Professor Pastoreková speaks at the conference of the top organization EMBO

From 29 October to 1 November 2024, a conference of members of the European Molecular Biology Organisation (EMBO) was held in Heidelberg, where Professor Silvia Pastoreková, Director General of the Biomedical Centre of the Slovak Academy of Sciences, v. v. i. (BMC SAV), participated as a newly elected member and the first ever representative of the Slovak Republic in this prestigious organisation.

EMBO brings together renowned scientists, mainly from Europe, but also from other countries around the world. Nearly one hundred Nobel Prize laureates are or have been its members.

Newly elected EMBO members, EMBO Young Investigators, Installation Grant winners, Global Investigators and other invited guests spoke at the conference, presenting the results of their research and discussing opportunities for collaboration.

According to Professor Pastoreková, the 2023 Nobel Laureate Katalin Karikó’s presentation was an exceptional experience: “Using the example of her own life story, she highlighted the value of an unquenchable thirst for knowledge, perseverance and resilience in scientific research, and encouraged young scientists in particular to stay focused on their scientific goal and not to give up even when faced with obstacles on their scientific journey.”

This year, EMBO celebrated its 60th anniversary. During its existence, it has made a significant contribution to shaping and advancing scientific research that uses molecular biology approaches and technologies to investigate life phenomena in organisms and ecosystems.

EMBO has supported and fostered thousands of talented male and female researchers at various stages of their careers, stimulating the exchange of scientific information, improving scientific publishing and helping to build a research environment that enables the best scientific work.

“It offers several opportunities for young scientists and women scientists through grants, training and mentoring programmes, which are not yet sufficiently used in Slovakia,” says Professor Silvia Pastoreková.

For example, the Young Investigator Programme is a good opportunity for personal growth and the acquisition of new skills and abilities. Interesting opportunities are also offered by the so-called Installation Grants for emerging leaders of research groups, but these are not yet available in Slovakia. These grants require national funding, which is provided on the basis of an evaluation of the projects by EMBO experts.

An overview of other EMBO activities can be found here: https://www.embo.org/conferences-training/#/.

Text: prof. RNDr. S. Pastoreková, DrSc., BMC SAV, v. v. i.; E. Rybárová, BMC SAV, v. v. i.

Photo: archive of prof. RNDr. S. Pastoreková, DrSc., BMC SAV, v. v. i.