Dr Marcus Heisler completed his PhD in 2000 at Monash University, Australia. He then moved to the US as a Postdoctoral researcher at the California Institute of Technology. Whilst there he became a Senior Research Associate at the California Institute of Technology, holding the position from 2007-2009. Marcus has been an EMBL Group leader since 2009 and is a European Research Council (ERC) Investigator. Marcus Heisler was the first Group Leader to be appointed under an EMBL-Australia Faculty Development Program after Australia became an Associate Member of EMBL in 2008.
Marcus was appointed under EMBL Australia’s Faculty Development Program that was designed to support high potential early-career scientists. In Marcus’ first two years at EMBL Heidelberg, Marcus received an ERC grant to extend his work, hence his seven years there. The ERC provided a total of $2.5 million (AUD) covering the five-year period from 2009 to 2013. Being an Associate Member has given Australian life scientists such as Marcus, access to state-of-the-art core facilities, technologies, funds and expertise in Europe.
Marcus will be returning to the University of Sydney in early 2017.
Marcus reflects on his time in EMBL Heidelberg and experience with the utmost positivity and gratitude. He has thoroughly enjoyed his time in Heidelberg and all the opportunities offered to him. Marcus says “my time in Europe has particularly cemented my research relationships and collaborations”. He says “there is no doubt that being part of EMBL and the cache it brings has offered me an advantage to developing my scientific network and collaborations.” Marcus continues, “it has allowed me the opportunity to secure my place in fundamental research. EMBL certainly places a strong emphasis on fundamental research and scientific excellence.”
We look forward to seeing you on your return. Congratulations on all your hard work Marcus. What a fantastic achievement, well done!
Marcus Heisler: EMBL Heidelberg, Tel: +49 (0) 6221 387-8603, Email: heisler@embl.de