28) Des Higgins - Early days of bioinformatics, Clustal and democratising sequence alignments

31. Julius Brennecke - The bantam mystery and the power of genetic conflict

Julius Brennecke (Current Senior Scientist, IMBA, Vienna. and former Predoctoral Fellow, EMBL Heidelberg, 2006-2001) chats with Thomas Vaccari (Current Professor, University of Milan and former Predoctoral Fellow, EMBL Heidelberg, 2004-1999). Julius explains his fascination for how molecular pathways govern complex biological patterns in fruit flies. Before describing the risky decision to investigate a mysterious genetic locus known as Bantam. This conversation was recorded in January 2026. Alumni Chat contributors are members of the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) community. The opinions expressed are their own and are not necessarily representative of the views of EMBL or any other party. The mere appearance of content on EMBL Alumni media accounts does not constitute an endorsement by EMBL. Production and Editing: EMBL Alumni Relations Content and Interviews: Angus Lamond and Thomas Vaccari Music: Eco Technology by Aleksey Chistilin from Pixabay Thanks to: EMBL Audiovisual and EMBL Design Sponsored by: EMBLEM © European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL)

30. Janet Thornton - A Life in Computational Biology

Former EMBL-EBI Director 1994-2023, Dame Janet Thornton reflects on her distinguished career in bioinformatics, the wonder of protein research and the vital role of accessible data services for life science research. She also speaks about AI's impact on protein structure prediction and the potential for AlphaFold to revolutionise the field. This interview was conducted by former EMBL Group Leader, Angus Lamond. Alumni Chat contributors are members of the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) community. The opinions expressed are their own and are not necessarily representative of the views of EMBL or any other party. The mere appearance of content on EMBL Alumni media channels does not constitute an endorsement by EMBL. Production and Editing: EMBL Alumni Relations Content and Interviews: Angus Lamond and Thomas Vaccari Music: Eco Technology by Aleksey Chistilin from Pixabay Thanks to: EMBL Audiovisual and EMBL Design Sponsored by: EMBLEM © European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL)

29. Alex Stark - The Evolution of Computational Genomics and Protein Structure Analysis

Alex Stark (EMBL Predoctoral Fellow 2001-2005) chats with Thomas Vaccari (EMBL Predoctoral Fellow 1999-2004). Alex describes the evolution of computational biology and its impact on understanding protein structures and gene regulation. He recounts early efforts to identify functional similarities between unrelated proteins before the advent of AlphaFold and serving as a member of one of the teams of judges for the CASP competition. This conversation was recorded in January 2026. Alumni Chat contributors are members of the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) community. The opinions expressed are their own and are not necessarily representative of the views of EMBL or any other party. The mere appearance of content on EMBL Alumni media channels does not constitute an endorsement by EMBL. Production and Editing: EMBL Alumni Relations Content and Interviews: Angus Lamond and Thomas Vaccari Music: Eco Technology by Aleksey Chistilin from Pixabay Thanks to: EMBL Audiovisual and EMBL Design Sponsored by: EMBLEM © European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL)

28) Des Higgins - Early days of bioinformatics, Clustal and democratising sequence alignments

Des Higgins (EMBL-EBI Group Leader, 1990-1996) speaks with Thomas Vaccari (EMBL Predoctoral fellow, 1999-2004) about the "wild west" early days of bioinformatics, the establishment of EMBL-EBI and the collaboration which led to the Clustal programme. Des also reflects on the impact on his career of EBI co-founder Michael Ashburner This interview was conducted in July 2023. Alumni Chat contributors are members of the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) community. The opinions expressed are their own and are not necessarily representative of the views of EMBL or any other party. The mere appearance of content on EMBL Alumni media accounts does not constitute an endorsement by EMBL. Production and Editing: EMBL Alumni Relations Content and Interviews: Angus Lamond and Thomas Vaccari Music: Eco Technology by Aleksey Chistilin from Pixabay Thanks to: EMBL Audiovisual and EMBL Design Sponsored by: EMBLEM © European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL)

27) Martin Hetzer - The Frontiers of Ageing and Europe's leadership role in AI adoption

In this interview, Martin Hetzer (Former Staff Scientist, EMBL Heidelberg, 1998-2003, currently President, ISTA, Vienna) chats with Angus Lamond (Former Group Leader, EMBL Heidelberg, 1995-1987, currently Professor, University of Dundee) about his professional journey from his early training in Vienna and the US to his current leadership role at the Institute of Science and Technology Austria. Martin touches on his research focuses relating to bridging the gap between lifespan and health- span, investigating why some cells function for a century while others succumb to age-related diseases. This conversation was recorded in January 2026. Alumni Chat contributors are members of the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) community. The opinions expressed are their own and are not necessarily representative of the views of EMBL or any other party. The mere appearance of content on EMBL Alumni accounts does not constitute an endorsement by EMBL. Production and Editing: EMBL Alumni Relations Content and Interviews: Angus Lamond and Thomas Vaccari Music: Eco Technology by Aleksey Chistilin from Pixabay Thanks to: EMBL Audiovisual and EMBL Design Sponsored by: EMBLEM © European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL)