Ingrid Lohmann first crossed paths with EMBO when she was awarded an EMBO Postdoctoral Fellowship in 1999 which allowed her to study at the University of California San Diego, after a PhD in Munich. “At the time the German academic system had fewer opportunities for junior group leaders and limited autonomy for early career researchers,” she says. “In contrast, the United States fostered a more collaborative and supportive research culture that promoted knowledge exchange.”
Able to develop her own research Lohmann decided to focus on better understanding the molecular mechanisms of gene expression and in particular how Hox proteins orchestrate different aspects of development, with a special focus on stem cell maintenance.
After returning to Germany, initially to Tübingen, Lohmann created her own research group at the University of Heidelberg in 2008. Since 2012 she has been a full professor and head of the Department for Developmental Biology at the university’s Centre for Organismal Studies. She was elected an EMBO Member in 2024.
“EMBO makes a difference in the life sciences,” Lohmann says. “As a fellow, I had the rare opportunity to be supported in my desire of exploring fundamental scientific questions and to lay the foundation for important discoveries. And today, as a member, I have the opportunity to act on a bigger scale.”
Her experience in the United States reinforced her belief in the importance of collaborative and constructive scientific processes, and she seeks to foster this approach in her own research group.
