On 7 September the EMBL alumni from the Iberian Chapter celebrated their third meeting at the CIC bioGUNE in Bilbao. The day started with a welcome by CIC bioGUNE director José M. Mato, followed by presentations by Angel Nebreda and José Luis de la Pompa. After a visit to the laboratories of the new centre and lunch, the talks continued with Puri Fortes, Peter Askjaer and Rosa Barrio. The seminars were all excellent, on varied and interesting topics, and made for an exciting scientific programme.
Before heading into Bilbao, there was a very productive discussion about alumni issues. Ideas which arose included inviting experienced speakers to present information on funding opportunities in Spain and Europe; using the alumni association web pages to access local blogs; and communicating more information on how alumni can use the EMBL Core Facilities and EMBLEM services. The day was completed with a wonderful guided visit to the Guggenheim museum and a pleasant walk by the river to the restaurant for drinks and dinner. We all agreed that the meeting was worth it and we should do it again next year in Barcelona. See you all there!
CIC bioGUNE was officially inaugurated in January 2005. The groups there work on molecular, cellular and structural biology, and include five EMBL alumni: Rosa Barrio, Jim Sutherland, Rune Matthiesen, Robert Kypta and María del Mar Vivanco. The Alumni Association would like to thank José M. Mato for all refreshments and the guided visit to the Guggenheim.