In exciting news, the Australian National University has joined our Partner Laboratory Network as our first host institute in the ACT.
Chief Scientist Dr Alan Finkel, EMBL Director General Prof Iain Mattaj and EMBL Australia Scientific Head Prof James Whisstock were some of the esteemed speakers to present at the node launch event on 14 June, which was compered by ANU Vice-Chancellor and Nobel Laureate Professor Brian Schmidt.
The University is recruiting two promising young researchers to join the John Curtin School of Medical Research (JCSMR) as EMBL Australia Group Leaders.
Dr Barry Thompson, an Australian researcher who is currently a group leader at the Francis Crick Institute in London, will commence at JCSMR next year and focus on developing new cancer therapies.
“In returning to Australia after 20 years in Europe, I am excited to see that the JCSMR is comparable in terms of facilities and scientific quality with any of the leading European research institutes I have worked in,” Dr Thompson said.
“Partnership with EMBL Australia is important to me personally, having been an EMBL post-doc, and I’m now keen to maintain my many scientific connections with Europe.”
A second young researcher has also been offered an EMBL Australia Group Leader position.
JCSMR Director Professor Simon Foote said the collaboration with EMBL Australia will provide a breadth of collaborative research and training opportunities to current and future medical researchers at ANU.
“This partnership brings JCSMR into an advanced global network of researchers in Europe working across the fields of molecular biology,” Prof Foote said.
Prof Foote, Dr Thompson and the German Embassy’s Deputy Head of Mission, Ms Gerda Winkler, also spoke at the launch event.