Introducing "gl’IMPses of research"

A new format of compact audio-portraits acquaints listeners with IMP Group Leaders, shares the passion that drives their research and describes the questions they aim to address in the future.

IMP Group Leaders and their research agenda are described in detail on our website. Building on this available information, a group of PhD students recently pointed out that a complementary perspective could be useful: a more intimate picture, a rather personal approach.

When choosing their future supervisor, they reasoned, students are interested in the science and the work conditions, but they would also like to get a feeling for the "vibes" that will connect them to their future supervisors. That is why we are introducing "gl’IMPses of Research", an audio-format that lets you become familiar with our Group Leaders, their research interests, and their plans for the future – in their own words.

In the first edition of our audio-portraits, we introduce Group Leader Clemens Plaschka who joined the IMP in 2018. In the twelve-minute piece, he talks about the questions that his group addresses and describes his fascination with gene expression. He explains his recent work on spliceosome assembly that was published in Nature last summer and the technology he uses to study these structures, cryo-electron microscopy. Finally, Clemens reveals a few details about the previous steps in his career, shares his thoughts on his current workplace and adds some advice to future PhD students.