Out of the 216 applications to this year’s EMBO Young Investigator Programme, only 30 have been accepted. Four are in Spain, and two of them are at the Barcelona Biomedical Research Park (PRBB).
- Marc Güell, head of the Translational Synthetic Biology Research Group of the Department of Experimental and Health Sciences, Pompeu Fabra University (DCEXS-UPF). His research focuses on gene editing and synthetic biology, applied to gene therapy and the engineering of the human skin microbiome. “I look forward to participating in this incredible network to catalyse the advancement of scientific progress. I am sure it will be an excellent opportunity to generate important synergies with our synthetic biology perspective,” says Güell.
- Verena Ruprecht, researcher at the Centre for Genomic Regulation (CRG). Her group studies cell dynamics – how cells move and interact with each other – during embryonic development. “It is an absolute honour to be part of EMBO’s Young Investigator Programme. The opportunities for support and networking it brings will be exciting for all members of my team”.
The other two people chosen in Spain to participate in the program were Alejo Efeyan (CNIO, Madrid) and Núria Montserrat (IBEC, Barcelona).
The EMBO program helps young scientists (who have been head of groups for less than 4 years) to promote their research groups. They receive funding (a 15,000 euros grant in the second year, and the possibility of applying for scholarships of up to 10,000 euros per year), advice, training and support for four years. In addition, they can network with each other and access the main facilities of the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) in Heidelberg, Germany.
