Photo: Lunch with Michael Rosbash, Nobel Prize for discovery of genes and molecular mechanisms involved in the regulation of biological rhythm, and other 9 young researchers
Tatiana Morais, a researcher from the Department of Physiology and Biochemistry at the Faculty of Medicine, University of Malta, working with Prof. Giuseppe Di Giovanni in the study of Absence seizures, represented Malta at the Lindau Nobel laureates meeting that took place between the 25 - 30 June in Germany.
The Lindau Nobel Laureate Meetings promotes the exchange of ideas between different peers, scientific disciplines, and cultures since 1951. Tatiana had the opportunity to represent Malta University in this year’s meeting dedicated to Medicine and Physiology. The lake Constance in Bavaria, Germany, serves as a host of this event every year and the small island of Lindau offered a warm welcome to around 40 Nobel laureates and the 600 young researchers and scientific comities representatives from all over the globe. Offering the perfect atmosphere to foster scientific collaborations and growth.
Expressing her excitement post-meeting Tatiana said "Lindau was possibly the best experience I ever had in a conference. As a representative of Malta and a young researcher in neuroscience, I was eager to make connections with other young scientists and found common points of interest for collaborations. Everyone was happy to share insights into their work and discuss problematics in your field, namely lack of diversity and a poor work-life balance. Everything in this event was top-notch, specialty the lectures given by the Nobel Laureates. They have showed us not only what they discovered but also how their discovered improved the field. As a young neuroscientist I really appreciated the opportunity to talk directly with the Nobel Laureates John O'Keefe, Edvard I. Moser, Michael M. Rosbash and Sir Martin J. Evans about their work and my common point of interest”.
“The open-exchanges with the Nobel Laureates gave us the opportunity to understand better how it is do make A discovery, it’s a great privilege to sit in a room with a Nobel Laureate and a few other young-researchers and have the possibility to make questions, not only scientific but also about their career and the path to it. All the Nobel Laureates were happy and eager to reply to any question. I think they were having as much fun as us” said Tatiana.
As for the future, Tatiana hopes the connections made during this meeting will foster collaborations and allow the University of Malta to collaborate with institutions from other parts of the globe. Lindau was an unforgettable experience and Tatiana expressed her appreciation for the opportunity given to her by the University.
