Ilaria Capua, DVM, PhD, is Senior Fellow of Global Health, Johns Hopkins University - SAIS Europe, Courtesy Professor and Director Emeritus of the One Health Center of Excellence at the University of Florida. She is an Italian virologist and former member of the Italian Parliament (2013-2016).

She is known worldwide for her studies in the field of animal-to-human transmissible viral infections and their pandemic potential. In 2006, her group isolated the genetic sequence of the African strain of H5N1 avian influenza. She was the first to share the virus genetic data on GeneBank, a freely accessible database, launching the open-source science. This decision helped redefine the policy of international organisations on the transparency of virus genetic data, optimising strategies to address global threats such as pandemics. In 2007, she was named one of the 50 best scientists in the world by Scientific American and in 2008 she was included among the Revolutionary Minds by the American magazine Seed for her leadership role in science politics.

In February 2020 Ilaria Capua immediately became a driving force in trying to manage the COVID-19 pandemic emergency and in disseminating accurate information about the Sars-CoV-2 coronavirus. Her most recent books for the wider public are: La meraviglia e la trasformazione verso una salute circolare (2021), Il dopo. Il virus che ci ha costretto a cambiare mappa mentale (2020) (“Afterwards : The virus that has forced us to change our mental maps”), Ti conosco mascherina (2020) and Il viaggio segreto dei virus (2021) (The Secret Journey of Viruses).

“MY DRIVE TODAY IS TO EMPOWER NEW GENERATIONS TO DO A BETTER JOB THAN WHAT WE HAVE DONE WITH REFERENCE TO HEALTH, NOT ONLY TO THE HEALTH OF PEOPLE BUT ALSO TO THE HEALTH OF ANIMALS, PLANTS, AND THE ENVIRONMENT, FROM WHICH WE ARE DEPENDENT.

MY GIFT FOR YOU, SCIENTISTS THAT BELONG TO ALL THE COUNTRIES OF THE WORLD, I AM SURE THAT YOU KNOW THAT SCIENCE IS BEAUTIFUL. SO, MY GIFT FOR YOU IS #BEAUTIFUL SCIENCE” #BeautifulScience

Edith Heard, Ph.D., is Director General of the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) in Heidelberg (Germany) since January 2019. Her lab is based at the EMBL headquarters in Heidelberg, Germany. She is full Professor of Epigenetics and Cellular Memory at the Collège de France in Paris, and an elected member of the Royal Society in the UK.

Prof. Heard’s studies focus on epigenetics and on how the genome is organized in the nuclear space. In particular, her work revealed molecular mechanisms of X-chromosome inactivation, a fascinating process which concerns how one of the two X chromosomes in female mammals becomes silenced during development.

A British geneticist, her discoveries in the field of epigenetics and her creativity in understanding how genes work have earned her the title of Science Visionary from the New York Times and the international l'Oréal-UNESCO For Women in Science 2020 award, which recognizes five women scientists for the excellence of their research in the fields of Life Sciences.

In 2021 she joined the World Health Organization Science Council. She was elected as a member of the US National Academy of Sciences in 2021 an a senator of the Max Planck Society, one of the leading Germany’s scientific research organizations, in 2020.

“‘GENEROSITY’ IS THE WORD I WOULD GIVE AS A GIFT TO YOUNG SCIENTISTS. IN OTHER WORDS, TRY TO SHARE THE SCIENCE YOU DO WITH OTHERS…IF YOU ARE GENEROUS, THEN PEOPLE ARE ALSO GENEROUS BACK. IT’S NOT ALWAYS EASY, BECAUSE IT MEANS SHARING THINGS THAT YOU REALLY, REALLY CARE ABOUT, SUCH AS IDEAS OR DATA ETC BUT IT ALWAYS PAYS OFF IN MY EXPERIENCE.”

Maria Leptin, PhD, is the new President of the European Research Council (ERC), Europe’s major funding agency for fundamental research, as of 1 November 2021.

She is full professor at the University of Cologne, Germany, and has served as Director of the European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO) - Europe’s intergovernmental organization for the Life Sciences - from 2010-2021.

Prof. Leptin leads research teams in both Developmental Biology and Immunology, in Heidelberg (EMBL) and in Cologne (CECAD). The Leptin team studies the mechanisms and forces that determine cell shape in Drosophila (small fruit fly) and uses zebrafish to analyse innate immune signalling, in particular the interaction of the epithelia (gut or epidermis) with pathogens in their environment.

She is an elected member of EMBO, the Academia Europaea and the German National Academy of Sciences (Leopoldina), and an Honorary Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences. She is also Foreign Member of the Royal Society since May 2022 and and an International member of the US National Academy of Sciences since 2023.

“IN THE LAB WORK [GUIDING MY RESEARCH GROUP], THINKING ABOUT SCIENTIFIC PROBLEMS IS ABOUT REAL THINGS, THINGS THAT ACTUALLY HAPPEN. IN SCIENCE, SOMETHING IS EITHER TRUE OR IT’S NOT TRUE, AND WE CAN FIND OUT WHICH IT IS, OR AT LEAST WE CAN FIND OUT TO OUR BEST KNOWLEDGE. IN POLITICS, IN SERVING THE COMMUNITY, IT’S WONDERFUL, YOU KNOW THAT YOU DO SOMETHING THAT IS VALUABLE FOR PEOPLE, BUT IT’S NEVER BLACK AND WHITE.

“I THINK THE MOST IMPORTANT THING IS TO DO WHAT YOU ENJOY MOST AND TO DO IT FULL POWER AND FULL COMMITMENT. THE NEXT STEP WILL FOLLOW.”

Rana Dajani, PhD, is President of the Society for Advancement of Science and Technology in the Arab World (SASTA). She was chosen one of the 20 most influential women scientists in the Islamic World by UK based Muslim Science magazine in 2014, she ranked 12 among “The World’s 100 Most Powerful Arab Women” in CEO Middle East Magazine and was recognized in the Women in Science Hall of Fame in 2015.

She is Full Professor of Molecular Biology at The Hashemite University, Jordan. Currently she is a Richard Von Weizsacker Fellow at the Robert Bosch Academy in Germany.

She has been a Zuzana Simoniova Cmelikova Visiting Scholar at the University of Richmond, a Rita Hauser Fellow at the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study , Harvard University, an Eisenhower fellow, a Fulbright visiting professor at Yale University, and a visiting professor at the University of Cambridge.

She is author of the book “Five Scarves: Doing the Impossible-If We Can Reverse Cell Fate, Why Can't We Redefine Success?” and founder and director of the children’s literacy NGO We Love Reading.

Prof. Dajani studies the epigenetics of trauma across generations, with a focus on resiliency, and is an international expert on the genetics of Circassian and Chechen populations in Jordan. She also conducts genome-wide association studies regarding diabetes and cancer and on stem cells. She spearheaded the development of the stem cell research ethics law in Jordan and advocates for biological evolution theory in relation to Islam.

“LOOK AROUND YOU, FIND SOMETHING THAT BOTHERS YOU AND TRY TO FIX IT, USING YOUR SKILLS, YOUR KNOWLEDGE AND YOUR SCIENTIFIC THINKING.”
“DON’T STAY WITHIN YOUR LABORATORY OR WITHIN YOUR CLASSROOM, GO OUTSIDE AND SHARE WHAT YOU HAVE. BECAUSE ULTIMATELY THAT’S OUR GOAL, IT’S TO SERVE HUMANITY.”

“DREAM AND BELIEVE IN YOURSELF AND BELIEVE THAT NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE. IF YOU BELIEVE THAT NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE, YOU CAN DO ANYTHING.”

Ionica Smeets, PhD in Pure Mathematics, is full Professor of Science Communication at Leiden University, The Netherlands. She is also well known as a science journalist, columnist at the Dutch newspaper De Volkskrant and presenter at Dutch television.

Ionica Smeets is a communication scholar who wants to improve the interaction between science and society by studying how science communication works.

“MY DRIVE IS TO IMPROVE THE FIELD AND I AM VERY EXCITED ABOUT FINDING THINGS THAT WORK. I THINK I AM MAINLY EXCITED ALSO ABOUT TRAINING OTHER PEOPLE AND SEEING THAT THEY ARE MAKING A STEP FORWARD.

MY ADVICE TO ANYONE IS TO TRY AND FIND GOOD MENTORS AND GOOD SUPERVISORS.”

Magdalena Skipper, PhD, D.Sc. (h.c) is Editor in Chief of Nature, one of the oldest world's leading multidisciplinary science journals. Elected in 2018, she is the first woman editor-in-chief in 150 years of the magazine. She is also Chief Editorial Adviser for Nature Portfolio.

A British geneticist, she started her editorial career at Nature Reviews Genetics, and has taken several roles at the Nature Partner Journals and at open access journal Nature Communications. In 2018, she became the first female Editor in Chief of the journal Nature.

“I HAVE ALWAYS BEEN FASCINATED BY NEW KNOWLEDGE.”
“WHAT DRIVES ME ABOUT MY CURRENT ROLE IS THIS OPPORTUNITY TO SUPPORT RESEARCHERS, TO HELP THEM SHOWCASE THE EXCITEMENT AND ROBUSTNESS OF THEIR RESEARCH AND TO DEMONSTRATE THAT IT IS ONLY THROUGH FACTS THAT WE CAN UNDERSTAND THE WORLD AROUND US AND SENSIBLY PLAN FOR THE FUTURE OF OUR PLANET, OURSELVES INCLUDED.”

“BELIEVE IN YOURSELF AND IN THE CONTRIBUTION YOU CAN MAKE; IT SHOULD NOT MATTER VERY MUCH WHAT OTHERS MIGHT EXPECT OF YOU.”

Elisabetta Dejana, Ph.D., directs the ‘New strategies to inhibit tumor angiogenesis’ research unit at IFOM, the FIRC Institute of Molecular Oncology in Milan, Italy. She is full professor of Pathology at Uppsala University in Sweden and held a professorship in the same field at the University of Milan from 2002 till 2020. She is elected member of the Italian Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei. For her merits in oncology research she was awarded the Ambrogino d'Oro 2020, an honor from the Municipality of Milan.

Prof. Dejana is an expert on the regulation of vascular system development. Her research is focused at understanding the mechanisms that regulate the formation of the vascular system in tumours in order to induce their regression, as well as understanding anomalies affecting the formation of the blood vessels of the brain.

“BASIC RESEARCH TO ME MEANS TO OPEN NEW DOORS EVERY DAY”

“THIS IS THE MOST BEAUTIFUL JOB FOR THOSE OF YOU THAT LIKE THE DISCOVERY BUT ALSO ARE ABLE TO BE PATIENT, TO RESIST TO FRUSTRATION AND, IN ONE WORD, ARE ABLE TO BE PERSISTENT. THEN THE SURPRISE OF THE DISCOVERY IS INVALUABLE.”

Susan Gasser, Ph.D. is Director of the Foundation of the Swiss Institute for Experimental Cancer (ISREC) as per February 1, 2021.

She directed the Friedrich Miescher Institute for Biomedical Research (FMI) in Basel from 2004 to 2019 and was full professor of Molecular Biology at the University of Basel from 2005 to 2021. She is a visiting professor at the University of Lausanne since January 2021.

She is elected member of the National Academy of Sciences, USA, the Académie de France and the Swiss Academy of Medical Sciences.

She is a molecular biologist internationally renowned for her studies on chromosome biology. Her studies revealed how the organization of chromatin – the complex of DNA and proteins that forms chromosomes – in space and time and the location of the chromosomes inside a cell’s nucleus impact on many cellular processes, including gene silencing, epigenetic inheritance, DNA repair and genome stability. Her laboratory pioneered the use of life fluorescence microscopy imaging to study these processes in model organisms, such as yeast and the worm Caenorhabditis elegans.

“DO SOMETHING THAT YOU BELIEVE IN – SOMETHING THAT MAKES YOU GROW. I THINK PEOPLE NEED TO RE-EMBRACE THIS IDEA THAT THEY CREATE THEIR LIVES AND NOT THAT THE WORLD CREATES IT OR THAT IT IS SO EASY.

“THE THING IS, TRUE SUCCESS DEPENDS ON INTERNAL GROWTH. IT DOESN’T MATTER IF IT IS A NATURE, SCIENCE OR CELL PAPER, REWARDS, PRIZES - NONE OF THAT MATTERS - IF INTERNALLY YOU DO NOT GROW.”

Christine Mummery, Ph.D., is Chair of the department of Anatomy and Embryology and Professor of Developmental Biology at Leiden University Medical Center (LUMC), The Netherlands. She is President Elect of the International Society for Stem Cell Research (ISSCR)(2020-2021) and elected member of the KNAW (Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences). In 2015 she became guest professor at the Technical University of Twente to develop organ-on-chip models. The Mummery laboratory focuses on using stem cell derived cardiomyocytes and vascular cells as disease models, for drug discovery.

“I WAS ALWAYS FASCINATED ABOUT THE HUNDREDS THINGS THAT WERE SIMPLY OBSERVATIONS WITHOUT ANYONE BEING ABLE TO EXPLAIN WHY. I WANTED TO BE PART OF FIGURING OUT THE ANSWERS THROUGH SCIENCE.”

“DON'T WAIT AROUND HOPING TO BECOME VISIBLE BECAUSE IT RARELY HAPPENS: DECIDE WHAT "THE LABEL ON YOU FOREHEAD" IS AND GO FOR IT.”

Giuliana Ferrari, PhD, is Full Professor at Vita-Salute San Raffaele University and Head of the ‘Gene transfer into stem cell’ Unit at H. San Raffaele-Telethon Institute for Gene Therapy (HSR-TIGET), Milan, Italy.

Prof. Ferrari’s major research interest is in the field of hematopoietic (blood) stem cell biology and gene therapy to treat genetic diseases. Since 1989 the unit pioneered the use of viral vector-mediated gene transfer for gene therapy of human genetic diseases. In particular, research in Prof. Ferrari’s group led to one of the first clinical study in patients with beta-talassemia, a blood genetic disorder causing severe anemia quite common in Mediterranean countries. The results of the study recently showed that gene therapy could be an effective treatment for this disease.

“THE TIME THAT I COULDN’T LEAVE THE LAB WITHOUT KNOWING THE RESULT OF AN EXPERIMENT I REALIZED THAT SCIENCE WAS MY PASSION.”

“MAKE GOOD SCIENCE, WITH PASSION, RESPECT AND RIGOR: YOU WILL SUCCEED AND YOU WILL NEVER REGRET YOUR CHOICE.”

Cristina Messa, MD, PhD is Full Professor of Diagnostic Imaging and former Rector of the University Milano-Bicocca (Oct 2013-Oct 2019), Milan, Italy.

She has served as Minister of University and Research in the Italian Government lead by Mario Draghi, February 2021 - October 2022.

Prof. Messa has extensive research experience in Diagnostic Imaging, Nuclear Medicine and Radiological Sciences, with particular interest for neurologic diseases and cancer.

“MY DRIVE IS TO BE ABLE TO IMPROVE PATIENT MANAGEMENT AND DISEASE AND ALSO TO TRANSFER METHODS WHOSE BASE IS COSTLY AND DIFFICULT INTO SOMETHING SIMPLE AND APPLICABLE TO HUMANS.”

“THE WORD I GIVE AS A GIFT TO YOUNG ASPIRING SCIENTISTS IS: NEVER GIVE UP.”

Asifa Akhtar, PhD is Director of the Max Planck Institute of Immunobiology and Epigenetics (MPI-IE) and Head of the Department of Chromatin Regulation, Freiburg, Germany.

From July 1, 2020, Dr. Akhtar is Vice President of the Max Plank Society, German’s premier, non-university research organization dedicated to basic research. As part of the Executive Board, Asifa will advise the President and contribute to important decisions for the Society. Asifa is the first international female Vice President and the first female Vice President in the Biology and Medicine Section of the Society. She is elected EMBO member since 2013.

Dr. Akhtar made significant contributions to the field of chromosome regulation. Her laboratory primarily studies chromatin and epigenetic mechanisms, especially focusing on X-chromosome specific gene regulation by the phenomenon of dosage compensation in Drosophila melanogaster, the fruit fly.

“WHAT REALLY KEEPS ME GOING IS MY RESEARCH TEAM. IT IS ACTUALLY WORKING TOGETHER WITH YOUNG AND MOTIVATED SCIENTISTS THAT KEEPS MY SPIRIT HIGH.”

“IF THERE IS JUST ONE THING I WOULD SAY IS: NEVER GIVE UP, EVEN IF IT IS HARD AT TIMES. FOLLOW YOUR PASSION.”

Conchita Vens, Ph.D., is Medical Radiobiologist and a Reader in Translational Radiobiology at the School of Cancer Science at the University of Glasgow in the United Kingdom. She studies DNA damage repair mechanisms in both healthy and neoplastic cells, particularly in response to ionizing radiation. Her research focuses on how to exploit DNA repair defects in cancer cells to improve cancer therapies. Strongly committed to supporting radiation oncology, she is an active member of international and national radiation oncology societies. She is a lecturer in local and international oncology degree courses.

“BE BRAVE ENOUGH TO FOLLOW YOUR INTUITION, CAUTIOUS ENOUGH TO SCRUTINIZE YOUR ASSUMPTIONS AND HUMBLE ENOUGH TO NEVER STOP LEARNING.”

Geneviève Almouzni, PhD, is Director of Research exceptional class at the CNRS (France). She is Head of the Chromatin Dynamics team at Institut Curie (Paris) since 1999, Director of the Institut Curie Research Center from 2013 to 2018 and honorary Director since then, member of the French Academy of Sciences and Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Sciences. She is Co-Chair of the European FET-Flagship Intitiative LifeTime.

She is a world leader in understanding genome organization and function during development and disease in particular in cancer. By combining biochemistry, cell biology and physical approaches with advanced imaging, her group made key contributions to the understanding of chromatin (the highly organized structure of DNA and associated proteins which enables the approximately 2m of DNA contained in each human cell to be packaged into the nucleus) organization and dynamics during cell differentiation and during DNA metabolism, including DNA repair and replication.

“IF THERE IS SOMETHING I’D LIKE TO TELL TO YOUNGER PEOPLE THAT WANT TO GO INTO SCIENCE, THIS IS: ENJOY IT! THIS IS THE MOST IMPORTANT ASPECT OF IT.”

“AND ALSO ENJOY SHARING WITH OTHERS, WOMEN AND MEN. THIS IS ALSO THE BEAUTY OF DOING SCIENCE.”

Nina Cabezas-Wallscheid, PhD, is Group Leader at Max Planck Institute of Immunobiology and Epigenetics (MPI-IE) Freiburg, Germany and recipient of the European Research Council (ERC) Starting Grant (2017). Her research focuses on hematopoioetic stem cells (HSC), the stem cells which maintain the production of blood cells during the entire life of an organism. In particular, her laboratory is investigating the regulation of HSC dormancy, a ‘resting’ state in which the majority of blood stem cells are kept under healthy conditions and which is essential to preserve their long-term self-renewal potential.

“I LOVE CHALLENGES AND I HAD ALL POSSIBLE LABORATORY KITS AT HOME. I LIKE TO BE CREATIVE AND THINK OUT OF THE BOX.”

“OPTIMISM, PERSISTENCE, ENJOY LITTLE ACHIEVEMENTS, THESE ARE THE WORDS I WOULD LIKE TO ADDRESS TO ASPIRING SCIENTISTS.”

Giovanna Iannantuoni is Rector of the University Milano-Bicocca and Full Professor of Economics, Milan, Italy.

She is one of the seven female Rectors among eighty-four Rectors in Italy.

Intrigued by the Game Theory, her research focuses on mathematical models of strategic interaction between people applied to economic behavior, on political economy decisions and microeconomics.

“AS RECTOR, IN THE NEXT SIX YEARS I WILL INVEST IN THE RIGHT TO EDUCATION AND RESEARCH, IN ORDER TO PRODUCE USEFUL RESULTS FOR MILAN AND ITALY.”

“CURIOSITY, AWARENESS AND COURAGE: THESE ARE THE WORDS I WOULD LIKE TO ADDRESS TO ASPIRING SCIENTISTS AND TO ALL WOMEN. BE WHO YOU WANT TO BE.”

Maria Rescigno, PhD is Full Professor of General Pathology and Vice Scientific Director and Deputy Rector with responsibility for research at Humanitas University. She is Group Leader of the Mucosal immunology and microbiota Unit at Humanitas Research Hospital in Milan, Italy. In 2016 she founded Postbiotica, a microbiota biopharmaceutical company.

Maria Rescigno is among the leading international experts in Microbiota, the millions of bacteria and other microorganisms living in symbiosis with our body. Her major areas of interest are mucosal immunology and the development of new cancer immunotherapy strategies based on bacteria as immunostimulators. The latest study from her group identified a bacterial strain in the microbiota with anticancer activities against the development of intestinal tumours.

“MY MAJOR DRIVE IS TO THINK THAT PEOPLE ARE SUFFERING FROM THE DISEASE, CANCER, AND TO DO SOMETHING FOR THEM.”

Graziella Pellegrini, PhD, is Full Professor of Cell Biology and Director of the Cell Therapy Program at the Center for Regenerative Medicine "Stefano Ferrari" of the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Modena, Italy.

Graziella Pellegrini has dedicated most of her scientific activities to translational medicine. She is recognised as leading scientist in human squamous epithelial stem cell biology and has been a driving force in the development of epithelial stem cell-mediated cell therapy and gene therapy, in particular for corneal regeneration (Holoclar, the first stem cell-based therapy approved in Europe, 2015) and for the severe genetic skin disease junctional epidermolysis bullosa (JEB) in 2017. She is winner of the 2020 Jeantet-Collen Prize for translational medicine.

“CELL BIOLOGY WAS UNPRECEDENTED LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT.
I REALLY LIKED THE IDEA OF BEING ABLE TO USE CELL CULTURES TO RECONSTRUCT THE PARTS OF A HUMAN BEING, TO TREAT A PERSON.”

“YOU ONLY LEARN FROM ERRORS. THE MOST SENSATIONAL DISCOVERIES COME JUST WHEN THINGS GO DIFFERENTLY FROM HOW YOU ENVISIONED THEM.”

Fiona Watt, PhD, has been appointed as Director of the European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO) starting in early 2022.

She is founding Director of the Centre for Stem Cells and Regenerative Medicine at King’s College London, UK. Since 2018, she is also Executive Chair of the Medical Research Council (MRC), one of the major funding agencies of biomedical research in the UK. She is Fellow of the Royal Society and of the Academy of Medical Sciences (UK).

Fiona’s major research interest is in the role of stem cells in adult tissue maintenance, focusing in particular on the biology of skin stem cells, their contribution to epidermal and oral tumor formation and the cell state transitions in human skin.

“I WAS BORN A SCIENTIST - I NEVER WANTED TO DO ANYTHING ELSE.”

One word Fiona gives as a gift to young aspiring scientists is: “BOLDNESS”

Titia de Lange, PhD, is Leon Hess Professor, Director of the Anderson Center for Cancer Research (since 2011) and head of the laboratory for Cell Biology and Genetics at the Rockefeller University, New York, USA. She is an elected member of the Royal Dutch Academy of Sciences, the European Molecular Biology Organization, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. She has been elected a foreign associate of the National Academy of Sciences, a member of the National Academy of Science Institute of Medicine, and a Foreign Member of the Royal Society (UK).

Prof. de Lange made seminal contributions to the understanding of human telomeres, the protective elements at the ends of chromosomes that are essential for the maintenance of genetic integrity. When a postdoctoral fellow at the University of California, San Francisco, she was one of the first to isolate the telomeres of human chromosomes. Research in the de Lange laboratory today focuses on understanding how telomeres protect chromosome ends from the DNA damage response and the role of telomeres in cancer.

“WHAT DRIVES ME IS PURELY THE LOVE OF TELOMERES. I CAN’T HELP MYSELF. AND MY STUDENTS. I LOVE MY STUDENTS.”

“FOR YOUNG GIRLS WHO WANT A CAREER IN SCIENCE, MY ADVICE WOULD BE: FORGET ABOUT BEING A NICE GIRL. MEN DON’T EVER THINK ABOUT THAT, WHETHER THEY ARE PERCEIVED AS NICE. AND IN THE END, EVEN IF YOU TRY TO BE NICE, PEOPLE DON’T THINK YOU ARE NICE.”

Maria A. Blasco, PhD, is Director of the Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Oncológicas and Head of the Telomeres and Telomerase Group at CNIO - Madrid, Spain. For more than 20 years, Dr. Blasco´s research has focused in demonstrating the importance of telomeres and telomerase in cancer, as well as in age-related diseases. Telomeres form the tips of the chromosomes and are essential in protecting them from degradation during DNA metabolism.

“I WANTED TO BECOME A MOLECULAR BIOLOGIST TO BE ABLE TO UNDERSTAND HOW LIFE WORKS AT A CELLULAR AND MOLECULAR LEVEL AND TO BE ABLE TO UNDERSTAND THE ORIGIN OF OR DISEASES, WHICH I THINK ITS THE ONLY WAY TO PREVENT OR CURE THEM.”

“TELOMERES HOLD SOME OF THE KEYS ON WHY WE AGE AND DEVELOP AGE-RELATED DISEASES, INCLUDING CANCER.”

”THERE IS NOTHING MORE IMPORTANT THAN KNOWLEDGE”.

Francesca Mattiroli, PhD, is Junior Group Leader at the Hubrecht Institute in Utrecht, The Netherlands and is recipient of the European Research Council (ERC) Starting Grant (2019).

Francesca's group studies how epigenetic information is faithfully propagated during cell division.

“THE DRIVE FOR ME IT’S THE THRILL OF THE DISCOVERY OF SOMETHING THAT NO ONE KNOWS ANYTHING ABOUT”.

“ALWAYS KEEP POSITIVE AND FOCUS ON SOLUTIONS.”

She is an associate professor of Genetics at the University of Verona. Since 2016, her research focuses on developing and implementing innovative genomic technologies and approaches for the analysis of genomes and the identification of genetic variants, both in humans and in plants.

In 2019, she founded Genartis, a startup offering services in the field of personalized genomics and DNA sequencing, with the goal of transforming academic findings into useful tools for medical diagnostics. During the pandemic emergency of 2021, Geneartis created the first genetic test that assesses the risk of developing severe symptoms from Covid-19. The test can identify a particular DNA region inherited from Neanderthals and associated with severe Covid-19.

“ONLY YOU CAN MAKE
YOUR DREAMS COME TRUE!
WORK TIRELESSLY FOR IT!”

Titia Sixma, Ph.D., is Head of the Division of Biochemistry at The Netherlands Cancer Institute and Professor at Erasmus MC Rotterdam. She is elected member of the KNAW (Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences). The Sixma lab uses structural biology to study function and structure of large protein complexes that are important in cancer.

“IN PRACTICE IT IS ALWAYS THE IMMEDIATE PUZZLES THAT ARE MOST EXCITING. EXPERIMENTAL SCIENCE AND PARTICULARLY STRUCTURAL BIOLOGY CAN GIVE SUCH VERY CLEAR BUT NEVERTHELESS UNEXPECTED DATA. WORKING OUT WHAT THOSE RESULTS MEAN IN TERMS OF BIOLOGY IS ALWAYS A JOY”

Emmanuelle Passegué, PhD, is Director of the Columbia Stem Cell Initiative (CSCI) and Professor of Genetics & Development at Columbia University Irving Medical Center (CUIMC) in New York City – USA. She is President of the International Society of Experimental Hematology (ISEH).

Prof. Passegué is a pioneer and leading expert in the field of haematopoietic stem cell (HSC) biology, the blood-making stem cells which give rise to every cell circulating in our blood. Her laboratory is interested in identifying the mechanisms that control HSC activity in normal and in a range of deregulated conditions, with the goal to help develop new therapies for diseases of the blood, such as leukaemia and help combat physiological ageing.

“SCIENCE IS A LITTLE BIT LIKE A MYSTERY NOVEL: YOU TRY TO FIGURE OUT THE MYSTERY. THIS PROCESS OF SEARCHING AND DISCOVERING AND PUTTING THINGS TOGETHER, THAT’S WHAT I FIND MOST FASCINATING.”

“BE PERSISTENT, BE PASSIONATE, BE STUBBORN AND FOLLOW YOUR INSTINCT.”

Michela Serresi, PhD, is Associate Staff Scientist for Molecular Oncology and Team Leader - Berlin School of Integrative Oncology (BSIO) Awardee at the Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine in Berlin, Germany.

Dr. Serresi research focuses on metastasis, the most common and severe complication arising in cancer patients. Her team is interested in identifying the genes that drive lung cancer cells to disseminate to distal organs, where they form metastasis, and in their mechanism of actions. Deep understanding of such mechanisms would allow the identification of high-risk patients and the design of patient-tailored therapies.

“I HAVE ALWAYS HAD AS A GOAL TO CONDUCT WELL-DESIGNED EXPERIMENTS THAT LEAD TO SOUND AND VALUABLE RESULTS WHICH BENEFIT THE SCIENTIFIC COMMUNITY.”

“MY WORD OF ADVICE TO THE NEXT GENERATION OF YOUNG ASPIRING SCIENTISTS IS: WHEN YOU DECIDE TO BE A RESEARCHER YOU NEED TO STICK TO A SPECIFIC GOAL THAT YOU HAVE IN YOUR MIND AND COMMIT TO IT AS BEST AS YOU CAN. FOLLOW THIS PATH ONLY IF YOU ARE PASSIONATE, CURIOUS, MOTIVATED, PATIENT AND COMMITTED BECAUSE WHAT THIS JOB REQUIRES IS A DEEP PASSION FOR SCIENCE.”

Susan Galbraith, MD PhD, is Executive Vice President and Head of Oncology Research & Development from initial discovery through late-stage development at AstraZeneca, Cambridge, UK.

Prior to this, Dr. Galbraith has led early stage Oncology R&D as Senior Vice President, being responsible for research and early development from target selection to the initiation of pivotal trials. She has transformed AstraZeneca Oncology through her scientific focus on selecting the right populations, moving 7 programs into Phase III clinical trials since 2012. Two of these drugs are now established best-in-class medicines for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and for advanced ovarian cancer.

She is Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences, UK. In 2021, she was elected to the Board of Directors of the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR).

“BEING AN ONCOLOGIST AND TREATING A LOT OF PATIENTS WITH CANCER, MY JOB IS TO REALLY CHANGE HOW WE TREAT CANCER.”

“HAVE SOME CONFIDENCE THAT YOU DON’T NEED TO KNOW EVERYTHING TODAY TO DO WHAT YOU ARE AIMING TO DO TOMORROW. YOU CAN LEARN. ”

Anna-Pavlina Haramis, PhD is Advisor Research Grants at ‎Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands.

As an Assistant Professor at the University of Leiden, her team used the zebrafish, a transparent small fish, as an experimental model system to study the role of genes implicated in organism development and in cancer. Her work contributed to revealing the critical role of tumor suppressor pathways in the regulation of energy metabolism at the whole organism level. Alterations in cell metabolism are a key feature of cancer cells.

“A CAREER IN SCIENCE – PURSUING YOUR STUDIES IN GENERAL, A PHD OR EVEN FURTHER ACADEMIC POSITIONS -
HAS EQUIPPED YOU WITH LOTS OF SKILLS THAT YOU MAY NOT EVEN APPRECIATE THAT YOU HAVE.”

“THIS INQUISITIVE MIND, PROBLEM SOLVING ATTITUDE AND CRITICAL THINKING WITH RESPECT TO INFORMATION WILL ALWAYS STAY WITH YOU AND IS APPLICABLE TO A WHOLE RANGE OF CAREERS, BOTH IN ACADEMIA AND BEYOND. “

Antonella Ronchi is Professor of Genetics at the University of Milano-Bicocca (UNIMIB), Milano, Italy and Coordinator of the ARCH (Age-Related Changes in Hematopoiesis)- project, a Marie Skłodowska-Curie ITN European Training Network (ARCH-project.eu).

Prof. Ronchi has a long-term research interest in mechanisms controlling cell specification and differentiation during hematopoiesis, the continuous process of cellular development producing all blood cell lines. In particular, the laboratory is studying molecular networks regulating normal and malignant erythropoiesis, the production of red blood cells.

“DO WELL WHAT YOU ARE DOING. BE OPEN-MINDED AND READY TO TAKE UP OPPORTUNITIES.”

Nonia Pariente, PhD, is since March 2020 Editor-in-Chief of the scientific journal PLOS Biology. She previously held various editorial roles at EMBO Reports and in 2015 she joined the launch team of Nature Microbiology. After handling microbiology at Nature for a year, Nonia became Chief Editor of Nature Microbiology in 2019.

“MY BIGGEST MOTIVATION FOR WHAT I DO IS TO HELP GOOD SCIENCE GET PUBLISHED, NOTICED AND USED, AND DO IT IN AN ACCESSIBLE, APPROACHABLE AND TRANSPARENT MANNER.”

“DO NOT THINK THAT ACADEMIA IS THE ONLY CAREER OPTION IN SCIENCE - DON’T BE AFRAID TO THINK OUTSIDE THE BOX. LIFE CAN BE VERY FULFILLING ON THE OTHER SIDE”.

Mina Gouti, PhD, is Group Leader of the ‘Stem Cell Modeling of Development & Disease’ laboratory at Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine (MDC), Berlin, Germany. She has also a long-standing interest in communicating stem cell research and its advances to the public using a combination of science, art and literature. The canvas is from the exhibition: “Stem Cell Metamorphosis” by Mina Gouti.

Dr. Gouti’s laboratory uses human and mouse pluripotent stem cells (PSCs) to model embryo development in vitro and understand the mechanisms that regulate cell fate decisions during neuromuscular system development. The group recently succeeded in using human pluripotent stem cells to assemble neuromuscular junction organoids containing neurons and muscle cells.

“THE UNLIMITED POTENTIAL OF EMBRYONIC STEM CELLS IS SOMETHING THAT FASCINATES ME.”

“THE SKY IS YOUR LIMIT… DO NOT TRUST PEOPLE THAT ARE TRYING TO PUT YOU OFF.”

Ji-Ying Song, M.D .Ph.D. is Mouse Pathologist at The Netherlands Cancer Institute in Amsterdam. In the last 20 years, Ji-Ying was fully involved in pathologic phenotyping of genetically engineered mouse models for cancer.

“THE DRIVE AND MOTIVATION OF BEING A SCIENTIST COME FROM MY CURIOSITY AND ACCOMPLISHMENT OF VARIOUS PROJECTS. ‘WE DON’T KNOW WHAT WE DON’T KNOW’ KEEPS ME SHARP AND FOCUSED.

I TRULY BELIEVE THAT A LONG-LASTING ENJOYMENT IN DOING SCIENCE IS BASED ON ONE’S PASSION AND COMPETENCY. “

Leila Akkari, Ph.D., is Junior Gorup Leader at the Netherlands Cancer Institute (NKI) and Junior Member of the Oncode Institute in Amsterdam, The Netherlands.

Leila’s laboratory focuses on the role of immune cells in tumor maintenance and therapeutic resistance in brain and liver malignancies, in order to identify potential vulnerabilities that can be targeted therapeutically.

“WHAT PASSIONATE ME IN SCIENCE IS THE URGE TO ALWAYS PUSH FURTHER IN OUR UNDERSTANDING OF ANY BIOLOGICAL PROCESS”

“WHAT PASSIONATE ME AS A MENTOR OF MY STUDENTS IS TO COMMUNICATE THIS EXCITEMENT, THIS IDEA THAT WE CONSTANTLY LEARN IN THIS JOB, AND NEVER TAKE ANYTHING FOR GRANTED.”

Anke Sparmann, PhD, is a scientific writer at The Helmholtz Institute for RNA - based Infection Research (HIRI) in Würzburg, Germany.

In 2012, she moved from her academic research in chromatin dynamics during stem cell differentiation to an editorial career as scientific editor. She first joined the editorial teams of EMBO Journal, followed by Nature Communications and Nature Structural and Molecular Biology shortly after. She is an expert in science communication, scientific writing and publishing.

“THE WORD I CHOOSE TO GIVE AS A GIFT TO YOUNG SCIENTISTS IS ‘TRUST’.

TRUST IN YOURSELF AND OTHERS, TEAM MEMBERS, COLLABORATORS AND FRIENDS, BUT ALSO IN DATA AND FACTS. NOT UNQUESTIONING TRUST, BUT TRUST IN YOUR ABILITY TO UNDERSTAND AND SOLVE PROBLEMS, AND TRUST THAT ALLOWS YOU TO BE OPEN”

Alessandra Biffi, MD is Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Padua and Chief of the Pediatric Onco-hematology Unit at the University Hospital of Padua, Italy.

Alessandra Biffi is a pediatrician and a researcher, specialized in studying gene therapy approaches to fight genetic diseases in childhood. Since 2018 she coordinates the research area on onco-hematology, hematopoietic stem cell transplantation and gene therapy at the Pediatric Research Institute of Padua.

“THIS KIND OF WORK AND GROWTH IN RESEARCH IS REALLY WORTH IF YOU ARE PASSIONATE, OTHERWISE IT’S VERY, VERY DIFFICULT.”

Karlene Cimprich, Ph.D., is Professor of Chemical and Systems Biology at Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford - USA. Karlene was invited speaker at the EMBO scientific conference "The DNA damage response in cell physiology and disease", where she shared her newest results on the molecular mechanisms which safeguard the integrity of our DNA.

“I LOVE THE THRILL OF DISCOVERY, THE NEVER-ENDING LEARNING, THE DEEP THINKING ABOUT A PROBLEM AND THE CHANCE TO INTERACT WITH AND TALK WITH SO MANY OTHER INTERESTING PEOPLE AROUND THE WORLD ABOUT MY SCIENCE, THEIR SCIENCE OR JUST LIFE.”

One word that Karlene gives as a gift to young aspiring scientists:

“PERSEVERANCE – FIND A PROBLEM YOU LOVE, BELIEVE IN YOURSELF, THINK BIG AND STICK WITH IT. IT WON’T BE EASY, BUT IT CAN BE SO REWARDING. “

Madalena Tarsounas, Ph.D., is Professor of Molecular and Cell Biology at CRUK/MRC Oxford Institute for Radiation Oncology, UK. Madalena was photographed at the EMBO Conference "The DNA damage response in cell physiology and disease", which she organized in Cape Sounio, Greece.

Agata Smogorzewska, M.D., Ph.D., is Head of the Laboratory of Genome Maintenance and Associate Professor at The Rockefeller University in New York City, USA.

She has been a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Faculty Scholar from 2016 to 2021 and has been elected to American Society of Clinical Investigation (ASCI) in 2016.

Research in Agata’s laboratory is focused on DNA repair. In particular, ”Using Fanconi anemia and other genetic diseases as a backdrop, her research aims to elucidate the pathways that protect organ function and prevent cancer, with a focus on those that replicate and repair DNA”.

Agata was invited speaker at the EMBO scientific conference The DNA damage response in cell physiology and disease, where she shared her newest results on the molecular mechanisms which safeguard the integrity of our DNA.

“OUR CELLS ARE BEAUTIFUL MACHINES AND TO UNDERSTAND HOW THEY WORK IS THRILLING.”

“FIND AN AREA THAT EXCITES YOU, AN AREA THAT HAS MANY MYSTERIES, AND WORK HARD TO SOLVE THEM.”

Serena Pozzi, Alessia Abbiati, Erika Bruno, and Valeria Viola are
students of the Master Degree Course in Biology at the University Milano-Bicocca, Milan, Italy.

PASSION, THOROUGHNESS, DISCIPLINE, CREATIVITY AND CURIOSITY ARE THEIR KEY DRIVERS IN SCIENCE

AS A RESEARCHER, I KNOW THAT THERE ARE SO MANY WOMEN WHO ARE LEADERS IN SCIENCE, WHO ARE POWERFUL, BEAUTIFUL, HAPPY AND SUCCESSFUL. IT IS ABOUT MAKING THEM VISIBLE.