2023 John Kendrew Award recipient Veli Vural Uslu delivers a captivating talk during the annual EMBL Alumni Awards ceremony at EMBL Heidelberg in July 2024.

2023 is almost over, and we’d like to thank EMBL alumni for their continued support this year. Through alumni advocacy, participation, volunteering and giving, the valuable contributions of former staff have aided EMBL’s mission to support life sciences every day, in Europe and beyond. 

To express this in numbers, approximately 1,335 alumni contributed to 2,500 acts of engagement across all EMBL sites this year.

Participation
Alumni presence at our courses, conferences and events, in-person and online, including Coffees with EMBL, the Alumni Awards Ceremony and Friends of EMBL gatherings, brought these occasions to life. It was wonderful to see so many alumni inspiring and interacting with current staff and those less familiar with EMBL.

Volunteering
Many alumni have played a major role in hosting, organising, facilitating and speaking at these events and meetings, at EMBL and globally. Hundreds former staff have committed to helping the next generation of scientists and administrators by mentoring, sharing their career journeys and taking on significant roles on boards, committees and working groups that serve EMBL’s missions. With their time and expertise, alumni are making an impact across EMBL.

Giving
By making and facilitating philanthropic contributions to areas of need, alumni have enabled EMBL to tackle urgent environmental challenges, as well as boost the TREC (Traversing European Coastlines) expedition and the delivery of inspiring educational and outreach experiences to the wider public.

Advocacy
EMBL alumni are our most important and influential ambassadors. By following, sharing and contributing to EMBL news, and by sharing your testimonials and quotes, former staff have continued to help raise awareness of EMBL and its resources for the community. In doing so, alumni are supporting us in our goal of advancing life sciences research and services. 

As we enter EMBL’s 50th anniversary in 2024, alumni advocacy will be as crucial as ever as we highlight the importance of life sciences and the impact of EMBL, past, present and future. Find out how we can mark this special occasion together in 2024.