts/its-viruses-all-the-way-down-a-conversation-with-hsiao-han-chang-gytis-dudas-and-hedvig-tamman/ Mon, 30 Oct 2023 09:10:08 +0000 https://www.embo.org/?p=24014 30 October 2023 - As COVID-19 and flu season descends on the northern hemisphere, we talk with three new research group leaders who work, among other topics, on host-virus interactions: Hsiao Han Chang at National Tsinghua University in Taiwan, Gytis Dudas at Vilnius University in Lithuania, and Hedvig Tamman at the University of Tartu in Estonia. Their work ranges from the population genetics of viral spread in vertebrate hosts, to the biology of spillover events, to the tiny arms-races between bacteria and phage. Chang is a part of the EMBO Global Investigator Network; both Dudas and Tamman were awarded EMBO Installation Grants this year to help establish and grow their laboratories.

]]> full 3 2 30 October 2023 - As COVID-19 and flu season descends on the northern hemisphere, we talk with three new research group leaders who work, among other topics, on host-virus interactions: Hsiao Han Chang at National Tsinghua University in Taiwan, Gytis Dudas at Vilnius University in Lithuania, and Hedvig Tamman at the University of Tartu in Estonia. Their work ranges from the population genetics of viral spread in vertebrate hosts, to the biology of spillover events, to the tiny arms-races between bacteria and phage. Chang is a part of the EMBO Global Investigator Network; both Dudas and Tamman were awarded EMBO Installation Grants this year to help establish and grow their laboratories.

]]> https://www.embo.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/the_embo_podcast_dark_v1_square_high_res.png It’s viruses all the way down: a conversation with Hsiao-Han Chang, Gytis Dudas, and Hedvig Tamman false no 56:41 No no Who reviews the reviewers? https://www.embo.org/podcasts/who-reviews-the-reviewers/ Fri, 14 Jul 2023 12:20:46 +0000 https://www.embo.org/?p=23585 14 July 2023 - EMBO Member Pavel Tomancak is a senior research group leader at the Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics in Dresden, Germany. His lab investigates the evolution of gene regulatory networks and tissue morphogenesis. He recently became the Director of the Central European Institute of Technology in Brno, in the Czech Republic. He is active on social media, where he discusses his research – and science policy, preprints, peer review and Open Science. He and Oded Rechavi recently wrote a commentary that sparked an online debate on the thorny topic of recognizing author contributions. Together with EMBO Press’ Thomas Lemberger, we discussed his career, preprints, peer review, artificial intelligence, and more (including a Czech science fiction reading list).

]]> full 2 14 July 2023 - EMBO Member Pavel Tomancak is a senior research group leader at the Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics in Dresden, Germany. His lab investigates the evolution of gene regulatory networks and tissue morphogenesis. He recently became the Director of the Central European Institute of Technology in Brno, in the Czech Republic. He is active on social media, where he discusses his research – and science policy, preprints, peer review and Open Science. He and Oded Rechavi recently wrote a commentary that sparked an online debate on the thorny topic of recognizing author contributions. Together with EMBO Press’ Thomas Lemberger, we discussed his career, preprints, peer review, artificial intelligence, and more (including a Czech science fiction reading list).

]]> https://www.embo.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/the_embo_podcast_dark_v1_square_high_res.png Who reviews the reviewers? false no 1:00:55 No no “A steppingstone to an Open Science future”: EMBO Press moves to full Open Access https://www.embo.org/podcasts/a-steppingstone-to-an-open-science-future-embo-press-moves-to-full-open-access/ Wed, 15 Mar 2023 13:45:00 +0000 https://www.embo.org/?p=22681 EMBO announced that from 2024 on, all papers published in The EMBO Journal and EMBO Reports will be published Open Access and that freely accessible source data will be included in all EMBO Press journals. In this episode of the EMBO podcast, we discuss the new Open Access policy with Bernd Pulverer, Head of Scientific Publishing at EMBO. He also talks about the role of journals in a preprint and Open Science world. Thomas Lemberger, Open Science implementation at EMBO, speaks about the past and future of Open Access and Open Science at EMBO Press. University of São Paulo biochemist Alicia Kowaltowski talks about some of the consequences of Open Access and how to tackle them.

]]> full 2 EMBO announced that from 2024 on, all papers published in The EMBO Journal and EMBO Reports will be published Open Access and that freely accessible source data will be included in all EMBO Press journals. In this episode of the EMBO podcast, we discuss the new Open Access policy with Bernd Pulverer, Head of Scientific Publishing at EMBO. He also talks about the role of journals in a preprint and Open Science world. Thomas Lemberger, Open Science implementation at EMBO, speaks about the past and future of Open Access and Open Science at EMBO Press. University of São Paulo biochemist Alicia Kowaltowski talks about some of the consequences of Open Access and how to tackle them.

]]> https://www.embo.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/the_embo_podcast_dark_v1_square_high_res.png “A steppingstone to an Open Science future”: EMBO Press moves to full Open Access false no 50:50 No no “Our special feature as humans is communication” https://www.embo.org/podcasts/our-special-feature-as-humans-is-communication/ Fri, 27 Jan 2023 13:00:00 +0000 https://www.embo.org/?p=22041 27 January 2023 - “I really think our special feature (as humans) is communication and shared knowledge,” neuroscientist Cori Bargmann told the EMBO podcast. Bargmann is the Torsten N. Wiesel Professor and Head of the Laboratory of Neural Circuits and Behavior at The Rockefeller University in New York, where her group studies neurobiology using C. elegans as their main model. Cori Bargmann has been an Associate EMBO Member since 2011. On this episode of the EMBO podcast we discussed the evolution of behavior, open science, a worm’s sense of smell, the Human Brain Initiative, mentorship, and much more.

]]> full 2 27 January 2023 - “I really think our special feature (as humans) is communication and shared knowledge,” neuroscientist Cori Bargmann told the EMBO podcast. Bargmann is the Torsten N. Wiesel Professor and Head of the Laboratory of Neural Circuits and Behavior at The Rockefeller University in New York, where her group studies neurobiology using C. elegans as their main model. Cori Bargmann has been an Associate EMBO Member since 2011. On this episode of the EMBO podcast we discussed the evolution of behavior, open science, a worm’s sense of smell, the Human Brain Initiative, mentorship, and much more.

]]> https://www.embo.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/the_embo_podcast_dark_v1_square_high_res.png “Our special feature as humans is communication” false no 55:27 No no “The biologists were pretty darn good with their microscopes” https://www.embo.org/podcasts/the-biologists-were-pretty-darn-good-with-their-microscopes/ Thu, 05 Jan 2023 13:46:47 +0000 https://www.embo.org/?p=21722 5 January 2023 - “Nobody is doubling the number of cell types,” says Steve Quake, “but what we have now is the full molecular portrait of those cell types”. Quake, who led a decade-long effort to create full organism molecular cell atlases, served for six years as co-President of the Chan Zuckerberg Biohub. He succeeded neuroscientist Cori Bargmann as Head of Science for the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative. Quake came to biology after undergraduate and graduate work in physics and mathematics, and his research group at Stanford has maintained a strong technological and quantitative focus. On this episode of the EMBO podcast, we discussed what a cell type is, Open Science and preprints (Quake and student Michael Swift are currently experimenting with Review Commons – “the jury’s still out,” he says), the role of funders, how to start a company, and much more.

]]> full 2 5 January 2023 - “Nobody is doubling the number of cell types,” says Steve Quake, “but what we have now is the full molecular portrait of those cell types”. Quake, who led a decade-long effort to create full organism molecular cell atlases, served for six years as co-President of the Chan Zuckerberg Biohub. He succeeded neuroscientist Cori Bargmann as Head of Science for the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative. Quake came to biology after undergraduate and graduate work in physics and mathematics, and his research group at Stanford has maintained a strong technological and quantitative focus. On this episode of the EMBO podcast, we discussed what a cell type is, Open Science and preprints (Quake and student Michael Swift are currently experimenting with Review Commons – “the jury’s still out,” he says), the role of funders, how to start a company, and much more.

]]> https://www.embo.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/the_embo_podcast_dark_v1_square_high_res.png “The biologists were pretty darn good with their microscopes” false no 40:10 No no ALTernative immortality https://www.embo.org/podcasts/alternative-immortality/ Fri, 23 Dec 2022 13:00:00 +0000 https://www.embo.org/?p=21701 23 December 2022 - “It would be very surprising if you ever had a mechanism in nature that would be 100%. Biology never seems to be so clear cut.” That was Roger Reddel’s reaction to his then Ph.D. student Tracy Bryan’s discovery that many cancer cell lines do not express the enzyme telomerase, but still maintain long telomeres throughout the immortalization process. Their 1995 paper “Telomere elongation in immortal human cells without detectable telomerase activity” has been cited over seventeen hundred times. It is included in The EMBO Journal’s 40th-anniversary collection of ground-breaking articles, all free to read. On this episode, Reddel and Bryan discuss how the project began, the key experiments, and the consequences of Alternative Lengthening of Telomeres (ALT) for cancer research. Miguel Godinho Ferreira discusses the paper’s impact in the broader setting of genome instability and DNA repair.

]]> full 2 23 December 2022 - “It would be very surprising if you ever had a mechanism in nature that would be 100%. Biology never seems to be so clear cut.” That was Roger Reddel’s reaction to his then Ph.D. student Tracy Bryan’s discovery that many cancer cell lines do not express the enzyme telomerase, but still maintain long telomeres throughout the immortalization process. Their 1995 paper “Telomere elongation in immortal human cells without detectable telomerase activity” has been cited over seventeen hundred times. It is included in The EMBO Journal’s 40th-anniversary collection of ground-breaking articles, all free to read. On this episode, Reddel and Bryan discuss how the project began, the key experiments, and the consequences of Alternative Lengthening of Telomeres (ALT) for cancer research. Miguel Godinho Ferreira discusses the paper’s impact in the broader setting of genome instability and DNA repair.

]]> https://www.embo.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/the_embo_podcast_dark_v1_square_high_res.png ALTernative immortality false no 49:14 No no Peer review, preprints, and the pressures of clinical research https://www.embo.org/podcasts/peer-review-preprints-and-the-pressures-of-clinical-research/ Wed, 21 Dec 2022 13:00:00 +0000 https://www.embo.org/?p=21661 21 December 2022 - BMJ Open is an open-access medical journal with an open peer review process, which includes asking referees to sign their reviews. The journal is unusual in that it not only publishes peer-reviewed research, but it also runs its own experiments on new publication and review practices, complete with control groups and publication in (other) scientific journals. Adrian Aldcroftfor this episode of the EMBO podcast joins Review Commons project leader Thomas Lemberger for a conversation about peer review, preprints, open science, and the role of editors in basic and clinical research.

]]> full 2 21 December 2022 - BMJ Open is an open-access medical journal with an open peer review process, which includes asking referees to sign their reviews. The journal is unusual in that it not only publishes peer-reviewed research, but it also runs its own experiments on new publication and review practices, complete with control groups and publication in (other) scientific journals. Adrian Aldcroftfor this episode of the EMBO podcast joins Review Commons project leader Thomas Lemberger for a conversation about peer review, preprints, open science, and the role of editors in basic and clinical research.

]]> https://www.embo.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/the_embo_podcast_dark_v1_square_high_res.png Peer review, preprints, and the pressures of clinical research false no 42:12 No no “We should know more, this is our main job.” https://www.embo.org/podcasts/we-should-know-more-this-is-our-main-job/ Mon, 14 Nov 2022 13:11:19 +0000 https://www.embo.org/?p=21215 14 November 2022 – EMBO Member Roberto di Lauro was a group leader at the EMBL, a professor at the University of Naples Federico II, served as President of the Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn, and as the scientific attaché to the Italian Embassy in London. Di Lauro is currently retired from research, but he still works on science evaluation as a member of Italy's National Committee for Research Evaluation. We talked about molecular biology, the challenges of evaluating and funding different types of research, and the occasional uses of having a minister’s cell phone number.

]]> full 2 14 November 2022 – EMBO Member Roberto di Lauro was a group leader at the EMBL, a professor at the University of Naples Federico II, served as President of the Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn, and as the scientific attaché to the Italian Embassy in London. Di Lauro is currently retired from research, but he still works on science evaluation as a member of Italy's National Committee for Research Evaluation. We talked about molecular biology, the challenges of evaluating and funding different types of research, and the occasional uses of having a minister’s cell phone number.

]]> https://www.embo.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/the_embo_podcast_dark_v1_square_high_res.png “We should know more, this is our main job.” false no 39:38 No no Lessons of epidemics past and present https://www.embo.org/podcasts/lessons-of-epidemics-past-and-present/ Mon, 26 Sep 2022 11:52:52 +0000 https://www.embo.org/?p=20698 26 September 2022 - “In 1977, the world witnessed both the eradication of smallpox and the beginning of the modern age of genomics”. That’s the starting point for a recently published EMBO Reports review by Nash Rochman, Yuri Wolf, and Eugene Koonin. The paper, entitled “Molecular adaptations during viral epidemics”, asks what we have learned from the seven major epidemics that have emerged in the half-century in which we’ve had the molecular genetic and genomic tools to analyze the pathogens responsible for them. Co-authors Eugene Koonin and Nash Rochman discuss some of the lessons learned (and open questions) on this episode of the EMBO podcast. We also talked about virology, pandemics, and Rochman et al’s paper with veteran virologist Vincent Racaniello of Columbia University.

]]> full 2 26 September 2022 - “In 1977, the world witnessed both the eradication of smallpox and the beginning of the modern age of genomics”. That’s the starting point for a recently published EMBO Reports review by Nash Rochman, Yuri Wolf, and Eugene Koonin. The paper, entitled “Molecular adaptations during viral epidemics”, asks what we have learned from the seven major epidemics that have emerged in the half-century in which we’ve had the molecular genetic and genomic tools to analyze the pathogens responsible for them. Co-authors Eugene Koonin and Nash Rochman discuss some of the lessons learned (and open questions) on this episode of the EMBO podcast. We also talked about virology, pandemics, and Rochman et al’s paper with veteran virologist Vincent Racaniello of Columbia University.

]]> https://www.embo.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/the_embo_podcast_dark_v1_square_high_res.png Lessons of epidemics past and present false no 1:00:29 No no Fuse or die: A conversation with Orian Shirihai https://www.embo.org/podcasts/fuse-or-die-a-conversation-with-orian-shirihai/ Mon, 11 Jul 2022 10:32:51 +0000 https://www.embo.org/?p=20333 11 July 2022 - “We binned the data, which is one of my favorite things to do,” said cell biologist Orian Shirihai, describing how careful observation and analysis transformed an inquiry into the regulation of insulin secretion into a groundbreaking description of the mitochondrial life cycle. The resulting portrait of what Shirihai refers to as “the social life of mitochondria within the cell” was published in The EMBO Journal in 2008. The paper, “Fission and selective fusion govern mitochondrial segregation and elimination by autophagy”, has since received almost three thousand citations and is included in the journal’s 40th anniversary collection. Konstanze  Winklhofer discusses the paper’s enduring impact and the role of mitochondrial quality control in her field of neurodegenerative diseases.

]]> 11 July 2022 - “We binned the data, which is one of my favorite things to do,” said cell biologist Orian Shirihai, describing how careful observation and analysis transformed an inquiry into the regulation of insulin secretion into a groundbreaking description of the mitochondrial life cycle. The resulting portrait of what Shirihai refers to as “the social life of mitochondria within the cell” was published in The EMBO Journal in 2008. The paper, “Fission and selective fusion govern mitochondrial segregation and elimination by autophagy”, has since received almost three thousand citations and is included in the journal’s 40th anniversary collection. Konstanze  Winklhofer discusses the paper’s enduring impact and the role of mitochondrial quality control in her field of neurodegenerative diseases.

]]> https://www.embo.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/the_embo_podcast_dark_v1_square_high_res.png Fuse or die: A conversation with Orian Shirihai false no 42:21 No no Proteomics and personalised medicine https://www.embo.org/podcasts/proteomics-and-personalised-medicine/ Fri, 06 May 2022 13:00:00 +0000 https://www.embo.org/?p=19795 6 May 2022 - The amazing advances in gene sequencing technology over the last two decades have not yet sparked the revolution in personalized cancer treatment that many had hoped for. Although there have been significant advances,  actionable mutations, those that can be targeted to improve patient survival or quality of life, remain rare. But there is also the option to leapfrog genomics entirely, or to complement it, by using proteomic approaches. You may be surprised to learn that, as the guests on this episode of our podcast, Ursula Klingmüller and Matthias Mann told us, clinical proteomics is already being explored to design personalized cancer treatment strategies. Klingmüller and Mann discussed the technological (read the Mann lab’s recent Molecular Systems Biology paper on single cell proteomics here), scientific, and clinical challenges of the field with Molecular Systems Biology Senior Scientific Editor Maria Polychronidou.

]]> 6 May 2022 - The amazing advances in gene sequencing technology over the last two decades have not yet sparked the revolution in personalized cancer treatment that many had hoped for. Although there have been significant advances,  actionable mutations, those that can be targeted to improve patient survival or quality of life, remain rare. But there is also the option to leapfrog genomics entirely, or to complement it, by using proteomic approaches. You may be surprised to learn that, as the guests on this episode of our podcast, Ursula Klingmüller and Matthias Mann told us, clinical proteomics is already being explored to design personalized cancer treatment strategies. Klingmüller and Mann discussed the technological (read the Mann lab’s recent Molecular Systems Biology paper on single cell proteomics here), scientific, and clinical challenges of the field with Molecular Systems Biology Senior Scientific Editor Maria Polychronidou.

]]> https://www.embo.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/the_embo_podcast_dark_v1_square_high_res.png Proteomics and personalised medicine false no 43:43 No no “I learned early on that you can do a lot with a small amount of money” https://www.embo.org/podcasts/i-learned-early-on-that-you-can-do-a-lot-with-a-small-amount-of-money/ Mon, 21 Mar 2022 14:28:11 +0000 https://www.embo.org/?p=19061 21 March 2022 - Fiona Watt has been recently appointed EMBO Director, taking over from Maria Leptin, who was inaugurated as the new president of the European Research Council in the fall of 2021. Fiona and Maria sat down to discuss science funding, what scientists get wrong about interacting with policymakers, the importance of failure, and much more. The conversation took place in Heidelberg, not long after the start of the war in Ukraine, and we also talked about EMBO’s Solidarity List for displaced researchers.

]]> 21 March 2022 - Fiona Watt has been recently appointed EMBO Director, taking over from Maria Leptin, who was inaugurated as the new president of the European Research Council in the fall of 2021. Fiona and Maria sat down to discuss science funding, what scientists get wrong about interacting with policymakers, the importance of failure, and much more. The conversation took place in Heidelberg, not long after the start of the war in Ukraine, and we also talked about EMBO’s Solidarity List for displaced researchers.

]]> https://www.embo.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/the_embo_podcast_dark_v1_square_high_res.png “I learned early on that you can do a lot with a small amount of money” false no 46:30 No no From cell death to cancer immunotherapy https://www.embo.org/podcasts/from-cell-death-to-cancer-immunotherapy/ Thu, 03 Mar 2022 11:20:12 +0000 https://www.embo.org/?p=18926 3 March 2022 - In the November 1992 issue of The EMBO Journal, Tasuku Honjo and colleagues reported the discovery of a new gene, which they named programmed death 1 (PD-1). Thirty years later, monoclonal antibodies against PD-1 were being used in the clinic to treat cancer patients, and in 2018 Tasuku Honjo shared the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine with James Allison. “The paper has been transformational. I don’t think that they would ever have predicted that looking into genes that were differentially expressed that they would get such an important molecule that would be transformative for cancer immunotherapy,” said EMBO Journal Chief Editor Facundo Batista. In this episode of the EMBO podcast, Tasuku Honjo spoke about his journey from medical school to basic research, the importance of academic journals, and the many surprising turns in the PD-1 story. We also talked to Pierre Golstein, whose group cloned CTLA-4.

]]> 3 March 2022 - In the November 1992 issue of The EMBO Journal, Tasuku Honjo and colleagues reported the discovery of a new gene, which they named programmed death 1 (PD-1). Thirty years later, monoclonal antibodies against PD-1 were being used in the clinic to treat cancer patients, and in 2018 Tasuku Honjo shared the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine with James Allison. “The paper has been transformational. I don’t think that they would ever have predicted that looking into genes that were differentially expressed that they would get such an important molecule that would be transformative for cancer immunotherapy,” said EMBO Journal Chief Editor Facundo Batista. In this episode of the EMBO podcast, Tasuku Honjo spoke about his journey from medical school to basic research, the importance of academic journals, and the many surprising turns in the PD-1 story. We also talked to Pierre Golstein, whose group cloned CTLA-4.

]]> https://www.embo.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/the_embo_podcast_dark_v1_square_high_res.png From cell death to cancer immunotherapy false no 31:44 No no EMBO Young Investigators past and present https://www.embo.org/podcasts/embo-young-investigators-past-and-present/ Wed, 16 Feb 2022 08:49:01 +0000 https://www.embo.org/?p=18737 16 February 2022 - The EMBO Young Investigator Programme (YIP) was created in 2002 to support researchers starting their first lab (to be eligible, “applicants must have been an independent group leader for at least one year and for less than four years”). The programme provides mentorship, training, and networking opportunities for both the PIs and their lab members. Applications for the YIP programme are currently open. The EMBO podcast spoke with a YIP alumnus, immunologist Matteo Iannacone, and a recently selected member of the programme, neuroscientist Katrin Franke.

]]> 16 February 2022 - The EMBO Young Investigator Programme (YIP) was created in 2002 to support researchers starting their first lab (to be eligible, “applicants must have been an independent group leader for at least one year and for less than four years”). The programme provides mentorship, training, and networking opportunities for both the PIs and their lab members. Applications for the YIP programme are currently open. The EMBO podcast spoke with a YIP alumnus, immunologist Matteo Iannacone, and a recently selected member of the programme, neuroscientist Katrin Franke.

]]> https://www.embo.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/the_embo_podcast_dark_v1_square_high_res.png EMBO Young Investigators past and present false no 44:08 No no “These papers are the best papers that we’ve ever produced” https://www.embo.org/podcasts/these-papers-are-the-best-papers-that-weve-ever-produced/ Wed, 02 Feb 2022 09:39:06 +0000 https://www.embo.org/?p=18590 2 February 2022 - Cell biologist Prachee Avasthi has a longstanding interest in cilia, which she began studying in mammalian photoreceptor cells as a graduate student, before adopting the single-cell green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii as her model organism. Prachee was recently appointed Chief Scientific Officer of the newly created Arcadia Science, and she also serves as president of the non-profit science organization ASAPbio. ASAPbio is EMBO’s partner in the peer-reviewed preprint platform, Review Commons. Prachee and Review Commons project leader Thomas Lemberger joined the EMBO podcast for a discussion on open science, preprints, peer review, and the importance of community.

]]> 2 February 2022 - Cell biologist Prachee Avasthi has a longstanding interest in cilia, which she began studying in mammalian photoreceptor cells as a graduate student, before adopting the single-cell green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii as her model organism. Prachee was recently appointed Chief Scientific Officer of the newly created Arcadia Science, and she also serves as president of the non-profit science organization ASAPbio. ASAPbio is EMBO’s partner in the peer-reviewed preprint platform, Review Commons. Prachee and Review Commons project leader Thomas Lemberger joined the EMBO podcast for a discussion on open science, preprints, peer review, and the importance of community.

]]> https://www.embo.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/the_embo_podcast_dark_v1_square_high_res.png “These papers are the best papers that we’ve ever produced” false no 44:56 No no The right place at the right time https://www.embo.org/podcasts/the-right-place-at-the-right-time/ Mon, 03 Jan 2022 15:32:23 +0000 https://www.embo.org/?p=18255 3 January 2021 - “Mucosal immunity is likely the best strategy to go forward fighting this pandemic. It’s like placing the guard outside the door instead of inside the door,” immunologist Akiko Iwasaki told the EMBO podcast. Iwasaki has been studying how the immune system fights infections at the interfaces between the host and the environment ever since graduate school when she challenged the prevailing dogma about how DNA vaccines work. Her lab has made fundamental contributions to our understanding of the pathophysiology of COVID-19, using patient samples and data, as well as developing new model systems. We discussed her research, some of the challenges of science communication during the pandemic, and her approach to teaching.

Akiko Iwasaki was elected an EMBO Associate Member in 2021.

]]> 3 January 2021 - “Mucosal immunity is likely the best strategy to go forward fighting this pandemic. It’s like placing the guard outside the door instead of inside the door,” immunologist Akiko Iwasaki told the EMBO podcast. Iwasaki has been studying how the immune system fights infections at the interfaces between the host and the environment ever since graduate school when she challenged the prevailing dogma about how DNA vaccines work. Her lab has made fundamental contributions to our understanding of the pathophysiology of COVID-19, using patient samples and data, as well as developing new model systems. We discussed her research, some of the challenges of science communication during the pandemic, and her approach to teaching.

Akiko Iwasaki was elected an EMBO Associate Member in 2021.

]]> https://www.embo.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/the_embo_podcast_dark_v1_square_high_res.png The right place at the right time false no 37:38 No no A COVID clue at chromosome ends https://www.embo.org/podcasts/a-covid-clue-at-chromosome-ends/ Tue, 21 Dec 2021 09:56:54 +0000 https://www.embo.org/?p=18210 21 December 2021 - Researcher Fabrizio d'Adda di Fagagna and collaborators, including co-first authors Sara Sepe and Francesca Rossiello, have recently described in EMBO Reports a potential explanation for the increased susceptibility of the elderly to COVID-19. They reveal a link between damaged, shortened, or unprotected telomeres and the expression of the host molecule highjacked by SARS-CoV-2 to infect cells, angiotensin converting enzyme 2 (ACE2). d'Adda di Fagagna spoke with us about how the project emerged, its links to a DNA repair pathway discovered in his lab, and the potential therapeutic implications. Also in this episode, biologist João Passos discussed the significance of the study and EMBO Reports scientific editor Esther Schnapp explained why it was a good fit for the journal. 

]]> 21 December 2021 - Researcher Fabrizio d'Adda di Fagagna and collaborators, including co-first authors Sara Sepe and Francesca Rossiello, have recently described in EMBO Reports a potential explanation for the increased susceptibility of the elderly to COVID-19. They reveal a link between damaged, shortened, or unprotected telomeres and the expression of the host molecule highjacked by SARS-CoV-2 to infect cells, angiotensin converting enzyme 2 (ACE2). d'Adda di Fagagna spoke with us about how the project emerged, its links to a DNA repair pathway discovered in his lab, and the potential therapeutic implications. Also in this episode, biologist João Passos discussed the significance of the study and EMBO Reports scientific editor Esther Schnapp explained why it was a good fit for the journal. 

]]> https://www.embo.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/the_embo_podcast_dark_v1_square_high_res.png A COVID clue at chromosome ends false no 25:27 No no The importance of showing up https://www.embo.org/podcasts/the-importance-of-showing-up/ Thu, 02 Dec 2021 15:01:21 +0000 https://www.embo.org/?p=17635 2 December 2021 - In this episode of the EMBO podcast, we spoke with Harmit Malik about his journey from chemical engineering to biology, books that inspire future scientists, and the importance of simply showing up. We discussed the Malik lab’s research on the genetic conflicts between centromeres, mobile genetic elements, retroviruses, and of course the host innate immune response – which his lab studies in several different models, ranging from yeast to primates. Thomas Lemberger joined the conversation to talk to Harmit about peer review, preprints, and EMBO’s journal agnostic platform for manuscript review, Review Commons. 

]]> 2 December 2021 - In this episode of the EMBO podcast, we spoke with Harmit Malik about his journey from chemical engineering to biology, books that inspire future scientists, and the importance of simply showing up. We discussed the Malik lab’s research on the genetic conflicts between centromeres, mobile genetic elements, retroviruses, and of course the host innate immune response – which his lab studies in several different models, ranging from yeast to primates. Thomas Lemberger joined the conversation to talk to Harmit about peer review, preprints, and EMBO’s journal agnostic platform for manuscript review, Review Commons. 

]]> https://www.embo.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/the_embo_podcast_dark_v1_square_high_res.png The importance of showing up false no 51:51 No no “The idea was not to waste reviews” https://www.embo.org/podcasts/the-idea-was-not-to-waste-reviews/ Fri, 19 Nov 2021 08:28:39 +0000 https://www.embo.org/?p=17234 19 November 2021 - In our last episode, outgoing EMBO Director Maria Leptin told us about her scientific research and the several unexpected turns in her career. In part 2, we spoke about her first papers, preprints, journal-independent peer review, and the challenges of childcare for a new PI. We also talked to Michele Garfinkel, Head of the EMBO Policy Programme.

]]> 19 November 2021 - In our last episode, outgoing EMBO Director Maria Leptin told us about her scientific research and the several unexpected turns in her career. In part 2, we spoke about her first papers, preprints, journal-independent peer review, and the challenges of childcare for a new PI. We also talked to Michele Garfinkel, Head of the EMBO Policy Programme.

]]> https://www.embo.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/the_embo_podcast_dark_v1_square_high_res.png “The idea was not to waste reviews” false no 31:46 No no The best laid schemes of flies and fish https://www.embo.org/podcasts/the-best-laid-schemes-of-flies-and-fish/ Fri, 12 Nov 2021 12:35:23 +0000 https://www.embo.org/?p=17158 12 November 2021 - Maria Leptin became the fifth EMBO Director in January 2010. We spoke with Maria about how she became a scientist and her research in immunology and developmental biology. We also discussed initiatives to increase participation in EMBO Programmes across all EMBC Member States, and the unanswered scientific questions that she will leave behind as she winds down her laboratory activities to assume the presidency of the European Research Council.

]]> 12 November 2021 - Maria Leptin became the fifth EMBO Director in January 2010. We spoke with Maria about how she became a scientist and her research in immunology and developmental biology. We also discussed initiatives to increase participation in EMBO Programmes across all EMBC Member States, and the unanswered scientific questions that she will leave behind as she winds down her laboratory activities to assume the presidency of the European Research Council.

]]> https://www.embo.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/the_embo_podcast_dark_v1_square_high_res.png The best laid schemes of flies and fish false no 36:51 No no From prions to preprints https://www.embo.org/podcasts/from-prions-to-preprints/ Fri, 29 Oct 2021 08:03:23 +0000 https://www.embo.org/?p=17097 29 October 2021 - EMBO Member Adriano Aguzzi is the Director of the Institute of Neuropathology at the University of Zurich. The Aguzzi lab investigates the molecular basis of prion diseases and other neurodegenerative illnesses. We spoke with Adriano Aguzzi and Review Commons project leader Thomas Lemberger about preprints, peer review, paying for innovation in publishing, and an unexpected positive control.

]]> 29 October 2021 - EMBO Member Adriano Aguzzi is the Director of the Institute of Neuropathology at the University of Zurich. The Aguzzi lab investigates the molecular basis of prion diseases and other neurodegenerative illnesses. We spoke with Adriano Aguzzi and Review Commons project leader Thomas Lemberger about preprints, peer review, paying for innovation in publishing, and an unexpected positive control.

]]> https://www.embo.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/the_embo_podcast_dark_v1_square_high_res.png From prions to preprints false no 38:32 No no The enemy of my enemy https://www.embo.org/podcasts/the-enemy-of-my-enemy/ Fri, 22 Oct 2021 16:25:15 +0000 https://www.embo.org/?p=16991 22 October 2021 - Pediatric infectious disease physician Ameneh Khatami, senior author Jonathan Iredell and their collaborators recently published in EMBO Molecular Medicine the story of a seven-year-old girl infected with a multi-drug resistant Pseudomonas strain. The team resorted to an experimental treatment with a long history, phage therapy. In this episode of the EMBO podcast, Khatami told us the story of her young patient. We’ll also hear about a very sick sea turtle and discuss the challenges of interpreting single-patient studies.

Note: We’d like to thank Dmitriy Myelnikov (University of Manchester) and Jessica Sacher (Phage Directory) for their participation in this episode.

]]> 22 October 2021 - Pediatric infectious disease physician Ameneh Khatami, senior author Jonathan Iredell and their collaborators recently published in EMBO Molecular Medicine the story of a seven-year-old girl infected with a multi-drug resistant Pseudomonas strain. The team resorted to an experimental treatment with a long history, phage therapy. In this episode of the EMBO podcast, Khatami told us the story of her young patient. We’ll also hear about a very sick sea turtle and discuss the challenges of interpreting single-patient studies.

Note: We’d like to thank Dmitriy Myelnikov (University of Manchester) and Jessica Sacher (Phage Directory) for their participation in this episode.

]]> https://www.embo.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/the_embo_podcast_dark_v1_square_high_res.png The enemy of my enemy false no 33:14 No no Physiologically irreverent https://www.embo.org/podcasts/physiologically-irreverent/ Wed, 13 Oct 2021 08:00:00 +0000 https://www.embo.org/?p=16573 13 October 2021 - Tel-Aviv University neuroscientist Oded Rechavi was elected an EMBO Member in 2021. We spoke with Oded about his lab’s work on transgenerational epigenetic inheritance in worms, his forays into archeology and economics, and his life as a science social media star. 

]]> 13 October 2021 - Tel-Aviv University neuroscientist Oded Rechavi was elected an EMBO Member in 2021. We spoke with Oded about his lab’s work on transgenerational epigenetic inheritance in worms, his forays into archeology and economics, and his life as a science social media star. 

]]> https://www.embo.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/the_embo_podcast_dark_v1_square_high_res.png Physiologically irreverent false no 46:44 No no Baptism by fire https://www.embo.org/podcasts/baptism-by-fire/ Wed, 06 Oct 2021 10:54:12 +0000 https://www.embo.org/?p=16471 6 October 2021 - In early July, science journalist Kai Kupferschmidt spoke with the co-founders of BioNTech Özlem Türeci and Ugur Sahin. Kai spoke with them about their journey from physician scientists to entrepreneurs and how BioNTech, a company with a strong focus on cancer developed the first approved Covid-19 vaccine in less than one year. Türeci and Sahin were elected EMBO Members in 2021. 

]]> full 6 October 2021 - In early July, science journalist Kai Kupferschmidt spoke with the co-founders of BioNTech Özlem Türeci and Ugur Sahin. Kai spoke with them about their journey from physician scientists to entrepreneurs and how BioNTech, a company with a strong focus on cancer developed the first approved Covid-19 vaccine in less than one year. Türeci and Sahin were elected EMBO Members in 2021. 

]]> https://www.embo.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/the_embo_podcast_dark_v1_square.png Baptism by fire false no 44:48 No no