A scientist's work is not focused solely on their own research, but also on exchanging ideas with fellow scientists. Since 2006, the Paul-Ehrlich-Institut has encouraged such connections by organising an internal research retreat. The goal is to promote scientific exchange and to support the Institute's young scientists. The PEI retreat took place in December 2023 for the first time in three years due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Like the previous PEI retreats the three-day program focused on lectures, discussions and method workshops on all aspects of biomedical research. Doctoral students, post-doctoral researchers, and heads of research projects presented their current work and research results and discussed them with the participants. The lecture sessions covered all research areas represented at the Paul-Ehrlich-Institut: virology, host-pathogen interactions, immunology, allergology, microbiology, veterinary medicine, gene and cell therapy, and the safety of biomedicines.
Among the program highlights were the presentations by the two keynote speakers. Prof Dr Els Verhoeyen, Research Director at the National Institute of Health and Medical Research (Institut national de la santé et de la recherche médicale, Inserm), spoke about the next generation of lentiviral vectors and virus-like particles. The lecture by Prof Dr Mark Post, Professor of Sustainable Industrial Tissue Engineering at Maastricht University, dealt with lab-grown meat and leather.
Another highlight was the awarding of the lecture and poster prizes.
The following doctoral students received awards for their excellent presentations:
The winners of the poster prizes all earned the same number of points, resulting in a three-way tie for first place:
The scientific conference gave the young scientists at the Paul-Ehrlich-Institut the chance to gain useful insights into their colleagues' research areas and gather valuable input regarding their own research projects. Social activities completed the scientific retreat program.
Updated: 22.02.2024
