Florian Wilfling Becomes EMBO Young Investigator

Florian Wilfling becomes an EMBO Young Investigator among twenty-seven scientists
 

Warmest congratulations to our Max Planck Research Group Leader Florian Wilfling on being selected for the prestigious EMBO (European Molegular Biology Organization) Young Investigators Programme! Together with 27 group leaders, he joins an international network of nearly 800 life scientists and will receive financial support for his research.

 

"I am honored that our lab will be part of this fantastic network and look forward to the many interactions in the future." - Florian Wilfling

EMBO announces the selection of 27 life scientists as the newest members of the EMBO Young Investigator Programme. The programme supports young group leaders, like Florian Wilfling, in Europe and beyond. He will start as an EMBO Young Investigator in January, and will be an active member of the programme for four years, as he becomes part of an international network of nearly 800 current and former EMBO Young Investigators, Installation Grantees and Global Investigators.

“EMBO welcomes the new young investigators, a group of exceptional scientists who represent innovation and excellence in their fields. The multidisciplinary EMBO Young Investigator Network that they will join generates many opportunities for forming connections. We are delighted to support this next generation of scientific leaders and the collaborations they will form,” says EMBO Director Fiona Watt.

Networking opportunities for EMBO Young Investigators and their lab members are central to the programme. 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.

Florian Wilfling and his group at the Max Planck Institute of Biophysics study how our cells recycle their waste. The process called autophagy is an important quality control system whose malfunction is associated with diseases such as metabolic disorders, cancer and neurodegenerative diseases, e.g. Parkinson’s or dementia. Understanding this process can therefore aid the development of new medical therapies. The Wilfling group investigates the structure of autophagosomes that act as the garbage truck in this process. These organelles with a double membrane are newly formed in the cell and transport the material to be degraded to the waste shredder, the lysosomes. In this way, the cell removes and recycles excessive, damaged or dangerous material, for example proteins, organelles or pathogens such as bacteria.