SpaceLife Doctoral Candidate Silke Müller participates in the Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting from June 26 - July 1, 2011, in Lindau, Germany

61^st Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting in Physiology and Medicine 2011
Educate – Inspire – Connect
By Silke Müller

Silke Müller at the Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting 2011
This summer I was lucky to be one of 568 young researchers from 80 countries coming together in the beautiful city of Lindau to meet, learn from and discuss with 22 Nobel Laureates.At first I did not really know what to expect from the meeting, but after a fantastic, eventful and encouraging week, I had met many amazing people and been able to speak with some of the Laureates as well. So what really was happening the whole week there in Lindau? In the mornings, we heard lectures by the Laureates in which some spoke about how their research led them to the Nobel Prize, some about their recent research areas or others about a more general topic they felt was important to all of us, like Sir Harold Kroto’s talk about creativity in science. In addition, everyone had an invitation to a science breakfast where we could join a Laureate for breakfast including a discussion about several important issues of research. In my case, it was Elizabeth Blackburn (Nobel Laureate 2009 for the discovery of telomerase) talking about productive research collaborations.

Beautiful city of Lindau
In the afternoons, there were sessions with the Laureates where we had the chance to ask questions and in return also got asked about our research or our opinions by the Laureates. We had plenty of opportunities to connect with the other young researchers during the evening programs. There were for instance an American Dinner, a Bavarian evening or a Grill & Chill event at a park right next to Lake Constance. Some of the Laureates would also attend so we could speak and discuss with them there as well.

On the last day, we were invited on a boat trip across the Lake Constance to the beautiful island of Mainau, where Countess Bettina Bernadotte (who is President of the Council for the Lindau Nobel Laureate Meetings) said her farewell to us, reminding us that she hopes some of us will return to the meeting as Laureates one day!

For me, it was a truly inspiring experience, reminding me why I went into science and research in the first place. During the Laureates talks, one could really feel their energy and curiosity that has been motivating and propelling them to where they are today. Coming from the very special field of gravitational biology/ immunology, I got very kind and positive responses towards my research. Most people thought I had the coolest PhD thesis project and were impressed by the fact that I am working at the German Aerospace Center. I guess that is also one reason why I have been interviewed for the meeting’s newspaper “the week”.

I was deeply impressed by the talk of 86-year old Olivier Smithies (Nobel prize in 2007), who still spends most of his Saturdays in the lab just because he has so much fun and enjoys trying out new ideas. That’s also how he “accidentally” invented gel electrophoresis. The most overwhelming lecture was by 93-year-old Christian de Duve (Nobel Prize in 1974 for the discovery of the lysosome and the peroxisome), using his walking stick as a pointer and talking about his view of the problems we have to face on Earth today. He said: My generation made a mess of things. You are the future, good luck! He received standing ovations after his talk.

Nobel Laureate Roger Tsien giving his lecture
Basically, all the Laureates gave similar advice to us young researchers; Roger Tsien (Nobel Prize 2008, for the discovery and development of GFP) put it like this: