Agnes Toth-Petroczy © Katrin Boes / MPI-CBG
The European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO) announced the selection of 27 life scientists as the newest members of the EMBO Young Investigator Programme. Amongst them is Agnes Toth-Petroczy, research group leader at the Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics (MPI-CBG) and the Center for Systems Biology Dresden (CSBD). The program supports young group leaders in Europe and beyond. The new young investigators will start in January, be active members of the program for four years, and become part of an international network of nearly 800 current and former EMBO Young Investigators, Installation Grantees, and Global Investigators. They carry out research across a wide range of life sciences topics, from cell and computational biology to immunology and neuroscience.
The research group of Agnes Toth-Petroczy seeks to understand protein sequence space and the collective organization of proteins into biomolecular condensates in the light of evolution and erroneous protein production, i.e. transcription and translation errors that lead to phenotypic mutations. Agnes says, “Proteins are the most intriguing biomolecules of life, driving essential functions. We use an interdisciplinary approach combining computational and experimental biology to advance systems level understanding of proteins and biomolecular condensates in evolution, health and disease. With my membership in the EMBO Young Investigator Programme, I hope to further my research here in Dresden, and I feel very honored to be part of such a vibrant community.”
As part of the Young Investigator Programme, Agnes has access to a lot of networking opportunities for herself and her lab members. The young investigators, who receive an award of 15,000 euros, also benefit from training in laboratory leadership and responsible conduct of research, access to core facilities at EMBL in Heidelberg, Germany, and mentoring by EMBO Members. They can apply for additional grants, for example, for organizing or travelling to conferences.
Of the 27 new EMBO Young Investigators, 14 are female (52%) and 13 are male (48%). They are based in 10 member states of the EMBC, the intergovernmental organization that funds the EMBO Programmes, and Japan. In total, the program received 207 eligible applications, and the success rate was 13%. In the framework of the memorandum of cooperation between EMBO and the Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST), scientists funded by certain programs of JST were eligible to apply to the EMBO Young Investigator Programme for the first time in 2024.
About EMBO
EMBO is an organization of more than 2,100 leading researchers that promotes excellence in the life sciences in Europe and beyond. The major goals of the organization are to support talented researchers at all stages of their careers, stimulate the exchange of scientific information, and help build a research environment where scientists can achieve their best work.