This is an interview with the geneticist and cell biologist Edith Heard who has become EMBLs fifth DG in January 2019 and who is also head of department at the Curie Institute and professor at the College de France. In this interview, Edith Heard describes the development of her scientific career and of her interest in the genetic control of X-chromosome inactivation and its epigenetics. She also talks about how she came in touch with EMBL through Daniel Louvard. Furthermore, Edith Heard gives an insight of how she witnessed her election as DG and what ideas she has for EMBLs future in relation to research in molecular biology, but also in relation to the different EMBL sites and the administration.

This is an interview with Eero Vuorio who has been a council delegate and Chairman of the EMBL council. In this interview, Eero Vuorio describes his career from working on molecular cloning of RNA and DNA to administration. He gives an insight of the work of the EMBL council, especially in terms of raising financial resources and in terms of the procedure of electing a new DG for EMBL. Furthermore, Eero Vuorio analyses the development of the administration of EMBL, also in connection to the different EMBL sites.

This fonds contains material, including blueprints, documentation and instruments, that is produced and/or received by EMBL in the course of its activities in the area of instrumentation and technology development. This material comes from the EMBL Workshops.

This is an interview with the evolutionary developmental biologist and Nobel Prize-winner Eric Wieschaus who was a group leader at EMBL Heidelberg between 1978 and 1981. In this interview, Eric Wieschaus describes how he became interested in flies an how he and Christiane Nüsslein-Vollhard came from working with Walter Gehring to starting at EMBL. Furthermore, Eric Wieschaus gives an insight of his daily work at EMBL, especially concerning mutagenesis and later zygotically active lethals screening. He also describes the cooperation with the EMBL facilities and he gives a special insight into his impressions of EMBLs first DG, Sir John Kendrew.

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 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 fonds contains material relating to Ernst Stelzer's development of confocal microscopy and imaging. Dates are approximate.

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 fonds contains photographs documenting the establishment and setting up of EMBL in Heidelberg, including the inaguration of the EMBL Heidelberg laboratory.