In this interview, Jacques Dubochet who won the 2017 Nobel Prize in Chemistry descibes his work as a group leader at EMBL Heidelberg. This interview contains Dubochet's description of the research environment in which he developed cryo-EM sample preparation and vitrification. Furthermore, the interview contains some information about Dubochet's early life and career as well as his assessment of the current state of science, especially with regard to genetic editing.

In this interview, John Tooze who was the Executive Secretary of EMBO from 1973 until 1994 reflects his work as a scientific coordinator at that time. He especially describes his perception of the foundation process of EMBL, the emergence of its institutional design and his introduction of the EMBO journal. Furthermore, he gives an assessment of the general challenges EMBL had and has to face.

This is an interview with the biophysicist Ernst Stelzer who worked at EMBL since 1983 in the physical instrumentation program and later in the cell biology and the biophysics unit. In this interview, Ernst Stelzer reflects how he started his work on confocal fluorescence microscopy, but he also explains his later microscopy and laser work, also connected to specimen preparation. Furthermore, Ernst Stelzer especially describes the challenges of instrumentation, but he also describes how the collaboration with Carl Zeiss in Jena started to bring the confocal fluorescence microscopes as a product on the market.

This is an interview with the physicist and the computer scientist Philipp Keller who has been a graduate student since 2005 and part of the labs of Ernst Stelzer, Jochen Wittbrodt and Michael Knop at EMBL and who completed his PhD at EMBL as well. In this interview, Philipp Keller especially explains how he was able to transfer his physical understanding of systems to research at EMBL, for example concerning his research on zebrafish embryo. Philipp Keller also describes the framework conditions at the EMBL in comparison with the Janelia Research Campus where he works since 2010.

This is an interview with the cell biologist Harald Stenmark who has been a postdoc in Marino Zerial's Lab at EMBL from 1991 to 1994. In this interview, Harald Stenmark describes how he became aware of EMBL and how his time at EMBL has promoted his further career. Furthermore, he explains his functional studies of small GTPase Rab5 he carried out at EMBL and gives an insight into his later work on the EEA1 protein and the identification of the FYVE domain.

This is an interview with Nelly van der Jagt who worked as a secretary for EMBL from 1975 until 2014. In this interview, Nelly van der Jagt especially reflects her work with four different Directors General as well as changes concerning the general working conditions of the EMBL site in Heidelberg.

This is an interview with Frieda Glöckner (born Leenart) who was EMBL's meetings secretary since 1975. In this interview, Glöckner describes how she worked at Brussels since 1970 close to EURATOM and how she perceived the development of EMBL from a project to its foundation in this position. Glöckner also describes the signing agreement of EMBL in Geneva at Cern and the installation of the first buidlings. Beyond that, this interview contains some description of the Second World War period Glöckner witnessed as a child and how she settled up it Heidelberg when EMBL was established there.

This is an interview with Erich Honig who was a group leader and the driver of the EMBL in Heidelberg since 1975 until he retired in 2008. In this interview, Honig describes how his job as a driver has developed since the time he started at EMBL. Furthermore, this interview mainly contains general impressions of Honig concerning the working environment at EMBL.

This is an interview with molecular biologist Angus Lamond. In this interview, Angus Lamond reflects his earlier career stations at the University of Glasgow and the ETH Zurich before coming to EMBL in 1986. He reflects the working environment at EMBL at that time as he perceived it and explains his scientific research of RNA-splicing to identify proteins using mass-spectrometry-based proteomics.

This is an interview with the physicist and mathematician Matthias Mann who has been group leader at EMBL Heidelberg from 1992 to 1997. In this interview, Matthias Mann explains his research in the area of mass spectrometry and proteomics he was involved in at EMBL. This interview contains reflections of Matthias Mann concerning his relationship to other researchers at EMBL, his impression of the different Directors General Furthermore, you will find some information about Mann's current work in clinical contexts as well as some advice about assembling a research group and about computation in biology in general.