As 2022 draws to a close, we thank our alumni for the many ways in which they have supported EMBL during the first year of our new Programme, Molecules to Ecosystems. Through their advocacy, volunteering, participation and philanthropy, alumni have made a real impact at this crucial time for EMBL.

With the help of alumni, we launched the Kafatos Lectures, with Denis Duboule delivering the inaugural lecture in Heraklion in October. We look forward to growing this series in the coming years and expanding EMBL’s public outreach even further alongside the newly launched Science Education and Public Engagement (SEPE) Office.

By staying in touch with us, participating in our events, flying the flag for EMBL and allowing us to shine the spotlight on them and their successes, former staff are contributing to EMBL’s mission to support life sciences every day in a major way. Many alumni have supported EMBL’s LEAP programme (Leadership and Excellence for Aspiring Postdocs), and the Alumni Mentorship Programme, which will resume in the Spring of 2023 following its successful pilot in 2021.

The generous philanthropic support provided by alumni for the Environmental Research Initiative (ERI) will enable the plankton catalyst project to combat marine pollution to begin in 2023, paving the way for solutions to urgent environmental challenges and contributing to the goals of the EMBL Programme.

We welcomed new alumni members to the Friends of EMBL Programme in 2022. Thanks to their generous contributions, vital work to get TREC (an expedition to study coastal ecosystems and their response to the environment) underway has been possible.

We’re excited to continue working with the alumni community to further drive the EMBL Programme in 2023. We encourage all alumni to stay in touch by keeping their details up to date, and to let us know about their recent news and achievements.